Ye Xingyao reached out and pinched the girl in her arms on the cheek.
‘Alright, the feel is fine. This girl really is my sister, Ye Xingling.’
She turned her head and scanned the surroundings. Finding no one observing them, she finally relaxed a bit.
‘I suppose that makes sense. After such a huge commotion, no ordinary person would dare run outside for no reason. Getting caught in the aftermath of the battle—losing an arm or a leg—would already be considered a good outcome.’
Not to mention the hellish scene before her: embers crackling and popping, the wooden cage shattered into pieces, flames burning at a temperature that was far from low.
It was only then that Ye Xingyao realized just how terrifying her attack had been. Standing at the center of it, she was already sweating profusely from the intense heat.
‘First, I need to settle my sister down. Xiao Yue should be almost done handling things over there, and Qiluo and the other Magical Girls should be arriving soon.’
Ye Xingyao looked down at the girl in her arms with a complicated expression. If her sister had heard what she said earlier, she might need to come to terms with the fact that her long-time brother had suddenly turned into her sister once she woke up.
‘Look at this mess… If only I hadn’t been so hasty to ask first. I should have checked on her condition before anything else.’
Ye Xingyao thought bitterly. ‘Now my career as an older brother is completely over.’
“Little Ye Xin? Where’s Xiao Shuanghua? Is it over?”
Just as Ye Xingyao carried the unconscious girl out of the scorching battlefield, a familiar voice came from above. Having dealt with Magical Girls before, she immediately recognized the speaker as Qiluo.
Of course, only Qiluo would imitate Hongye Qiu and call her “Little Ye Xin.”
Yunque and Qiansheng, as well as the newly acquainted Miss Jin Ming, were much more polite.
“Should be about finished. I defeated the terrorist leader back there. Xiao Yue and my companions are checking the timed bombs. Miss Qiluo, please notify the Human Alliance outside to come clean up.”
Ye Xingyao nodded toward the Forest Elf lying in the middle of the battlefield. The elf’s clothes were shredded, her face covered in dust, and she appeared to have fainted.
“And Xiao Shuanghua? Is that your sister? Is she alright?”
The pink-haired Magical Girl in the sky sat on her staff, looking curiously at Ye Xingyao, who was holding a girl that resembled her.
*
Ye Xingyao stared at Qiluo, who had slowly landed in front of her, unable to speak for a moment.
“What if I told you… this girl is both my sister and your Magical Girl Society’s Shuanghua? Would you believe me?”
Ye Xingyao gave a bitter smile. She reached out a hand—slightly burned from contact with too many fire elements—and gently stroked the unconscious girl’s hair. Suddenly, she felt that her sister wasn’t as familiar as she used to be.
Since their parents disappeared, she hadn’t had any intimate interactions with her sister. Of course, they still bickered plenty.
No one could break her legs and send her to Xizhou for bone surgery, but as a normal man with a slightly chuunibyou “older brother” complex, she wasn’t exactly eager to hug and kiss and lift her sister up.
“Huh?”
For the first time, Ye Xingyao saw a rare expression of surprise on Qiluo’s face. ‘To make Miss Qiluo look so incredulous, even revealing that “Ye Xin is a Star Elf” probably wouldn’t have done it.’
“Can it really be that coincidental?”
Qiluo pressed further. It wasn’t that she liked wasting time, nor that she didn’t trust the girl before her—it was simply that this was too unbelievable.
She had heard Shuanghua mention having a decent older brother at home, but she had never heard of her obedient junior having an older sister…
“Well… as incredible as it sounds, I really am her older sister. I only found out when I saw her disengage from her Magical Girl form…”
Ye Xingyao patiently explained.
She had once imagined that her sister might have some kind of superpower, so that when she came of age, she could more easily talk about their parents’ identities.
She had also imagined how she would feel when she learned her sister had a superpower. But looking at it now… it didn’t seem that hard to accept?
“I see… Xiao Shuanghua never told us she had an older sister like you. When she saw you during previous missions, she didn’t seem to react particularly.”
Qiluo recalled what had happened before, sensing something off.
Then, the white-haired loli Yunque and the Magical Girl Qiansheng, whose hair color was slightly lighter than Qiluo’s, walked over with the person in charge from the Human Alliance.
“That’s a long story…”
Ye Xingyao paused for a moment, then replied.
“Alright then. Xiao Shuanghua is in your hands. Remember to take responsibility as her older sister.”
Qiluo didn’t say anything more. Since the other party wasn’t keen on discussing their past, her curiosity wasn’t that strong. Besides, Ye Xin and Hongye Qiu were important allies—no need to create a rift over such a small matter.
And most importantly, Xiao Shuanghua was unharmed. Wasn’t that the most important thing?
“Miss Ye Xin.”
“Hello there, Miss Ye Xin~”
The other two Magical Girls greeted her in their own ways. She waved back.
At the same time, Ye Xingyao could see Yi Shiyue and Fumier poking their heads out from behind a wall in the distance, waving at her. She smiled in return.
“Well, our Xiao Shuanghua is safe. For now, Miss Ye Xin will take care of her. As for the cleanup, I’ll leave it to you, sir in charge. The Magical Girl Society will stay here until everything is resolved. If you need anything, just let us know. What do you think, sir?”
“My companions have already dealt with most of the timed bombs, but I’d still appreciate it if you could conduct a thorough search. I’ll take my companion and escort Miss Shuanghua back.”
Ye Xingyao and Qiluo exchanged a glance. Qiluo parted her crimson lips and arranged the next steps.
“No problem, no problem.”
The person in charge smiled obsequiously and agreed. After all, as the person in charge of this incident, he wasn’t low in rank within the Human Alliance. But among the girls before him—one was a Midnight-level Hunter, the other a genuine Midnight-tier combatant. Whatever they decided was fine; he just had to follow orders and cooperate.
Such an easy job was rare. It would even look good on his record. He couldn’t have asked for more.
“Well then… I’ll be off. See you next time?”
Ye Xingyao waved to everyone, then carried her sister toward where Yi Shiyue and the others were waiting.