She looked just like Dark Moth—almost as if they were carved from the same mold.
So, taking advantage of the fact that there were no outsiders present, Long Wen decided to chat with Luo Shuangyue about this.
She wasn’t planning to accuse her or anything; after all, it wasn’t strange for two sisters with different ambitions to join different organizations.
Even the Soul Summoner Princess’s adopted daughter had joined the Magic Department—so what was so remarkable about Luo Shuangyue doing the same?
The only reason she brought it up was that Luo Shuangyue seemed a little bored, so she wanted to give them both something to talk about.
“Senior, since you’ve already figured it out, you don’t need to keep testing me like this, do you?” Luo Shuangyue replied helplessly.
She wasn’t surprised that her identity had been exposed.
So what if it was? It wasn’t a big deal.
Currently, she was the darling of the Magic Department, and her relationship with them had always been pretty good.
There was no need to worry about the Magic Department being hostile toward her.
As for whether Luo Shuangxing would be influenced by her as an older sister, Luo Shuangyue didn’t think that was necessary to worry about.
Her relationship with Xia Mo was also good.
The Magic Department didn’t mind their magical girls mingling with others of different affiliations, right?
Look at Monice—her connections were wide, and even Long Wen sitting here was one of her acquaintances.
You Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls are all making friends, so we follow your example and make friends, too. That can’t possibly be wrong, can it?
“I never intended for her to get involved in all this mess, but I never realized she’d already grown up while I wasn’t looking,” Luo Shuangyue said, pressing her forehead and sighing.
“She doesn’t tell me about such important things at all. It really makes me want to give her a good spanking.”
Hearing Luo Shuangyue’s painfully relatable complaint, Long Wen tried hard to keep a straight face.
This was probably the universal feeling of countless parents after learning their children had secretly become Magical Girls.
Especially decades ago, becoming a Magical Girl meant heading straight to the battlefield against Demons, risking their lives at every turn.
For parents who cherished their children, that was very hard to accept.
Things had gotten better in recent years, though, so hearing Luo Shuangyue say this, Long Wen couldn’t help but find it a little funny.
“So, you used to dress as a boy?”
“Yeah. Actually, I wasn’t very good at it,” Luo Shuangyue scratched her head.
Better not let everyone know that she used to be male and then became female—just let them think she was always a girl in disguise.
“Yeah, not great.”
With Luo Shuangyue’s physical features, it would be a miracle if she could pull off male attire convincingly.
“So, you two know each other’s identities now, right?” Long Wen continued.
She already guessed what Luo Shuangyue would answer.
After all, these past days, it was obvious that Luo Shuangxing and Luo Shuangyue were very close—far beyond mere rivals.
These sisters definitely knew each other’s identities—and knew the person living with them was their sister.
“Half and half. I haven’t officially come clean to her, and she hasn’t confessed to me either.” Luo Shuangyue nodded first, then shook her head.
Their current state was tacit understanding. I know who you are, you know who I am, but neither of us says it out loud.
But in their day-to-day actions, they’d gradually slipped into the typical mode of sisters interacting.
“I plan to tell them after this is all over,” Luo Shuangyue added.
Then she saw Long Wen stiffen her face, raising a finger to press against her lips, stopping her from saying more.
“You really can’t say things like that,” Long Wen’s golden eyes flashed with the wisdom of experience.
“Before a big battle, saying things like that can put you in a dangerous spot.”
“Isn’t that just superstition? Even you, Senior, believe this stuff?” Luo Shuangyue had always scoffed at such things.
She was a staunch realist—superstition couldn’t move her in the slightest.
“Magic used to be superstition. And magical girls who’ve glimpsed the river of fate have confirmed this kind of thing,” Long Wen said, bringing up the Magic Department’s research on ‘raising flags.’
According to their studies, making ‘flag-raising’ statements before battle really would decrease a Magical Girl’s luck.
So the Magic Department had a rule: you must never say things like, ‘After this battle, I’ll go home and get married.’
It wasn’t superstition, but the magic of destiny!
“Ah…” Luo Shuangyue instantly felt a chill. Why didn’t the Magic Department ever publish such important research?!
So evil!
Recalling how many flags she’d already raised, Luo Shuangyue suddenly felt her own future dim.
“Haha, don’t worry so much. As long as you’re strong enough, you can ignore these things,” Long Wen laughed, glancing at Luo Shuangxing sleeping peacefully nearby.
“But it’s true—confessing early is better than late. Don’t let yourself regret it for a lifetime.”
“I know,” Luo Shuangyue nodded.
At this, she remembered what she’d discussed with Long Wen not long ago. “Senior, when does the meeting start?”
Seeing Luo Shuangyue still concerned about the meeting, Long Wen immediately shot her an exasperated look, as if saying, ‘Can’t you just rest a little longer?’
She glanced at the digital clock on the wall. It was 9 p.m.
“The meeting’s at 10 a.m. tomorrow. You have more than ten hours to rest.”
Luo Shuangyue had woken up at 8 this morning, prepared a bit for her presentation, and then slept straight through until now.
After waking from that nap, she rather tragically found herself unable to fall asleep again.
Her biological clock was all messed up!
“Senior, I can’t sleep!”
“Even if you can’t, you still have to. Closing your eyes is enough to recover your spirit,” Long Wen grinned, her face all but saying, ‘Just lie in bed quietly.’
She was even more resolute than Xia Mo had been before.
Clearly, Long Wen wasn’t going to go easy on this matter.
Luo Shuangyue could forget about doing anything other than resting.
At 7 a.m. the next morning, Luo Shuangyue opened her eyes on time after forcing herself to sleep.
Long Wen, who’d kept her company overnight, was gone, replaced by Singularity, who lounged in a chair looking utterly relaxed.
She must have swapped shifts while Luo Shuangyue was asleep.
“Awake? Long told me to watch you and make sure you didn’t run off,” Singularity straightened in her seat, eyes glinting.
“The meeting’s in three hours. Want something to eat?”
As she spoke, she handed over a bag of jelly-like stuff.
This was the standard meal at the Lunar Base for now.
The Magic Department’s logistics were stretched thin, so the limited resources had to be used where they were needed most.
Besides, Magical Girls could sustain their bodies with magic power, so their meals became these odd, un-food-like things.
Small, energy-rich, and full of nutrients—they really could serve as a main meal.
But eat too many, and you’d get sick of them.
“If you really manage to pull off that Teleportation Gate, things will get so much better for everyone. Fight until you’re tired, then just head back to Earth for a hot meal and a good sleep. Only a few folks would have to stay on duty at the Lunar Base…” Singularity mused about the future.
Even Luo Shuangyue found herself a little tempted by that.
But she still poured a bit of cold water over Singularity’s dream. “My plan isn’t guaranteed to succeed, you know.”
She was only turning the Demon portal into a Starlight Magic Teleportation Gate with the help of Youji.
The exact effects—she’d have to study them as they went.
“Still, it’s better than having no hope at all,” Singularity reached out and patted Luo Shuangyue’s head, sounding cheerful.
Her voice never exerted any pressure.
That was Singularity’s nature: always laid-back, like an older sister who was used to skipping class.
Being around her, Luo Shuangyue felt, ‘If even Singularity is this lazy, then it’s okay if I slack off a bit too.’
At this moment—when she should have been nervous—having Singularity at her side eased her nerves a lot.
“Come on, wash your face and eat up. I’ll take you to the meeting,” Singularity stood and stretched, beaming.
“Last time I was late, Heavenly Messenger scolded me forever. This time I’ll be early—let’s see how she tries to pick on me.”
Ah, what a totally pressure-free atmosphere. Is this the power of ‘lying flat’? Luo Shuangyue couldn’t help but think.
If it were Long Wen or Soul Summoner Princess—those very proper seniors—standing by her side right now, she’d feel plenty of pressure even if they said nothing.
But with Singularity here, it was like she’d caught Singularity’s laziness.
She didn’t feel nervous at all.
She was completely at ease—just like skipping class and finding a reliable upperclassman to skip with.
“Mm!”
“You went out of your way to have Singularity keep her company. You’re really considerate,” said a voice from behind.
“We seniors, when we’re with her too long, always end up putting pressure on her,” Long Wen replied emotionlessly, directing her Dragon to move things.
No matter how much she tried to put herself on the same level as her juniors, as a senior, she always exuded a faint aura of authority.
That pressure could have mixed results.
But this time, Long Wen didn’t think Luo Shuangyue needed any extra pressure, so she’d sent the never-serious Singularity to keep her company.
Soul Summoner Princess stood behind Long Wen, arms folded and head tilted. “So, you planning to hide out and spy this time?”
“It’s not spying, it’s reducing that child’s pressure—so she can perform her best.”
“I don’t think it’ll help much. As soon as the meeting starts, she’ll have to connect with all those people on Earth anyway.”
“Less pressure is still less pressure. So, will you stay with her, or hide out here and watch with me?”
“You’re making it sound like I have a choice?” Soul Summoner Princess sighed.
“Who’d have thought I’d ever end up in this position…”
At 10 a.m. Magic Department time, one after another, phantom screens appeared in the depths of space, projecting the avatars of the Magical Girls.
Among them was Monice, whom Luo Shuangyue knew, but most were senior Magical Girls from the Magic Department she wasn’t familiar with.
Ah… now she felt a little pressure, after all.
Taking a deep breath, Luo Shuangyue produced the Sealing Card containing the prototype Teleportation Gate and snapped it in half.
A half-formed magic circle bloomed among the stars.
Luo Shuangyue quietly began filling in the circle’s gaps with Starlight Magic.
The Magical Girls attending the meeting all fell silent, even muting their microphones, so as not to disturb her.
Only after nearly an hour, when Luo Shuangyue had completely finished the magic circle, did the seniors turn their microphones back on and begin bombarding her with questions.
The most important: Was this really a Teleportation Gate?
After all, there was only one of them.
“Well… I have to go through this Teleportation Gate myself first, stabilize the passage behind it, and then create the other exit,” Luo Shuangyue explained, scratching her head.
If the Teleportation Gate was a tunnel, she’d only dug out one entrance so far.
The rest wasn’t even started.
By herself, it would be very difficult to finish such a large-scale project in a short time.
“But now that the magic circle is formed, it doesn’t need my magic to sustain it. This circle can draw magic from the Sea of Magic to keep it running,” Luo Shuangyue pointed at the starry, ribbon-like flows around the circle.
So, as for opening the passage, all that was needed now was time and patience.
“I’ll try it first.” The reliable Full Bloom-Class Magical Girl at her side—Singularity—volunteered to be the first to take the plunge.
Even if she was swallowed by the Sea of Magic, she could get out on her own, so she wasn’t afraid.
“Okay, Senior, see the side where the Starlight is strongest? That’s the entry and exit of the Teleportation Gate,” Luo Shuangyue explained, pointing.
“But there should only be a short path behind it. Any further, and it’s just chaotic Sea of Magic, so remember not to…”