“Yuu, I want to sleep.”
“Mmm? You don’t have to tell me on purpose, you know.”
“If you notice I’m showing signs of Dream Invasion, remember to shake me awake.”
Such a humble and ordinary request.
Luo Yuu reluctantly agreed.
She’d long gotten used to Dream Invasion.
Whenever she was alone with that aggressive Big Sis, Luo Yuu could always sense the other’s intense gaze.
Even just walking on the street, she would feel many people’s stares, so mere Dream Invasion wasn’t anything to her.
She truly didn’t understand why Xue would have trouble sleeping over a mere Dream Invasion.
But putting herself in Xue’s shoes, if someone Dream Invaded right when you were having a good dream, it would indeed be disgusting.
If she was dreaming—let’s say having fun with Big Sis—and suddenly Zi Ning appeared at the side, staring at her…
Thinking of this, Luo Yuu hesitated for a moment, resting her chin on one hand and gazing out the window.
[So pitiful. Xue, so young, is already bearing such pressure she shouldn’t have to.]
But then again, for Xue, a Dimensional Beast, what exactly was her definition of a good dream?
Luo Yuu couldn’t help but wonder.
To herself, good dreams came in many forms: doing naughty things with Big Sis, with Little Sis, alone in her Room…
Even dreaming about people she once knew but who were now gone could barely count.
That was her. But for Xue, what would it be?
Xue had no social life at all, her activity space limited to this one small Room, occasionally going downstairs for a stroll—her daily life was a blank sheet.
With so little experience, what could she even dream about?
“It’s not like her idea of a good dream is just sitting in front of the computer like a bum, playing games and drinking cola until she’s happy, right… That’s too low a standard.”
Luo Yuu muttered.
But this damn thing always dreamed of being ravished by magical girls, or by Dimensional Beasts, far too often.
Time slowly passed.
Luo Yuu saw Xue, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly start to twist uneasily, brows tightly knitted, a moan escaping her lips.
A slap landed. Xue instantly woke up.
“Dream Invasion again?”
“…Mmm.”
Xue replied groggily.
“When you say Dream Invasion, what’s it like? Is it someone watching you, or just the feeling of being watched?”
“It’s… Like, right in the middle of the dream, everyone around me suddenly gets replaced with the same pair of eyes. It’s terrifying! So oppressive!”
Xue tried to mime that terrifying, suffocating feeling, but Luo Yuu didn’t sense it at all.
“By the way, you said you always get Dream Invaded when you’re in a good part of your dream—what exactly are you dreaming about? Well, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Luo Yuu was just curious, not really intent on prying.
“Um… Just pretty normal life, I guess?”
“Playing games? Drinking cola?”
“No, just those common daily life shares you see online.”
“Alright then.”
Luo Yuu lost interest.
Online life sharing?
Only idiots believe those posts.
Stuff like ‘went to Paris,’ ‘traveled to the Dead Sea,’ ‘stayed in some fancy hotel’… all polished up for vanity’s sake, not real at all.
Besides, she’d done all that herself ages ago.
Hardly anything worth longing for, let alone a good dream.
Well, it’s just Xue after all.
Her ambitions are just that simple.
“Yuu, your phone’s ringing.”
“Oh, don’t make a sound.”
Luo Yuu answered the call.
It was Qiu Yu from the Huahai City branch.
“Hello, it’s me.”
“Lord Golden Scale, it’s Qiu Yu.”
“Speak.”
“Um… Lord Golden Scale, I think you should come out and respond again to the current social debate. The people are really making a fuss. Last time’s statement wasn’t fully accepted…”
“Fine, fine. I’ll respond again in a few days. You guys draft something for me.”
Luo Yuu replied casually and hung up.
She disdainfully tossed her phone onto the bed.
“Sigh, that’s why I say ordinary people… not much use, but always so much trouble!”
Luo Yuu patted Xue’s head.
“Xue, remember what a certain literary giant once said. You’ll need this one day.”
“Which words?”
“If I have to sacrifice ten hostages to save a hundred people, that group probably wouldn’t agree. But if they themselves were in that train car and I killed the hostages to save their lives, they’d praise me in turn. That’s the famous ‘Tearing Down the House’ effect.”
“Yuu, are you upset?”
Xue tilted her head.
“I’m not upset, just find it troublesome.”
Luo Yuu shrugged.
If becoming a magical girl didn’t help her pass the time and help her get close to Zhizhi, she wouldn’t care about these ungrateful ordinary people at all.
She didn’t have that desperate need for love or recognition that her countrymen did.
If they truly made her unhappy, they’d all have to pay for running their mouths.
“I’m heading back.”
“Oh.”
The next day, Luo Yuu arrived at the Huahai City branch.
As planned, she would give another PR statement in an hour.
But while she was rehearsing her lines, the office door opened.
“Mm? Zhizhi, what are you here for? Let me say this first, I don’t have time for that so-called brat showdown.”
“Hmph, it’ll happen again sooner or later.”
Zhizhi snorted, then asked, “How are you planning to respond to the public this time?”
“Well, split them up—let the public quarrel among themselves.”
Luo Yuu intended to stick to the ‘Tearing Down the House’ effect from before: stir up infighting among the people, divert all conflict from herself onto those criticizing her.
That way, things would quiet down.
“Yuyuu, you’re really dark. Didn’t you ever do any special work before?”
Zhizhi teased.
“How is this dark? This is the correct way to shift conflict. If you ask me, magical girls have just never been flexible enough.”
Luo Yuu raised her eyes.
“So what are you here for?”
“To stand by you, of course.”
Zhizhi puffed out her chest and stamped her foot, brimming with confidence.
“As Zhizhi-sama’s subordinate, if your reputation gets stained, it’ll drag down the great Zhizhi-sama too, you know!”
“…Such a good kid. I didn’t think Zhizhi would care so much for Mama. Come, let Mama give you a big hug!”
“I told you, we’re not filming a short, don’t do that weird mother-daughter act! Right now, I’m your boss! Got it?”
Zhizhi snapped a little, dissatisfied.
Failing several times in a row, Luo Yuu found her mood soured by Zhizhi’s interruptions, even more than the urgent PR.
She felt that Zhizhi seemed more resistant to the mother-daughter play lately.
It probably wasn’t the train derailment that caused it; maybe it started after that meal at Auntie’s house.
Luo Yuu’s gaze grew dark.
[Could it be that after finally experiencing the warmth of a family meal, she thinks it’s wrong to take away someone’s mother, and is planning to repent and turn back?]
No way, right?
You’re a magical girl with a mother complex, you know I’m Zi Ning’s mother and you still maintain such a close relationship with me.
You’ve already had brat showdowns and swapped stockings and done plenty of borderline things more than once!
Now, just because you experienced the joy of family, you want to turn back?
Who taught you that?
Auntie?
Ji Meng?
Or was it that rebellious Zi Ning?
No way!
Now that you’ve called me ‘Mama’, there’s no escape for you!
Luo Yuu’s gaze toward Zhizhi grew increasingly dangerous…