Chapter 22: Please Don’t Come In

“You seem to be injured.”

Sakuragawa Iku looked worried, her graceful brows knitted closely together.

At that time, Lin Xiaojue seemed to remain wary of everything.

Even though she had already relaxed around Sakuragawa Iku, she still declined the other girl’s offer.

The reason was quite simple—under these circumstances, she feared that accepting the invitation might bring trouble to Iku.

So, she tilted her head slightly, a smile rising in the corners of her eyes, and returned a warm grin.

“Can I hide in your bag?”

“Eh?”

Sakuragawa Iku took a few steps back. Before she could refuse, the white-haired beauty dived into her sack, emerging from the mountain of bottles with a clatter, shining under the sunlight with a faint smile.

“It’s actually quite safe.”

She smiled, nuzzling her hand like a harmless little animal.

Suddenly, Sakuragawa Iku’s grip on the sack loosened. The sunlight refracted in her eyes, blooming with a ruby-like color. She stood frozen for a long time before finally speaking.

“Is… is this okay?”

It was as if she were asking herself and someone else at the same time.

“It’s fine. Xiao Yu wants to help me too, right?”

Lin Xiaojue raised an eyebrow slightly, then relaxed. She turned her head, revealing a neck as white as snow.

Soft, defenseless, and incredibly gentle.

Sakuragawa Iku thought of her late mother. Her mother had been the same way—whenever Iku was worried about something, she would melt everything away with a beautiful smile until Iku felt at ease.

It felt like…

She looked at the girl in the sack, a wicked thought popping into her head.

‘If I just take Lady Tianyu, whose magic is exhausted, back to my house and treat her well every day, I’ll surely be able to see that beautiful smile often.’

‘I really want to see Lady Tianyu smile at me.’

“What’s wrong?”

The girl’s soft, sweet voice pulled her back to her senses. When she looked again, she was still smiling sweetly, her eyes crinkling together, blooming in the sunlight. Just as Sakuragawa Iku had wished, the girl of her dreams was smiling at her.

It was so warm.

It filled the void in her heart.

Walking along the dappled streets at dusk, dragging the sack into a narrow alleyway, she ignored the gazes of others and only remembered that sweet smile.

Just like that, Sakuragawa Iku brought a magical girl home.

Calling it a home was a stretch; it was actually just a tiny room where the entryway led directly into the living room, and the sofa in the living room served as a bed.

“That… I’m sorry… there isn’t much space here.”

“It’s okay.”

Lin Xiaojue climbed out of the sack, shook her head, and waved her hand dismissively.

She looked around. Coffee cans and unfinished paperwork lay scattered across the floor.

Beneath the sofa, a rectangular black cloth bag lay quietly, seemingly covered in dust for a long time.

It was an extremely impoverished environment.

Lin Xiaojue had been prepared for this; she had realized the moment she saw Sakuragawa Iku that this child was suffering.

In that case, as a magical girl, she naturally had to step in!

“My father won’t be coming home today. Is it okay for you to sleep here?”

With a slightly awkward expression, Sakuragawa Iku cleared the floor, set the sack aside, and took a stack of bedding from the cabinet in the entryway to spread on the floor.

A tatami mat.

Lin Xiaojue glanced at it; it used to be quite popular.

However, after the invasion of the residual beasts, few people paid attention to such cultural relics anymore. Most people slept in tents—it was at least a bit safer.

The people who were still alive now were either incredibly lucky or incredibly wealthy.

Lin Xiaojue didn’t know which one Iku was, but it didn’t matter. This child was in a difficult spot right now.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Lin Xiaojue thought to herself.

Dinner was a bowl of cup noodles. The two of them sat opposite each other, and the aroma of the instant noodles filled the room, brimming with joy.

“Does Lady Tianyu also worry about clothes being too small?”

Because they were both girls—or rather, because Lin Xiaojue was being treated as a girl—they began to talk about clothing.

“Yeah, sometimes clothes are too small and always press against my chest so much I can’t breathe.”

Lin Xiaojue tugged at her collar. Sakuragawa Iku didn’t have many clothes; the one she had given her was a rather elegant school uniform, but it looked old.

‘Did she drop out because she couldn’t afford the tuition?’

Lin Xiaojue thought so. Sakuragawa Iku spoke fluently about many topics, but whenever Lin tried to probe into her financial situation, she would avoid the subject.

The small talk continued for a long time. Soon, Lin Xiaojue, who had little to say, stopped the conversation.

Sakuragawa Iku knew too much.

Luxury brands, perfumes, bags, various types of art and music—whenever these were mentioned, the smile on her face wouldn’t stop, and then she would mention that her mother also liked these things.

Lin Xiaojue had to admit she was someone with a head full of nothing but fighting.

Fighting residual beasts was her greatest pleasure. Fight! Just keep fighting! It would be such a waste to let a miraculous ability like Super-speed Calculation go unused.

After all, with the time stop space, winning gave her a sense of invincibility.

However, since Sakuragawa Iku wasn’t interested in those things, she decided to drop it.

“It’s about time. Would you like to take a bath first? Do you need to deactivate your transformation?”

Sakuragawa Iku looked at her with longing, a smile appearing on her pale face.

“Uh… that… no thanks,” Lin Xiaojue turned down the offer, a bashful smile on her face. “I don’t need to bathe while in my transformed state. I can get clean with a bit of magic.”

“Then if you deactivate the transformation, you’ll need a bath, right?”

“I can rub your back for you. I can use my chest, too.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, you can tell me. I will serve you with all my heart.”

“If that’s not enough, I can also give you a full-body massage. That should make you feel better.”

“Please, feel free to say whatever is within my power to do!”

“Please tell me! Don’t refuse.”

Sakuragawa Iku stood up abruptly. Her gaze, higher than Lin Xiaojue’s, stared intently at her, a red glow flickering in her eyes.

“It’s really not necessary…”

Lin Xiaojue turned her head. She really couldn’t accept such an invitation from a beautiful girl.

Taking advantage of someone in her magical girl form was something she truly couldn’t bring herself to do.

Especially having someone rub her back…

“Is it… because the bathroom in my house is too small?”

Seeing that Lin Xiaojue hadn’t responded for a long time, Sakuragawa Iku lowered her head humbly.

“Uh… not really.”

Unable to think of anything else, Lin Xiaojue decided to just be blunt, following her usual logic.

“Actually, I’m a guy.”

“Eh?”

*Thump.*

The cup noodles she was holding hit the floor. Sakuragawa Iku’s eyes went blank for a moment.

‘I’m a guy, I’m a guy, I’m a guy.’

Those four words echoed continuously in her ears like a wandering demonic voice.

“What…?”

“Actually, I’m a boy.”

Lin Xiaojue intended to take off the heart gem and deactivate her transformation to show her.

Tugging at her chest, she suddenly remembered that she had taken off her magical battle suit earlier.

‘Wait, was the gem on that?’

Realizing she couldn’t transform back, she gave an awkward smile.

Oh no, this was a huge misunderstanding.

“Is… is this an excuse?”