“Heh, intuition? For such a ridiculous reason, you’re willing to hand over your trust to a stranger so easily? That’s really…”
Listening to Su Mu’s answer, Tang Nai smiled.
Her cold, beautiful face suddenly thawed like melting ice and snow, revealing a rare, sincere smile.
“It’s an answer a true Magical Girl would give. Either it’s trust or intuition — you’re simply emotional creatures through and through.”
Just as Su Mu was about to express her dissatisfaction with Tang Nai’s outrageous statement, the latter suddenly slapped her on the shoulder and stared at her with a burning gaze the likes of which Su Mu had never seen before.
“Fine. I acknowledge you.”
‘Huh?’
Su Mu scratched her head in confusion.
Immediately after, Tang Nai grabbed her hand of her own accord and led her at a trot all the way to the top of the tower.
“Hey, wait! Didn’t you say we were still strangers? Why are you doing this — “
Tang Nai’s body temperature was on the cooler side.
Her palm felt as icy as she looked, yet it was unexpectedly soft but strong, making it impossible for Su Mu to pull her hand away.
“There always has to be a process of getting to know each other. Being a bit aggressive isn’t a bad way to go about it. Wait, why is your face so red?”
Su Mu didn’t answer.
She only puffed out her cheeks and glared at Tang Nai, attempting to be intimidating.
However, one look at Tang Nai’s contemptuous expression made it clear that this tactic wouldn’t work on her.
“Don’t bother. Your face has zero deterrent power. Aside from acting cute, I can’t think of how you could possibly use it to hurt me,” Tang Nai said with ease.
She effortlessly pinched the thin, pale purple thread flying toward her abdomen between two fingers.
Although her expression remained sparse, it had at least softened slightly.
“Your words are as annoying as ever,” Su Mu grumbled, pouting.
“Don’t act as if you know me so well. A long time ago, I was famous in social circles for my elegant and proper behavior.” As she spoke, Tang Nai mockingly lifted the corner of her skirt and performed a light, shallow bow.
It actually looked somewhat convincing.
“Then those people must have been truly blind…”
Right as those words left her mouth, Su Mu was dragged through the final door and onto the platform at the tower’s peak.
The entire pitch-black canopy of the sky spread out before her like a vast net covering the world, easily catching all the vibrant colors rising from below.
Only here could one truly appreciate the height of the heavenly pillars and the distance of the North Star.
In the vastness between heaven and earth, every creation seemed as small and adrift as an ephemeral mayfly, unable to reach the other side of the world in its entire lifetime.
“There’s nothing to see. There won’t be any Dreamswimming Fish tonight.”
Su Mu blinked in surprise and asked, “What are Dreamswimming Fish?”
“They’re just fish that are dreamswimming,” Tang Nai replied casually with a cryptic non-answer, refusing to continue the topic.
“Right, there’s one more thing.” Su Mu suddenly snapped back to reality.
Ye Wanqing was still waiting for her to save her.
Having not heard her voice for many days, Su Mu couldn’t help but feel worried.
“Oh? Let’s hear it.” Tang Nai stood with her arms crossed.
Although she lacked the physical assets that required such support, the posture undoubtedly made her aura much stronger.
“I have a friend who is a Magical Girl. She’s currently trapped, and she said only you can help.”
“Then that’s a massive problem. If I must be the one to act, I’m afraid she might not possess the value worth my effort.” Tang Nai’s reaction to Su Mu’s request was quite cold.
On this timeline, due to Tang Mo’s interference, she had never encountered Ye Wanqing.
“Count me in as well. If you’re going to pull that ‘lending’ trick again, then I’ll be the one to pay.” Su Mu wasn’t particularly worried.
After all, in Tang Nai’s words, her debt was already an unknown astronomical figure, yet Tang Nai had never demanded payment.
Su Mu had long since grown used to it.
However, this time, it was far from what Su Mu imagined.
Hearing the nonchalance in Su Mu’s voice, Tang Nai let out a cold laugh.
Her restrained pressure flared out once more, kicking up a howling wind that made her formal dress rustle loudly.
“Hmph. You say that so easily. Do you truly understand what the so-called price is? I fear it’s a weight even your life cannot bear.”
Tang Nai’s voice returned to the indifferent tone she had used when they first met.
“Don’t blame me for being cold-hearted, but you must understand one thing. In terms of value alone, you aren’t much higher than those stone statues on the chessboard. My help to you is nothing more than a high-risk investment on a whim.”
Su Mu was slightly stunned.
Regarding the credibility of these words, she only needed to be sure of one thing: Tang Nai never lied.
Yes, the sudden warmth she had shown earlier was also just a whim.
Since they met, the sense of detachment surrounding Tang Nai had never truly vanished.
She still viewed Su Mu with suspicion, or perhaps with a “there’s no harm in trying” attitude of indifference.
What Su Mu cared about most, however, was the “value” Tang Nai mentioned.
In the future, Tang Nai wouldn’t constantly talk about such things.
Instead, she acted like a low-profile tycoon who was dismissive of such concepts.
Had something changed her?
Come to think of it, her habit of taking photos was also gone.
“Value… what do you mean?”
“My authority, value. Everything in this world can be traded. As long as a high enough price is offered, even a Demon King is just a pathetic bug that can be turned to ash in an instant.”
‘Is her authority “Value”?’
It certainly fit her style.
But a Magical Girl with such an authority sounded truly cold.
Seeing Su Mu’s doubts, Tang Nai gave a self-deprecating smile and said, “Yes, it sounds like an ability a demon would possess. Trades, chips, the weight of a soul… Having my hands in such things, perhaps I’ll become a Witch very soon.”
In that moment, Su Mu suddenly felt all the stereotypes she had previously built up about Tang Nai begin to collapse at an alarming rate.
She had to look at this black-haired girl from a new perspective.
Wearing ill-fitting clothes and always keeping a cold face — God knows what she was trying to hide — her decision on how to treat anyone depended entirely on her mood at the time.
She wasn’t the supervisor with the wicked sense of humor, nor was she the unreliable but dependable senior.
She didn’t appear as a guide for Magical Girls either.
Right now, she was a temperamental monarch.
Although she didn’t wear arrogance on her face, every word and sentence was steeped in it.
And she truly had the capital for it — after all, she was the hero who had finished off the Demon King.
This version of Tang Nai made Su Mu feel a sense of distance, even a slight hint of aversion, but more than anything, she felt pity.
There was likely no one in this world who could truly understand her.
That empty throne below was like a castle in the air, holding up the petite, fragile black-haired girl as if she might fall and be covered in bruises at any moment.
She was left day after day to guard a chessboard filled only with dead objects and remains, with only loneliness for company.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it tragic.
No matter how powerful she was, how immense her authority, or how staggering her wealth, it likely held no meaning for her.
“Yes, when that time comes, you’ll turn into a hateful Witch. A silver-haired Witch who knows nothing but eating sugary sweets and playing video games all day.” Su Mu spoke softly, mimicking Tang Nai’s tone, her lips curling into a similar arc.
Since the future was shown that way, there must be a reason.
As for who the variable was…
‘Hehe, it’s really hard to guess.’