“The possibility of becoming a Magical Girl.”
“Speaking of which, aren’t you curious? I mentioned it before — the possibility of you becoming a Magical Girl.”
Tang Nai rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Su Mu with a smile that made the latter feel quite uncomfortable.
“Wh-what? Didn’t you say the chances weren’t great?”
Su Mu had a faint ominous premonition.
After all, every time the other girl spoke like this, it never ended well.
“Chances are just chances. Based on my observations, the probability of your success is already infinitely approaching 100%. So don’t be so shocked. I’m merely looking at you through the eyes of someone admiring an unpolished gem.”
“Bullshit,” Su Mu blurted out.
She quickly covered her mouth and continued, “You’re just making things up. Don’t think I don’t know that nothing good ever comes out of your mouth.”
Tang Nai simply smiled and ignored the jab, continuing on her own.
“I have my reasons for saying this, of course. For now, you just need to answer my questions.”
After a moment of hesitation, Su Mu nodded.
“First, do you frequently have strange dreams where things happen for no apparent reason, only for them to occur in reality shortly after?”
Hearing this, Su Mu was slightly startled.
She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Was that your doing?”
Being questioned repeatedly like this, Tang Nai was naturally in no mood for Su Mu’s antics and decisively gave her a light knock on the head.
“Second, in the future, did you, as a Strange Person, successfully activate a Magical Girl’s device and transform?”
As soon as those words were spoken, Su Mu’s eyes widened.
She couldn’t help but suspect whether the Tang Nai in front of her had conspired with the future Tang Nai.
“Did you ask your annoying sister about it?”
Tang Nai spread her hands, then crossed her fingers and pressed them against her brow, asking mysteriously, “It’s impossible for her to know even if you ask. I certainly wouldn’t leak something like this to her.”
“Now, for the final question. Shortly after that, did you awaken a Dream Grandma who looks exactly like you?”
Su Mu froze.
Many thoughts flashed through her mind, and her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, “How do you know that?”
Su Mu had never mentioned Irina’s existence to anyone.
Even if others saw Irina, they would only mistake her for Su Mu.
Yet Tang Nai had accurately described the situation, which left Su Mu beyond shocked.
“It couldn’t be… your expression looks pretty bad. Don’t tell me you accidentally took her away in the future and raised her to be your older sister.” Tang Nai calmly took a sip of her sweet honey grapefruit juice, but the meaning behind her words helped Su Mu realize many things.
“That’s right. Actually, I held you when you were a baby, and then your sec—”
“Pfft!”
Su Mu nearly sprayed the drink all over Tang Nai’s face.
She coughed for a long time before realizing Tang Nai was teasing her again.
Her face turned red with anger.
“Would it kill you not to mess with me all day long?”
“I can’t help it. Whenever I see you making such a serious face, I just feel like poking fun at it.”
Tang Nai shrugged, then adopted a serious expression herself.
She pressed down the corners of her mouth and lowered her gaze, looking as though she were about to announce terrible news, which only served to infuriate Su Mu further.
“That’s enough! What are you actually trying to say? Stop joking about stuff like this.”
“I was just trying to imitate Miss Su Mu’s look. It feels pretty serious, right? Don’t you find it hard to look at, too?”
Tang Nai instantly returned to her usual self, speaking with an easygoing air.
Su Mu took two deep, angry breaths and asked sullenly, “So, what exactly are you trying to say?”
Tang Nai tilted her head.
After staring at Su Mu for two seconds, she said something quite ominous.
“Really? I just wanted you to relax a bit. After all, even though I said the probability is infinitely close to one, there is still a chance for an accident. In that scenario, you would have to discard everything you currently possess, abandon your life, and take on everything remaining of yourself as a Witch.”
“You would no longer be able to stay close to your little girlfriend. You’d likely only be able to hang out with other Witches, never able to return to the surface of the Dream World. Your only companion would be the incomparably beautiful Lady Tang Nai, who is willing to stay with you on the borders of the Dream Realm.”
Though Tang Nai’s description was still a bit eccentric, it immediately made Su Mu think of someone.
‘I can’t get close to the surface dreams. If I do, I’ll pull you down into the depths, and your weaker self will surely be consumed by me.’
Su Mu remembered those words.
“Have I already seen this scenario happen?”
Tang Nai nodded.
“After getting your definitive answer, I’m even more certain of it. Student Su Mu, if nothing else, this isn’t the first time we’ve met in the past.”
Su Mu held her head and let out a miserable groan.
“Not the first time… so it’s been many times. This sounds like some terrible time-loop plot.”
But Su Mu was more concerned about Irina.
If what Tang Nai said was true, then was Irina actually her past, failed self?
‘Or rather, am I about to become Irina?’
Her mind was a mess.
Su Mu looked at Tang Nai in distress, waiting for her explanation.
“I call it the ‘Kidney Overdraft Theory’… Many times, very many times. If I had to describe it, I would—”
Su Mu was furious. She thought Tang Nai was playing with her again, but Tang Nai remained calm, her signature smile missing.
“Kidney overdraft my ass! Are you selling snake oil now?”
“Imagine that right now, you are a pool of liquid mixed with impurities that doesn’t smell very nice.”
Su Mu narrowed her eyes. The moment Tang Nai mentioned “kidneys,” her teeth began to itch with annoyance.
“Who are you mocking?”
“A Witch is what you become when the concentration of impurities reaches a certain level. A Magical Girl is you when you are sufficiently clear. Think of it like water. When you pass through a filter and are split in two, one part becomes increasingly turbid, while the other part is recycled as purified water…”
Su Mu finally realized that Tang Nai’s description was actually quite apt, even if the terms she used invited unfortunate associations.
“This process is what a normal Magical Girl will experience throughout her life. In the process of becoming stronger, they obtain a large amount of ‘raw liquid’ — that is, mixed Magic Power. The pure parts dissipate over time and are reabsorbed by the Dream World. What remains, of course, are the impurities that cannot be expelled, growing thicker and thicker. That is the reason for ‘Witch-ification.'”
At this point, Tang Nai’s lips curled into a smug smile.
“In other words, a ‘kidney overdraft.'”
“And what I want to do is reverse or terminate this process. This—”
“Actually, we could use a different name for it,” Su Mu said gloomily, her words carrying a hint of a literal pain in the crotch.
Wait, she supposed she should call it a “chilled womb” now.
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