Luo Shuangyue fell silent for a moment, then waved her hand awkwardly—this time, she really wasn’t here to pick a fight.
“Fang Serpent. Heard of them?”
She dragged a chair over and sat down with the ease of someone in her own home, even crossing her legs.
Xia Mo’s eye twitched.
That attitude… Who does she think she is?!
And whose room is this, anyway?!
Then her gaze snagged on Luo Shuangyue’s posture—specifically, the faint glimpse of skin between her skirt and thigh.
She’s flashing me!
“Are you brain-dead now?”
Luo Shuangyue’s irritated voice snapped Xia Mo back to reality, her face burning as she jerked her eyes away.
“F-Fang Serpent… What about them?”
She had spotted their insignia on weapons during a raid yesterday, but after reporting it, she’d moved on.
As a Magical Girl, Xia Mo excelled at following orders, not digging into mysteries.
That was the Magic Ministry’s job.
Unlike some people who had to fight and solve problems solo.
“A rival syndicate’s tentacles are creeping into Stellaris, and you’re asking what’s the issue?”
Luo Shuangyue’s crimson eyes narrowed in disdain as she pointed at Xia Mo’s nose.
“Is your skull just a water balloon? They didn’t trek here for tea. How are you this clueless? Maybe you should ditch your gem and go back to being a civilian.”
Xia Mo gaped, bewildered.
I reported it! Isn’t that enough?
Since when am I the investigator?!
And—
“Why do you care? Aren’t you a villain too?”
A hand with black-painted nails pinched her cheek hard.
“Don’t lump me in with trash.”
Luo Shuangyue’s voice dropped to a whisper, sharp as a blade.
“Those outsiders are after White Night’s Seal Cards. I won’t let them touch a single one.”
Xia Mo stiffened.
“White Night? The White Night?”
“The very same. And the mess she left behind? Colossal.”
“Mess?”
Xia Mo frowned. White Night would never—
“You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”
Luo Shuangyue’s eyes flashed with something darker.
“Right now, I’m cutting off every hand reaching into this city.”
She leaned in.
“Rosemary. I need your help.”
“Help… HELP?!”
For a full three seconds, Xia Mo wondered if she’d hallucinated.
The girl who threatened me days ago is now… asking for cooperation?
What kind of whiplash is this?!
“Wait—is this some kind of elaborate scheme?”
Xia Mo eyed Luo Shuangyue warily, her voice barely above a whisper.
“The ‘help’ you’re asking for… is it what I think it is?”
“Exactly what you think.”
“But… we’re enemies! Just days ago, you threatened to make me quit being a Magical Girl—!”
The whiplash was too much.
Since when do sworn foes flip sides overnight?
Luo Shuangyue scoffed.
“The enemy of my enemy is a temporary ally. I still despise Magical Girls—but compared to those outsiders? You’re practically saints.”
Her reasoning was coldly pragmatic.
She didn’t like Magical Girls, but at least they weren’t true villains.
“Better to work with naive do-gooders like you than backstabbing snakes.”
She glanced at the clock.
“This alliance lasts only until Fang Serpent is gone.”
Sliding a slip of paper across the windowsill, Luo Shuangyue added, “My contact. Take your time deciding—I’m not that cruel.”
Xia Mo clutched the note, wrestling with her thoughts—then suddenly blurted out, “I’ve already decided!”
“Oh?”
Luo Shuangyue paused mid-step.
“I don’t know if you’re plotting something… but I’ll trust you this once.”
Xia Mo met her gaze, eyes burning with conviction.
“Because Mingdie… you’re a Magical Girl too, aren’t you?”
The clues had always been there:
Mingdie’s powers, her fighting style, even her appearance—all eerily reminiscent of a Magical Girl.
Even Lilian had instinctively recognized her as kin.
If it looks, fights, and bleeds like a Magical Girl…
“I’m not.”
“But I believe you are—and that’s why I’ll trust you.”
Xia Mo’s voice softened as she stared at the lone figure framed by moonlight.
Luo Shuangyue’s wings of phantom butterflies flickered to life.
Hovering in the air, she cast one last glacial glance over her shoulder.
“I’m no hero. Certainly no Magical Girl.”
Her words were razor-edged.
“Don’t waste your hope on me.”