Outside the pedestrian street.
Xu Lin once again met Li Zhi Ran.
At this moment, her expression was no different from usual—cool, aloof, and intellectual.
Noxis was no longer in her hands.
It was probably tucked away in the fluffy crossbody bag beside her.
“Young Hero, have you decided?”
“Decided what?”
After ending everything and meeting her again, he had originally intended to subtly probe about Noxis.
But the other party asked this question first, her expression not changing in the slightest, catching him completely off guard.
“Whether to choose Saturday or Sunday for your date with the Gravity Witch.”
How is it this matter?
Xu Lin did not answer immediately. Instead, he secretly opened the system to check her tag status.
Stable · Severe. The progress bar was still at about the same level as before.
No changes…
But her attitude clearly showed she had no intention of mentioning what had just happened!
It seemed that Li Zhi Ran, who appeared so stable, was not to be underestimated.
“Sunday, then.”
In the end, Xu Lin decided to play along and temporarily avoid the previous topic.
It wasn’t the right time.
“Very well.”
Li Zhi Ran nodded upon hearing this.
The next moment, Xu Lin felt his arm being grabbed by a force.
He looked over—it was Li Zhi Ran holding him.
“Magus-dono, what are you…”
Could this be a sign that her condition was fluctuating again?
At this point, Xu Lin was already jumping at shadows.
After all, the matter with Noxis earlier had been far too eerie.
“Home.”
Without another word, Li Zhi Ran pulled Xu Lin forward.
As expected, Xu Lin still couldn’t resist her strength.
He had no idea where she got so much power from.
And he immediately realized what she intended to do.
“Magus-dono, I really can’t live with you!”
His voice involuntarily rose, drawing the gazes of everyone around them.
“Young Hero, are you afraid that my magic power will contaminate you? Don’t worry—that issue has already been resolved.”
How has it been resolved? It was just one night! Don’t try to fool me.
“Moreover, the dream you had last night was far too dangerous.”
“But I already told you, I have a way to wake myself from dreams.”
“Young Hero, I know. But based on the method you described, I still think there is risk.”
“What if you have that kind of dream again next time, and for a moment you lack the strength to transform the dream, so you cannot wake naturally? What then?”
“That’s why it’s necessary to have someone watching over you from outside the dream, able to wake you at the critical moment. Of course, before that, we need to research the proper method.”
“But if you continue living in the dormitory, Young Hero, we won’t be able to research that method. If something happens to you, I won’t be able to reach you in time to save you.”
“You are the hero. You absolutely cannot fall before succeeding in saving the world.”
“So, Young Hero, please stop resisting. This time, I will not let go!”
Li Zhi Ran’s tone was resolute, just like the grip she had on Xu Lin’s arm.
Yesterday she had still considered my opinion—how did she suddenly become so forceful today?
Is there really no escaping this time?
“Um… Magus-dono, at least let me go back to pack my clothes, right?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I have already prepared everything for you.”
“I mean under… underwear.”
“That has been prepared as well. In short, everything is ready. All that remains is for you to move in.”
Can I say… you’ve prepared very thoroughly?
This time, she is truly determined!
…
Once again entering the familiar apartment, the front door closed tightly behind Xu Lin.
The dim blue lighting flickered on. Li Zhi Ran did not stop pulling Xu Lin by the hand.
She opened a door, entered, and only then released his hand.
As expected, the room was pitch dark even in broad daylight.
Click.
The lights turned on.
The glow was similar to ordinary incandescent bulbs.
Xu Lin looked toward Li Zhi Ran and saw that her hand had just left a switch on the wall.
So there are normal lights and a normal way to turn them on here…
With the room illuminated, Xu Lin could finally see its full appearance.
The room was quite sparse: a bed, a desk and chair, a wardrobe—that was all.
The furniture was all in a European style.
But it seemed to be European on a different level.
That bed and desk—he felt like he had seen something similar in a very famous movie series from his previous life.
The one about the little magic boy with a lightning scar on his forehead and round-framed glasses.
This really fits her witch persona perfectly.
Not only that, every piece was carved with intricate patterns that looked like magical incantations.
And on the walls, floor, and ceiling was drawn an enormous magic circle.
“Young Hero, there isn’t much furniture in this room.”
“In the future, you can bring whatever you need or like and place it here.”
“But remember—do not move the position of the furniture you see now, and do not damage those magic runes. This is very important.”
Li Zhi Ran looked at Xu Lin with complete seriousness as she spoke.
It even comes with feng shui considerations?
“Young Hero.”
Li Zhi Ran pointed toward the wardrobe deeper in the room.
“I have prepared various clothes for you in that wardrobe over there.”
Having said that, she turned back to face Xu Lin once more.
“That concludes the introduction to the room.”
“You may freely visit and use the facilities in the rest of the apartment, Young Hero. It wouldn’t be a problem to show you those later.”
“But now…”
Li Zhi Ran’s expression turned solemn.
“Let us research what needs to be done tonight.”
…
Inside the new room, Xu Lin sat alone on the strangely shaped bed.
Surprisingly, the mattress was quite soft and comfortable. Sleeping on it should give good dreams, right?
Li Zhi Ran had already left the room.
They had discussed tonight’s plans until they were both hungry, and only then did she finally let him go.
Then she said she was going to cook.
Hearing that she was going to cook herself instead of ordering takeout, Xu Lin was somewhat surprised.
He had never heard any rumors that she could cook.
Upon learning she would cook personally, strange images involuntarily appeared in Xu Lin’s mind.
In the darkness, a large black cauldron sat open over a blazing firewood fire.
Li Zhi Ran stood beside the pot, her face mysterious as she tossed in all sorts of bizarre ingredients.
She held a long wooden ladle, stirring the contents.
Bubbles immediately rose from the liquid, the color shifting from green to purple, then from purple to red.
Above the liquid drifted wisps of unsettling smoke.
Aside from her cool and beautiful face, the scene was exactly like a witch from old foreign cartoons.
Knock knock.
A knocking sound came from the door.
“Young Hero, dinner is ready.”
He was already feeling uneasy, and those two knocks made his heart sink even further.
Should he just say he’s not hungry?
But if he did, wouldn’t she think something was wrong with his body and really force him to drink some weird magic potion?
He didn’t dare guarantee that all of her potions tasted like cola.
“Coming.”
After hesitating for a few seconds, Xu Lin stood up and walked to the door.
He opened it—and upon seeing the person outside, his movements froze.