After finishing a pleasant breakfast, Ye Xingling turned around and waved goodbye to her brother and Sister Shiyue.
“Brother, Sister Shiyue, I’m going to a friend’s house to play, okay? You don’t need to prepare a portion for me for dinner.”
“Go on, then. Sister Shiyue and I are going to have a big feast tonight.”
Ye Xingling curled her lip.
“Sister Shiyue! Look at how smug this guy is!”
Ye Xingling looked at Yi Shiyue with a pained expression. Ever since the relationship between her brother and Sister Shiyue had progressed further at some unknown point, her brother had become more and more insufferable. Wasn’t his sister important too?!
“Xiao Yao is always dishonest in front of his sister. But remember, you must contact us if anything happens.”
Yi Shiyue smiled, patted Ye Xingling’s small head, and gently pushed her shoulder.
“Hurry along now. Don’t keep your friend waiting.”
“Brother, can’t you learn a thing or two from Sister Shiyue?”
“Tch.”
Ye Xingyao raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, his sister had already skipped away, even turning back to make a face at him.
At that moment, a soft, boneless little hand quietly slipped into his. The palm was warm and soft, while the back of the hand felt cool.
Turning around, he saw Yi Shiyue looking at him with a beaming smile.
“Sigh, I guess my little sister has her own life now.”
Ye Xingyao sighed and squeezed the small hand in his palm.
“Wasn’t this your original goal, Xiao Yao? To let Xingling live a carefree life and all that. Why are you acting like a child left behind in a village now?”
Yi Shiyue teased him with a smile.
“Ah, you haven’t raised a sister, so you wouldn’t understand.”
Ye Xingyao waved his other hand, turning his head and closing his eyes as if he had nothing more to say.
“But we both watched Xingling grow up together, didn’t we?”
Yi Shiyue tickled Ye Xingyao’s palm.
“Well, you’ve never been an older brother.”
When Ye Xingyao was Ye Xin, he was a master of smooth talking who could say anything. A basic skill like being stubborn was, of course, second nature to him.
“Xiao Yao is also very cute when he’s in his stubborn tsundere mode.”
Yi Shiyue reached out with her free hand and pinched Ye Xingyao’s cheek.
“Who — who is a stubborn tsundere?!”
***
Ye Xingling got off the Railcar, carrying some gardening supplies Qila had asked her to buy. She ducked into a nearby alley to transform.
“Dauntless cold of evil, please respond to my call. Draw the Flower of Protection with ice!”
A moment later, the ice-blue-haired magic girl, Frost Flower, poked her head out of the alley in her casual clothes. After confirming no one was paying attention — or would exclaim “Wow, look! A magic girl just grew out of an alley!” — she stepped out with peace of mind.
The Sanhua Coffee Shop was not far away. Ye Xingling walked with light steps and entered the cafe, which displayed an “Open” sign.
“Welcome, Master!”
The greeting maid wore a professional smile and bowed, delivering the welcome in one smooth motion. However, upon seeing who it was, her expression immediately shifted to a much warmer, more personal smile.
“Please come in, Master. The manager and Yunque are waiting for you.”
“Okay, thank you, Miss Maid~”
After greeting the maid, the girl returned to her professional smile. Xingling couldn’t help but admire the maids’ work ethic. She had heard that many regular customers came specifically to see the maids crack a genuine smile.
‘How terrifying.’
Upon entering the true Magic Girl Society, Ye Xingling saw Qila tending to the flowers as usual.
“Good morning, Senior Qila! Here are the things you asked me to bring. I’ll just leave them on the floor?”
The magic energy emanating from the fluctuation of a magic circle could not be hidden from a Veteran Hunter. As Ye Xingling greeted her, Qila had already turned around, looking at her with a smile.
Currently, Qila was dressed in loungewear, looking every bit the hardworking pink-haired wife tending to her garden. For a moment, Ye Xingling was dazed by the sight.
“Little Frost Flower is here. Good morning. Just leave them there, thank you for your hard work. But is it really okay for you to come so early?”
“Don’t mention it, Senior Qila. My brother is going on a date with the girl next door today anyway. When I said I was going to a classmate’s house for the day, he couldn’t wait to agree.”
“I see. Well then, Yunque is in the Archive Room planning the operation. You should go find her later to learn about the specific situation.”
“Okay. But Senior Qila… that Midnight-level hunter… is it a man or a woman? Are they very powerful? Will they be scary…?”
Seeing Ye Xingling’s timid expression, Qila couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Well, don’t worry. A hunter’s rank doesn’t necessarily equate to their combat strength. However, the little one joining you today is quite capable. She’s a girl around your age.”
The image of that quirky young hunter with a strange obsession for magic stones appeared in Qila’s mind.
“I see… then I’ll go find Senior Yunque now?”
“Alright. Jin Ming probably won’t be back until this afternoon. Just let me know what you want for lunch, Little Frost Flower.”
“Okay! Thank you, Senior Qila!”
***
Inside the safehouse, Ye Xingyao stripped off his male clothes and deactivated the disguise spell. Wearing only panties, he lay naked under the covers on the bed, reviewing the information sent by Hongye Qiu.
‘The mission location is a Blood Processing Plant in the suburbs… how can this place be connected to Monster Faith? Suspected remnants of monster tissue? This basically means we have to investigate everything ourselves!’
He wondered why he had to go personally for this kind of mission and even coordinate with magic girls. Just what kind of information had Sister Hongye and Qila received to take this so seriously, even using it to train newcomers?
As for who the newcomers were…
One was a dummy currently planning to sneak onto the bed and hug him from behind to scare him. The other was the magic girl Frost Flower he had met before.
“Heave — ho!”
Yi Shiyue climbed onto the bed and suddenly hugged the unclothed Ye Xingyao from behind. The latter rolled his eyes where she couldn’t see and then feigned surprise.
“Wait, Shiyue, why don’t you make any sound when you walk?”
“Hmph, Xiao Yao must have noticed long ago.”
The girl’s nose brushed against Ye Xingyao’s back, making him feel a bit ticklish.
“I am a Veteran Hunter, after all. Why the sudden hug, Shiyue? We’ve already slept together for several days.”
“I just wanted to. Big Xiao Yao is soft, and small Xiao Yao is…”
“Hey, one week ago I was still a vigorous boy, wasn’t I?”
Ye Xingyao tried to struggle, but it was useless. The only result was the girl’s arms tightening around his waist.
“I like Xiao Yao no matter which form you take, okay?”
Although he sounded reluctant, Ye Xingyao always indulged Yi Shiyue when she hugged him like this.
After all… Yi Shiyue was softer and more comfortable.