Chapter 10: The Sunflower Smiles at the Head of the Bed
“But L made a mess of my house; at the very least, I should get some compensation.”
“Really? But that’s your rented house; if anyone needs to pay, it’s the landlord.”
Tang Nai said casually as she rummaged through a drawer for something.
“Where am I supposed to live then?”
“Good question. Working under me as a magical girl doesn’t pay, but the perks are—room and board included.”
Having said that, she finally found and took out a storage device, waving it at Sumu.
“This thing here will last you for a month until you learn to control your own magic power.”
Tang Nai flicked her small hand, and the storage device arched through the air, sailing between Sumu’s outstretched hands and landing precisely on her pert nose, leaving a prominent red mark.
“This will be your room from now on. It’s in the basement, but the environment is still pretty good. Remember to water the potted plant; don’t spill on the carpet.”
Sumu furrowed her brow and covered her reddened nose, feeling quite annoyed inside.
But Tang Nai was right; the ventilation here was excellent, with air as fresh as outside, making it hard to realize it was a basement.
The warm yellow ceiling light spread a gentle glow, casting a cozy atmosphere against the creamy white walls. A green pothos sat on the wooden cabinet by the head of the bed, its leaves swaying slightly as if it too was striving to breathe.
“Uh, I’m a bit curious. What’s the point of keeping a potted plant in the basement?”
“Of course, to maintain fresh air.”
“But it can’t photosynthesize here; wouldn’t it just compete with me for air?”
Listening to Sumu’s complaints, Tang Nai raised her brows slightly and pointed at the pothos.
“I said it can maintain fresh air, so it can!”
A faint silver light radiated from her fingertip and swiftly passed through the pothos’s leaves, plunging into the roots buried deep in the soil. In the next moment, to Sumu’s astonishment, it began to grow wildly, breaking through the limitations of the pot.
Long roots instantly penetrated the plastic flowerpot, and a plump golden bud pushed aside the thick leaves on both sides, poking its head out and showering brilliant light.
That was sunlight, materialized in the shape of a little sun, thrown out from the flower stem.
“Sunflower~”
Sumu’s mouth had unconsciously opened wide enough to swallow a boiled egg, while Tang Nai looked contentedly at her creation.
The corners of Sumu’s mouth twitched slightly as she struggled to shift her gaze from the adorable sunflower that had crossed dimensions and emerged from a game to look at Tang Nai.
“Don’t look at me with that damned expression; you need to learn to be calm, Irina. There are many types of magic you haven’t seen yet.”
Sumu stared again at the cute sunflower that had broken through the dimensional wall, took a deep breath, and finally calmed her inner turbulence.
After all, this should belong to reality; why could this woman casually conjure such a thing?
However, this sunflower seemed to be just particularly special in appearance; aside from producing sunlight that resembled flames, it didn’t seem any different from an ordinary plant.
“Remember to fertilize it; a little bit of magic power will do.”
“…Okay.”
Soon after, the two appeared at a table near the roadside in a café, with Sumu holding a milk tea cup and sipping through a straw.
It’s really delicious!
The café’s owner looked surprisingly young; her name was unclear, but she could just be called Sister Lin.
The coffee and tea she brewed were exceptionally tasty, with a unique flavor that ordinary shops couldn’t compete with.
“So you’ll stay here for now. When you have work, I’ll have L and the others take you to get familiarized. I sleep on the second floor; unless something worse than an earthquake happens, don’t come to my bedroom looking for me.”
“Okay, but what about over at school…?”
Sumu lived alone in this bustling city mainly because of her current university.
Her unreliable father was often away on business and was hardly ever seen, but the family’s financial situation was quite good, allowing Sumu to rent a place here.
She definitely could no longer rely on her previous identity, but Sumu always hoped to keep her family in the dark.
Just like how she desperately explained when her posts about the magical girl series were discovered, she didn’t want her own issues to be exposed.
After all, telling them would only cause more trouble.
At this moment, Sumu had already learned the truth about being “opened” from Tang Nai.
In simple terms, the resident certificate part is only viewable by specific individuals; aside from the privileged magical girls and Sumu herself, other netizens could only see a mass of blurred pixels, treating it as mere gossip.
Otherwise, these matters would have already reached Sumu’s parents.
The so-called opening was merely a prank to tease Sumu, purely stemming from Tang Nai’s own wicked sense of humor.
“Don’t worry, things like false identities can be easily obtained. I have several friends in those departments, but there’s always a price; you understand.”
“Forget it; I’ll figure it out myself.”
Sumu pouted, silently sipping her milk tea under Tang Nai’s amused gaze.
“Really? This time I can give you a friendship price, so think it over again?”
“You still owe me fifteen thousand from the last time…”
Tang Nai certainly had plenty of money; she just wanted to see Sumu struggle.
But Sumu refused to let her have her way!
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about dropping out? In fact, because of the unique nature of magical girls, we all agreed that every magical girl must graduate from college.”
Even magical girls have academic requirements nowadays? What a harsh reality.
“How could that be? I finally made it here!”
She truly despised the cold atmosphere at home, including the city where she used to live.
She couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was annoying about it, but she simply didn’t want to go back. Sumu had planned to settle here after graduation.
But now, well, she’d smoothly signed a predatory contract, becoming the pitiable newcomer toyed with by her merciless boss.
“Great, good luck, Irina. I’m still waiting for you to help stabilize the monster crisis and boost my achievements.”
Hey, at least tone it down a bit in front of the person involved! You didn’t hold back at all when saying that!
Sumu puffed her cheeks angrily, poking the round, rolling pearls at the bottom of her tea cup with the pointed end of her straw, as if imagining them as the silver-haired devil in front of her.
Just wait until I crush and pop you.
A howling wind continuously rushed through the gap in the door, and the old trees outside bent like bows under the fierce wind, swaying back and forth.
There was supposed to be a gale of level ten tonight; had it already started?
Tang Nai set down her coffee and looked up at the murky sky.
Anyway, as long as it didn’t involve monsters, let those guys handle the trouble they stirred up themselves.
