Chapter 48: I’ll Be the First to Get You When the Time Comes!
“How’s it going?”
Sumu’s eyelashes trembled twice before she opened her eyes. Upon seeing this, Luo Jialan hurriedly asked with urgency.
Sumu tried to pull her hand back, only to realize that it had gone cold from being held too tightly.
It felt as if she had accidentally slept on her arm for an hour; now, she could hardly feel her fingers at all.
“Ah, let go quickly, you’ve made my hand numb.”
Hearing this, Luo Jialan finally let go, allowing the blood to flow back into Sumu’s palm.
“You don’t need to hold it so tightly. Anyway, the results are quite good, so we shouldn’t worry about losing control for now.”
“…Thank you.”
Luo Jialan slightly averted her gaze and whispered her thanks, making Sumu feel somewhat out of place.
“Alright, I already said, just help me add coconut jelly to the orange juice from today’s menu.”
“That doesn’t taste good.”
“I don’t care, I want it.”
Seeing Sumu’s stubborn expression, Luo Jialan couldn’t help but chuckle.
Since it was like this, there would be no turning back.
“Wow, you handled that quite well, Sumu.”
Hearing Tang Nai’s voice suddenly come from the door, Sumu confidently placed her hands on her hips and replied proudly:
“That’s talent, heh heh.”
“Oh really? It seems our Sumu has grown into a powerful magical girl capable of handling things on her own. It’s time we went over the details of the bill…”
At these words, Sumu pouted but didn’t react as strongly as she had before.
After spending a few days together, she had figured out that Tang Nai’s so-called bill was just a scare tactic and had no real meaning.
However, she still chose to quickly change the subject.
“So when are we going to the beach? I’m not scared anymore, not at all!”
“Ha ha, you have guts. Did you buy your swimsuit? Let me see.”
Sumu looked at Tang Nai suspiciously, but then picked up the peach-colored swimsuit and held it up against herself.
“See, it looks nice, right?”
“It suits you quite well… Okay then, we’ll leave tomorrow.”
Because of the squeezing earlier, L was now successfully set up as Sumu’s fearless warrior, temporarily forgetting her shyness and filled with excitement for the trip tomorrow.
—It’s impossible not to be excited! Going to the beach with a group of swimsuit-wearing magical girls is something Shushu wouldn’t even dare to dream of!
Seeing that Sumu looked relaxed, Tang Nai didn’t say much more, quietly exiting the room, as a light blue swimsuit in her hand quietly transformed into dispersed magic and vanished.
It seemed she was quite satisfied, so there was no need for that anymore.
————————————
Somewhere at the border of the dream realm, a place known as the Neon Veil.
The colors of the neon lights cast an enchanting glow here—after all, this is the very depths of a dream.
A massive koi fish swam through the air, like a chasm stretching between the dark sky and the gossamer woven from neon lights, yet few on the ground dare to gaze directly at this marvel.
Or perhaps in this chaotic, disorderly, fragmented dream realm, similar scenes could even appear in any puddle on the ground, making everyone grow accustomed to it.
In contrast, a small bar in the corner, the kind found everywhere in reality, felt a bit out of place.
Witches of various colors clinked glasses inside, gently swaying their bodies to the flickering lights.
They calmly chewed and swallowed canned herring, letting the strong fishy taste fill their mouths. Noticing this, perhaps no one would think anything was strange here.
A girl wearing a dark purple witch hat paused outside the bar. After lifting her hat’s brim to verify the four words “Black Cat Bar” written in bold letters on the sign, she stepped over the threshold.
The sound of her boots hitting the wooden floor quickly attracted the attention of those around—not out of disturbance, but because the newcomer’s footsteps were quite familiar.
“One magical witch special, the kind with my exclusive chocolate business card inserted in the cup.”
The short-haired bartender silently looked at Irina and pointed to a nearby sign—
“No alcohol for witches under eighteen.”
“Hey, according to the calculations outside, I’m already fully eighteen this year. I shouldn’t be categorized as a minor.”
The bartender flipped the sign over, revealing another line: Age is calculated by dream realm standards.
Irina pouted in dissatisfaction and let out a small huff.
“How stubborn, no wonder you have no new customers. Well, I’ll have a fresh orange juice then.”
She still couldn’t forget her fresh orange juice.
The bartender rolled her eyes but nodded, and a bright red blood orange appeared in her hand.
Then, she took out a container and squeezed the blood orange by hand. Although it wasn’t as flashy as the special mix, it was apparently much purer.
As she made the drink, Irina sat herself at the bar, cheerfully watching the witches who were eyeing her with suspicion.
“Why are you back again? What is it this time?”
The small witch was the first to speak impatiently, clearly holding a grudge against Irina, much like Sumu towards Tang Nai.
“Oh come on, am I not allowed to come over for a drink if there’s nothing wrong?”
On the other side, a mature witch sighed helplessly.
“This girl, you’re becoming more like that rabbit.”
“Well, if none of you want to chat with me, spending too much time with her just leads to this.”
The petite witch timely made a snarky comment:
“Only a shameless person like you could get close to her.”
“That’s a harsh thing to say. What do you mean by shameless? It’s clearly an expression of our strong social skills.”
Hearing this, several people around simultaneously shot Irina disdainful glances, but she didn’t even blink, clearly used to it by now.
“Alright, let’s get down to business. Do you remember that Desire Witch?”
“Of course, she was here to hunt for romance before. What? Are you interested in her? Can you handle so many people?”
Listening to the teasing, Irina smiled lightly.
“Sounds like you think I’m some casual person. But I am indeed a bit interested in her—after all, what if she becomes my future mother-in-law?”
Irina deliberately elongated her words, instantly arousing curiosity in several people, even the bartender glanced over.
“Really? Who? That Desire Witch has a daughter? Let me see her.”
Irina let out a light hum.
“Dream on. Just do your jobs obediently. Don’t ask too many questions. I want all the information regarding the disappearance of the Desire Witch right now. Get to work, and mark the payment on my account, deduct it from what you owe me.”
After saying this, Irina perched her feet up, while the bartender handed over the blood orange juice, allowing her to take a delightful sip.
“Ugh, this is terrible. Did we really owe you this much back then? We still haven’t cleared it, and in this regard, you’re worse than that rabbit.”
“Heh heh, thanks for the compliment.”
“Just wait, one day I will get rid of this debt contract, and I’ll be the first to get you!”
