Chapter 97: I Want an Older Sister
“Eh? You want me to go to Eastern Extreme City with Dark Butterfly?” Xia Mo pointed at herself, her voice filled with disbelief.
Moreover, didn’t Luo Shuangyue say yesterday that she didn’t want to see Longwen? How is it that after just one day, she’s still conflicted about whether to tell Longwen about this, yet Luo Shuangyue comes in with Longwen?
Could it be that Luo Shuangyue’s boss has something to do with Longwen, bringing her along to find Longwen?
“That’s right, she has a bit of a problem with her body and needs to go to Eastern Extreme City for a check-up. Don’t you want to accompany her?” Longwen explained the situation simply to Xia Mo, unaware that Luo Shuangyue had discussed this with Xia Mo the night before.
And she casually mentioned to Xia Mo that this counted as a business trip with subsidies.
Xia Mo hurriedly expressed that she would be very willing to go to Eastern Extreme City with Luo Shuangyue; she would feel uneasy if someone else went with her.
“Well, what about your family and friends…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll come up with a good excuse!”
The excuse was the least of Xia Mo’s concerns; she only had two family members—Luo Shuangyue and Luo Shuangxing. She could just say she had something to do and would be leaving for a few days.
What could these two possibly say?
While other Magical Girls worried about their identities being doubted, Xia Mo had nothing to worry about because her identity had long been exposed—there was no way it could be exposed again.
“Alright then, you two discuss the departure time.” Seeing things progress so smoothly, Longwen’s mood immediately brightened.
Xia Mo, being such an obedient and understanding junior, was truly enviable. She was far better than those little girls who were full of themselves after gaining power.
In a cheerful mood, Longwen hummed a little tune and left. Xia Mo and Luo Shuangyue sat facing each other, looking at one another.
So, how should they proceed with this?
Xia Mo was waiting for Luo Shuangyue to speak up, while Luo Shuangyue was waiting for Xia Mo to start.
The two sat in silence, staring at each other for several minutes, until Luo Shuangyue finally couldn’t stand the awkward atmosphere any longer and spoke up.
“I’ll come find you tomorrow morning.”
After saying that, she hurriedly fled, somewhat blindly.
With nothing else to say, what was she going to do, just continue staring at Xia Mo? How awkward would that be? It would be so embarrassing that Luo Shuangyue could carve a three-room apartment out of the floor.
Watching Luo Shuangyue hurriedly escape, Xia Mo bit her lip and let out a light laugh.
Honestly, this version of Shuangyue looked much more pleasant than the serious demeanor she usually put on.
“What are you laughing at, Xia Mo?” Luo Shuangxing, holding a book, walked over to Xia Mo, curiously asking.
It couldn’t be that she was taking pleasure in watching her and Siam struggle with exam preparations, could it? Luo Shuangxing believed Xia Mo wasn’t like that—only her shameless brother would take pleasure in others’ misfortune.
“I was wondering what excuse Shuangyue would come up with tonight to explain why she needs to disappear at the same time as me.” Xia Mo’s lips curled slightly; just thinking about the drama that would unfold tonight made it hard to suppress her smile.
Xia Mo had to leave for a few days, and hey, Luo Shuangyue just happened to have to leave for a few days too—what a coincidence!
You have to understand that now is not the world before magical beast disasters; every city nowadays is like a small country, and wanting to go to other cities is much more troublesome than going abroad used to be.
Although there are flights, they only run a few times a week to those larger cities. As for driving there… Let’s not even mention whether there are roads; if they encounter suddenly appearing magical beasts on the way, wouldn’t that be disastrous?
Since magical beasts can appear anywhere in the world, and the areas protected by Magical Girls and the Magic Department are limited, most areas in this world are uninhabited. Only teams of Magical Girls dedicated to hunting magical beasts would regularly go to clear these areas.
For ordinary people, they might spend their entire lives without being able to leave the city they live in. Now, with Xia Mo and Luo Shuangyue disappearing together for the same amount of time, that can hardly be seen as anything but suspicious.
This is called self-exposure!
“You two are going to Eastern Extreme City together… that’s great, I want to go see it too.” Luo Shuangxing said enviously.
Unfortunately, she had an exam and couldn’t go with them.
“There will be another opportunity. As long as you, Shuangxing, break through to Initial Bloom level early, you can participate in the Magic Department’s cross-city operations. By then, won’t you have a chance to go to Eastern Extreme City?”
“Xia Mo, it’s easy for you to say! It took you so many years to reach Initial Bloom level; I’ve only been at it for a few months. Breaking through is not that easy!”
Xia Mo didn’t really agree with Luo Shuangxing’s words. Her talent was evidently stronger than Xia Mo’s, and she suspected that at this rate, Luo Shuangxing would break through in a month.
Sometimes, talent can be quite disheartening.
But remembering the training intensity Luo Shuangxing endured during special training, Xia Mo thought that her progress wasn’t too surprising.
When Luo Shuangyue, the supposed senior Bai Ye, trained Shuangxing, it was really intense; Shuangxing was always on the verge of collapse.
She’d shout that she was going to be exhausted, but during those special trainings, Luo Shuangxing completely bore it all.
This level of willpower is definitely commendable among Magical Girls.
“Xia Mo, should I be more meticulous or more careless?” Shuangxing shifted the conversation away from the grueling training, wanting to discuss something more fun.
For example, how to make that good older sister of hers feel awkward when she was making up excuses.
She loved seeing that sly person being cornered by her, frantically looking for reasons to make excuses; it was simply too amusing.
“Just don’t go too far; after all, she’s your brother.” Xia Mo laughed bitterly as she poked Luo Shuangxing’s forehead. The sibling dynamic truly felt quite helpless.
“She’s an older sister now! And I see her as an older sister, but does she see me as a younger sister? She just likes to bully me!” Luo Shuangxing pouted, sounding indignant.
Other people’s younger sisters are spoiled, but not her. All day long, being bullied by her ‘brother’—is there something inferior about her compared to other younger sisters?
She, Luo Shuangxing, was at least a beautiful girl scoring ninety, alright!
It was Luo Shuangyue who bullied her, it was Dark Butterfly who bullied her, and even Bai Ye bullied her—was she really that easy to pick on?
Luo Shuangxing was not having it; she needed to vent all her grievances!
“Don’t worry, Xia Mo; tonight I’m definitely going to make my good brother, my good older sister, come up with a perfect story.”
……
“Oh, you have urgent business and won’t be home for several days?”
Gently placing the chopsticks in her hand on the table, Luo Shuangxing crossed her arms and propped her chin, revealing a thoughtful expression.
Across from her sat Luo Shuangyue, with a sincere look on her face, a ‘of course I wouldn’t lie to you’ expression.
If it were only one or two days, Luo Shuangyue wouldn’t need to face her sister’s scrutiny; she could simply say she wouldn’t be home tonight in a text message.
But this time, if she was going away for several days, she had to clarify everything.
“Brother, I really want to believe you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But just before dinner, Xia Mo told me that she also had to leave for a few days. How is it that the two of you are so coincidentally aligned?” Luo Shuangxing slammed the table.
Luo Shuangyue flinched; this was the question she dreaded the most!
This was too coincidental; she didn’t know how to explain it.
“You both have things to do and are both leaving for several days. You’re not planning to come back together, are you?”
“No way, and besides, there’s no causal relationship between Xia Mo leaving and me leaving.” Luo Shuangyue began to argue.
Even if they left together and returned together, it would only prove that their itineraries coincidentally matched this time; it wouldn’t prove anything else.
“Are you two really planning to sneak away from me to enjoy a two-person world?” Luo Shuangxing stared wide-eyed, looking fiercely at Luo Shuangyue.
I—your sister—your own sister! How could you not know what kind of person you are?
You’re definitely planning to sneak off and have a romantic getaway with Xia Mo!
In a sense, Luo Shuangxing was not entirely wrong; this time, Luo Shuangyue really was going to have a two-person world with Xia Mo.
They were still going to another city for a two-person world.
“Get serious, I have important work to do. I’m like a horse, can’t dodge the tasks laid out by the boss.”
“Busy to the point where you don’t have time to come home in the evening? I don’t buy it.”
Luo Shuangxing wore an expression of ‘I won’t be fooled that easily.’
“I heard Xia Mo say she’s accompanying a friend to Eastern Extreme City; it can’t be that the friend is actually you, right?”
“Of course not! If I was going with her, we would have definitely told you about it together.” Luo Shuangyue quickly shook her head; she couldn’t let Luo Shuangxing continue thinking along this line.
Xia Mo and Luo Shuangxing were both Magical Girls fully aware of each other’s circumstances, so Luo Shuangxing would definitely know who Xia Mo was heading to Eastern Extreme City with.
Now that she had to leave at the same time and couldn’t go home, she could easily raise Luo Shuangxing’s suspicions about her identity.
It’s worth noting that her sister had previously doubted her identity; the coincidence now was like a mudslide!
What’s worse, this situation was genuinely hard to explain—the timing was just too coincidental!
“That makes a lot of sense. Is it possible that you’re hiding your identity…”
“Cough! Don’t say nonsense, I really have work to do!” Luo Shuangyue coughed loudly, interrupting Luo Shuangxing’s ramble.
She was right; Luo Shuangxing was clearly starting to wander into those thoughts.
Absolutely can’t let her go on!
“Fine, you just came to notify me, whether I agree or not, it doesn’t affect you anyway.” Luo Shuangxing rolled her eyes; her older sister’s excuse skills were really lacking.
She only knew how to shove work in her face; can’t she come up with a slightly more creative excuse?
Like… um… alright, Luo Shuangxing couldn’t think of any excuse given the current situation.
The work excuse was actually the most normal and persuasive one.
Sigh, sis, why don’t you just drop the act and come clean?
“Brother, I really want to believe you, but you have to give me a reason to believe you, right?” Luo Shuangxing pressed her fist to her lips, winking at Luo Shuangyue.
A reason to believe you? Luo Shuangyue understood in an instant; this was a threat!
What Luo Shuangxing meant was, if you agree to do something for me, I will ignore the coincidence between you and Xia Mo!
That little brat really knew how to exploit her soft spot…
“Tell me, what reason do you want?”
If it was something like clothes or toys, Luo Shuangyue could still buy those for Luo Shuangxing.
But obviously, as a Magical Girl, Luo Shuangxing wouldn’t lack for such things; what she wanted was a treasure that money couldn’t buy.
“You’re actually looking to improve your skills in female clothing, aren’t you? When you return from your studies, wear women’s clothing and play with me for a day. I want to have an older sister!”
Hearing Luo Shuangxing’s request, Luo Shuangyue gasped; so this was what she was after?
Why was she so intent on making her wear female clothing? How could there possibly be a sister who would go to such lengths to make her brother wear women’s clothing?
She didn’t remember raising you to be like this!
“I don’t think that’s very feasible.” Luo Shuangyue wanted to refuse.
“Then I think this situation is too coincidental. I’m going to tell Xia Mo about it.”
“……”
Damn it, there was absolutely no chance to refuse! Luo Shuangyue clenched her fists, gritting her teeth; this little brat had her weak spot firmly in her grasp.
To prevent Xia Mo from suspecting her identity, she could only humbly accept her sister’s request.
“Fine, I agree to your request.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Shuangxing’s eyes brightened; she rushed over to Luo Shuangyue’s side and hugged her, her cheeks flushed.
“Yay! Brother, you better not go back on your word!”
All I want to do is bully my sister! Luo Shuangyue cursed silently in her heart.
She knew that agreeing would only make Luo Shuangxing more suspicious of her identity, but it was better than letting Xia Mo start to question her.
After all, Luo Shuangxing wouldn’t be spreading rumors about her, right?
She shouldn’t, right?
“You still know I’m your brother?” Luo Shuangyue smacked her sister’s forehead lightly, “Why do I feel like you’d rather I was your sister?”
“Honestly, I do prefer older sisters over brothers,” Luo Shuangxing said softly, resting her head on Luo Shuangyue’s shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because there are barriers between me and my brother, but that wouldn’t be the case with an older sister. If my brother were my sister, we could be closer.”
Hugging Luo Shuangyue tightly, Luo Shuangxing whispered in her ear.
“My brother is my only family. I don’t want to see a day where you grow distant from me… If you were my sister, that wouldn’t happen.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone. I’m also going to get Dad and Mom back; our family will live together forever.”
Gently stroking her sister’s soft white hair, Luo Shuangyue sighed in exasperation, her anger transforming into a helpless long sigh.
Sigh, perhaps she shouldn’t keep Shuangxing in the dark…
……
Eastern Extreme City is considered one of the few large cities in the current world, and it’s also one of the cities where the internal relations are not very harmonious.
This city was originally established by the survivors from several countries that fell apart after the outbreak of magical beast disasters. In the beginning, when the threat of magical beasts was imminent, they managed to suppress their conflicts temporarily.
Later, when the Magical Girls repelled the magical beasts, those suppressed conflicts resurfaced.
Now, the three factions in Eastern Extreme City look down on one another but have no way to deal with the other two factions, maintaining the status quo and getting by like that.
“If it weren’t for the fact that it’s impossible to completely separate, Eastern Extreme City would have split into three parts long ago,” Luo Shuangyue said to Xia Mo.
The two were currently flying through the sky at great speed, soon arriving at their destination—Eastern Extreme City.
Since they were heading to an unfamiliar city, they naturally had to do their homework; they couldn’t just run in cluelessly and step into someone else’s minefield!
“Actually, the gap between the younger generation is not very deep. It’s just that the old generation, who survived before the magical beast disasters, can’t let go of their grudges. Once they gradually pass away, Eastern Extreme City should become better, right?” Xia Mo thought naïvely.
Upon hearing this, Luo Shuangyue let out a light mock laugh, as if to say that you clearly didn’t learn well in high school.
You skipped classes to be a Magical Girl, and now look at you, feeling embarrassed!
You think that just because the old generation is gone, Eastern Extreme City will integrate into one? You’re thinking too much! Given Eastern Extreme City’s current situation, only a magical beast capable of annihilating Eastern Extreme City can unite this place.
Once that magical beast is gone, Eastern Extreme City will start infighting again the next second; this kind of problem can’t be solved without several hundred years of gradual resolution.
“The factions in Eastern Extreme City are too complex compared to our Xinghai City.” Luo Shuangyue shook her head; the three factions that made up Eastern Extreme City had a bloody feud before the outbreak of the magical beast disasters.
For now, they’re not really fighting because the Magic Department and the Magical Girls are watching over them.
“This time we should try not to make too much noise. Let’s get the check-up done and leave quickly. It’s not as peaceful and calm as Xinghai City here.”
Luo Shuangyue didn’t want to get involved in the mess of Eastern Extreme City. She just wanted to solve her own problems quickly and bring Xia Mo back.
If everything went smoothly, they could check on her health within a day and be back home in two days!
“Hmm, do I really seem like the type of person who enjoys causing trouble?” Xia Mo shot an incredulous look at Luo Shuangyue.
All along, Xia Mo had thought that her image in Luo Shuangyue’s eyes should be gentle, considerate, and kind; how could such a person possibly stir up trouble?
If anything, isn’t it you, Luo Shuangyue, who’s better at causing trouble?
“I was just reminding you, don’t take it to heart.” Luo Shuangyue quickly raised her hands in surrender.
After all, Magical Girls are still girls, and girls’ thoughts are ultimately more nuanced than Luo Shuangyue, who doesn’t truly understand the feminine perspective.
In the distance, the outline of the city began to appear vaguely; after a few more minutes of flying, they would reach their destination.
They set off at 8 in the morning, and after arriving at Eastern Extreme City, they could also grab a lunch.
The speed of Magical Girls is incredibly fast.
“However, there’s also a problem with your transformation,” Xia Mo glanced at Dark Butterfly’s transformation form and said, her eyes flickering with concern.
Compared to the original transformation that only had butterfly elements, Dark Butterfly now had some features that didn’t belong to butterflies.
The ribbons tied around her calves and feet were replaced by thorns, and the hair ties holding Dark Butterfly’s gray-white hair into a whip were now thorny branches, all indicating to Xia Mo that Dark Butterfly was becoming different.
“I don’t feel anything unusual; I just feel a bit out of control over the power inside me.”
To put it more accurately, a massive amount of magical energy appeared in Luo Shuangyue’s body, exceeding what she could control.
In the terms of those fantasy novels from before, it’s as if she consumed medicine that destabilized her foundation.
An unstable foundation is actually a minor issue; with more training, she could stabilize it again. The problem she faced now was that the medicine was toxic, thus she needed to find a doctor in Eastern Extreme City who could help her detoxify.
“But I can’t even touch you right now; are you sure it’s really fine?” Xia Mo looked worried.
As of now, Luo Shuangyue was essentially a hedgehog; she couldn’t take any outside stimuli. Even the slightest touch, no matter how gentle, would cause her to instinctively retaliate with spikes.
She understood her own situation; those who didn’t know would end up with their hands pierced should they slap Luo Shuangyue on the shoulder. This wasn’t something that could be easily explained away.
“As long as no one touches me, I’m counting on you for my safety these days, Miss Rosemary.” Luo Shuangyue playfully winked at Xia Mo.
It felt like Luo Shuangyue in Dark Butterfly’s state was becoming increasingly involved… Xia Mo’s gaze turned even more anxious. Based on that alluring look from just now, she genuinely doubted Luo Shuangyue’s current mental state.
Xia Mo felt that Luo Shuangyue in Dark Butterfly’s state was the most unrestrained, the closest to her true self.
Whereas the brotherly, childhood friend demeanor of Luo Shuangyue seemed more like acting.
Did Dark Butterfly possess Luo Shuangyue? How could I dream such a thing?
“After we return, accompany me for a shopping spree,” Xia Mo said randomly.
“Why?”
“I’ve come all this way with you; aren’t you going to give me some reward?”
“You can just directly tell me what you want. Why make it sound like I’m an ungrateful little person?”
Luo Shuangyue felt a bit embarrassed; she hadn’t actually considered that aspect, taking it for granted.
It was still Xia Mo who reminded her—oh right, she should thank Xia Mo.
“What I want is for you to spend a day with me. No being serious that day, no impatience; you’ll do whatever I say and wear whatever I tell you to.” Xia Mo crossed her arms, wearing a serious expression.
“Your demands are quite numerous…”
“Hmm?”
“Rest assured, I will satisfy your requests!”
“Mm.”
After agreeing to Xia Mo’s demands, Luo Shuangyue felt a bit off inside; why did it feel so strange for Xia Mo to make such requests?
This felt like something that should be asked of her true self, rather than Dark Butterfly.
Could it be that Xia Mo had developed feelings for Dark Butterfly?
Am I that remarkable? This new experience was a first for Luo Shuangyue.
Or it should be a first for everyone else too…
“Stop right there, you two!”
Just as the two were discussing what they would do after returning from Eastern Extreme City, a solid voice abruptly stopped them.
“This is Eastern Extreme City; what are you two doing here?”
A girl in a blue and white long dress blocked their way in midair. She held a distinctly recognizable magic wand and emanated a magical aura similar to that of Luo Shuangxing and Xiaomimi.
A new bud-level Magical Girl?
Compared to the dwindling number of Magical Girls in Xinghai City, Eastern Extreme City has quite a few Magical Girls. Combined, there are probably around twenty or thirty from both the Magic Department and non-Magic Department.
With so many Magical Girls, it seemed quite normal for a few to be dispatched every day to patrol the city’s outskirts?
“We are Magical Girls from Xinghai City, here to find Senior Bai Ye.” Xia Mo responded, wearing a warm smile like spring.
Seeing Xia Mo’s pleasant attitude, the girl blocking their path relaxed a bit; they were just here to find someone.
“Well, you couldn’t have picked a worse time. Eastern Extreme City currently only allows entry, not exit. If you go in now, who knows when you’ll be able to come out.”
“Why?” Xia Mo asked, puzzled.
The lockdown in Xinghai City was about to end; why was Eastern Extreme City still under lockdown? Did something happen here again?
Another Royal-class magical beast appeared?
“Why? You must have heard about the biggest recent incident since you’re coming from Xinghai City.” The Magical Girl from Eastern Extreme City rolled her eyes. Wasn’t it about the Royal-class magical beast?
Although the Royal-class beast had escaped, the intricately woven organization it left behind simply wouldn’t die easily. To completely eradicate this organization, the Magic Department in Eastern Extreme City had been busy for several days.
To prevent members of the organization from escaping, the Magic Department had resolutely sealed off the city, prohibiting anyone from leaving until this matter was resolved.
If Xia Mo and Luo Shuangyue entered Eastern Extreme City just now, they wouldn’t know when they’d be able to leave.
“With the strength of the Eastern Extreme City Magic Department, shouldn’t they be able to deal with an organization that has lost its leader? It’s been over a week since the Royal-class magical beast escaped…” Luo Shuangyue furrowed her brow in confusion. An organization whose leader had already fled couldn’t possibly hold out against the Magic Department for that long, could it?
Wasn’t it supposed to be a matter of days before they could track them down?
“That Royal-class magical beast’s organization is just difficult to describe; it’s just really hard to investigate. My seniors have been at it for over a week and have only uncovered some surface-level details.” The blue-white magical girl scratched her head in frustration.
This was indeed strange; the Magic Department had successfully located the Royal-class magical beast, yet could not find clues about the organization it left behind—it was simply absurd.
“Let’s not talk about this; are you coming in or not? If you’re not coming in, hurry back; the seniors in the city aren’t in a good mood right now and won’t be much kinder to you.”
You could see that at a glance. After all, even someone like this little bud-level girl was treating the two Initial Bloom-level girls with a sour face; it was clear she had been overworked and feeling a bit run down.
Luo Shuangyue and Xia Mo exchanged glances, thinking that no matter what, they had to go into Eastern Extreme City to find Bai Ye.
As for the rule of only allowing entry but not exit, that should only apply to ordinary people. As Magical Girls, they merely needed to inform the Eastern Extreme City Magic Department if they really wanted to leave.
They couldn’t possibly stop them from leaving, right?
Even if they really couldn’t leave,
Luo Shuangyue believed that the Eastern Extreme City Magic Department wouldn’t be incompetent enough to take over a week to deal with a headless evil organization. Perhaps just after they had their check-up, Eastern Extreme City would be unsealed.
So, “We’re going in!”
Xia Mo nodded in agreement with Luo Shuangyue’s idea.
No matter what, they should first take care of the check-up. Even if they really got stuck in Eastern Extreme City and couldn’t get out, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
At worst, they could treat it as a two-person world. After all, Xia Mo didn’t mind spending a few more days alone with Luo Shuangyue.
……
“This Royal-class magical beast may not excel in other areas, but it’s truly skilled in making things troublesome.”
About ten photos were stuck on the whiteboard, linked by black lines, creating a dizzying web of connections.
A girl dressed in a red shrine maiden outfit stared helplessly at this incredibly complex relationship chart, letting out a long sigh of frustration.
The connections ran from top to bottom, all in ciphers unique to magical beasts, which they couldn’t even begin to imitate.
Some involved didn’t even know they were working for magical beasts, and by the time they reached the final clues, everything fell apart.
“Yan Ji, are you still looking at this stuff?” Another girl walked in from outside, peeking at what the shrine maiden was looking at.
“How did your findings go today, Xuan?” The girl named Yan Ji directed her gaze at the newcomer, not answering her question.
The girl shrugged. “I found a few little minions, but no decisive breakthroughs. Also, my name is Lin Xi Xuan; is it okay to call me Xi Xuan?”
Her friend was good in every way but simply disliked calling others by their names.
“One word flows better; Xuan-chan!”
“Hey!”
“The magical beast was carrying out a big plan before we discovered it, and we need to figure out what exactly it was plotting.” Yan Ji seamlessly transitioned the topic.
This made Lin Xi Xuan wear an expression of ‘not this again’; what can she say? This person seemed to particularly enjoy doing this.
As for what Yan Ji mentioned, Lin Xi Xuan certainly understood, but the details they had didn’t suffice to piece together any truth.
The magical beast had a scheme, but it was now dead, leaving the purpose of its plotting a complete mystery.
“That guy was already taken down by Bai Ye in Xinghai City. Without a leader, this conspiracy certainly can’t continue.” Lin Xi Xuan stated, “The top brass of that organization has also been captured; shouldn’t we be lifting the lockdown?”
“No, not yet. Look here.” Yan Ji shook her head firmly.
She pointed at the messy relationship graph on the whiteboard and said word by word, “There’s still a key person that hasn’t been caught!”
“I’ve found a clue. Following this, we will surely grasp the tail of that fox!”
Magical Beasts Rank One to Rank Four are the loyal guards of the Royal-class magical beast, but they are not the real operators under the Royal-class magical beast. The one who facilitated the connections and reached out to those who have been captured is still hiding in the shadows and has not yet been caught.
