Chapter 29 The Reversal of the White Dream Day (4)
“Rielly, get two sets of clothes. Xiao Yan and Zi’ai both need to change.”
Because of what happened earlier, my sports uniform had a large hole in the stomach area. As for Miss Yan Yang, her maid outfit had been completely burned away. Miraculously, her hair and eyebrows were unharmed. Did she do something special to protect them? It seemed even the prim and proper Miss Yan Yang cared about her appearance.
Actually, the Head Maid had already brought out two sets of clothes before her Young Miss could even give the order.
Previously, she would always pull various things out from mysterious places like the bottom of her skirt or her bra. But this time, the Head Maid directly opened a spatial rift, similar to the Gate of Truth, and reached into that horrifying eyeball to retrieve two sets of clothes. She no longer seemed to intend to hide it.
Was it because everyone present already knew the Head Maid’s true identity?
But this action seemed deliberately like a performance for someone. Was I overthinking it?
The Head Maid walked over and handed the clothes to me. It was a maid outfit.
“My deepest apologies, Miss Zi’ai. We only have maid outfits now. Although we have the Young Miss’s clothes…”
“Hehehehe, but they would be too loose around the chest?”
“Tsk, so what if you have large breasts! I’m not flat-chested either! This is just normal size!”
With a speechless expression, I scorned Ji Lianbing, who was tilting her head back and mocking me. Carrying the maid outfit, I headed towards the containment room where Ji Lianbing had been before.
Regardless, it was good to have clothes to change into. It was better than this sports uniform that was stained with blood and had a large hole in it.
After changing clothes with Miss Yan Yang, Ji Lianbing and the other maids also came in. Only Miss Yao Chun couldn’t enter, because the ability to create the spatial rift could only be activated when the target was being observed.
This meant that Miss Yao Chun had to stare at Zihua without blinking until she was released.
Because once it was activated and the target was successfully imprisoned, escape was almost impossible, even with teleportation. That must be why the activation conditions were so strict.
Red hair, guard duty, and constantly being subjected to the ‘female body training’ and a certain lazy guard who always slept… she really was similar.
Though, Miss Yao Chun, if she could maintain such a long period of standby—no, without blinking—she would be really suitable to be a guard for SCP-173.
“Shirley, go inform the Principal. Tell her to seal off the corridor near Yao Chun and not let anyone enter. Also, moderately lower the humidity.”
Since the spatial rift was not created in a room but in the corridor, there might be unexpected occurrences. Ji Lianbing took Zihua’s final warning to heart. I didn’t think Ji Lianbing was being defensive out of fear.
Because we all understood, or rather, Lanhua wasn’t the type to make idle threats. Although that fox might be bluffing, the mixture of truth and falsehood was her specialty. In any case, being prepared was always useful.
“Oh, right! The Principal is still collapsed in the other containment room!”
The Head Maid nodded and replied.
“I’ve already checked. She’s not injured, just fainted from suffocation. Bai, go take care of Nana Li. When she wakes up, tell her what happened here.”
“Yes, Head Maid!”
Bai left to care for the Principal. The Head Maid also instructed the other maids to do other things, like cleaning the corridor and repairing damaged walls.
These days, maids seemed to do everything. It seemed like ‘maid’ represented perfection better than ‘superman’.
Then, only Ji Lianbing, the Head Maid, and I were left in the room.
The Head Maid conjured a table and two chairs, brewed two cups of black tea, and invited us to sit.
Ji Lianbing sat down casually as if she were at home. After a sip of black tea, she crossed her legs and asked the Head Maid,
“Rielly, the Lanhua inside is someone else, right? I recall you saying she came from the future?”
“Yes, she indeed came from the future, and I cannot see through her true form.”
“What? Don’t you have precognitive ability? Is she someone from a future so distant that even you cannot see it?”
“It’s not like that. No matter how far into the future, or which branch of the future, I can trace the ‘result’. But what I see now is just darkness.”
Who was it that not only occupied Lanhua’s body but also managed to send Lanhua to the Mirror World? Only the Mirror Holder should be able to enter and exit the Mirror World.
Hearing this conversation, I interjected with a look of confusion.
“Huh? So you both don’t know who she is?”
Seeing the way Ji Lianbing and Zihua were bickering, I thought she had already known Zihua’s true identity.
“Zi’ai, do you know?”
The Head Maid and Ji Lianbing both looked at me. I hesitated before spilling the truth.
“She is Lanhua from the future. She said she came here to change the future. Oh, to distinguish her from Lanhua of this era, she calls herself Zihua.”
“A pure spiritual body, carrying that magnitude of Destiny Power, and able to use the ability to reverse time… Young Miss, if she is truly Lanhua from the future, perhaps we shouldn’t have imprisoned her like this.”
“Lanhua from the future, coming to change the future? Hehehehe, I suspect she just wants to monopolize Juncheng. After all, that woman would do anything for Juncheng.”
“But if she truly came to change the future…”
“Go investigate, Shirley. I’ll decide what to do after that.”
“Understood, Young Miss.”
Having received her orders, the Head Maid bowed to us and withdrew. Ji Lianbing fell into thought.
She must be hesitating, just like me.
Zihua said she wanted to save Juncheng, but in the end, she never said how. She only said she needed to find the Yata no Kagami first. So, both Ji Lianbing and I had the thought that maybe she just wanted to monopolize Juncheng. I had given up resisting, and Zihua’s attitude towards me wasn’t like someone who would eliminate all obstacles. It was confusing; I didn’t understand what she wanted to do.
Speaking of which, I finally found the Yata no Kagami. My mission is over. What should I do next? What will happen to me?
“Hey, maid over there, come and make me a cup of black tea.”
“Uh, calling me?”
“Of course. In this room now, besides you, is there anyone else wearing a maid outfit?”
So, because I was wearing a maid outfit, she thought she could order me around like a maid? She really thinks of herself as a Young Miss!
But considering we were allies (accomplices), I’ll help her just this once. Don’t blame me if it doesn’t taste good!
After making Ji Lianbing a cup of black tea with a lot of added sugar, I stood beside her with the tray and asked,
“So, Young Miss, what do we do next?”
Ji Lianbing took a sip of the excessively sweet tea I made without any change in her expression and replied,
“Nothing.”
“Huh?”
Putting down the teacup, Ji Lianbing took the Yata no Kagami from the deathly fog connected to the abyss and casually tossed it to me.
I was startled and fumbled before catching the Yata no Kagami.
Really! Throwing something so important around so carelessly! How audacious is this person!
“What we need to do next is ‘nothing’. This is the main body of the Mirror World, you and I, the soul called Kuuga, made it. Within half a year, we need to guard this mirror and prevent external interference with the inside of the mirror.”
“Yes, the flow of time in the Mirror World and the real world is different. The specific reason for this difference is the triple magic circle used to place the Yata no Kagami inside Juncheng’s body at the time. The Yata no Kagami absorbed that triple magic circle and formed new laws within the Mirror World, thus accelerating time relative to us. It has no effect on the people inside.”
“It’s approximately one to one hundred. One year in the outside world is equivalent to a hundred years in the Mirror World.”
“So half a year is fifty years, almost a lifetime.”
“That is our goal, to give Juncheng the peace he deserves, to spend the life he desires in that ordinary world.”
“But is that kind of false happiness, like a dream, really what he wants?”
“Well, who knows? Perhaps even Juncheng himself doesn’t know what he wants. He’s always been a content person.” I didn’t go to the Mirror World? Since you were pretending to be berserk and confined yourself in the isolation space created by the maids, you could have entered the Yata no Kagami to find Juncheng.
Ji Lianbing was silent for a moment, then let out a bitter smile that was unlike her usual self and said,
“I… I expected to read SF Light Novels.”
“Her? Who are you talking about?”
“Another me, another me that I forcibly separated.”
“Double. I remember her name is Ruansui, right?”
Juncheng told me about this. He said that Ji Lianbing, in a state of internal conflict, had split her personality into two. The main personality was the current Ji Lianbing, who had already transformed into the Lord of Death.
The other personality seemed to be formed from the emotions that Ji Lianbing had always suppressed. Upon meeting Juncheng, it exploded and became a soft girl who only loved Juncheng.
No wonder Juncheng still couldn’t forget her. She was definitely the ideal type for all boys.
The soft-girl-like Ji Lianbing—I really want to see her—
Her cute and naturally alluring demeanor. The cold and proud Young Miss suddenly becoming that soft girl, the impact would be immense.
“What impolite thoughts are you having?”
“Nothing~”
Hmph. You don’t need to think about it anymore. She and I are complete opposites. In a way, she’s very similar to Lanhua, which is why I hated her so much and locked her away in the deepest part of my consciousness, preventing her from coming out.
“But didn’t you switch with her later?”
“That time was just me temporarily letting her out to calm down. We fundamentally can’t… we can only reach a consensus occasionally.”
“Oh, changing your tune on the fly. It seems you care a lot about your other self. So, the reason you didn’t go to the Mirror World is because of her? Ruansui went to be with Juncheng, so it’s not your turn? Or are you afraid of seeing Juncheng dote on her even more?”
“Hehehehe, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Zi’ai.”
She put on her mask-like smile. It seemed I had hit the mark.
“Really, is there a need to be so clear-cut? In the end, she’s still someone called ‘Ji Lianbing’. I think Juncheng would be happy to hold both of you at the same time and sleep. Besides, look at me, Anzi’ai, and the main body are so in sync. Even though I’m just a copy, and I’ve never met the main body.”
Another silence.
Ji Lianbing wearily closed her eyes, leaned back against the chair, and slowly said,
“It’s not the same.”
