“Ha~~~”
Lisiluo let out a long yawn and completely collapsed onto her desk.
After yesterday’s failure, she had spent the entire night in her dorm trying every possible method to recreate the effect.
As a result, she had almost pulled an all-nighter without realizing it. Her head was buzzing, and she had been spacing out through all her morning classes.
After class, her classmates were chattering and laughing among themselves, but no one bothered the girl lying face-down on her desk.
Which was just as well.
Lisiluo’s mind was currently a complete mess. Even if someone tried to talk to her, she wouldn’t be able to process it.
With her forehead pressed against the cool surface of the desk, she recalled last night’s events.
When she discovered that her magic power was still stuck at Rank 1, Lisiluo had completely panicked.
Almost instinctively, she had hurriedly covered the gem and shoved it back into her pocket.
Yu Weian-senpai had clearly noticed something and asked with concern if something had happened.
At the time, Lisiluo had barely managed to squeeze out a smile and used the excuse that she was probably just too tired and told her senpai not to worry.
Even then, Yu Weian’s gaze had still held some doubt.
But after a few seconds of silence, her senpai chose to accept her explanation.
“Go back and rest properly. I’ll come find you tomorrow to ask about the situation.”
Yu Weian-senpai’s gentle words from yesterday still echoed in her ears.
But to the current Lisiluo, those words carried far more pressure than any direct questioning would have.
When Yu Weian-senpai came to find her… how was she supposed to explain?
Should she say that she had succeeded with Mu Wan-senpai, but failed when she was with her?
No. Absolutely not.
That would basically be provocation.
Was the magic not reacting because her feelings for Yu Weian-senpai weren’t actually that deep?
Or… was it the other way around? Did her senpai’s feelings for her not exist?
No. That was absolutely impossible.
Lisiluo forcefully cut off that line of thought.
Her feelings for her senpai were one hundred percent real! There was no doubt about that.
There had to be some other reason. That was it!
Lisiluo took off her glasses and rested her head on her arms instead, turning her face toward the wall.
No matter what she tried last night, her magic rank had remained at Rank 1.
That included recalling every little moment with Yu Weian-senpai, reading various emotional novels, and even — reluctantly — trying to recall the feeling she had when she thought of Mu Wan.
— But none of it worked.
At one point, Lisiluo had even suspected that the gem might actually be one of Mu Wan’s pranks.
Otherwise, why would her magic power only reach Rank 2 when she was in front of her?
But when she asked her roommate about the gem, she was told that it was real.
“Those things are really expensive. I’ve only ever seen certain young ladies carrying them around.”
That was what she had said.
After thinking it over again and again, Lisiluo still didn’t have the courage to go find Mu Wan and ask her directly about the gem’s reliability.
Besides…
Even though Mu Wan-senpai looked like a bad person, she probably wouldn’t go so far as to toy with an ordinary student like her using something like this, right?
Probably… maybe…?
Thinking of Mu Wan’s usual mischievous expression, Lisiluo buried her face deeper into her arms and let out a muffled sigh.
Sigh…
She was completely done for now.
Yesterday, she had directly lied to Mu Wan about having an emergency and was told she had to compensate her next time they met.
Then, after seeing Yu Weian-senpai, she hadn’t dared to tell her the truth either and had used another excuse to run back to the dorm.
If Yu Weian-senpai found out that the method she used to increase her magic power had come from Mu Wan, what kind of expression would she make?
Would she scold her? Or would she be disappointed in her?
Because she had actually chosen to believe that little devil’s advice, even though her senpai had already warned her about her.
But whether she liked it or not,
The only lifeline she had left right now was Mu Wan.
Even though Lisiluo was unwilling to admit it, during their brief time together yesterday, Mu Wan-senpai had given her a strange feeling…
Mm…
How should she put it? It felt like she knew everything?
Whether it was what Lisiluo was thinking or all kinds of strange knowledge, Mu Wan always seemed to point it out at the right moment.
Even though she and Yu Weian-senpai were complete opposites, Lisiluo had actually felt a similar sense of reassurance from her…
No no no, what am I thinking?!
This thought was far too bold. Lisiluo’s whole body trembled, and she instantly became much more awake.
She must have been so tired that she was starting to have ridiculous thoughts.
How could someone like Mu Wan, that little devil, actually care about her? She would probably sell her off without a second thought.
Just thinking about what she had to face next — 【demanding compensation from Mu Wan】 and 【explaining the situation to Yu Weian】 — made her anxiety so bad that her head felt like it was about to split into two.
Lisiluo turned her head and buried her face into her arms again.
She kept repeating possible lines in her head, trying to prepare herself so she could get through the conversations smoothly.
Maybe I should just smash my head against the desk and die…
That way… I won’t have to think about any of this…
The exhaustion from last night finally caught up to her. Lying on her arms, surrounded by the sound of her classmates talking, Lisiluo gradually fell into a deep sleep.
—— —— —— —— —— ——
She didn’t know how much time had passed before a deliberately lowered argument woke her up.
In her half-asleep state, she heard them saying:
“Hey, why don’t you go wake her up? You’re sitting right next to her, so you should be more familiar with her, right?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve never even talked to her before, okay? Besides, why should I be the one to wake her? The one the big devil specifically asked for is clearly you.”
“No way. I don’t want to get dragged into their mess. The big devil already has that expression on her face. What if I get caught up in it too?”
The girls who were arguing were sitting quite close to Lisiluo. From the content alone, it sounded like they were pushing the responsibility onto each other.
“Forget it. Stop arguing. I’ll do it.”
“Class president ×2, we’ve been waiting for you to say that!”
“Sigh… If I get dragged into this, you guys better go call a teacher. At least then there’ll be a body left to collect.”
“Uuu… Class president!”
The discussion ended, and the sound of footsteps approached the sleeping Lisiluo.
Then, the class president’s cool voice came from above her head.
“Liseluo… Could you wake up? There’s someone outside looking for you.”
Lisiluo lifted her head and rubbed her sleepy eyes, replying groggily.
“Mmm… Looking for me? Who is it?”
The class president pointed behind her with her thumb. Lisiluo craned her neck to look in that direction.
Not far away stood two girls, huddled together and trembling. These were the same ones who had been arguing earlier.
Further away, the classroom doorway was blocked by a crowd of students. They were carefully peeking out while whispering and discussing something among themselves.
The class president placed her hands on her hips and replied impatiently.
“Just go see for yourself. And hurry up, before she causes any trouble.”
“Eh?”
Lisiluo was still completely confused, but from the class president’s tone, it sounded like the situation was quite serious.
Not daring to delay, she quickly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, put on her glasses, and stood up. She walked toward the classroom door.
Along the way, all her classmates actively avoided her, consciously keeping at least a meter of distance, as if she were some kind of walking disaster.
What’s wrong with them? I don’t think I’m usually this unpopular, am I?
Lisiluo felt her scalp tingle under their stares. She quickened her steps toward the door, wanting to see who exactly was looking for her.
The girls at the doorway were whispering to each other while peeking out into the corridor.
“She’s just been standing there the whole time… It’s terrifying.”
“This is definitely revenge, right…? I wonder why Lisiluo ended up provoking someone like that.”
When they noticed Lisiluo standing right behind them, their first reaction was actually to jump in fright. They hurriedly fled deeper into the classroom.
All these signs only made the bad feeling in Lisiluo’s heart grow stronger. Her palms began to sweat. Gathering her courage, she peeked out—
And then.
She saw Mu Wan.
The petite figure was leaning against the windowsill in the corridor. Her legs, wrapped in black stockings, were crossed in front of her. She was holding something in her hand.
That beautiful little face, which usually carried a mischievous expression, looked especially charming today. There was even a hint of cuteness mixed in with her well-behaved appearance.
But whether it was students or teachers, everyone who saw Mu Wan chose to take a detour.
After all, no one knew what kind of bad idea she was plotting behind that smile.
At that moment, Mu Wan also noticed Lisiluo peeking out. She took a step forward.