After Namei was embraced by that soft, warm body and heard those affectionate words of comfort, she returned home in a complete daze.
Her twin sister, Lulu, was reading a book in their temporary residence in Huyin Town. Hearing the door open, she stood up and saw Namei, who nodded slightly in greeting.
“Welcome back, Sister. You’re home quite early today. Did something happen?”
However, Namei ignored Lulu and walked straight into her bedroom like a puppet. Lulu was left standing there, staring at her sister’s back in confusion.
Namei mechanically pushed open the bedroom door and collapsed onto the bed. Her brain had nearly stopped functioning. She turned those thirty-three words over and over in her mind, yet she still couldn’t quite make sense of them.
What did they mean? That she liked her? That she wanted to see her again?
‘Isn’t that… a confession?!’
But Namei couldn’t bring herself to believe it. A confession to someone like her? She must have misunderstood. Those words about wanting to see her again were probably just polite small talk.
After all, Wei Yang was a very gentle person, and she already had that girl named Lu Ran by her side. Compared to Lu Ran, Namei felt she had no advantage other than having slightly fairer skin.
Jealousy.
‘As expected, the cute types are more popular. Hmph, how annoying. And then there’s the matter with Lulu to deal with.’
Namei recalled the day back in the Jiuzhou Imperial Palace when she decided to head to Huyin Town personally. Lulu had insisted on coming along. She knew Lulu was different from her; there was a certain coldness in her heart, so Namei hadn’t wanted to bring her. But Lulu was stubborn and headstrong, and Namei couldn’t stop her.
*Knock, knock!*
The sudden knocking, as abrupt as an alarm clock, interrupted Namei’s thoughts. She sat up and saw Lulu standing at the half-open bedroom door.
“Sister, did something happen? You seem distracted.”
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
“I see.”
Hearing that her sister didn’t intend to tell her the truth, Lulu immediately turned to leave but was stopped by Namei.
“Wait, Lulu. Where is Galio?”
“She discovered a garden on the west side of town. She went there after dinner.”
“Sigh, didn’t I tell her not to wander around? She’ll cause a panic among the townsfolk.”
“It’s fine. She’s wearing the ‘Veil of Unseeing.’ Since she wanted to go, I let her be.”
Namei puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
Galio was wonderful in every way except for her lack of obedience; she acted on her whims like a little girl. Furthermore, she was extremely shy by nature. If she so much as made eye contact with someone, she might kill them out of pure embarrassment.
To prevent such a situation, Namei had specifically searched the imperial treasury and found a divine artifact—the Veil of Unseeing. With this artifact, there was no need to worry about Galio uncontrollably hurting people.
“It’s still a hassle… I’ll go find Galio. You stay home and don’t go out.”
“Okay. I’m going to sleep soon.”
After Namei changed out of her gauze dress and into casual clothes, Lulu stepped aside from the door and gave her the usual farewell.
“Have a safe trip, Sister.”
Namei waved her hand and walked out the door. Her long hair fluttered in the night wind as she walked down the familiar streets. The temperature had dropped again, and Namei raised her hands.
“Huu—huu—”
She blew warm air into her palms, clasped them together, and sighed helplessly.
‘Fortunately I changed my clothes; this is much warmer than the other one.’
***
After parting with Lilith and Namei, Wei Yang and Lu Ran had a hearty dinner. Once they finished eating, Lu Ran wanted to continue tracking Anna’s movements with Wei Yang, but Wei Yang urged her to go home and rest.
“It’s late. It’s time for children to sleep. Hurry back.”
“But—”
“No buts. How old are you?”
“… 14 years old.”
“Exactly. You’re still just a child right now. Go back to sleep and leave the rest to me.”
Knowing she couldn’t persuade the stubborn angel, Lu Ran listened and went home to rest. After Lu Ran left, Wei Yang felt the remaining divine power in her body and sighed.
In truth, the act of hiding her halo was basic and barely consumed any divine power. However, her current maximum MP was capped at an extremely low value, making even the slightest consumption visible to the naked eye.
She returned to the vicinity of Anna’s residence, only to find the house completely dark. After a closer inspection, Wei Yang was certain that Anna hadn’t just turned off the lights to sleep, but had actually gone out.
Realizing this, she began searching the neighborhood for any sign of Anna. She didn’t find Anna, but she did discover something in the garden. There, Wei Yang felt a massive surge of magic power. Peeking cautiously into the garden, she saw a silver-haired girl sniffing the flowers. A translucent black-patterned veil covered her eyes.
‘What amazing magic fluctuations… Who is she?’
Wei Yang intended to keep watching for a while longer, but the girl suddenly turned her head toward her position. Her intuition told her things were about to go south.
“Wait, I’m not a bad person! I wasn’t peeping!”
The girl ignored Wei Yang’s explanation. She raised her right hand to her lips, and a black curse mark emerged, outlining a pair of slit dragon eyes.
As the girl gestured, Wei Yang was pinned to the spot by the Word of Command. She couldn’t move or even speak. But after a moment, the other party seemed to decide that Wei Yang wasn’t a threat. The curse mark on her right hand faded, and the effect of the command ended.
Wei Yang tried moving her body. She was fine now, but it had been terrifying. It was a power similar to Yu Tu’s.
It was obvious that regardless of who she was, Wei Yang definitely couldn’t beat her. Wei Yang used her rusty brain to think about what to do next. Should she surrender, or just run for it?
A gust of night wind blew past, and the girl sneezed from the chill.
“Achoo! It’s so cold.”
An ominous feeling crept into Wei Yang’s heart.
Sure enough, the girl stared at her with the eyes of a predator, and the traces of the curse mark reappeared on her hand.
“Wait, is the Word of Command really necessary again?! I’m very understanding! You’re cold, right? How about I give you a hug to help you warm up?”
“Oh, okay then. Hug me. It’s cold.”
Wei Yang had no choice but to step forward and gently embrace her. Feeling the warmth from Wei Yang’s body, the girl rubbed her neck against Wei Yang’s like a submissive kitten, burying her face into her shoulder.
Then, she suddenly looked up at her.
Wei Yang tilted her head, a question mark practically appearing above her.
The girl reached out her hand, and the curse mark appeared yet again.
“Wait, wait, wait! What’s wrong now? Just tell me, don’t use the Word of Command at every little thing!”
“Oh, alright. I’m sleepy.”
“Then… should I walk you home?”
The girl looked at her speechlessly, and the curse mark on her hand fully manifested.
“Just say what you want, please! How am I supposed to guess…”
“I want a lap pillow.”
Wei Yang felt a sense of humiliation.
Wei Yang did as she was told.
Fortunately, the girl only lay there for a short while before getting up.
“It’s time to go home, or I’ll be scolded.”
She licked Wei Yang’s cheek and then spread her wings.
She spread… her wings?
Wei Yang stared blankly at the girl. As the silver-white wings fully unfurled, a thick, long tail and a pair of recurved dragon horns also emerged.
This girl was none other than the Guardian White Dragon of Jiuzhou, Galio. Because Namei didn’t want her revealing her identity, she usually kept these features hidden, only revealing them unconsciously when she was completely relaxed.
“Oh, that’s right. Come to my house to play tomorrow. I like your temperature.”
Galio gave Wei Yang her address and flew away. Only then did Wei Yang realize that the person she had just been getting close with was a dragon-girl.
A dragon-girl, her absolute favorite!
‘How frustrating! I wanted to pet her! Dammit, I actually let her fly away just like that. Dammit!’
But it didn’t matter. Now that she knew where her house was, she would go gank her tomorrow—
Wei Yang shook her head, wanting to leave the garden to continue looking for Anna. Unfortunately—
A flash of white light erupted. The sudden, pure magic within the garden transformed into extending chains, all of them chasing after Wei Yang.