Wei Yang arrived at the familiar house by the windmill, looking with disgust at the little golden bug in Ah Li’s house floating in front of her.
Ah Li had given her a key, so she could come here anytime. Aside from being told “don’t try to open that locked door,” Ah Li allowed her to do anything.
After a brief thanks regarding the house repairs, Wei Yang asked about going to Moon Palace Lake to check on the Zhuji.
Ah Li readily agreed.
“No problem, meow. We’ll go with Namei.”
Wei Yang was slightly surprised. “Why mention Namei all of a sudden?”
“Lilith came to see me just now. She said to let Namei see how important Zhuji is to the town, so I should take her to the lake to see the actual situation.”
“I see. Are Lilith and Lulu going?”
“No. Lilith seems to have some business to handle, so she entrusted it to me. As for Lulu, she’s part of the pro-war faction, so I was afraid something might happen if I took her. It’s just the three of us.”
“That works; it’s more convenient with fewer people. When are we leaving?”
“We can go now. But I have to prepare first,” Ah Li stood up and walked toward the bedroom. “After all, we need swimsuits and such.”
Wei Yang felt like she had heard something quite incredible.
“Swimsuits?”
“Yes,” Ah Li returned to her, holding a soft measuring tape. “When harvesting Zhuji, our clothes will get wet if we don’t wear swimsuits.”
Wei Yang’s mouth twitched. She hadn’t expected a swimsuit scene.
“Fine, but what are you doing with the measuring tape?”
Ah Li stretched the tape, smiling at her. “Let me measure your bust so I can help you prepare a swimsuit~”
That smile sent a chill down Wei Yang’s back, and she took a panicked step back.
“Forget it, just grab me any set.”
“That won’t do,” Ah Li stepped forward. “What if it doesn’t fit? If it’s too small, it’ll be tight; if it’s too big, it’ll fall off. How inconvenient.”
Wei Yang took another step back. “Just one size smaller than yours!”
“How do you know it’s one size smaller? You haven’t measured mine yet~”
Wei Yang’s face heated up slightly.
“It’s just around that size! I’m going to get Namei; let’s meet under the windmill in a bit!”
She turned and ran, hearing Ah Li’s voice full of regret behind her.
“Why run? It’s not like I haven’t seen them before — “
***
*Knock, knock, knock.*
After Wei Yang knocked, Galio soon opened the door. The moment she saw Wei Yang, her tail began thumping left and right.
“You’re here.”
“Yeah, is Namei in?”
“She is. Come in.”
Wei Yang walked in, and Galio stood before her, looking up blankly. Seeing her well-behaved appearance, a string in Wei Yang’s heart was suddenly plucked.
‘Such a cute little dragon girl. She’s practically an invitation to commit a crime.’
Unable to resist, she dove into Galio’s arms, hugging the little dragon girl tightly.
“Mmh.”
Galio let out a soft exclamation but soon relaxed, wrapping her arms around Wei Yang’s waist and burying her face in the girl’s chest to nuzzle.
Wei Yang continued to recharge her dragon-girl energy with a look of satisfaction.
While they hugged, Galio secretly stuck out her tongue and licked Wei Yang’s ear.
“!”
Wei Yang’s whole body trembled. Her fox ears were too sensitive; she almost collapsed to her knees because her legs felt weak.
‘I’m going to strike back. Can I have a kiss?’
Galio nuzzled her again, signaling her agreement.
Having received permission, Wei Yang’s heart raced. She slowly lowered her head, preparing to give the little dragon girl a light kiss on the cheek. But just then —
“You two! Not allowed!”
‘Tsk, caught red-handed.’
Wei Yang looked back. She wasn’t sure which of the twin princesses had come out of the bedroom, but she was looking at them with a shocked expression, a blush creeping up her face.
“Y-You — “
She ran over to pull Wei Yang and Galio apart, then puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.
“I said Galio was looking forward to seeing you again, but I never said you could kiss! You too, please show some restraint!”
‘Damn, forget it. I’ll find another chance next time…’ “Are you Namei or Lulu? It’s hard to tell you apart when you aren’t standing together.”
“…Eh, you can’t even tell us apart? Who are you looking for?”
“Namei.”
“…I’m Namei. Ah Li sent you to hurry us along for the trip to Moon Palace Lake, right? Let’s go together then.”
“Is your swimsuit ready?”
Namei hadn’t thought that far. After Wei Yang explained, she told the two of them they weren’t allowed to cuddle anymore while she went into Lulu’s bedroom.
Wei Yang tilted her head. “Um, you’re Namei, right? Why are you going into Lulu’s bedroom?”
“I-I’m obviously Namei. It’s just that many of my clothes are kept with my… sister. It’ll just be a moment.”
“Alright.”
Galio blinked but said nothing.
After waiting at least 15 minutes, Namei finally came out carrying a small bag and handed it to Wei Yang.
“I’ll have to trouble you.”
“Hmm?”
“W-What? Can’t your eyes put things into another space? Help me store this.”
Wei Yang scrutinized Namei. “How did you know about that? I don’t think I told you.”
“…My sister told me. Is that surprising?”
“A little. I thought Lulu would be the type who’s not good with words. Well, since you’re ready, let’s go find Ah Li by the windmill.”
“Okay.”
Before leaving, Wei Yang looked at Galio and sighed with a hint of regret.
“I’m going now. I’ll come back to play with you next time.”
Galio happily agreed. “Sure.”
Wei Yang smiled and turned to walk out the door. Behind her, Galio glanced sideways at Namei.
Namei glared at Galio, put her index finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, and slammed the door shut.
On the way to the windmill, Wei Yang and Namei walked side by side. Since she was bored anyway, Wei Yang asked the question that had been bugging her.
“Namei, I have a question. Why do you summon nightmares to scare people every night? I was originally going to catch you. If I caught the person summoning the nightmares, the nuns’ favorability toward me would increase, and maybe I could make them my believers. But with your status, it’s really hard to arrest you.”
“Believers?” Namei asked in confusion. “Why do you need believers?”
Wei Yang’s mouth twitched. This girl couldn’t have forgotten that quickly, could she?
“Don’t you know I’m an angel? About what happened in the garden the night before last… You forgot already? Believers are very important to an angel.”
Namei froze, turning to look at Wei Yang in shock. “You’re an angel!?”
“What the heck? You don’t believe it? Haven’t you seen my halo already?”
“…Ah, right. I remember now. Yeah, that’s right.”
Wei Yang pursed her lips, too lazy to press further. “Don’t change the subject. Explain about summoning the nightmares.”
“Uh, well, that’s because #%ï¿¥3@ï¿¥@&*66&ï¿¥, that’s why I do those things at night.”
“What does that even mean? Is that some celestial script?”
“It’s, it’s… you know.”
“I know your bubble tea pot!”
Namei stammered for a long time without explaining anything clearly. When she saw Ah Li waving her arms under the windmill in the distance, she felt as if she had been granted a reprieve.
“Miss Ah Li! We’re here!”
She walked quickly, leaving Wei Yang behind.
Wei Yang narrowed her eyes as she watched the girl’s retreating back.
‘Something’s wrong.’
But with Ah Li nearby, it wasn’t easy to keep pressing for answers. She could only shut up for now and wait for the right moment.
The three gathered and set off for Moon Palace Lake.