At a time like this, what Jingliu needed was peace and quiet, right?
But... then again, although this hadn't been his intention, since it had started because of him, he did bear a responsibility he couldn't escape.
"...Still, I never expected you to say something like that, Sparkle—meow... cough, cough."
That verbal tic was seriously contagious.
"..."
Sparkle tilted her head. She couldn't just stand by and watch something like this; even she occasionally felt that way.
Was it... her innate distaste for tragedy, along with the small changes Liu Bai had brought to her?
"Then I'm going." Liu Bai stood up.
"Big brother, remember to say so if you need help, meow~ But you absolutely mustn't take advantage of someone when they're vulnerable, meow!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"You clearly won't be able to do that, meow..." Sparkle sighed, then looked at Pardo.
An Unlovable Little Brother and an Unlovable Big Sister
"Did you follow me because there's something else you wanted?"
Though she felt somewhat despondent, Jingliu revealed nothing unusual in either her expression or tone.
"I was a little worried about you, especially with your Mara-Struck condition," Liu Bai said honestly.
Jingliu's Mara-Struck condition had already stabilized. According to her, as long as she wasn't on the Xianzhou or came into excessive contact with people or objects carrying the aura of Abundance, it wouldn't flare up.
—From a certain perspective, those two conditions were actually one and the same, though their underlying principles were fundamentally different.
"Please rest assured. I still have the secret medicine you gave me."
Jingliu took a vial of Elixir of Love from her pocket.
Since she knew the Elixir of Love could temporarily fight the Mara-Struck condition, there was no reason not to carry it with her, right?
Liu Bai's expression twitched.
There were