Home

(Sun Yao)

"Ha, who do you call Mom?"

Ms. Yin Wei mentioned that her mother was not in the reception room, only Falcon was there...

Oh no, it's Jila and Heat Haze who turned back into their original forms.

"Uh, no... I heard from Miss Yin Wei that my mother is here..."

The embarrassment of calling the wrong person made my explanation sound incoherent, but Heat Haze didn't use it as an excuse this time. In the past, she would have used all sorts of teasing and mocking words to humiliate me.

"With Miss Jila here, does that mean Heat Haze can leave too?"

"Yes, we left her here for two reasons: one, to conduct a medical examination, and two, to collect information from the Crystal and compare it with her original examination report."

"And then what happened?"

"Apart from the change in shape, the other data are basically the same. The sun gave her an exact same Star Crystal... However, after your mother fused the same Crystal, completely different magic was born."

Jila mentioned her mother in her answer, and because of nervousness, I subconsciously scratched my forehead.

"... Where is my mom?"

I just asked.

An invisible pair of hands encircled my waist and slowly moved upwards...

"Yao'er~ Are you looking for me?"

My mother's gentle voice rang in my ears.

"Oh, so you were here?"

A girl with short gray hair appeared close to me.

She said softly, "There are some things... including the apologies, that I need to make clear to Heat Haze. I took advantage of the time you weren't here to chat with her a bit more... As expected of people with similar wavelengths, we hit it off very well."

Heat Haze nodded in agreement, perhaps they share some common traits that I haven't noticed?

She's about the same height as me. Even though my dad is so tall, the reason I'm short regardless of gender is definitely because I inherited my mother's height genes.

However, some parts are probably inherited from my father... My mother was pressed against my back like a ghost, leaving almost no gap.

"Oh, right, Mom."

I turned around so that my mother could also see the Yezi.

"He's the close friend I mentioned to you before. His name is Bai Ziye, but I usually call him Yezi."

"Yezi? Are you two a couple now?"

That's so direct. Why does everyone ask that? Do Yezi and I look like a married couple?

Yezi denied it, saying, "No, that's not it. Ceruno and I are just very good friends... at least not yet."

A supplementary sentence structure that implies a specific meaning.

"Thank you for taking care of my Yao'er all these years."

"We're friends, it's not a one-sided relationship where one person takes care of the other. A-Yao has helped me a lot too... right?"

Why is it a question?

Although I haven't been of much help to him...

"Ceruno."

While my mother and Yezi were exchanging pleasantries, Heat Haze waved to me.

Jila has something to discuss with you.

She put her arm around my shoulder, making me face this dark-skinned, blonde foreign woman... She was so tall standing in front of me.

"What is it?"

She put her arm around my shoulder.

"Ceruno ~ You see, I've only just arrived in Skyreach City, and I haven't really fought a single Monster properly. The few battles I've had have all been against the sidelines, so I haven't received much in terms of reward."

"... Wasn't I even more marginalized than you in those battles?"

Even my Star Crystal was stolen.

I asked again, "So, you're short of money?"

"I'll lend her money if she needs it. Jila has nowhere to stay. She's a foreigner renting a place in an unfamiliar area, and I'm afraid she'll get scammed..."

Heat Haze spoke for Miss Jila, but she seemed to have forgotten that she was also a foreigner.

"Where do you live, Heat Haze?"

"I bought my own house, but it's a tiny apartment, like Matchbox, so it's difficult for two people to live there. The housing prices in Skyreach City are quite high."

Heat Haze was in financial straits than expected, which wasn't hard to understand. Her Fire-Scale Magic was extremely prone to causing "unnecessary damage," which was also the key to her poor reputation. A large portion of her bounty went to paying compensation.

Jila added, "I heard from Miluno that you seem to have a spare house?"

Huh? It was Miluno who recommended her?

"It's not exactly an empty house, it's just a home I can't go back to for the time being. Miss Jila, it's fine if you want to stay here, my house is quite big, and there are guest rooms too."

As one of the parties involved, Heat Haze naturally knows why I can't go back.

He then said, "The public outcry over 'that incident' has subsided, right? After all, the internet has no memory; everyone's been busy gossiping about the Association lately..."

"Yao'er."

Before Heat Haze could speak, his mother, cupping her smiling face, leaned closer.

"Yezi is a good child, you should cherish her."

Not again?

I could tell from my mother's words that Aunt Lin Xi had the same idea.

But I also sensed deep down that Yezi didn't want me to be a magical girl forever, so their expectations would most likely be dashed.

If it had been Yezi who confessed to me back then, instead of Miluno, I probably would be a real woman by now, right?

Should I take the initiative?

<Ceruno Wants Yezi to Confess>

Looking around the three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, and petting the golden retriever that ran out from the inner room, the mother asked, "... Yao'er, is this our home?"

"No, this is Yezi's house. Our house is next door."

"Oh, so you're living together?"

"It is indeed considered cohabitation, but I already explained it on the way here, didn't I? I was at Yezi's house to avoid trouble... Heat Haze, don't stand at the door with such a complicated look on your face. If you hadn't paid the compensation, you could have bought an apartment like this a long time ago."

According to Ms. Jila, the number of magical girls has increased, and compensation has to be deducted. Sometimes, Heat Haze earns less money as a magical girl than her father, who is a chef in Hawaii.

Therefore, compared to other magical girls, Heat Haze does indeed live a somewhat frugal life.

"Then, I'll take my leave."

Her face flushed, she took off her shoes and walked into the living room.

He further explained, "My magic has evolved; it won't trigger chain reactions or cause unnecessary destruction. I should be able to save money after that... Ah, thank you."

Yezi took a pot of cold-brewed oolong tea that she had prepared in advance from the refrigerator and poured it for everyone else in small teacups.

That includes me...

No, that won't do.

"Yezi, please sit down. I'll take care of pouring the tea."

I stood up, snatched the glass pitcher, and forced him to sit down on the sofa.

He was surprised and asked, "What's wrong? Why so sudden?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to help you out."

"Oh, so you don't want everyone to know that 'all you do at home is play video games and sleep, and you even leave me to do all the housework, cooking, and laundry'?"

Yezi's malicious revelations made me blush.

"Seriously, don't say it out loud!"

Miss Jila replied, "Then when shall we go to your house to look at it?"

"You all saw the paint and blood-written words on the door, right? Although those guys haven't been coming around much lately, it's still best not to let anyone find out that Sun Yao has already gone back."

Miss Jila asked, "Then how do Past?"

I snapped my fingers silently, summoned my wand, and then activated a pink halo on the load-bearing wall between Yezi's house and mine.

But I hadn't thought about the structure of the house.

On the Other Side of the load-bearing wall in the living room... is my bedroom.