Qiji and Liuli faced each other again, and the sight sent the number of comments in Qiji's livestream soaring.
"Holy shit! Brother Ji's awesome! So he went straight to the bad woman to punch her lights out!"
"Picking on my precious Huomu, huh? Brother Ji's really angry!"
"Come on, your Brother Ji is only angry because his nap got interrupted! (laughs)"
In the original story, Liuli had not killed Huomu, of course. She had pulled back from the brink at the last moment.
But now, because Qiji had intervened, Liuli's reputation as a bad woman had instead been confirmed in the audience's eyes.
Sorry, Liuli. For the sake of my popularity, I'll have to let you suffer a little.
Of course, to make up for it, I'll save you later in the story.
Liuli naturally had no idea that someone had already utterly ruined her reputation without her noticing.
She took a step back, putting some distance between herself and Qiji.
After her initial shock and panic, the girl quickly composed her expression.
She put back on the thin-rimmed glasses she used as a disguise and, at the same time, tucked a stray lock of misty purple hair behind her ear.
By the time she lowered her hand, that flawless "model student" smile was back on her face.
Liuli's voice returned to its usual gentleness:
"Did you need something from me, Qiji?"
Rather than answer immediately, Qiji put on an act, tilting his head slightly as though sensing something:
"Liuli, you said your Echo Lineage was [Insect Lineage: Mimid Butterfly], right?"
"Is something wrong?" Liuli's smile remained unchanged.
"But it actually isn't, is it...? If I had to guess, your real lineage is an extremely rare and troublesome-
mind-type lineage, isn't it?
And a fairly high-ranking one at that, the kind that specializes in weaving emotions, guiding people through suggestion, and even planting thoughts."
"?!"
When he finished speaking, the model-student smile on Liuli's face stiffened once again.
Qiji seemed quite satisfied with the girl's reaction. He bent down, bringing his expressionless, pure white mask close to Liuli's slightly pale face.
They were close enough to feel each other's breath.
"Now, my next question... Liuli, what's your relationship with the Kamishiro Family of Deep Blue City, the one famous for its high-level Mind Lineage?"
The moment the word "Kamishiro" left his mouth-
The girl's expression changed dramatically.
Chapter 7: Is He a Devil?
"Crack."
An extremely faint, crisp sound rang out.
Liuli had clenched her right fist so hard in that instant that the manicured nail on her thumb had accidentally snapped.
But the girl had no room to care about that now.
Her misty purple eyes, usually shimmering with gentle moisture, were now filled with nothing but coldness.
"What do you want?"
She didn't deny it or defend herself. She only asked a question in return.
She didn't know why Qiji knew these things.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Or rather, somewhere deep in her heart, perhaps she had always been waiting for this day to come.
Waiting for someone to tear away her disguise, waiting for someone to bring her to an end... freeing her from this cursed fate that she could not end herself.
Ever since the Kamishiro Family had placed a Curse Binding on her, her life had held nothing but pain that made her sick.
"I'm not planning to do anything."
Qiji straightened up, returning to a normal social distance. His tone was as casual as if he were discussing the weather.
"I'm just giving you a friendly warning."
He raised his right hand and lightly tapped a fingertip against one lens of the glasses on Liuli's nose.
"If you dare use your little tricks to keep targeting Huomu-"
He paused briefly.
The next instant, Qiji curled his finger and gave the lens a light flick.
"Crack."
A crisp shattering sound rang out.
Countless spiderweb-like fractures burst across the hard crystal lens, centered on the spot Qiji's fingertip had touched!
The cracks spread rapidly, covering the entire lens in almost an instant. Even the other lens, which Qiji's finger had not touched, was affected.
Then-
"Crash!"
Both lenses shattered completely, tiny fragments pattering out of the frames.
Liuli hadn't even had time to close her eyes.
The girl's pupils contracted instinctively as she stared blankly at the shattered view before her and the masked face so close to hers.
The person beneath the mask leaned closer and finished his threat in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"If you dare use your little tricks to keep targeting Huomu-
I'll kill you."
"Holy crap! He shattered the glasses with a flick?"
"That masked guy's got some skills!"
"So he came to stand up for Huomu. Hajiqi, you really do dote on him!"
Liuli remained motionless for a long time, as though stunned by the move Qiji had suddenly displayed.
Only after a while-
She suddenly smiled.
It was utterly different from her previous frail, harmless smile: a look of longing, even provocation.
Kamishiro Ruri tore off her disguise.
She raised her hand, removed the glasses, now reduced to their frames, and casually tossed them onto the ground.
"Come on, kill me. You'd better keep your word."
As she spoke, the girl actually moved closer to Qiji, tilting her pale, vulnerable neck up more conspicuously in front of him.
"Holy shit! Her true colors!"
"She's even prettier without the glasses!"
"That contrast! That look in her eyes! She's so dominant now!"
"The bad woman's stopped pretending altogether?"
"Liuli: Quick, kill me, right now!"
"What kind of lightning-fast plot twist is this?"
"Holy cow, she's a crazy yandere!"
Liuli's reaction caught Qiji off guard.
He froze for a moment before suddenly remembering-
I almost forgot. In the anime, this girl apparently had a character trait where she couldn't wait to die.
Just kidding.
Of course he remembered.
So, even though he knew, he had deliberately said it simply to lead more naturally into his next line:
"Then how about this? If you dare lay a hand on Huomu again... I'll beat you until you wet. Your. Pants. In front of everyone."
???
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
The provocative smile that had been on Liuli's face a moment ago froze instantly.
That smile shattered bit by bit, giving way to pure bewilderment.
Wet... wet my pants?
What on earth is this guy talking about?
She even thought she had misheard him.
Taking in every bit of Liuli's reaction, Qiji felt quite satisfied with his immersive performance.
"Don't think I can't do it."
As he delivered that follow-up blow, he even wanted to put on a devilish smile to heighten the effect.
Unfortunately, he was wearing a mask, so he could only convey that malicious air of "I'll absolutely do what I say" through his tone.
The chat clearly hadn't expected such a threat to come out of Qiji's mouth either:
"?????"
"What did I just hear?"
"Wet... wet her pants???"
"Hahahahaha, fuck! What kind of genius threat is that?!"
"So this is what a genius who's neither restricted nor defined looks like?"
"Not being restricted doesn't mean you should have no standards, you bastard!"
"When it comes to entertaining a livestream, the host's really got it figured out! I'm dying!"
Thanks to the anime world's top-notch visuals, this whole series of clashes, back-and-forths, and threats had given the audience a thrill.
For a time, the popularity of Qiji's and Liuli's livestreams soared, and the number of comments exploded.
The words "wet your pants" made Liuli's brain short-circuit slightly.
She considered herself a thoroughly bad person.
But at this moment, Qiji, who had said something like that in her ear with a serious face, gave her a frustrated sense that she couldn't compare.
Is this person a devil?
In front of everyone...
Getting beaten until I wet my pants...
H-he's lying, right?!
But if it's this guy... he might actually...