Oh, right, where was Li Jia? Aya Tone was surprised to find she hadn’t returned home with her.
“Are you dead?” Fire Finch asked, giving the half-dead Li Jia a disgruntled kick as she lay sprawled on the ground.
She, too, had received Ao Yu’s communication. Unlike Aya Tone, who hadn’t undergone systematic training, Fire Finch knew perfectly well the chaotic state of the energy within Li Jia’s body before she had fully mastered the magic granted by the fruit. To abuse her abilities with a body in such a state? She must be tired of living. The spatial fluctuations emanating from the room opposite had been too obvious to ignore.
Li Jia gritted her teeth tightly, her forehead beaded with sweat. ‘I overdid it,’ she thought. ‘It took a whole month to finally tame the magic within me and regain control of my body. Now… I’m back to square one.’ That wasn’t entirely accurate; her internal condition was even worse than before.
Fire Finch knitted her brows tightly. Though she complained, her concern for Li Jia was genuine. After all, they had been close sisters since childhood. Seeing her suffer so much, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. Considering this, she spoke.
“Little Jia’er,” Fire Finch said, “since you’re already in so much pain, how about Big Sister gives you a little help?”
Li Jia gritted her teeth against the pain, her eyes wide. ‘She couldn’t fathom what this crazy sister of hers was planning,’ she thought.
“You’re looking at me like that, so you agree, right?” Fire Finch said, rubbing her hands together. ‘She’d studied with her grandfather for a month, but had never had the chance to put her skills to use. Today, she would finally make her grand debut!’
A chill ran down Li Jia’s spine. She wanted to turn her head and refuse, but her current physical state wouldn’t allow for such a movement. She could only stare with wide eyes, a silent protest.
“I know you’re eager,” Fire Finch chirped, “but don’t rush. Let’s wait until Aya Tone takes Aya Jiu to school, then we can begin.”
Li Jia: ‘???’
‘Something’s wrong! Very, very wrong!’
Before long, Aya Jiu’s lighthearted giggles drifted in from outside the door. As the laughter faded into the distance, Fire Finch spoke with a meaningful expression.
“Have you ever heard of ‘Earthflame Body Refinement’?”
As if suddenly remembering Li Jia couldn’t speak, she clapped her hands in realization and continued on her own. “It’s fine if you haven’t,” she said, “just think of it as steel refining. You understand steel refining, right?”
“I possess an Undying Flame, whose temperature is no less than that of Earthflame.”
As she spoke, she flipped her hands, and two small Vermilion Birds alighted gently on her palms.
“And you, my friend!” she declared with a flourish. “Don’t worry, the scorching pain is only temporary; what awaits you is that vast, blue sky! Life is like the ocean; only those with unwavering resolve can reach the other shore.”
By the end, Fire Finch was grinning so wide her mouth almost reached her ears. ‘She couldn’t keep a straight face.’ “Ahem,” she cleared her throat, “it’s alright, Big Sister will be very gentle.”
‘Even she didn’t believe her own words,’ Li Jia thought, her eyes bloodshot with fury. In her current state, however, she couldn’t resist in the slightest, forced to watch helplessly as the two small Vermilion Birds in Fire Finch’s hands fluttered low, circling around her. Streaks of Undying Flame, stirred by the flapping of their wings, dripped onto Li Jia’s body. Her ordinary clothes, unable to withstand the Undying Flame’s temperature, instantly turned to ash. Her fair skin was, in that moment, completely exposed.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, so fair,” Fire Finch murmured, licking her lips with an utterly lecherous expression. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I haven’t seen it before when we were kids. What you have, I also have.”
She glanced again at Li Jia’s ample assets, her lips twitching in displeasure. ‘I have them, but they’re not this big. What did she eat to grow like that…?’
As if sensing the shift in Fire Finch’s gaze, Li Jia felt an inexplicable thrill. The pain, both internal and external, seemed to wash away for a moment. ‘Don’t get distracted,’ she reminded herself.
‘So what if I lost? Being bigger doesn’t mean anything,’ Li Jia thought, trying to distract herself. Fire Finch, meanwhile, ceased her teasing, focusing intently on controlling the Undying Flame, guiding it through the pores of Li Jia’s skin and into her body. The moment the Undying Flame entered Li Jia’s body, the spatial magic, which had taken over, immediately detected these invaders. Vast amounts of spatial magic furiously gathered, intending to eradicate these intruders in a short time. However, the Undying Flame’s essence lay in its immortality. Even when faced with such immense spatial magic, it stubbornly continued to burn, rekindling itself after each destruction. As more and more Undying Flame integrated into Li Jia’s body, the cluster of flames grew ever stronger. The time for a counterattack was at hand!
A low groan escaped Li Jia’s lips as the intense pain wracked her body. Two opposing forces clashed fiercely, using her body as their battlefield. Although the Undying Flame released by Fire Finch was constantly healing her meridians, the sensation of tearing and shattering was entirely transmitted to her brain. Even someone with an iron will would struggle to endure such torture.
Li Jia remained silent, enduring. ‘But sorry,’ she thought, ‘the resolve of a yandere cannot be judged by ordinary standards.’ Recalling that Aya Tone had not expressed any aversion to yuri earlier that morning, Li Jia’s desire to stand by her side intensified. ‘Aya Tone’s power will only grow stronger with time. Power is indispensable!’
****
Back home, Aya Tone was sprawled on the sofa, recalling the events from the black hole space that morning. “Big White,” he mused aloud, “do you think Li Jia might be, well, ‘that’?”
‘He couldn’t shake the feeling that Li Jia’s behavior was peculiar. Her wandering hands were one thing—the perverted guild sisters often behaved that way. But… why did she suddenly ask about girls getting close? The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. He’d once watched a yuri anime that had a similar plot. What was it back then? He pondered for a moment. It seemed to be a test to see if the other person was interested, and the protagonist neither liked nor disliked it. In the end, she was forcibly “bent.” Hmm… it shouldn’t… no way, right?’
Big White, having finished tidying up, plopped down beside him. “Master, do you want to hear the truth?” she asked.
“Of course,” Aya Tone retorted, “what else would I ask you for?”
“Miss Li Jia might have that inclination,” Big White stated plainly, “and the target is very likely you.”
Aya Tone: ‘???’
‘No, why me again!?’
“Big White,” he said, lightly patting her shoulder, “you’re growing up, learning to joke now, huh?”
Big White remained unmoved, quietly watching the ‘fool’ deceive himself.
“No, are you serious?” Aya Tone asked, awkwardly lowering his hand, his voice tinged with bewilderment. ‘I really didn’t think that far, man. Isn’t making money good enough? It’s already weird enough that the Guild Leader’s mother is eyeing me; how could a young lady like Li Jia also be interested in a single father like me? This is reality, not some female-oriented novel where a domineering CEO falls in love with me.’
Big White didn’t understand her master’s thoughts, but the group chat members certainly did. Especially that one loli-con group member, who had specifically recommended several loli manga to her: ‘Tsundere, natural airhead, girl-next-door types, and more. They had everything,’ Big White mused. ‘There’s nothing to be done. Master’s transformed appearance is simply too adorable. It’s perfectly normal for Miss Li Jia, having had so much contact, to lose control of herself. Judging by Master’s usual behavior, he likely falls into the tsundere-adorable category. Heh. He probably unintentionally charmed her and is still clueless about it.’
She really is oblivios.