A Stiff Neck and a Strange Request

(Bai Ziye)

I must have dozed off at some point.

I woke up in a rather agonizing position, still clutching my tablet, legs folded, and slumped sideways on the bed. A sharp, pulling pain shot through my neck. Tch, I couldn’t even move.

I had a massive stiff neck.

A-Yao hadn’t come back all night, nor had he sent me a single message.

“That guy… he actually spent the night at Yang Yan’s? He’s not taking advantage of her just because he’s in a female body, is he?”

I rubbed my sore neck as I got up to wash. Even while brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth, I couldn’t lower my head. The pain was excruciating. A hot towel compress did nothing, so after some thought, I pulled out the Star Crystal and let its dark golden light flow into my body.

The moment I transformed into Miluno, the pain in my neck vanished. My whole body felt light and relaxed. It was a “cure” that worked instantly. As expected, with a magical girl’s physique, a stiff neck was nothing to worry about.

Even if A-Yao came back, I could cancel the transformation in an instant, but then the pain would return immediately. It was better if he stayed away a bit longer.

After washing up, I habitually turned on the TV, then went to the kitchen to pour myself a bowl of cereal with hot milk for breakfast.

Ding-dong—
Knock knock knock!!

Before I could even warm my seat at the table, the doorbell rang, followed by a frantic pounding.

Probably A-Yao, I thought. I nonchalantly canceled my transformation and tucked the Star Crystal back into my wristband.

“Coming! What’s all the rush for? You trying to break the door?”

I opened the door, but instead of a pink magical girl, I saw a group of unfamiliar men and women—seven or eight of them. They held up a banner reading “Enforcing Justice on Behalf of Heaven” and carried a photo of A-Yao’s face in black-and-white with a large “X” drawn over it. Their faces were twisted with malice as they stood in the hallway outside my apartment.

“…What are you people doing? Is this hallway a place for a protest?”

“Spare us the crap! Hand over that pig! We know he’s in there!”

Great. Just one sentence and my morning was ruined. After what happened yesterday, the online uproar had exploded. I figured someone would come looking for trouble sooner or later, but I hadn’t expected it to be this soon.

“First of all, he’s not here. Second, even if he were, you have no right to take him anywhere. I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard, but this is a society governed by law. The only one who can convict my friend is the law, not a bunch of rabble like you.”

I shot back with a cold glare. Even without transforming, my accumulated combat experience and instincts made me more than capable of handling myself against average people. That was the source of my confidence.

“You say he’s not here? Then let us in to search!”

“A search? Who do you think you are?”

The leader reached out to push the door, but he found it blocked by me, and I wouldn’t budge an inch.

He threatened me again, “Kid, you’ll regret shielding that fat pig!”

Behind him, someone held up a phone, filming my face.

“Hmph, trying to use public opinion against me? Go ahead and try. See how much support you get for harassment. Oh, and by the way, trespassing in a private residence carries a penalty of up to fifteen days of detention.”

I stepped aside half a pace, and the hotheaded leader, who had been leaning his weight against the door, tumbled headfirst into my entryway.

“…Just you wait!”

“Sure, I’ll wait.”

It seemed they were actually afraid of being detained. He crawled backward out of the doorway and stood up with the help of his cronies. They turned out to be nothing but a bunch of cowards. I had actually been hoping for a chance at “self-defense” so I could throw a couple of punches to vent my frustration.

I sighed and gave them a final warning. “I have footage here, too. No matter how you edit yours, I have the original file. All your faces are clearly visible. Defamation and personal attacks are also against the law. If you still want to try something, I’m happy to oblige.”

Not only was there a camera in the hallway, but my security door had a smart peephole. Everything from the moment they blocked my door was recorded. If any real trouble came of it, I could always have A-Yao ask Yin Lu for help later, since this sort of thing falls under Association cleanup work anyway.

“…Let’s go.”

The leader glanced nervously at the peephole on the door, then frowned and led his group away. I looked next door—A-Yao’s apartment door had been sprayed with vicious curses in red paint.

“Sigh, what is wrong with people?”

I was thinking about going downstairs to file a complaint with the security guard when a small head with pink hair peeked out from the corner of the hallway. Despite wearing sunglasses and a mask, that conspicuous hair color made her impossible to miss.

“Ye Zi…”

It was A-Yao—or rather, Sailuno. She looked at me with pleading eyes. She must have seen the entire confrontation.

I scratched my head and called out to her. “Dummy, come on in.”

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” she said as soon as she stepped inside, apologizing before she’d even taken off her shoes.

I knew she was A-Yao, but I still couldn’t stand seeing a girl look so miserable.

“What are you apologizing for? If you consider me your brother, don’t say things like that. It feels weird when you’re all formal with me. Besides, that bunch of rabble won’t amount to anything. One scare and they ran off.”

Sailuno shook her head. “Ye Zi, you don’t understand. Getting involved with them is a huge pain. It’s not about whether you’re in the right. They won’t dare confront you in person, but they’ll make a lot of noise online.”

“So what if they make noise online? Does that affect my appetite? Once people calm down, they’ll just look like a joke. We’ll live our lives as usual.”

I wasn’t some caveman; I knew their tricks, but I genuinely didn’t care.

“I didn’t expect you to have that kind of courage, Ye Zi. If it were me, I wouldn’t have even had the guts to open the door.”

Sailuno was petite, only reaching my chest. Her sparrow-like build made me instinctively want to pat her head. But after a moment’s hesitation, I just placed my hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. What you can’t do, I’ll do for you. But when it comes to fighting monsters, don’t I still need you to protect me?”

“Ye Zi…” She looked at me, moved, and then her expression turned incredibly serious. “…You’re right. I really do need your help!”

“Oh? What do you need me to do? Just say the word.”

Sailuno pressed a hand to her chest and said, “Ye Zi, please turn me into a real girl!”

……
…Damn.

My brother has finally lost his mind.

After becoming a magical girl, he actually wants to be a “real” girl? Was the difference in status between his two identities so vast that he had begun to despair over his male self? At this moment, as his only close friend, I had to say something.

“Sailuno, calm down first.” I pressed her shoulders and sat her down on the sofa, speaking earnestly. “Those hotheads from earlier are just a minority. This online storm will pass eventually. ‘Sun Yao’ will be able to show his face in public again someday. So don’t give up on yourself prematurely… I mean, you can still change back to being Sun Yao!”

“Huh? Ye Zi, where is your head at? I’m not giving up on myself!” Sailuno brushed my hand off her shoulder. “It’s just an agreement I made with Miss Yang Yan.”