Three Women, One Drama

Under the enhancement of her Crimson Authority, Luo You detected no trace of unusual emotion from Xingyue.

Pupil response, normal.

Breathing, normal.

Heart rate, normal…

[She hasn’t clocked my identity. Just a coincidence?]

“Ugh—”

The cold water had soaked her thin clothes, her skin stinging with the chill, making Luo You shiver uncontrollably.

Xingyue noticed and snapped her fingers lightly, murmuring, “Magical Mirage: Candlelight Glow.”

Whoosh!

A massive candle seemed to ignite in the void, bathing the cave in warm orange light.

In an instant, the space transformed into a feast of sumptuous delicacies, surrounded by flickering lanterns and a wide wooden table filled with loved ones.

It felt like a beautiful dream, one you’d never want to wake from.

Even if you died in this dream, it’d surely be the happiest way to go.

Xingyue gently approached Luo You, draping her magical feathered cloak over her.

“Still cold?”

“Uh, not anymore…”

Physically, she wasn’t cold, but for some reason, Xingyue’s proximity sent a chill through her body.

Xingyue’s expression remained calm, but when she turned to Zhou Xi, it shifted to reproach.

“Zhou Xi, you were too careless.”

“I understand…”

Zhou Xi couldn’t meet her eyes.

As a magical girl, dragging an ordinary person into this was a failure.

“I’ll take this girl to the hospital. Can you handle things here?”

“Yes, her right arm might be dislocated or fractured. Please hurry…”

“Oh, that’s not good. Come with me.”

“…Huh? Wait, wait!”

Luo You’s legs suddenly left the ground, and she found herself scooped into a princess carry by Xingyue’s warm, fragrant embrace.

Before she could process it, Xingyue was soaring through the sky with her in her arms.

You move way too fast!

“Don’t squirm. Your arm might be dislocated. Moving will make it hurt more.”

“It’s not dislocated. I already popped it back in.”

“Still, better get it checked at the hospital.”

“You don’t need to carry me like thi—”

A soft mound suddenly pressed against her face, completely smothering her mouth.

The relentless pressure kept squeezing her cheeks.

Such massive evil!

Was Xingyue this stacked?

Luo You distinctly remembered Xingyue seven years ago being, at best, average.

But what was smothering her face now?

This is the weight of justice!

“What were you saying?”

“Nothin’, I jus’ wan’ you to slow down. I’m scared.”

The suffocating softness blurred her vision.

Xingyue’s sweet scent seemed to seep through her clothes, purer and richer than any other magical girl’s.

Magical girls… I could die for this!

“Ah!”

Luo You let out a yelp, adjusting her position to bury her face deeper into Xingyue’s overwhelming “evil,” refusing to come up for air.

“What’s wrong?”

“Too high! I’m scared!”

“…”

Xingyue glanced at the white-haired head nestled tightly against her chest, a knowing smirk curling her lips.

Cave

Zhou Xi stared at the four bound kidnappers, debating how to deal with them.

What they’d done to Youyou—on personal or professional grounds, she wasn’t letting it slide.

“Zhou Xi!”

Feiyu appeared in a flash from a kilometer away, rushing to check Zhou Xi over.

“You okay? Did that evil woman assault you again—”

Her words trailed off as she noticed the four kidnappers.

“Evil woman? You mean Elera?”

“…What’s going on here?”

“These four ambushed us, kidnapped Youyou and me, and brought us here to interrogate me about Elera’s recent activity in Huahai City…”

Zhou Xi was still puzzled, asking, “Why’d you assume Elera took me?”

Feiyu broke into a cold sweat.

“Uh, logically speaking, she might’ve been… pent-up these past few days and nabbed you for some crime. That’s her nature, right? Always a depraved, lustful vixen.”

Even she felt the excuse was flimsy, so she quickly changed the subject.

“Where’s Youyou?”

She looked around but didn’t see her.

Had she been taken elsewhere?

“Lady Xingyue took her to the hospital.”

“Lady Xingyue!?”

Feiyu’s pupils shrank, her hands dropping limply.

“Why’s she…”

Zhou Xi shook her head, glancing at the thick jacket stripped from Luo You on the ground.

She clutched her left arm, her mood low.

“No idea. Just luck, I guess. If she hadn’t shown up, Youyou might’ve suffered because of me.”

No way.

Feiyu rejected the idea instantly.

Luo Youyou was likely Elera herself—get assaulted by these small-fry goons?

If the culprits were women, she’d probably turn the tables and dominate them.

But more intriguing was why Xingyue was here.

Had she come to Jiuming Sea right after the Ten Seats meeting that morning?

Feiyu’s expression darkened—no one had informed her.

Jiuming Sea was her turf.

As the strongest force in the local Magical Alliance branch, she should’ve been notified of Xingyue’s arrival.

That meant Xingyue had come on a whim.

She’d even used high-cost teleportation magic.

[Is Lady Xingyue… onto Luo Youyou? No way, I’m supposed to be the only one who knows, right?]

[I only suspected her because of a string of coincidences—perfect timing, place, and connections. How could Xingyue know? She’s never even met Youyou.]

[Zhou Xi said Xingyue took her to the hospital? Actually the hospital? Or is something else going on?]

“This is worrying…” Feiyu muttered.

“Feiyu?”

“Oh, nothing. Just… the fact they were after Elera’s intel is concerning.”

Feiyu snapped out of her panic.

Zhou Xi frowned.

“I know it’s not my place, but you seem distracted.”

“Youyou!”

A loud boom echoed from the sky as another magical girl descended.

It was Luo Zining—or rather, Little Red Riding Hood, already transformed.

She scanned the area, spotting only Luo You’s jacket on the ground.

Picking it up, it felt cold to the touch.

She whipped around to Zhou Xi.

“What the hell happened?!”

“My fault.”

Zhou Xi bowed her head in shame.

“Youyou and I were kidnapped. We’re still confirming the culprits’ identities.”

“Where’s Youyou?”

“Xingyue took her to the hospital.”

“She’s hurt!?”

Luo Zining paused, then registered.

“Wait—Lady Xingyue? That Lady Xingyue?”

“Yeah…”

“Tch!”

Luo Zining clicked her tongue.

Both Zhou Xi and Feiyu looked at her, confused.

Her face flushed as she said, “Nothing, just… Xingyue cleaning up these kidnappers feels like they got off too easy.”

[Hmph, that old hag. I rushed here first, and she leaves with someone else… And with Lady Xingyue, no less! She’s probably having a blast right now!]

She’s probably taking full advantage of her feminine wiles, shamelessly ogling Xingyue’s noble figure!

No more of this! I’ve gotta drag that hag back! At the very least, I’m not letting Xingyue handle her hospital care—changing clothes, feeding her, bathing her. No way!

“Which hospital?”

“Based on the direction, probably Jiuming Sea’s Medical University.”

“I’m heading there!”

“…Zining really cares about Youyou,” Zhou Xi said helplessly.

“Or maybe she’s just eager to meet Lady Xingyue.”

Both shook their heads and turned to deal with the kidnappers.

Feiyu’s aura turned menacing as she summoned her magical weapon—a three-meter-long crystal segmented whip.

“Talk. What’s your deal?”

“…”

The four stayed silent, curled up, eyes shut, as if passed out.

But their faintly trembling lips betrayed they were awake.

“Guess we’ll need some harsher methods.”

Feiyu raised her hand, her whip lashing out at blinding speed.

“Arghhh—”

“Ugh—”

A piercing alarm blared across Jiuming Sea.

The residents barely reacted, continuing their routines without a hint of panic.

It was just a Level 3 alert—dimensional beasts invading nearby cities, possibly affecting Jiuming Sea.

For years, these alerts had come and gone, but nothing ever happened.

People had grown numb.

Then Feiyu got a call.

“Feiyu.”

“It’s me. What’s the situation?”

“King-level dimensional beast. Energy fluctuation index: 10,800. Close to the casualty danger line. It’s in the next city over!”

“…Got it. I’m heading there now.”

Feiyu’s face grew serious.

She exchanged a glance with Zhou Xi before speeding off in her magical gear to the incident site.

The casualty danger line was a threshold set by the Magical Alliance based on each branch’s combat strength.

If an enemy’s power crossed it, magical girl casualties spiked, requiring reinforcements from other cities.

The neighboring city had top-tier magical girls who should handle it fine.

But if they faced the same crisis as Huahai City recently, it could be disastrous—even a total wipeout.

“Strange. Two days in a row with high-level dimensional beasts slipping through. Is there a problem with the Star Ring?”

Unlike Jiuming Sea, which bordered the Realm Gate, the neighboring city was farther away.

A King-level beast shouldn’t have slipped through so easily.

The Realm Gate had nearly a hundred zones, each guarded by an “Equatorial” mega Star Ring.

These could detect beasts with fluctuation indices from 2,000 to 50,000—mid-Ghost to early-Dragon level—preventing them from infiltrating the human world.

The Equatorial sensors occasionally missed beasts near those values, but the error rate was generally acceptable.