A Brutal Battle

“Maybe I should just go back?”

Xingyu waited in the room for another half an hour.

Seeing no sign of Elera coming, she glanced at the time and felt she should probably head back.

“I don’t want to go back to my own home…”

Sigh!
I have no idea how my sister will react after what I said to her.
I have no idea how to face Liyun when I get back.

She thought for a moment, then picked up her phone to make a call.

“…No, forget it.
Ji Yue is busy enough with work as it is.
It’s better not to bother her.”

In terms of seniority, Ji Yue was her young aunt.
The two weren’t particularly close, just maintaining a normal relative relationship.
Consulting her aunt about this would only add to the other’s troubles.

Besides, Ji Yue was even younger than her!
How could she have the nerve to bother her!

“Zining… she might be able to give me some advice.”

Even though they weren’t related by blood, Luo Zining was still her sister, so maybe consulting her…

With that in mind, Xingyu hesitated for a moment before calling Luo Zining.

Beep— Beep—

– “Hello? Who is this? Spit it out!”
Zining’s voice came through.
Judging by the background noise, she seemed to be playing a game.

– “Zining, are you busy?”

– “Eh? Is that you, Sister Mengmeng!”

The background noise on the other end of the line suddenly went silent.

After a moment, Zining’s voice returned.
– “What’s up, Sister Mengmeng?”

– “Um, I was thinking of staying at your place for a few days. Would that be okay?”

– “Eheh? Sister Mengmeng, you want to come stay at my place? Yes! Of course, you can!”

Luo Zining agreed without a second thought.

Xingyu smiled warmly and asked, “I won’t be disturbing you and Youyou, will I?”

– “No, no, it’s fine! My da… Youyou told me yesterday that she’s going on a business trip for a week, so you can come over anytime!”

Just then, a rumbling sound came from the ceiling, accompanied by a graceful female voice, creating a beautiful musical piece.

And this time, the girl’s voice seemed even louder than before.

‘Those people upstairs… they’re at it again.’

Xingyu frowned.
Even though it was a hotel, they should still be a little more considerate!

She covered the mouthpiece slightly and asked, “A business trip for a week? Didn’t you tell me she’s a coach at a gym? What kind of business trip would that be?”

– “How should I know? She said something about an exchange event with another gym, giving professional guidance to the people there… Anyway, I didn’t really get it. Just come on over, Sister Mengmeng!”

– “I see… okay then.”

BOOM!

Another loud crash of something heavy hitting the floor came from the ceiling, sounding like it had smashed through the floorboards.
It was followed by even louder panting than before, the content of which made Xingyu blush furiously!

The sound carried so clearly it was as if the ceiling was just a single layer of wood, with almost zero soundproofing!

– “Sister Mengmeng, it sounds like there’s some noise on your end?”

Luo Zining heard the sound too.
She blushed slightly, but then, as if realizing something, her expression changed drastically.

– “Sister Mengmeng, you’re not in a love hotel, are you!?”

– “Eh?? N-no, of course not! Besides, with my appearance… haha, no one would risk letting me in, right?”

– “But that sound is just too…”

– “Ahem, a young couple, dry wood and a blazing fire… it’s not my place to say anything.”

Xingyu couldn’t continue talking to Zining in this environment anyway.
After saying she’d head over in the afternoon, she hastily hung up.

Is the soundproofing in this hotel really this bad?

I can’t believe it.
The room looks so luxurious, but the soundproofing is terrible.
What hotel is this?
One-star review!

Then she saw the hotel’s acrylic promotional sign on the bedside table and fell silent.

“It really is a love hotel…” she said, covering her forehead.

She’d been brought here in a daze by Elera last night and hadn’t paid any attention to where they were.

“But even for a love hotel, the soundproofing shouldn’t be this bad!”

As she thought this, the battle upstairs was growing more and more intense!

“What on earth are they doing upstairs! They’re so inconsiderate!”

Xingyu couldn’t help but complain.

The passionate battle upstairs felt like a personal insult to her, who had been stood up by Elera.

‘Having a great time, are we? That witch practically picked me up off the street, only to stand me up.’

So where in the world did Elera go???

For a woman as lecherous as her to ignore a plump sheep right in front of her was truly unexpected.

‘Hah… maybe the one upstairs is Elera, in the middle of a heated battle with another magical girl. Maybe when she was about to come to me, the other girl caught her and intercepted her instead?’

Pfft.
Xingyu laughed self-deprecatingly.
She was just being sour.

Making excuses because she was stood up and couldn’t save face… it was a bit pathetic.

Besides, no matter how unconventional Elera was, she probably wouldn’t play around that wildly, right?
And if there were two magical girls at the same time, knowing Elera’s personality, she would most likely go for a threesome, not sleep with them separately.

“Time to go.”

Xingyu shook her head, stopped waiting for Elera, and left on her own.

As for Liyun’s matter, it seems I’ll have to figure it out myself…

Upstairs, Xingyue watched Xingyu leave through the window and made a sound of pity.

Then she turned back and chuckled at Luo You:

“Oh my~ She’s left. It’s a wonder you managed to hold back from making too much noise. All my magic for directionally amplifying the volume by ten times went to waste…”

Luo You struggled to her feet, her legs weak, and clenched her jaw. “Cut the crap… You should be glad I’ve gotten rusty over the past seven years, or you never would have made it to the all-out brawl!”

“When it comes to being rusty, I’m the same as you, you know?” Xingyue laughed.

“Hah, enough nonsense. Next up is the all-out brawl. I’ll finish you off right now!”

“Bring it on. (Slurp)”

Three days later!

Luo Zining handed a cup of tea to Ji Meng.
Seeing the constant worry on her little face, she finally couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Mengmeng, did something happen? You seem so down all the time.”

“Eh?! D-d-do I?”

“See? Every time I ask, you get this guilty look on your face. What’s really going on? Did you have a fight with our aunt?”

“It’s not what you think…”

Since she couldn’t talk about Liyun’s situation, Ji Meng decided to ask about it indirectly.

“If you said something really harsh to your sister, and now the atmosphere is super awkward, what would you do?”

“Sister?”

Luo Zining was surprised.

She did indeed have a sister, who was also Ji Meng’s sister.

But this sister had already been adopted by another family for some time before she herself was adopted by Luo You.
She had spent the least amount of time with them, so their relationship wasn’t particularly close.

Luo Zining didn’t feel it was her place to ask too much about their business, so she just asked the key question, “Who was at fault?”

“My sister did something really awful but didn’t realize it, and I lost control and yelled at her… that’s why…”

“I see. Then it should be fine, right?”

Luo Zining shrugged, then went behind Ji Meng, wrapped her arms around her waist, and lifted the petite girl completely off the ground.

“Eheh? Zining?”

“See? Sister Mengmeng is so small and cute. If you yelled at me, I’d just think of it as a kitten having a tantrum and not take it seriously.”

“…That’s a heck of a way to put it. Do I have no big-sisterly dignity in front of you?”

Just then—

The sound of the front door opening came from the entryway.

“I’m back… Zining, quickly, make me some restorative tea…”