Small, small, small and small

“Youyou~ Ji Yue~ Auntie~ won’t you say yes to me?”

Luo You clung to Ji Yue like a slime creature, pressing her soft body flush against her, poking her cheek with a finger, brushing her lips, even licking her tongue.

The atmosphere had already grown so strange, it wouldn’t have been surprising if things turned into full-on bodily contact at any moment.

“I… refuse!” Ji Yue forced the word out with difficulty.

“That Luo Youyou is really quite something, isn’t she?”

“Stop it! Enough already! My relationship with Luo Youyou isn’t remotely as close as you make it out to be—so what good is this threat of yours?!”

“No, no~ Magical girls and their ‘bonds’—and besides, Youyou is someone you know. Could you really stomach seeing her the next time withered and fallen, unrecognizable, stripped bare?”

Luo You’s voice dropped, dark and low.

“Or perhaps you wouldn’t mind… if I thoroughly, meticulously, trained her in front of your niece?”

“Hhh—”

Ji Yue sucked in a sharp breath of air.

This woman truly had no bottom line!

If Zining were to witness that scene, her very heart would shatter.

With hatred twisting her face, Ji Yue spat out between clenched teeth:

“No next time!”

“Yay! Yay!”

Luo You cheered like a triumphant child.

“You resort to such vile tricks today—you’ll pay for it one day.”

“Mhm, I’ll be waiting.”

Luo You didn’t care at all.

“What’s so dirty about using Luo Youyou as a bargaining chip? That’s not underhanded—that’s wisdom!”

Her tone dripped with mockery.

“Alright then. For now, Youyou is safe. But remember—her safety hangs on your choices. The key is in your hands.”

“Enough of your twisted wordplay!” Ji Yue’s voice cracked. In the end, wasn’t it simple? As long as she agreed to Herrera’s obscene “film,” at least Youyou would not be dragged in.

It wasn’t meaningless surrender.

This humiliation would only forge her hatred sharper.

All the more reason to seek vengeance and burn Herrera to ash.

But then Herrera leaned close and murmured:

“Besides, my challenge isn’t just about blades and magic. Anyone can come at me in a different form of contest.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It means”—Herrera’s smile curved—”your duels don’t need to be just real combat. Test me in other things. Music. Games. Whatever. Choose something you excel in, and I’ll accept.”

Ji Yue’s eyes flickered.

Yes, if it was a clash of raw power, her chance of beating Herrera alone was zero.

But something else? Something on equal ground? Herrera was not omnipotent.

A crooked chance at victory stirred her heart.

“Of course,” Herrera added sweetly. “You pick the contest, I’ll give you a day to prepare. As a trade, I’ll get three concessions of my choosing during the match. That’s fair, isn’t it?”

It was nowhere near equal. But compared to a hopeless battle of magic—this was possible.

Ji Yue’s heart pounded.

“And if I lose, what do you intend?” Ji Yue asked coldly.

“Simple,” Luo You spread her arms wide. “Then you’re mine.”

“You—what did you say?”

“You lose, I’ll train you. Isn’t that what half the magical girls secretly long for anyway? Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

“Don’t you dare lump us all into your filth!” Ji Yue snapped.

But she faltered. Memories whispered—their Ten Seat meeting had touched on how several once captured by Herrera were never the same, their eyes changed.

Had all of them been dragged beneath her corruption?

“Impossible!” she declared. And yet, a frightening voice deep inside whispered what if?

Herrera chuckled.

“So, I’ll wait. Decide the rules. Fight me however you want. If you win, I’ll yield. If you lose, you’re mine.”

Ji Yue trembled, her heart torn between fury and… temptation.

Herrera leaned in close, brushing her lips against her ear.

“I’ll be waiting, Auntie Ji Yue~”

“Don’t call me Aunt!”

Ji Yue bit her tongue, refusing to be baited.

But even as she stormed away later, she knew the seed had taken root.

Later that afternoon, Luo You returned to Huahai City.

Unlocking her apartment door—

“…Dad.”

Blocking the doorway was Luo Zining, arms crossed.

“You again? How many times is this lately?!” Luo You groaned.

Ever since her daughter suspected her, she was constantly being ‘caught’ like this.

“Your stockings.”

“Eh?”

“You always tell me to put your dirty laundry in the basket. But your stockings—where are they? Don’t say you ruined them.”

Luo You twitched. So it comes to this, hm?

“Yesterday—I was caught in a fire. They burned. I threw them out.”

“A fire?!”

Zining’s eyes widened. She’d heard about a blaze in town, extinguished by some mysterious magical girl, supposedly one of the Ten.

“Who saved you?”

With a proud grin, Luo You declared:

“Hmph, none other than Sixth Seat herself—Liyun!”

“…Dad. You didn’t take advantage of her, did you?”

“Hey! Who do you take me for? If anything—she took advantage of me!

She even touched my leg! And she kept the stockings too!”

“…Hmph. Fine. But don’t get cocky.”

“Anyway, if you want new stockings so badly, let’s go get some.”

And so, father and daughter ended up together at an upscale lingerie boutique—Lorelei.

Rows upon rows of gleaming silk garments lined the walls, some priced at thousands apiece.

Luo Zining was near-blushing crimson.

“These are way too fancy!”

Luo You just folded her arms, smirking. “Choose one, kid. Consider it an… educational expense.”

But midway through the browsing, the shop door opened.

“…You.”

Ji Yue walked in, murderous air radiating off her, though instantly concealed when she spotted Zining.

“You’re buying stockings?” she asked tersely.

Zining nodded, startled.

Ji Yue’s gaze flicked to Luo You, narrowed sharply, then softened for Zining.

“Pick anything you like. I’ll pay for it. Lingerie too. Whatever you want.”

Luo Zining nearly fainted.

Aunt? Why so generous all of a sudden?

Meanwhile, Luo You sweatdropped.

Uh oh. Auntie, don’t tell me you want to drag me into the fitting booth right here and then…?

Ji Yue’s eyes lingered.

Her nails dug into a stocking, tearing it with precision. Then she tossed the tattered silk into Luo You’s hands.

“Put them on. Now. I want to see.”

Stunned, Luo You slowly slid the ripped stockings up her smooth legs.

Ji Yue’s breath caught in her chest, her pulse speeding up.

Behind closed eyes, her thoughts screamed in chaos.

No…! Could it be that I—am just like Herrera?

The memory of the hot spring resurfaced, of Herrera whispering obsessions into her ear.

No. Wrong. This isn’t desire—it’s resolve. If I win, I’ll crush her. Grind her down until she can’t breathe. THAT is my true feeling.

Yet deep in her chest, she realized something horrifying.

Her heart wasn’t as pure as she had always believed.