Chapter 234: Lovers, Fireworks, and True Names

During autumn in Leijing, especially just after dinner, the night breeze blowing over the city was at its most refreshing and pleasant.

At this hour, the Old Jingmai Amusement Park was bustling. The crowds came and went, stretching into the distance like a long dragon.

Above them, the massive Ferris wheel rose and fell against the pitch-black night sky like a dazzling halo of light.

At that moment, Ke Mingqing and the magical girl Ember were sitting on top of one of the cabins. He leaned back with his hands propped against the metal roof, while she hugged her knees beneath the hem of her skirt.

The brother and sister gazed silently into the distance.

Bang!

Bang, bang!

Bang, bang, bang!

Deafening booms echoed from the night sky over the riverbank, rolling on and on.

It wasn't just Ke Mingqing and Ember; the passengers inside every cabin of the Ferris wheel were leaning against the windows, looking on in awe at the fireworks over the Riverbank Autumn Market.

Few of the parkgoers riding the Ferris wheel at Old Jingmai tonight knew there would be a fireworks display at the Riverbank Autumn Market.

For them, the show was a complete and unexpected delight—double the enjoyment for the price of a ticket. Ke Mingqing was different, however; he gently swung his legs in the night breeze, his face perfectly calm.

"Did you know there would be fireworks right now?" Ember asked suddenly after a while.

Ke Mingqing looked up from his phone and nodded. "Yeah, I just looked it up. The timing is spot on, right?"

As he spoke, their eyes were illuminated by the sky full of fireworks, their bangs lifted by the evening breeze.

Ember looked up and then lowered her eyes, the world brightening and dimming around her. The rose-patterned hem of her gothic dress and her gray head ribbons fluttered in the wind, as if she might meld into the night at any moment.

"Then... what is our relationship now?" she asked softly after a long silence.

"Brother and sister?"

Ke Mingqing blurted it out almost without thinking, staring quietly into the distance.

"...And what else?"

Ember frowned slightly, her voice soft.

Ke Mingqing scratched his cheek. "A couple, lovers, boyfriend and girlfriend..." he said, a little bashfully. "Hey, just pick whichever one sounds best."

Ember froze. Lowering her head with reddened ears and shifting eyes, she thought it over for a moment.

Finally, she gave a firm shake of her head and said, sounding slightly annoyed:

"You decide."

"Then I'll just keep calling you what I always have."

"...Huh?"

Ke Mingqing turned his head, looking at the girl's clear-cut profile and reddened ears. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Then what's the difference from before?" Ember turned her head as well, meeting his gaze.

The two stared quietly at each other for a moment as the evening breeze gently brushed against their cheeks.

"Of course there's a difference. Now we're brother and sister, and a couple."

Ke Mingqing paused. "Besides, the bond of family is way stronger than lovers. Even if we break up, we'll still eat together on New Year's."

"Oh... we just got together, and you're already thinking about breaking up?"

"Always plan for the worst-case scenario first. That's my principle," Ke Mingqing said evenly.

"I'm ignoring you."

The girl in the gothic dress huffed, turning her head away.

"Ignore me then."

"Idiot."

"Dummy."

"Fool."

"Dumbass."

"I hate you."

"Then I like you."

"Oh. I like you too."

The brightly lit Ferris wheel spun at a leisurely pace. The cabin carrying the boy and girl reached the very top once again. At that moment, it felt as though they could take in the entire city at a single glance.

The dark lake water below was illuminated by the amusement park's lights, its thousands of rippling waves reflecting the sky full of fireworks and the blurred silhouette of the Ferris wheel.

"By the way, should we think about telling Mom?" Ember suddenly asked.

"Tell her what?" Ke Mingqing was puzzled.

The girl in the gothic dress tilted her head slightly, shooting him a lukewarm glare. Frowning, she said:

"What else is there to tell?"

"How am I supposed to know if you don't say it?" Ke Mingqing shot back.

"That we. Are. Dating."

Ember explained, enunciating every single syllable. Ke Mingqing froze on the spot. He lowered his head and coughed twice before asking, "No way. Comrade Xia Zili, are you serious?"

"Mom is the only one in the family who would support us, right?"

Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes, thinking to himself that yes, Mom would support them, but only because she wanted to see what kind of offspring a magical girl and an esper would breed.

"Anyway, if we tell her first, we'll have someone backing us up," Ember murmured. She sighed. "That way, even if Dad, Eldest Brother, Second Sister, and Third Sister all come at us together, they still won't be able to beat us."

"Whoa, that's actually true. Mom does have the highest status in the house."

Ke Mingqing shrugged, thinking to himself that it wasn't just her status in the family—her combat power was leagues ahead of everyone else's, too. He hadn't realized his sister's intuition was this sharp.

"So, you agree?"

"Yeah."

Ke Mingqing nodded, tilting his head back to look at the night sky. "Then we lay our cards on the table with Mom next month?"

"Why next month?"

"I'm worried that this month we'll bicker every day, break up seven times a week, and then get laughed at by Mom."

"It's fine. If that really happens, you can date a witch instead."

"Holy shit, sis, that's going full yandere. What do you mean, 'If you break up with me, I'll turn into a witch and kill you'?" Ke Mingqing was dumbfounded.

"What did you expect?"

Ke Mingqing pressed his hands together in a gesture of surrender. "Then I'll try my best not to make you mad. From now on, I'm at your beck and call."

"Then... hug me," Ember said suddenly after a brief silence.

"So suddenly?"

"Before, when I was just your sister, I couldn't casually ask you to do that. Can I still not do it now?" Ember said softly. "You were even willing to hug Little Grey..."

Before she could finish, Ke Mingqing reached out and took her pale hand in his, interlocking his fingers with hers.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"With something like a hug, it feels too forced if you only do it because the other person asked, doesn't it?"

Ke Mingqing looked away, speaking softly. "Even though we've been family for years, and brother and sister for a long time, this is still our first day as a couple, isn't it?"

His cheeks flushed slightly as he lowered his voice. "So, let's start with holding hands and take it one step at a time. I think it'll be better this way."

Ember didn't say anything; she just quietly stared at his reddened face.

Ke Mingqing felt like he was sitting on pins and needles under her gaze, but the girl remained motionless, her skirt and gray ribbons dancing in the night wind. After a while, she tilted her head and whispered, "You're actually blushing?"

"No I'm not."

"You clearly are."

"No means no... Are you done? If you keep this up, I'm jumping off!"

"Oh... then jump. It's not like the fall will kill you anyway."

"This is how you treat me?"

"Grade-schooler."

"Kindergartener."

Above the brightly lit Ferris wheel, the siblings bickered for a bit before falling silent.

Seemingly tired, they sat with their fingers intertwined, quietly enjoying the night breeze for a while. The cabin beneath them was slowly descending with a steady clack-clack, and the fireworks reflected in their eyes grew dimmer and dimmer. The fireworks show at the Riverbank Autumn Market was almost over.

"So... are we going to run away?"

A moment later, the girl in the gothic dress lowered her eyes and asked softly.

"Like eloping?"

Ke Mingqing thought about it, then shook his head. "Let's not rush it just yet."

She stayed quiet for a moment, then asked in confusion,

"Why?"

"Think about it. Xi Ziyue went to all the trouble of using a barrier to protect you inside Leijing just so those witches couldn't get to you too easily."

Ke Mingqing sighed. "If we suddenly got a bright idea and ran outside on our own, wouldn't that just be throwing ourselves into the net?"

Ember fell silent for a long time before parting her lips slightly. "Yeah... you make a good point," she said.

"Relax, Dad's got us covered."

Ke Mingqing shrugged nonchalantly. "I've already told Dad not to go running around for at least the next month. He just needs to stay put in Leijing and be his usual clock-punching civil-servant superhero."

"Some Dad he is. He almost couldn't even protect you."

"Tch, if you don't trust Dad, then as a last resort I'll just have him invite Zeus over!" Ke Mingqing said. "Those freaks from the Roundtable are way stronger than some witches. He could wipe out all those witches entirely on his own."

"Oh, wow, that sounds much more reassuring than Dad."

"Right?"

The brother and sister looked at each other silently and shared a soft laugh. By now, the fireworks had reached their end, and the distant booms had slowly faded away, though a few traces of fiery light still lingered in the night sky.

The girl lowered her clear eyes, which resembled an aurora. Her gaze shifted, and she didn't say a word for a very, very long time.

"I actually know... what you're afraid of isn't those witches, but yourself," Ke Mingqing said softly. "But I've already told you: no matter what you turn into in the end, I'll do everything I can to pull you back."

After a long while, Ember finally spoke up softly.

"Really?"

"Of course it's true."

"Can I trust you?"

"You can."

The Ferris wheel cabin gradually neared the ground. They would have to disembark soon.

Suddenly, a hazy cocoon of light enveloped the magical girl Ember's body. As the light faded, her elegant, luxurious gothic dress disappeared, and her clear, flowing hair cascaded down her back.

Xia Zili let out a long breath and turned to look at him. "Let's go. Time to go back and rest; I still have a meeting tomorrow morning."

"A meeting?" Ke Mingqing asked casually.

"Yeah. Kiyono Sakura, Yona, and Ava will all be there."

"Why are you guys having meetings every day? What's the topic this time?"

"They plan to set up defensive lines all over Leijing to prevent those witches from finding an opening to break in, though I think it's useless."

At this point, Xia Zili paused and lowered her voice. "After all, they can't even catch me, can they?"

Ke Mingqing remained silent for a moment.

"It's fine. If the situation really gets that bad, I still have one trump card I can use."

The boy muttered silently to himself as a sudden gust of night wind blew his bangs high into the air. Facing the gale, he raised his eyes and looked at the data panel floating in midair.

[Item Name: One-Time Magical Girl Transformation Card]

[Item Description: Upon using this transformation card, you will temporarily transform into a magical girl.]

...

...

The next morning at 8:30 AM, Old Jingmai District. An abandoned elementary school that had been closed for a long time.

Inside the otherwise empty teaching building, only a single classroom on the fifth floor was brightly lit. A black-haired girl in a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, an albino boy wearing a blue-and-white school uniform, and a short-haired girl in a pleated skirt had gathered together.

"Little Red Riding Hood is late again," Kiyono Sakura said. "Senior Ember too. It seems neither of them have any concept of punctuality."

Yona smiled faintly. "Well, they were trained by Teacher Xi Ziyue, after all."

The Danish girl, Ava, remained silent, simply standing in the corner and quietly reading her light novel.

A moment later, a snow-white top hat came spinning in through the window, hovering right above the makeshift conference table constructed from stacked wooden desks.

All three turned their heads. At that very moment, a ghostly white figure abruptly materialized on top of the conference table.

White Jack reclined to the side in an alluring posture, like an Indian queen sitting upon a throne. With a deep, profound gaze, he swept his eyes over the three figures in the classroom.

"My, what a rare guest," Kiyono Sakura said, arching an eyebrow.

"White Jack? The guy with the perky ass?" Yona's eyes widened slightly.

Ava looked up from her light novel, her clear, cold eyes quietly fixing on the white figure upon the table.

White Jack stayed silent for a moment, met Kiyono Sakura's gaze, and spoke:

"It's like this, Miss Kiyono Sakura: before Xi Ziyue, Ember, and Little Red Riding Hood arrive, I'm hoping you could pass on a message to them for me."

"Is there something you can't say to them yourself?" Kiyono Sakura tilted her head. "It doesn't look like you have any trouble opening your mouth. Who here doesn't know how glib the great White Jack's tongue is?"

"No can do. Miss Ember's temper is far too explosive, and Xi Ziyue is an even bigger headache."

White Jack spread his hands helplessly. "Your Teacher Xi Ziyue is truly lacking in manners. Last time, before I could even finish my sentence, she smashed my head flat with a mahjong tile."

Yona rested a finger against his chin and looked up through his snow-white bangs, staring curiously at White Jack.

"That's strange... Teacher Xi Ziyue has such a gentle personality. Would she really do something like that?" he murmured.

Ava remained silent.

"What did you say at the time?" Kiyono Sakura asked curiously.

"Do you really want to know?" White Jack teased.

Kiyono Sakura cupped her cheeks, a faint smile curling the corners of her lips. "If you're just going to waste my time keeping us in suspense, then I'll have to ask you to leave. When you're asking someone for a favor, shouldn't your attitude be a little better?"

White Jack shrugged and took off his top hat, setting it on the table.

"Fine. At the time, I told her I had a witch friend staying here in Leijing."

The people in the classroom fell silent for a moment as a deathly absolute silence quietly descended. Yona was dumbfounded, and Kiyono Sakura's mouth gaped open slightly. Only Ava was still quietly turning the pages of her light novel.

Seeing that the other three weren't speaking, White Jack raised an index finger and continued:

"Now, here is the message I need you to pass on to Miss Xi Ziyue—I boldly predict that during this upcoming battle against the witch cult 'Terminus Tower,' you will encounter a witch unlike any you have ever seen before."

Kiyono Sakura pondered for a moment before asking, "This 'friend' you're talking about... do you mean the witch that appeared during the battle with Death Crow?"

"No, no, no," White Jack shook his head. "I'm referring to a different witch, and this particular witch is an old acquaintance of mine."

Saying this, he pulled back the corners of his split mouth into a smile. "There's still time for you to curry favor with me. Perhaps I could put in a good word for you in front of her."

As soon as his voice fell, Ava, who had been completely silent in the corner this entire time, suddenly looked up. Her figure was instantly covered by a hazy cocoon of light.

As the light shattered, a brown-haired girl dressed in a silver-and-black pleated skirt appeared in the classroom. Attached to her right arm was a shield radiating a silvery-blue light.

In the next instant, the shield abruptly split apart, transforming into a barrage of blades that gleamed with an eerie blue light as they shot straight toward White Jack.

"Hey, hey, hey, could you be any more polite?" White Jack didn't dodge or evade. He merely narrowed his eyes and said, "Are all magical girls this ill-mannered? No wonder your average education level is only junior college."

In almost an instant, White Jack was pinned to the wall by the barrage of shield fragments, his body deeply embedded into the surface.

Layers of cracks spread across the wall, making his trapped figure look like Jesus pinned to the cross.

Magical Girl Deep Space looked up at him, her voice cold as she enunciated every single word:

"It is impossible for us to be friends... As long as it's a witch, it is our enemy."

"Now that things have come to this, aren't you going to consider telling us the name of that witch?"

Kiyono Sakura paused, then added mockingly, "If you don't leak a little bit of her background, our little sister Deep Space is going to get anxious. She despises witches the most, after all."

Within the crater on the wall, White Jack remained silent, like a puppet with its strings cut. Suddenly, he froze completely in place.

In reality, Ke Mingqing was carefully recalling the intel he had coaxed out of Kuroki Hitomi right before their final meeting.

[Ke Mingqing: I can meet you at the Leijing TV Tower.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: Then I'll wait for you.]

[Ke Mingqing: But on one condition.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: What condition?]

[Ke Mingqing: You have to tell me exactly what happened in the "Mirror Supermarket" instance after I used the One-Time Magical Girl Transformation Card.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: At the time, you turned into a massive cocoon, kind of like a heart. Then, spikes made of condensed magic power shot out from the cocoon and instantly killed the instance boss.]

[Ke Mingqing: And I had a super-human species panel floating above my head back then?]

[Kuroki Hitomi: Yes.]

[Ke Mingqing: What was the name?]

[Kuroki Hitomi: I couldn't see the exact name. I only remember that many parts of it were obscured. Exactly what appeared on the panel seemed to be this: "The Witch of ?? and ?? and ??."]

"Well? Have you recalled the name of that witch friend of yours yet?" Kiyono Sakura took a sip of tea, breaking the brief silence.

White Jack snapped out of his memories, finally showing a hint of movement.

At that moment, for some unknown reason, an unfamiliar name popped into White Jack's mind.

He slowly raised his head from within the crater. Sweeping his profound gaze over every figure in the conference room, he slowly opened his mouth in the absolute silence...