"I'm not tsundere."

"No tsundere would call themselves tsundere..." Qingyu Mengyin's laugh popped like a soap bubble.

"Then I'm tsundere!"

"I get it, I get it. Little Shengsheng, go on~"

"Old hag Dreamsound!!"

"Shengsheng! I've said it so many times. By Merfolk years, I'm not even of age!" Her voice rose like a wave against stone.

Qingyu Mengyin feigned disdain, a fan flick of a smile. "I get it, a 'legal loli,' huh. Gross..."

"No! If Mother were still here, by imperial law I'd still be an underage princess." The word princess hung like a silver coronet.

"...I'm sorry."

Tangxue's little mouth parted; guilt drifted down like a shadowed petal.

"Shengsheng, why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong..." Her tone was a soft tide.

"Head up. I don't like you looking at people with your head down, even me." Qingyu Mengyin set Tangxue's head straight, her hand warm as seawater, eyes steady as moonlight.

"..."

Dreamsound smiled helplessly, the curve rippling, then her face tightened like a drawn bow. "Alright, alright. Weren't you going to look for a way to boost your mental strength? Tell me why. If you want it higher, Mama can help."

"...It won't work. Mama, your mental strength isn't even as high as mine..." The words fell like cold rain.

"..." Dreamsound's mouth twitched; her smile froze like frost.

It was true. Mental power grows with years like rings in a tree. There aren't that many tricks. To raise it, you lean on time or lineage.

So the iron-willed are usually ancient monsters, moss on old stone.

By the way, Qing Feng Yuelian and Dreamsound's mother have lived nearly two thousand years. As for Tangxue's age... that's mist behind a fan.

"Mom... Mama, I have to raise mine. Otherwise, when something unavoidable hits, I'll lose control like last time..." Panic fluttered first, then the vow settled like an anchor.

"Only if I force my mental strength higher will the amnesia stop. Even this time, I woke early because of it." Tangxue shot Dreamsound a resentful glare, sharp as a little dagger.

If not for a certain someone, would she be napping in daylight like a cat in sun?

For the past month, her mind was a beehive. Old memories and a waking self tangled, a net of threads, until she almost couldn't tell who she was. Because of Dreamsound's baffling 'operations,' she couldn't sleep at night. But thanks to that fool's nightly persistence, she clawed herself back, like a tide finding shore.

"You'll forgive Mama, right? Ehehe~" Her plea was a breeze through beads.

"Yeah, yeah. I won't fuss with an idiot over this..." Her voice flicked like a paper fan.

"I'm not an idiot!" The protest sparked like flint.

Flustered, Dreamsound kneaded Tangxue's soft cheeks, trying to squeeze them into a bun, steam rising in imagination.

Tangxue, of course, returned the favor in kind, mirroring her like twin ponds.

Pinching Dreamsound's face was a bargain she never lost, peach-soft and spring-warm.

After all, Dreamsound was basically a larger version of herself, a taller reflection. Pinching her was softer than pinching herself, like silk over silk.

Speaking of the larger self... the more she thought of that, the more the kettle simmered.

Back in the Demon-God Federation, that "relative of Dreamsound"? That was just her, grown up, a mirror twenty years deep.

She didn't know how that future-her crossed time to meet her, a swallow cutting through seasons. But it was definitely her. She'd been muddled and missed it. Dreamsound's face is very similar to hers, and Qing Feng Yuelian and Dreamsound have slight differences—she'd noticed that before. So the one she met in the Demon-God Federation was almost certainly her future self, a lantern seen twice.

And over this month, she'd quietly asked Frostwhisper about meeting the past, her whisper fine as falling snow.

She only gave a rough answer...

It's possible, like a door left slightly ajar.

Thinking back to the words she told herself, it must mean Jiuxi, that little bastard, was planning something heinous, a storm brewed in a teacup turned typhoon. Even her future self couldn't stomach it. When she returned to the Demon-God Federation, she'd teach her properly, thunder in her palm.

Hmph... With Frostwhisper at my side now, I'm not afraid of her, a blade of ice at the hip.

"Then where will you look, Shengsheng? Does the continent really have a way to boost mental strength? I don't think so..." Dreamsound's gaze carried a chill, like moon on cold water.

"There is." Tangxue's eyes flickered, a fish-scale glint. "Last time in Starfate City, I met a very odd Beastkin. If it's him... he should have a way."

"...Beastkin? Why are you so sure? They have plenty of shamans and charlatans. Especially their shrine-maiden line. Maybe you got swindled." Her words wove smoke and mirrors.

"Instinct. And that Beastkin's mental strength was higher than yours. Much higher..." Mountain against wave.

"..."

A towering mind doesn't mean towering might, like tall bamboo bending in wind. And the mighty may have only average will, tempered steel without filigree.

For example, Qingyu Mengyin is the kind whose mana outweighs mental force, current over keel. Most Merfolk royals were the reverse. They trained mind arts more. She's the odd one, a fish swimming against the tide.

Oh, and now there's also Qingsheng Tangxue, a second star in the same sky.

"Either way, I'm going to the land this time." The shoreline beckoned like a pale ribbon.

"Oooh... Shengsheng grew up and doesn't want Mama anymore..." Her voice drizzled like fine rain.

"Gross..." Qingsheng Tangxue cut Dreamsound's fake tears with a sideways look, a fan slicing water.

"Alright, alright. If you must go, Mama can't stop you. But don't be willful out there... If you can, write me a few letters?" Qingyu Mengyin hugged Tangxue, arms warm as a tide-washed shawl, her voice full of plea.

"It won't trouble you, Shengsheng. Leave the delivery to Little Dove. You just tell Mama what you want to say..." Her words perched like a gull on a railing.

Little Dove was an exotic seagull raised on Dreamsound's island. It looked like any gull at a glance, but it was a powerful beast, wings like silver blades.

"..." Qingsheng Tangxue nodded quietly, chin dipping like a falling petal.

She remembered that gull. At least she wouldn't turn it into poultry on a whim, the pan's sizzle held at bay.

"So, did you make lunch this lavish on purpose today?" Qingyu Mengyin smiled ruefully, a wilted flower.

Tangxue said nothing. Silence was assent, a nod cast in shadow.

Their moods were low, yet food was a bridge they never burned. After a feast, several plates vanished, plus one massive pickled ice-sea fish. They devoured it clean, plates like moons left bare.

"Shengsheng... will you sleep with me once more? Just once... Leave after I fall asleep..." Qingyu Mengyin lay alone on the bed, fists knotting the quilt, reluctance heavy as dusk.

"I'm not in a hurry..." Qingsheng Tangxue sighed, a small wave against sand.

Why? She's just going out to play. Why make it feel like parting at the pier, gulls wheeling overhead?

Tangxue rolled her eyes, two marbles spinning.

"Just this once... And Dreamsound, you can't cling to me like before. Or I'll..."

"Eheh..." Once she grabbed her familiar pillow, Dreamsound's IQ seemed to drop. She clung to Shengsheng like an octopus, arms and legs wrapped tight, suction-cup sure.

"..."

Please, you're a Merfolk! Must you use those long legs so... expertly? Her thought flicked like a sardine.

No good. It was impossible to resist; surrender pooled like warm milk.

Tangxue's fingers slid over warm, silky skin, temptation pricking like summer rain. She rubbed her forehead to clear the fog.

This wasn't her idea, okay? But Dreamsound smelled so sweet, honey and sea-salt, it made you want a bite...

Mm. Just a taste, like peach at the lip.

If this keeps up, I'll never escape this warm nest... Though staying isn't a bad choice, like winter by the brazier.

Tangxue's eyelids drooped like leaves at dusk. She pressed her small head to Dreamsound's body, then wore a blissful look and bared a pair of little tiger teeth.

Aa—mm...!

"Aaaaah!!!"

In the warm little house, a scream split the air, and... the wail of a small girl kicked off the bed, a thud like a dropped cushion.

...