"Was the fish I gave you really that bad? How did you end up getting kicked out?"

"I... said the wrong thing."

Tata Town stayed cool on summer nights. Even in the south, the evening breeze reliably swept away the last traces of daytime heat. Two small stools sat before the general store, each holding a bottle of juice.

Mei Yige’s heart sank. She’d gone too far—angered Sister Shiren.

*Calling her ‘foster mother’ was definitely too old-fashioned.*

Though honestly, getting kicked out wasn’t entirely undeserved.

"Sigh... I get it, I get it. Let’s not talk about that. Drink your juice. I’ve still got some of that fish I pickled yesterday. Since you can’t go back tonight, I’ll grill some here."

"Will it cost me?"

"Now you’re being too formal... Just two copper coins."

No refusal came. The two genuine locals clinked bottles of spiked juice under the night sky. Larin’s face flushed crimson—her tolerance was low—but Mei Yige kept pouring without hesitation.

"Honestly, it’s just that this temple’s too small! That’s why you’re treated like this!"

Friendship was simple: share a few drinks with someone you vibe with, and even non-alcoholic juice could spark shared understanding.

Larin slammed the table, tossed a handful of peanuts into her mouth, and her cat ears flattened like airplane wings. "You sit tight! Just sit down first!"

Mei Yige, tipsy herself, tried to pull the no-longer-thick-accented woman back onto her stool. But Larin shook her off, fired up.

"Sitting? She’s some big shot, and you’re no slouch either! What’s this about? Paid a silver coin for rent, and they won’t let you stay? A deal’s a deal—that’s just not right! We absolutely must give her a piece of our minds!"

"Yeah, yeah. Give her a piece of our minds."

"These rich folks only bully people like us—so unfair! Little sister Mei, listen to your elder sister: don’t back down! How can us commoners let those nobles push us around..."

The alcohol hit hard. One moment raging, the next sobbing. Larin clung to Mei Yige’s shoulder, ranting about heartless aristocrats exploiting the poor until Mei Yige didn’t know how to respond.

"Didn’t know you cared about this stuff..."

*An adult’s breaking point can come in an instant.* Mei Yige finally understood—Larin must’ve been driven from her own home too, scraping by with this little store. A pang of kinship made the spiked juice taste sweeter. Thankfully, this remote corner of town meant no one would report their drunken antics to the guards.

Between Larin’s wails and Mei Yige’s stiff politeness, they covered everything from the world’s creation to village gossip—even which household’s cat had gone missing.

Soon, the bright moon hung high. Around eleven, Larin set up a grill. Her tear-streaked face hardened into focus as she skewered fish.

*But Mei Yige knew—she was still utterly drunk.*

"You holding up? Let me take over the grilling?"

Worried about her boss’s state, Mei Yige reached to help. Drunken Larin, now fully in cat-mode, hissed at her.

"You’re my guest, old man! Sit tight and let me grill you something fragrant!"

*Old man?* She’d stopped calling her "little sister." Mei Yige sighed, settling back on her stool. The backyard barbecue reminded her of college days—street-side stalls, meat skewers for two yuan each. *Good times...*

"Barbecue without spice just feels wrong, sigh... Speaking of nobles, little sister, I’ve been thinking—shouldn’t us little people do something?"

"Huh?"

Mei Yige snapped back from her memories to Larin’s muttering.

*Is she having a political awakening?*

"What do you mean?"

"Unite."

Larin’s gaze turned steely. She locked eyes with Mei Yige. "We unite!"

"Wake up! You’re way too drunk for this!"

Alarmed, Mei Yige shook the delirious woman and took the grill tongs.

After a bittersweet dinner at the store, Mei Yige left with extra grilled fish she couldn’t refuse. She glanced at the sky—

The moon had vanished.

*Guess I’ll find somewhere to sleep...*

She’d camped rough plenty before.

"Coming back or not?"

"Huh?"

Before she could scramble for a bridge arch to share with stray cats, a familiar voice cut through the night. Ahead stood the golden-haired girl in pajamas, frowning outside the villa.

"Sister Shiren..."

"You rented my room. Did you think I’d leave you sleeping on the streets? Come back."

"I’m sorry... I upset you."

*Apologize when you’re wrong.* Such kindness—this goddess truly favored her. After the Hero’s adventure ended, Mei Yige had stopped expecting goodness from anyone. But now, looking at this golden-haired girl, warmth flickered anew in her chest.

"I’m no monster. I wouldn’t make someone sleep outside over something so small."

Shiren snorted coldly and turned toward the house. "Lock the door behind you."

*A Blood Demon has a duty to keep her food from freezing in the wild.*

Besides, Shiren wasn’t actually petty. She was just furious at herself for letting fantasies run wild.

*After living so long as a Blood Demon... to lose composure over a little girl? Pathetic.*

Another reason not to let Mei Yige go. This embarrassing memory had to be erased.

Shiren’s cold-blooded intent registered in Mei Yige’s eyes as tsundere aloofness.

*She still wants me as a roommate! Such a good person... sniff...*

*I’ll have to repay her somehow... with myself!*

Even if rejected, she’d cling on!

Mei Yige hurried after Shiren. The summer night’s chill suddenly felt warm.

But in the shadows, others remained awake.

Down a narrow alley, a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl bit her lip hard. Clutching a black notebook, her gaze—thick with longing and resentment—fixed on the villa’s entrance.

*She hadn’t mistaken it. A purple-haired woman had stood there moments ago.*

The height matched. No magical aura. That uniquely familiar presence...

Her hands trembled. Fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly until she stilled.

"Is it really you?"

*It has to be.* Day and night staring at those photos, tracing magical pathways to lock onto that unmistakable signature...

She couldn’t be wrong.

"*Void Witch*... I’ve finally found you."

A sharp, triumphant smile curved her lips.

Eyes fixed on the villa, she whispered:

"I’ll watch you. I’ll keep watching... until—"

She melted into the alley’s darkness.

Back in her room, still floating on relief from Shiren’s forgiveness, Mei Yige shivered involuntarily.

She whipped toward the window.

*...Was someone just staring at me?*