As her words fell, it was like a film running in reverse. The ribbon and gift box returned to how they were before, then drifted back into Yukieda's hands.

Yukieda was horrified to find that she couldn't control her body.

She couldn't refuse.

But she could still speak.

“Why?”

“Why?” Master Dai repeated, sounding puzzled. “Why do you wait for the traffic light before crossing the street?”

“Because of traffic laws?”

Yukieda answered her question. Master Dai only looked at her and smiled, wearing a clear you already know the answer expression.

“I can't agree to your request, so I can't accept these cookies either.”

Unconcealable disappointment appeared on Yukieda's face. She let out a breath and wanted to press the matter a little more, but in the end, she said nothing. Only then did she bring up the second reason for her visit.

“As for this... please help clear up my confusion.”

Yukieda summoned her magical weapon.

The gun body, carved with delicate patterns, was wrapped in a black ribbon. It looked extremely out of place.

“This is...”

Master Dai put away her folding fan, surprise showing on her face.

—

The moon was bright, the stars sparse.

Yukieda returned to her room. Quiet moonlight spilled over the bedding of the four girls.

The other three in the room were fast asleep. After undoing her transformation, Yukieda lay in bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Not long ago, she had taken out her magical weapon.

After Master Dai examined it carefully, her gaze suddenly turned sharp. It was like invisible hands were feeling over Yukieda from head to toe, searching inch by inch and missing nothing.

Yukieda was stared at until her whole face turned red. She awkwardly clutched the hem of her outfit's skirt, not knowing what to do.

Then Master Dai said something that made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

“You've been eroded by a Witch.”

“Eroded?”

Yukieda didn't quite understand.

“Simply put, if it isn't controlled, you'll turn into a Witch.”

That made Yukieda understand at once. Her pupils suddenly shrank. She had seen Witches before, and she had also seen how ruthless Mr. Kenji could be when it came to eliminating them.

She forced a smile. “It can't be that serious, right? It's just that there's an extra black ribbon on my magical weapon, and my body hasn't changed in any other way.”

Master Dai ignored Yukieda's explanation and simply continued.

“Even though I don't know how you obtained a Witch's power, that power has indeed fused with you. It's just staying tucked away in one corner of your body.”

Yukieda hurriedly asked, like a patient asking for medicine, “Then how do I drive that power out?”

Master Dai shook her head and tossed the weapon back to her.

“It has already become one with you.”

“Then... I'll become a Witch?”

Yukieda murmured to herself. Her eyes lost focus. She looked at her own hands. White silk gloves covered them without a single gap, perfectly outlining the slenderness that belonged to a young girl.

Master Dai had no reason to lie to her.

“Not exactly.”

Master Dai's next words lit hope back into her pupils.

“This magical weapon should've given you a lot of advantages in battles against Witches, right? After all, it comes from the same source as a Witch's power.” Master Dai paused. “So as long as you stop using it, you won't keep stimulating that Witch power.”

From the conversation that followed, Yukieda learned that Master Dai wasn't arrogant at all. She looked easygoing, but she was actually a very rational person. She patiently explained many things to Yukieda. For example, this matter was best not mentioned carelessly. And for another, the Witch power inside her was only about the size of an egg right now, and still dormant.

“Simply put, you just need to be a little careful.”

With a snap, Master Dai opened her folding fan and covered her mouth.

The memory ended.

She couldn't sleep. She really couldn't sleep at all.

Even though she had learned it wasn't too serious, Yukieda still couldn't help feeling uneasy about it.

But this matter only strengthened her resolve to confess to her daughter. Tonight was only the first night of the training camp. There were still three nights left before it ended. She wouldn't give up. She had to persuade Master Dai.

Yukieda made up her mind to visit Master Dai again the next day.

She tossed and turned.

In the end, Yukieda prepared herself a cup of tea and held it in her mouth. Then she looked at the ceiling, and her throat bobbed once.

Maybe it was because she had worries on her mind. Or maybe Mai's tea was seriously questionable. Either way, Yukieda didn't sleep very comfortably.

When she opened her eyes again, the sky was already bright. She had had a long nightmare. In it, she was a hunter. She stepped into a bear trap, got her mouth bitten by a turtle, and in the end even turned into a dairy cow and was milked desperately.

Just recalling it made Yukieda shiver.

That dream had felt way too real. Her foot still hurt, and her lips and chest felt numb too.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Mai. His yukata was very loose. From Yukieda's angle, she could see the two fake lumps squeezed together.

Fake...

Yukieda turned over. On the other side was her daughter. Compared to Mai, who had terrible sleeping posture, Shizuku was much more well-behaved. A happy smile rested on her face, as if she were having some wonderful dream.

Seeing her daughter's smile gave Yukieda a healed, comforted feeling.

Yukieda sat up from her bedding. Her hair was a mess, and her yukata had been tugged open, exposing pink shoulders and a broad stretch of pale, soft skin.

She pulled her clothes back up.

Not long after, the other three in the room woke up one after another.

“What exactly happened last night?”

Shizuku's expression was serious. She felt like something was off about her memory.

Yukieda explained earnestly, “Last night, after drinking tea, Shizuku and Mari said they got sleepy, so they went to sleep early.”

“Really?”

Shizuku sounded half-convinced and looked toward Mari.

“I think so?”

Mari answered in the same uncertain tone. She didn't know what had happened last night either.

“How should I put it... it was the first day of training camp, so everyone was excited. Feeling extra tired at night is normal. It's like kids on a trip.”

That explanation clearly didn't fully convince Shizuku. But when she saw the cookies in Yukieda's luggage—

“Forget it. It's probably something like that.”

Yukieda looked at Mai smugly. See? I helped you out of another crisis.

Mai saw the cookies too. Worry showed on his face, as if he wanted to ask something, but after seeing Shizuku and Mari, he swallowed the words.

—

“Yukieda-chan, Yukieda-chan, did you dream last night?”

Mari looked extremely excited.

The dining hall was noisy. Every table was full of students in uniform. Everyone had gathered by dorm group at the same table.

“A dream...” Yukieda thought for a moment. “I forgot.”

Mari looked disappointed, then started talking about her own dream. “Me, I dreamed I was hugging this huge pork leg and gnawing on it. It was fragrant and tender, but the skin was way too tough.”

Yukieda felt her toes grow a little uncomfortable, then curl slightly.

No way?

A guess formed in her heart.

“I even sucked on the pig trotter for ages.”

Mari spoke with great enthusiasm.

“Hhhhhhh.”

Mari's laugh was full of energy.

“Hhhh.”

Yukieda's gaze darted away.

Thankfully, Mari didn't keep going.

Shizuku picked up the topic on her own.

“I had a dream too. I dreamed I kissed my boyfriend.”

Yukieda's eyelid twitched.

At that, a little shyness appeared on Shizuku's face. Mari immediately asked what the boyfriend looked like.

“I couldn't see clearly. He was blurry.”

“Ah, well, it was a dream...” Mari complained at not getting an answer, then suddenly changed direction. “How long did you kiss?”

“We just touched lightly for a moment.”

Shizuku and Mari started fooling around. Across from them, Yukieda bit her rosy lips and the chopsticks in her mouth, staring fixedly at Shizuku.

“Yukieda? Is there something dirty on my face?”

Shizuku asked in confusion.

Yukieda stiffly shook her head, then lowered it and slowly ate her meal.

“Come to think of it, are Yukieda's lips a little swollen?”

“An allergy to chili peppers?”

Mari offered her guess.

Now that both Shizuku and Mari had finished talking about their dreams, the topic naturally fell to Mai.

He had just been about to speak when he saw Yukieda's body suddenly tremble. She clutched her chest, her pupils shaking like an earthquake as she looked at him.

Her meaning was obvious.

Don't say it.

The words at his lips stopped.

“What is it, Mai? What did you dream about last night?”

“Yeah, yeah, hurry up and tell us. I'm super curious!”

Shizuku and Mari pressed him.

Mai was puzzled, but he felt like there might be something wrong with what he was about to say, so he even gave it some careful thought.

Then he chose to ignore Yukieda's pleading gaze.

“As for me, I dreamed I turned into a kitten and curled up in my mother's arms. Mama cat worked very hard to feed me.”

As he spoke of that dream, even Mai showed a rare expression of happiness.

Shizuku and Mari looked envious.

“What, that's such an enviable dream.”

“Seriously. Turning into a kitten is impossible to resist.”

Mai added awkwardly, “But Mama cat didn't seem to have enough nutrition, so I bit down hard once. Thinking about it now, I feel really sorry.”

“Mai-kun is seriously so cute!”

“Well, he is my little sister in name, ahem.”

The three of them discussed it heatedly. Only Yukieda had gone limp in her chair. She looked like an old person on the verge of death. One arm slipped weakly off the table. She tilted her face up at the ceiling, as if her soul had just drifted out through her mouth.