“I-I didn’t do anything.”

Jiecheng Yuan desperately tried to explain herself. This time, she was completely panicking. She’d thought Shuiye You’s reaction might differ a little from what happened in the story, but she’d never expected Shuiye You to do something like this.

Had she done something to make Shuiye You suspicious? Had her identity been exposed? Was it because she’d refused that so-called special training?

Should she transform?

Jiecheng Yuan still couldn’t make up her mind. Transforming in front of Shuiye You would obviously be dangerous. She didn’t want to recklessly expose her identity—not before things reached the point of no return.

Shuiye You pulled the rope a little higher, lifting Jiecheng Yuan’s upper body off the ground. Now Yuan didn’t have to crane her neck just to see Shuiye You’s expression.

Jiecheng Yuan would’ve much rather stayed facedown. At least then she wouldn’t have to look at Shuiye You’s chilling expression from close enough to almost touch noses.

“You don’t seem to understand?” Shuiye You let go, and Jiecheng Yuan, with nothing supporting her, dropped back to the floor.

“I’m willing to explain everything to you slowly, but I think it’d be better to start with the conclusion and make sure you’re convinced.”

“What? I really didn’t do anything!” Jiecheng Yuan was still trying to prove her innocence with a feeble excuse.

“That’s right. You haven’t done anything yet—or you’ve already done something, and I just don’t know about it…” Shuiye You gave the rope in her hand a little shake. “Either way, after I’ve done something this awful to you, your first reaction isn’t anger or fear. You don’t even scream for help. Instead, you try to defend yourself and prove you’re innocent. Isn’t that strange?”

Jiecheng Yuan’s heart gave a jolt. The other girl was completely right. Her voice weakened as she tried to explain herself. “I-I was just scared by you, Mizuno.”

“That’s possible. Let’s say you were scared, Jiecheng. Even then, you were still thinking about something. And for a brief moment, you let out… Hmm, how should I put it? There was… malice. It’s not that you never thought about fighting back. You gave up on it. So I figured you must have some other motive.”

Jiecheng Yuan fell silent. In this situation, she really had nothing to say.

If Xiwei Li had stumbled in here by accident and run into something like this, it wouldn’t have been a problem at all. But she was fundamentally different from Xiwei Li. Shuiye You had gotten one thing right: she’d come here with another purpose.

Shuiye You was still Shuiye You. There was no doubt about that. Her being such a pushover didn’t contradict the way she crushed her enemies with the icy ruthlessness and overwhelming strength she showed in a serious fight.

“You haven’t argued with me for a while. I don’t know if I should take that as an admission.” A rare hint of smugness crept into Shuiye You’s voice. “So, are you ready to tell me something now?”

“I really don’t have any motive.” Jiecheng Yuan was still stubbornly denying it. She’d take this secret to her grave before telling Shuiye You anything about Fallen Magical Girls.

“So you want to talk this out slowly. Fair enough. It’s not very polite to keep you facedown like this.” Shuiye You curled her fingers and brought them to her lips.

You’re talking to me about being polite? Was tying me up polite?

“Besides… there’s still this whole length of rope left, isn’t there?”

Ten minutes later, Jiecheng Yuan was hanging in the middle of the room like a swing. Her hands and feet were tied to opposite sides of the ceiling, and her face, pointed toward the floor, hung less than half a meter above it.

The pose was neither elegant nor indecent. It was a little embarrassing, sure, but Jiecheng Yuan could tell Shuiye You wasn’t doing this for fun. She just wanted to keep Yuan from escaping—and humiliate her a little while she was at it.

The moment Shuiye You picked up the rope, Yuan had genuinely worried she might create a scene that wasn’t fit for children. But Shuiye You didn’t seem to have that in mind. She’d even tucked Yuan’s skirt between her thighs to keep it from riding up under gravity and exposing anything.

But at least it’s just ordinary bondage… Wait, no! I’m tied up! This pushover turned the tables and tied me up!

All her weight rested on her hands and feet, and it didn’t take long for them to start aching. The only thing she could be grateful for was how light her body was, so her limbs didn’t have to bear too much strain. Even so, the coarse cotton rope dug into her skin, leaving a series of bruises on its pale surface.

To keep Jiecheng Yuan from shouting, Shuiye You had stuffed a lightbulb-shaped candy into her mouth.

That’s right—it was a hollow hard candy shaped like a light bulb. You couldn’t swallow it or spit it out, and you absolutely couldn’t bite through it until it had melted to a certain point.

That thing had never appeared in the game. Yuan had no idea where Shuiye You had found so many bizarre items to indulge her twisted hobby.

“Mm. Then I’ll start from the beginning.” Shuiye You sat down in front of Jiecheng Yuan again and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the beads of sweat from her neck.

“Mmmph! Mmmph!” Jiecheng Yuan looked a mess, but she could still think clearly. After all, she still had one trump card left: transforming. At worst, she could transform and completely fall out with Shuiye You.

“Jiecheng, you acted a little strangely when you came in. Did you realize that?” Shuiye You folded her hands together and looked Yuan in the eye, speaking unhurriedly. “You always seem to be able to predict what I’m thinking. Whenever I say something, you respond in a way that looks perfectly normal. It doesn’t feel like we’re having a conversation. It feels like you’re playing along with me in some kind of act.”

She’s way too perceptive, isn’t she? Jiecheng Yuan sucked in a breath. She was so shocked she couldn’t stop the muscles in her face from twitching uncontrollably. She was sure her expression looked awful.

“So you must know more about me than other people do to be able to do that. I thought that might just be my imagination, but based on that hunch, I came up with a few possibilities.”

Shuiye You stood up and crouched in front of Jiecheng Yuan, raising one finger. “First, you want to join the Kyudo Club. But no matter how I look at it, that can’t possibly be the right answer.”

“Second.” Shuiye You raised another finger. “You really did come here by mistake. That’s impossible too. I don’t think I need to explain why.”

“Third.” Shuiye You raised a third finger, then curled all three around the rope and gave it a tug. “You came here for me—or rather, for this.”

Jiecheng Yuan swung back and forth in the air as Shuiye You tugged the rope, which made her feel even more like a swing.

“I thought that was the right answer, but it wasn’t. When I invited you, you turned me down.” Shuiye You lowered all three fingers, then curled her hand around the rope and lightly sat on Jiecheng Yuan’s taut back, putting all her weight on Yuan’s body. She brushed her palm over Yuan’s face and tugged the stick of the lightbulb candy just a little, deliberately making Yuan let out another string of muffled whimpers.

“So, here’s why I did all this to you: I think I’ve figured out who you are.”