Chapter 18: The Old Hag’s Schemes

When Ira awoke, the sun was already high in the sky, signaling the middle of the day.

Drowsily, she rubbed her eyes, stood up, and let out a wide yawn.

“Yaya, what time is it now?”

Yaya, who had been sleeping in Ira’s hair, disguised as a hair accessory, slowly opened their eyes. They rubbed them tiredly before fetching Ira’s phone with their mouth.

They skillfully powered it on, confirmed the time, and then, after muttering “twelve-thirty” by Ira’s ear, nestled back into her hair to resume their slumber.

‘Twelve-thirty, huh…’

‘No wonder Mona wasn’t in bed. She probably woke up and went for her lesson with Leila. Last night, I sent Mona a message via WeiQ [WeiQ is the world’s chat software] about starting Magical Girl training with Leila at eight this morning.’

‘Wait, it’s twelve o’clock now. Four hours have already passed since the lesson was supposed to start.’

‘That means Mona and the other two have likely been alone with that Dark Demon Princess Leila for four hours!’

‘My god!’

‘Heaven only knows what egregious, shameless acts that lecherous old hag might have committed against my sister.’

Ira was certain that without her supervision, Leila would unleash all the depraved and wicked behaviors she once used on Ira herself upon the three young Magical Girls.

She recalled how, a decade ago, Leila had meticulously deceived a memory-lost Ira, making her believe that certain extremely vulgar acts were common knowledge.

This was Leila’s method: she would subtly plant suggestions, brainwash you little by little, making you accept certain things as common sense until you willingly complied.

A shiver ran down Ira’s spine. Just thinking about those unpleasant memories made them unbearable.

‘That old hag must be doing exactly that!’

Without even stopping to wash up, Ira frantically rushed downstairs.

“Teacher Bele, are you sure we shouldn’t call Big Sister Ira to eat lunch with us?”

“It’s fine. My sister just loves to sleep in. She was probably exhausted yesterday.”

“Is that so? Ah! Lingling, don’t snatch my drumstick!”

“There were only three left, and one was always going to be snatched. It’s your fault for getting distracted.”

“Awoo~ Here, I’ve already bitten it. Do you still want it?”

“Ahh, Lingling, you’re cheating!”

Ira stared blankly at the four figures downstairs: the three little ones and Leila, sitting on small stools around a folding table, happily eating lunch.

The convenience store door was also open. When customers came in to buy things, Leila would put down her chopsticks and serve them, just as Ira usually did.

‘This… this isn’t right.’

Leila tucked the five yuan she earned into her pocket, then smiled as she turned her head to look at Ira, who was still frozen on the stairs.

“Ira, you’re awake. Hurry and wash up, then come eat.”

“Ah, Big Sister Ira, come quickly! Teacher Bele cooked so many delicious things!”

“Ah, ah…”

Ira nodded instinctively, too stunned by the scene before her to clearly hear what Mona said next. She simply turned and slowly walked back upstairs to the washroom.

The cool water splashed on her face, helping her to fully awaken.

“Yaya, I didn’t see wrong just now, did I?”

“Ah~ What did you see just now, Second Master?”

Ira’s face darkened as she tossed the groggy mechanical bat into the sink.

“Ouch!”

‘Could I have been mistaken?’

‘It’s possible.’

“Hey, I’m telling you, you’re abusing an underage bat!”

Ira picked up a comb, casually turned on the faucet, and filled the sink, allowing Yaya, who was still grumbling at the bottom, to experience the sensation of a waterfall.

Only then did she comb her messy black hair in front of the mirror. It was all Yaya’s fault for always sleeping in her hair; it had become so tangled and difficult to comb.

‘I must still be half-asleep. How could I have imagined the Dark Demon Princess Leila happily eating lunch with the three new Magical Girls? Why would I have such a hallucination?’

‘It must be from being so exhausted after transforming last night for the first time in a while.’

Ira glanced at the dripping wet mechanical bat crawling out of the sink, then flicked its head with her finger, sending it dizzyingly back into the water.

“Ara, ara, is this how my poor sister bullies her own partner?”

A nightmarish voice echoed, its familiar seductive tone allowing Ira to guess the speaker without even turning around.

In the mirror, Leila walked up behind Ira, expertly took the comb from her hand, and began meticulously combing Ira’s black hair, which was so similar to her own.

“Lei…”

“Hmm?”

“Hiss! Sister, what are you trying to do?!” Ira glared at Leila, who was combing her hair in the mirror, and demanded angrily.

“Nothing at all. Just like before, I’m simply grooming my sister’s hair properly.”

This was true; in the Abyss, Leila had always been the one to comb Ira’s hair. Even though Ira usually took care of Leila, Leila had always insisted on doing Ira’s hair herself.

However, Leila being here implicitly confirmed that the scene Ira witnessed earlier was real.

“Your hair is much messier than it was five years ago. It seems you haven’t been taking care of it, and you haven’t been using magic to comb it. Didn’t I tell you? Our Dark Princess hair only becomes lustrous and dazzling when magic is used to comb it. Look.”

Leila gazed tenderly at the hair in her hands. In the mirror, a hint of undetectable longing and reluctance flickered in her reflected purple eyes.

The wooden comb in her hand glowed with a faint purple light. The hair she had combed became jet-black and shiny, silky and flowing.

Compared to the uncombed ‘bat’s nest’ next to it, the difference was like night and day.

‘Ahh! What is this feeling of losing to the old hag?!’

‘It’s all Yaya’s fault. If it hadn’t been sleeping on my head, Leila wouldn’t have come to comb my hair.’

“Hmph, I won’t use the Dark Princess’s power. Don’t even think about tricking me!” Ira crossed her arms over her chest, blushing shyly as she turned her head away, refusing to meet Leila’s gaze in the mirror.

She then caught sight of Yaya, who was once again crawling out of the sink, shaking off water like a kitten. Ira pouted and flicked its head again, sending it back into the sink.