Chapter 104: Today is another day full of hope.

Just as Yukina and Charlotte were cheerfully bickering on their way, a voice suddenly called out from ahead.

“Yukina…”

Yukina looked up and saw that the person standing not far ahead was her friend, Zhong Shuixi.

“Xiaoxi!”

Seeing Zhong Shuixi, Yukina’s mood immediately eased.

However, she suddenly remembered the scene from yesterday where Xiaoxi held a dagger and nearly killed her. Her instinctive reaction made Yukina’s greeting hesitate.

Noticing this, Zhong Shuixi’s eyes showed a hint of sadness.

No matter what, yesterday’s events had left a scar on Yukina’s heart. It was impossible to continue their daily life as if nothing had happened and achieve a state of perfect happiness.

Even if they tried to laugh and talk, an undeniable rift had formed between them because of yesterday’s incident.

The two were frozen in place, staring at each other, neither daring to take the step to cross the gap.

Charlotte, seeing Zhong Shuixi appear ahead, instinctively waved a greeting.

“Yo! Xiaoxi! Good morning!”

“Uh, Senior, good morning!”

Xiaoxi looked completely caught off guard by Charlotte’s greeting, which made Charlotte suspicious.

She turned her head and saw Yukina’s extremely awkward expression. Without thinking, she reached out her hands and pushed Yukina’s back.

“Yukina, why are you frozen here? If you don’t move forward, the school won’t move toward us, you know?”

Suddenly pushed by Charlotte, the distance between Yukina and Zhong Shuixi instantly closed.

Yukina was about to complain to Charlotte, but hearing Charlotte’s words, Yukina looked as if she had suddenly understood everything, a look of realization dawning on her face.

The life she desired wouldn’t come to her willingly.

If she did nothing, her wish to reconcile with Xiaoxi wouldn’t be easily realized.

Thinking this, Yukina smiled slightly, then cheerfully raised her right hand and greeted Zhong Shuixi.

“Xiaoxi, good morning! Did you sleep well last night?”

“I… I slept very well, Yukina. How about you?”

Yukina and Zhong Shuixi naturally walked together and began chatting as usual.

Watching Yukina and Zhong Shuixi finally returning to their cheerful selves, Charlotte, walking behind them, also smiled softly.

It was as if the spirit of Xinghe, who always cared about his sister and junior, had suddenly possessed her.

Charlotte suddenly felt that as long as the two of them could smile, no matter how terrible the things she had experienced were, she would feel that all her efforts hadn’t been in vain.

“Hmm, is this what it feels like to be a hero? It’s actually quite nice.”

“Brother, what are you standing there for? If you don’t keep up, I’ll leave you behind!”

While Charlotte was lost in thought, Yukina suddenly turned her head and complained.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming!”

Charlotte was about to jog to catch up when she suddenly felt something. She turned her head and scanned the area behind her, but found nothing unusual.

“Huh? Was that my imagination? I feel like someone is secretly watching me.”

Charlotte scratched her head, then turned and followed Yukina’s footsteps.

One hundred meters behind them, a figure hiding in the shadows smiled slightly, as if a scheme of theirs was about to succeed.

“Xiaoxi, I’m going to run ahead to the convenience store. You walk to the classroom with my brother.”

When they arrived at the school, Yukina seized the free time before class to leave the group and quickly walked toward the convenience store.

Since Charlotte was Xinghe reincarnated from the other world, and Yukina had already explained this to Xiaoxi, Yukina no longer pretended and directly called Charlotte “brother,” even in front of Xiaoxi.

After Yukina left the group, Charlotte and Zhong Shuixi walked toward the classroom together.

“Thank you, Senior!”

As they walked, Xiaoxi suddenly said this to Charlotte.

“Hmm?” Charlotte looked up at Xiaoxi.

“If it weren’t for you, Senior, Yukina and I might have drifted apart. The feeling of losing one’s only friend is very painful for me. The fact that I can still chat normally with Yukina and confide in her is all thanks to you, Senior!”

Hearing Xiaoxi’s gratitude, Charlotte smiled warmly.

“It’s nothing. I just happened to lend a hand. I’m telling you, Xiaoxi, I’m so powerful now that I can easily resolve any terrible situation that arises! So you don’t have to worry! Go on and enjoy the peak of happiness you have now.”

“Enjoy your life!”

Saying this, Charlotte put her hands on her hips, looking like a life mentor, staring up at Zhong Shuixi with an expression that said, “Praise me.”

Just like before, whenever she was in a bad mood, her Senior would always appear in time and rub her head to comfort her.

But for some reason, the current scene felt strangely incongruous to Zhong Shuixi.

Charlotte was too short to perform that head-rubbing gesture now.

Even if she jumped, she probably couldn’t reach Xiaoxi’s head.

‘What did Senpai go through to reincarnate as such a short girl?’

And…

Thinking this, Zhong Shuixi’s gaze involuntarily fell onto Charlotte’s flat chest.

‘She hasn’t developed at all!’

‘Has Senpai not entered puberty yet? Does that mean she’s literally a loli?’

Although Zhong Shuixi knew Charlotte had crossed over from another world, she didn’t know Charlotte’s current age. She mistakenly thought Charlotte was only eight or nine years old.

Unconsciously, a strange thought arose in her heart: she wanted to raise such a cute, doll-like, petite, silver-haired loli herself.

Sensing that Zhong Shuixi’s gaze was a little strange, Charlotte looked slightly embarrassed.

“Hey! Xiaoxi, why are you looking at me like that? Do I look like a sweet little cake?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just not used to Senpai being such a petite girl now!”

Zhong Shuixi turned her head and hooked her finger at her cheek twice, trying to ease the awkwardness.

“Is that so? That’s understandable. After all, only a few days have passed in this world. But you’ll get used to my existence eventually! You don’t need to worry about it!”

“Although this question is a bit sudden, Senpai, are you used to being a girl now?”

“Yes. After all, I grew up from an infant after being reincarnated in the other world. Although it took some getting used to at first, the physical differences between a boy and a girl are not that big when you’re a child. Over time, I just got used to this new body!”

Charlotte’s response sounded like she was about to perform a zero-frame jump to a new dimension.

‘Reincarnated into a new body, but what about the old one?’

“Speaking of which, Xiaoxi, did you suddenly grow taller? I remember looking down at you before.” Charlotte seemed genuinely confused that she had to bend her head to see Xiaoxi’s eyes now.

“I haven’t changed at all, Senpai. You’re the one who got shorter.” Zhong Shuixi replied matter-of-factly.

“The former Senpai was at least 170cm tall, but the current Senpai is like someone whose legs were cut off by a butler. Her height is less than 144cm. It’s no wonder she mistakenly thinks familiar people have suddenly grown taller.”

“Ngh…” Her weakness had been exposed by her junior. Charlotte blushed, quickly turning her face away and trying to find an excuse for her short stature. “That’s because the most powerful witches in our world are shorter. The smaller you are, the more concentrated the essence. The shorter the witch, the stronger she is! That’s right!”

Saying this, Charlotte nodded vigorously, as if trying to convince herself.

“But it’s true that I’m not used to looking up like this all the time. Oh, right!”

Charlotte’s eyes lit up as if a good idea had struck her.

Then, Zhong Shuixi watched in amazement as Charlotte suddenly grew taller.

No, to be precise, Charlotte floated up off the ground.

Like a hot air balloon, she floated up to a height where Zhong Shuixi had to tilt her head back to look at her.

“Mhm, this feels more familiar!” Charlotte looked down at Zhong Shuixi, satisfied, completely forgetting the promise she made to Yukina about not using magic in the school.

Fortunately, they were currently on the stairs, a blind spot shielded by the walls and staircase, where other students couldn’t see them.

“Well? Aren’t I awesome, Senpai?”

Faced with Charlotte’s smug display, Zhong Shuixi was about to answer when a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind her.

“Yo, Xiaoxi! Good morning!”

Zhong Shuixi turned her head and saw that the person who greeted her was Huangquan Ai. Since her name was just the single character “Ai,” she was affectionately called “Little Ai” by her classmates.

Huangquan Ai was also a good friend of Yukina’s, just like her. But her personality was utterly unpredictable. She seemed perpetually cheerful and couldn’t be angered by anything.

Of course, Zhong Shuixi’s best friend was herself. After all, she and Yukina knew each other’s deepest secrets.

“Good morning, Little Ai…”

The moment Zhong Shuixi greeted her, a heavy thud suddenly came from behind her.

The sound caught both their attention.

They looked down the stairs and saw Charlotte lying in a strange posture at the bottom of the stairs, her hands raised above her head, her fingers trembling as if making a peace sign, while her butt was proudly thrust into the air, facing them, like an open invitation.

“Eh?” Zhong Shuixi and Huangquan Ai both looked bewildered.