Chapter 12: Is it funny that I can’t go back to the other world?

“As long as I give this strange pill to someone who is related to me by blood and is of the same gender as me, I’ll be able to sleep well tonight?”

Little Charlotte mumbled this to herself on the way home, and then she suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.

“Wait a minute, the person Master was talking about… could it be Mom Rhynes?”

Looking at the mysterious little pill in her hand, a wave of guilt washed over little Charlotte.

‘Is she asking me to drug my own mother? That move is too despicable, Master!’

‘What should I do now?’

‘Should I confess to Mom Rhynes?’

‘If Mom Rhynes finds out I’ve been learning magic from the witch on the back mountain for several days, she’ll definitely spank me until my butt blossoms.¹’

‘It’s not that I can’t handle a spanking, but it’s not a good time these past few days. After the magic circuits were activated, my whole body has become much more sensitive than usual. Just sitting on a chair makes me feel like something is ramming straight up into my stomach.’

‘I’m only six years old this year. How can a body this small and delicate withstand such an intense blow?’

‘I have no choice. I’ll have to follow Master’s instructions and give Mom Rhynes this little pill.’

‘Mom Rhynes has a habit of taking a nap every day. I’ll just do it then.’

At this thought, little Charlotte nodded, as if she had made up her mind, and continued walking towards home.

Watching the unrepentant little Charlotte still planning to poison her mother Rhynes, Yukina, sitting on the side, couldn’t help but shoot a disdainful look at her outrageous brother.

“Brother, you didn’t actually do something as scummy as drugging your own mom, did you?”

“Uh… no,” Charlotte scratched her head awkwardly. “I changed my mind later on. You’ll see if you keep watching.”

When little Charlotte got home, she was surprised to find that Mom Rhynes wasn’t there. Only Shaula, who was looking at a picture book, and the maid watching over her were home.

“Sister Charlotte, you’re back!”
Seeing Charlotte return, little Shaula hopped down from her chair and ran happily to her side.

“Stop right there!” Yukina hurriedly paused the playback, pointing at the little purple-haired girl and shouting at the Charlotte beside her. “Where did this cute little sister pop out from?”

“Oh, she’s my sister, Shaula, three years younger than me.” Charlotte introduced the little sister in just a few words.

“You have a sister in the other world too? Why are you only just now introducing her to me?”

“Because she’s not really relevant to the main story! Aren’t we talking about me learning magic right now? We can just skip the unimportant stuff for now.”

“So a little sister is also an ‘unimportant thing’?” Yukina stared at her irresponsible brother with a look of contempt.

The thought that she wasn’t her brother’s only little sister made Yukina’s expression turn gloomy.

“If there are no other questions, I’ll continue playing.”

Charlotte pressed the play button, and time in the scene began to flow again.

“Where’s Mom Rhynes? I don’t see her,” little Charlotte asked casually.

“Mom and Dad went out together! They might not be back until tonight!” little Shaula replied.

“Is that so?”

‘Wait a minute, if Mom Rhynes isn’t coming back until tonight, doesn’t that mean I won’t have a chance to give her the pill?’

“Oh, right! Mom made some really delicious pastries earlier. I saved one especially for you, Sister Charlotte!”

As she said this, little Shaula trotted over to a cupboard in the kitchen, took out a plate with a delicate little cake on it, and handed it to little Charlotte.

“Hurry and try it, Sister Charlotte! It’s delicious!”

Little Charlotte took a bite of the small cake and was instantly surprised.

“Wow, this is so good! Mom Rhynes is truly amazing, her cooking skills are getting more and more exquisite! She’ll be a god of cookery in no time.”

“Right! Mom’s amazing, isn’t she!” little Shaula looked up at little Charlotte with wide, happy eyes, as if she, having specially saved a piece for her sister, also wanted a reward.

After making eye contact with little Shaula, little Charlotte suddenly recalled the conditions Chloe had mentioned for the candidate.

‘Related to me by blood, and also a girl.’

Besides Mom Rhynes, there was actually one other person who fit that description.

And that was…

“Oh, right, Ula-la,²” little Charlotte took out the small pill. “This is a candy an old lady in the village gave me. I heard it’s very sweet. Here, you can have it!”

“Really?”
Little Shaula’s face lit up with surprise. Without hesitation, she took the small pill from little Charlotte and swallowed it in one gulp.

“How does it taste?”

After eating the pill, little Shaula’s face immediately scrunched up.

“Ngh… you lied, Sister Charlotte. This isn’t sweet at all!”

“The old lady said it was sweet, I haven’t tried it either! It’s not my fault! If you’re going to blame someone, blame that old lady for not making the candy a little sweeter.”

At the same time, in the courtyard on the back mountain, Chloe, who was watering the flowers, suddenly sneezed.

“Achoo! Why do I feel like someone is cursing me? It must be Mashiro!”

Seeing little Charlotte give that sinful little pill to little Shaula, Yukina’s face darkened. She was silent for a long time before finally spitting out two words.

“You animal!”

‘How could a brother be so cruel to his adorable little sister? He transferred all his pain onto this tiny girl so he could get a good night’s sleep.’

‘If my brother won’t even spare his own little sister, then aren’t I in even more danger?’

“I’m going to bed!”

Without another word, Yukina stood up from the sofa and walked towards her room.

Although Charlotte hadn’t yet dismissed the image of the other world, Yukina still found her room and slammed the door shut with a bang.

“Eh?”
Charlotte was left alone, completely dumbfounded.
“What’s wrong with Yukina all of a sudden? Was that scene really so disturbing? There was even more exciting content coming up!”

Since Yukina had no intention of watching anymore, there was no point in continuing to show the story.

Charlotte could only dismiss the image, and the surroundings returned to their quiet, modern style.

She glanced up and saw that the clock on the wall was already pointing to twelve.

“Oh my gosh, it’s this late already? I have to get back quickly! Lillian must be getting anxious!”

Charlotte took a piece of special chalk from a dimensional space, drew a magic circle in mid-air, and then conjured a ball of fire in her hand, which she threw into the circle to ignite it.

This was the activation condition for the cross-world magic.

It seemed the flow of time was different between the real world and the other world. A few hours in the real world was equivalent to over a decade in the other world. She had been in the real world for so long, the other world must have been turned upside down by now.

She had to get back and check on things quickly.

“Huh?”

As this thought crossed her mind, Charlotte suddenly noticed that the magic circle in front of her had only been ignited. The void rift that was supposed to transport a person to another world had not appeared.

In disbelief, Charlotte tried again, but the result was the same.

She couldn’t summon the void rift that would take her back.

“Eh? Could it be? Do I have to get hit by another truck to get back to the other world?”

¹ spank me until my butt blossoms: A humorous and common Chinese expression (屁股打开花, pìgu dǎkāihuā) for a very severe spanking.

² Ula-la: A cute nickname (乌拉拉, Wūlālā) for Shaula (夏乌拉, Xiàwūlā).