Chapter 128: Just Kill Me

“Feeling better now?”

Josuna sat on a bench by the roadside, her head resting against Peretti’s shoulder. The worry in her eyes wasn’t hidden in the slightest.

There was a faint fragrance lingering on Peretti.

When she had just injected the inert factor, her condition had been terrible—no strength in her body, even speaking was difficult.

Now she was much better. At least she could talk normally.

“Yeah, so much better,” Peretti moved her stiff arm, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

After experiencing it firsthand, she finally confirmed that the core effect of the inert factor was to temporarily strip her of the ability to use magic, while greatly weakening her physical strength.

As for the overall weakness… she guessed it was just a side effect of the drug being too potent. Staying in sunlight for a while seemed enough to recover.

But…

For some reason, her right hand still wouldn’t respond.

Strange. Her left hand could already move freely—so why was her right hand still useless?

Noticing her confusion, Josuna lowered her head slightly.

“Mm… actually, that drug is meant to be taken orally. Injection works too, but… it makes the effect on that arm much stronger than elsewhere.”

“Tch. No wonder this hand still won’t move.”

Peretti remembered what Ming Tong had said—one dose of inert factor lasts for two days.

But for her, she estimated she could recover her magic in about a day and a half.

“One and a half days… If I keep her stable like this, escaping is only a matter of time.”

The sky gradually darkened, the crimson sunset painting everything red. Fewer and fewer people walked the streets.

Most had probably gone to eat.

By now, Josuna hadn’t eaten anything for a full day and night.

She wasn’t a witch—keeping this up would harm her body.

“Alright, I can walk now. Let’s go eat.”

Peretti stood up, but after two unsteady steps, she nearly fell. Josuna quickly supported her and helped her sit back down.

“Don’t rush… sit a little longer, okay?”

Right now, Josuna trusted Peretti a lot.

She even felt a bit guilty—thinking she had been too suspicious earlier.

She hadn’t told Peretti everything about the inert factor.

The most important part… she kept hidden.

Ming Tong’s inert factor was extremely potent—even for a Haoyue-tier witch like Peretti, its effects exceeded expectations.

But it hadn’t even been twenty hours since the last dose.

The inert factors in Peretti’s body had already accumulated—and now she had taken another dose.

It could very likely cause irreversible damage to her right arm.

Josuna didn’t say anything.

She was afraid Peretti would get angry.

Of course, Josuna wanted to see Peretti happy—just like when they were children.

But Peretti always thought about leaving her.

Even disappearing without a word.

For Josuna… especially as a yandere, that was absolutely intolerable.

But now, she wasn’t as afraid anymore.

Peretti’s earlier confusion—and her decisive action—both proved one thing:

She hadn’t been planning to leave.

Before leaving earlier, Ming Tong had also told her—

An elder from the Forbidden School was on the way here.

Josuna knew exactly what they wanted.

To treat Peretti as an irreplaceable experimental subject.

Those lunatics never bothered hiding their intentions.

But only they could treat Peretti’s arm.

And after that…

If they dared to harm her—

Josuna wouldn’t mind killing them all.

“Sit a little longer. When it gets dark… want to have a candlelight dinner with me?”

Peretti chuckled softly, leaning against her.

Josuna froze.

How long had it been since they had eaten together?

For Peretti, maybe five months.

But for Josuna…

The last time they had dinner together felt like it was years ago.

So long ago, she could barely remember.

“Candlelight dinner…”

Of course she knew what that meant.

That kind of dinner… was something only couples shared.

Was big sister… acknowledging their relationship?

For some reason—

She felt so happy.

“Then let’s go right now!”

“Eh? Wait—slow down!”

Ignoring Peretti’s protest, Josuna dragged her along, heading straight into a lavishly decorated restaurant.

“Hah… hah…”

Peretti crouched slightly, panting.

Josuna spoke briefly with a servant at the entrance, then returned, tugging the chain again—her smile even brighter.

“Alright, time to go in, big sister~”

Peretti’s appearance stood out sharply in the aristocratic restaurant.

Wherever she passed, elegantly dressed nobles turned to stare at her.

After all, in a society obsessed with refinement—

No one would dress themselves like a prostitute and walk openly into such a luxurious place.

Was this some new kind of… entertainment?

Josuna! C-can you tone it down a bit?!

Unlike the commoners outside, who were used to this—

The way these nobles looked at her felt like they wanted to devour her.

“What? Big sister’s shy? Hehe, you’ll get used to it.”

“You can… actually get used to something like this?”

“Of course. Do anything enough times, even fear becomes normal.”

“…I don’t even want to know where you learned that.”

“Alright, big sister, this is my personal experience~ Now, please order.”

Josuna pushed the menu toward her, resting her chin in her hands, smiling sweetly.

“You want me to order? But I…” Peretti stopped halfway, glancing at the crowd around them.

Josuna instantly understood.

As a witch, Peretti could only eat specific things.

Human food tasted like chewing wax to her—just swallowing it was difficult.

“It’s okay. I’ll prepare your dinner. I just want to eat something you choose for me.”

Peretti stared at the menu for a long time before picking a few dishes that looked somewhat normal among the abstract names.

When the waiter took the menu, he gave a meaningful glance at the collar around her neck—and the chain in Josuna’s hand.

Josuna even greeted him with the hand holding the chain, completely ignoring the flushed Peretti sitting across from her.

Their relationship…

Was definitely… unusual.

After the waiter left, Peretti curled up in her seat, pressing herself against the glass, head lowered.

“…Ugh… just kill me already… I seriously don’t want to live anymore…”