"Mm, everyone's doing well... really well..." By the time Chu Lian finished speaking, the girl who had just woken up was already tired, her words growing faint and drowsy.
Seeing her like this, Chu Lian knew she was falling asleep. She gently held her close and began to hum softly by her ear—a tender lullaby.
Though she was long past the age for such things, the moment she heard Chu Lian's quiet humming, the girl unexpectedly drifted into sleep.
Perhaps, to her, this was what comfort truly meant—Chu Lian doing these small, gentle things for her. Most of all, it was the fact that Chu Lian was still here, beside her. The first person she saw upon waking was the one she had most wished to see. It felt like a dream come full circle.
"She's asleep... poor girl must be exhausted." Chu Lian let out a quiet sigh of relief as she watched her sleep. But she couldn't move away—Cai Ya was holding tightly onto a corner of her sleeve. If she tried to pull free, the girl would surely wake up.
She was too sensitive right now. It was best not to disturb her. Letting her rest in her arms for a while was fine.
She had done this before—just with different people.
"Anna, are you sleepy too?" On the same bed, Anna had behaved very well, not interrupting Chu Lian and Cai Ya's tender moment. But seeing Cai Ya nestled in Chu Lian's embrace, she suddenly felt sleepy as well. Her little head kept nodding drowsily—it was adorable.
When she heard Chu Lian's question, she nodded hard, her voice soft and muffled. "Mm... Anna's sleepy. Mommy, Anna wants to sleep in Mommy's arms too."
Chu Lian extended her other arm and said gently, "Come here, Anna. Come to Mommy. Sleep."
Still holding Kyubey by the tail, Anna crawled forward and nestled into Chu Lian's arms, finding a comfortable position before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
"Hiru, keep an eye on Kyubey. Don't let it move around," Chu Lian instructed quietly. She knew that Hiru, who usually took the form of a red string wrapped around Anna's wrist, was always with her—becoming her weapon in battle and her silent guardian in peace.
Kyubey was still a dangerous creature, so Chu Lian wanted Hiru to restrain it, just in case. Even though she knew Kyubey wouldn't dare move, an extra layer of safety never hurt.
Hiss~ The red string around Anna's hand shimmered, transforming into a thin cord. Facing Chu Lian, Hiru flicked its tongue before slithering across Anna's body. It climbed up to Kyubey's neck and wrapped around it like a chain, binding it tightly. Another end of the string remained soft, still attached to Anna's wrist.
The restraint left Kyubey completely immobilized, trembling all over.
But Chu Lian felt no pity for it. Even stripped of most of its abilities, even nearly powerless save for its partial immortality, it was still Kyubey.
Items from the system might often be nerfed, but they were always authentic—true to their origin. This Kyubey might look pitiful, but it was no different from any other of its kind.
The other girls, watching this, were puzzled. They had never seen Puella Magi Madoka Magica and didn't recognize Kyubey's image. To them, it was just something cute—they had no idea how dangerous it truly was.
Not just Kyubey—everything in their hands came from outside this world.
After all, anything produced by the system wouldn't be something ordinary.
Although Shiroha could be a bit prideful at times, she always took responsibility for her own creations. She would never recklessly allow the system to release something that could disrupt people's understanding of this world so early on.
"You girls probably don't know what it is, right? Here, let me tell you." Seeing their curious and eager gazes, Chu Lian thought for a moment before deciding to explain the origins of their pets.
"Kyubey isn't something worthy of sympathy..." She began with that species—the one countless people despised and wished to destroy.
Though her storytelling wasn't as moving as her writing, she still spoke vividly enough to draw them in.
By the time the girls finished listening to the tragic fates of the magical girls, their views had changed completely. The way they looked at Kyubey was no longer one of fondness—but of disgust and hatred.
Fortunately, Chu Lian knew she couldn't go too far—otherwise, Kyubey wouldn't even be able to live properly anymore. And that wouldn't fit her intention of keeping it around just to torment it.
So, at the end, she said, "This Kyubey is a weakened version. Aside from its partial immortality, it's very different from the others. You don't have to like it, but there's no need to hate it either. After all, it's part of our family now."
Her words eased the tension among the girls. Since Chu Lian herself had said so, there was no need to take their dislike too seriously.
Still, though they no longer hated it, the sense of disgust remained. No matter how cute it looked, they couldn't forget what kind of creature it truly was. That alone ensured that Kyubey's position in the household would always be at the very bottom.
"Now you understand why I gave Kyubey to Anna, right? With how mysterious she is, Kyubey can't possibly shake her," Chu Lian said proudly, her tone carrying a hint of maternal pride—as if Anna really were her daughter.
"With Anna's unpredictable temperament, that Kyubey's in for a rough time," Chu Chu said, staring at the creature. Seeing it behaving so obediently now, she could hardly believe it was the same kind of monster Chu Lian had just described.
"By the way, Big Sis, based on what you said... does that mean there are actually other worlds out there in the universe?" Compared to the others, Chu Chu was more intrigued by that subject.
After all, the only similar concept she had ever been taught about was the Otherside. She had once suspected the existence of other worlds, but never found any proof—so she couldn't be sure they were real.
"Not just in our universe," Chu Lian said with a slight smile. "In the multiverse, there are countless worlds—some identical, some similar. Normally, we can't reach them. Only through many coincidences could we ever intersect. But rather than calling it the multiverse, I prefer 'dimensional universe.' Something like that."
She couldn't explain it clearly herself, so she glossed over the details. It wasn't as if Chu Chu or the others could investigate it anyway.
"I see. Then these creatures... they're things you gathered through some special means? It must've cost you a lot to get them, right?" Chu Chu's curiosity shifted toward the origin of the pets. These were clearly not Earth-born species, and she figured her Big Sis must've gone through great effort to obtain them. She's becoming more and more mysterious... It feels like there's a growing distance between us and her world.
"I'm just an apprentice dimensional merchant," Chu Lian said casually. "I can trade for things I want from other worlds through equivalent exchange. These creatures don't have much power, so I just exchanged a few things I got after killing a dragon. Nothing precious—so don't worry."
Of course, she couldn't reveal the truth about the system. Instead of saying she was a Spacetime Traveling Merchant, she simply used the title dimensional merchant. The only part she kept accurate was the idea of equal exchange.
"Oh, I see." Chu Chu didn't ask further. She was smart enough to know when to stop. Whatever her Big Sis chose to tell them, she would. And if she didn't, no amount of pressing would make her.
"So don't worry. These creatures are harmless. The only thing to be careful of is not letting them absorb too much energy similar to their original source. Otherwise, there's a chance they could mutate—and that would be troublesome."
"Even if they mutate, they wouldn't attack us, right?" Li Xiu'er asked, surprised. The little creature in her arms was so adorably silly that she couldn't imagine it ever hurting her, even if it changed.
"As long as you build a good bond with them, it'll be fine. The only one to watch out for is Kyubey. But with Anna around, even if an entire race of Incubators showed up, it wouldn't matter." Chu Lian wasn't entirely sure of Kyubey's full nature, but any species that relied on the suffering of others to sustain its own universe was, in her mind, among the lowest forms of existence.
"To give an example... something like the Xiling race," she added offhandedly.
"That's a relief." Hearing that, Li Xiu'er let out a small sigh and leaned down, using her fingers to playfully tease Poro as it rolled happily on her lap.
Kedama widened its round eyes, watching as Li Xiu'er played with Poro. It seemed envious and eager to join in.
Noticing this, Liu Yanran began to imitate her, teasing Kedama in the same way. Since Kedama had no legs, it rolled around even more wildly than Poro—tumbling off her lap and then rolling back up again, full of joy.
Seeing how happy they were, Chu Lian thought for a moment. Perhaps it was time to talk to them about what she planned for the future.
"I have a plan for the future... I wonder if you're all willing to help me?" Chu Lian's voice was soft, but everyone heard it clearly. The room fell silent as the girls turned toward her, giving her their full attention.
"In the future, I want to build a cultural empire—one that focuses on six main areas: games, music, literature, animation, film, and television. I want to create the largest cultural group in the world." Chu Lian spoke openly, without hesitation or embarrassment.
At this point in her life, she lacked nothing—except time and capable hands. As long as she had help, she believed achieving this goal was only a matter of when, not if.
"Eh? But something that big would need so many people... and so much time. Plus, we're still minors—we can't even register a company. And we don't have money either," Li Xiu'er exclaimed, covering her lips in shock. It took her a while to find those words.
"All of that will come slowly. Nothing great can be done overnight. But what I want to know is—would you all like to build this empire with me?" Chu Lian's eyes gleamed with passion. She could barely contain her eagerness to begin.
"How could we not? Big Sis, leave the animation department to me! With my skill, even traditional ink-style anime will look perfect," Chu Chu declared proudly, patting her chest with confidence. The resulting ripple drew some envious glances from the others.
No wonder she's so scatterbrained... all her nutrition must've gone there, a few of them thought quietly.
"I can help with the literary side," Liu Yanran added softly. "If needed, I can even ask my parents for support."
Her family owned the leading cultural conglomerate in Huaxia. If they could provide backing in the company's early stages, the future would be far more secure—and their path smoother.
"Yanran, I know you can. But I don't want to rely on others. I want us to build the foundation of this empire with our own strength." Chu Lian appreciated her goodwill deeply, but she had already made her plans. Letting outside forces interfere now would only disrupt them.
"That's fine," Liu Yanran said with a small smile. "If this is truly going to be our own cultural empire, then starting step by step is the right way. So—where do we begin?"
They never doubted Chu Lian. None of them did. Instead of questioning whether she could do it, they simply wanted to know how she planned to make it happen.
Chu Lian looked around at the girls' eager faces and finally said with a faint smile, "Games."