"Hey, wait—where's my stuff?" Su Yu suddenly stopped Alaya and asked.
"Stuff? What stuff?" Alaya tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"You know—before a time traveler sets out, the great gods are supposed to give them an artifact and special powers, right? Well, I've got the powers now. But where's the artifact?" Su Yu looked at her with wide, innocent eyes, as if he'd just exposed some cosmic oversight.
Bam!Alaya leapt into the air and whacked Su Yu hard on the head. "You idiot! Who told you there's such a rule?"
"That's what all the time-travel novels on Starting Point say," Su Yu muttered under his breath.
"Don't apply the laws of the second dimension to the third," Alaya snapped.
Isn't the fantasy world basically a two-dimensional thing anyway? Su Yu thought, wisely keeping it to herself. She knew that if she said it aloud, Alaya would probably tackle her to the ground."But still, give me a space ring. That's a standard cheat item for time travelers!" Su Yu added, now switching to a sweet, coaxing tone.
"Don't you already have the ability to store things in interdimensional gaps?" Alaya asked, genuinely confused.
"That's not the same! Without a space ring, people won't take me seriously. It's a law of the genre. Sister Alaya, I want a ring. I want a ring." Su Yu intensified her cutesy assault.
"Alright, alright! I'll get you one," Alaya finally relented.
"Thank you, Sister Alaya!" Su Yu hugged her tight and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Tch… she really is just a little girl after all," Alaya muttered, trying to sound like a dignified adult.
But Su Yu suddenly froze as Alaya's words sank in. She thought of what she'd just done, and her entire body turned to metaphorical stone.
"Anyway, to craft a space ring you need to master the Law of Space. I'm not great with that—go ask Gaia [meaning: Earth Goddess] to help you refine it."
The moment Alaya said "Gaia," Su Yu snapped out of her stone state, shuffled to the corner of the room, crouched down, and began drawing circles on the floor. The background seemed to turn black.Over and over, she murmured: "Turned into a girl… turned into a girl… turned into a girl…"
Alaya approached cautiously. "Uh… what's wrong with you, my little fantasy sister?"
Su Yu suddenly spun around and stared. Alaya jumped back in shock and instinctively assumed the "rich lady's ultimate defense stance": holding her head and squatting down. Something clattered to the floor. (Impressive.)
But Su Yu's defense-breaking attribute was EX rank. She seized Alaya by the shoulders, lifted her off the ground, and demanded: "Sister Alaya… do you think I act like a girl?"
Alaya trembled. "Of course imagining my sister behaving this way is totally… cute… girl behavior?"
"AH!" Su Yu screamed. Alaya screamed back, broke free at top speed, and bolted out the door.
As Alaya ran, Su Yu returned to her corner and resumed her dark muttering: "No more… no more… no more…"
Alaya sprinted straight to Gaia. "Sister Gaia! My fantasy sister has become terrifying!"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Gaia looked genuinely confused.
"She's… so scary! So, so scary!" Alaya threw herself into Gaia's arms.
"Why? What happened?" Gaia asked.
"I don't even know how to explain. Just come see for yourself!" Alaya grabbed her and dragged her toward the house.
…Loli Goes Home…
When they entered, Su Yu was still in the corner, diligently drawing circles. The two girls approached her slowly, as if she were a wild animal.
"What happened to you, my little fantasy sister?" Gaia asked.
Su Yu turned, eyes wet with tears. "It's gone. It's all gone. My dream… my beautiful Crystal Palace… ruined—because I'm a girl now."
"Why can't girls… have it?" Gaia asked, baffled.
Oh no… Gaia's saying it out loud. She's doomed, Alaya thought.
"Of course girls can't have it! You want me to… go find a man? No way. I'd rather die. That's disgusting!" Su Yu snapped. Despite looking like a girl, her brain still worked like a man's, and the thought horrified her.
"Isn't it just a matter of finding a girl instead?" Gaia said innocently.
Idiot, Alaya thought. How can a girl just… find another girl like that?
But Su Yu's eyes lit up. "Yeah! Who says girls can't love girls? Luckily, I was a proud member of the glorious FFF group before I came here! How could I forget my duty?"
With a triumphant bam, Su Yu spread her legs, planted her hands on her hips, and threw her head back in maniacal laughter. "Hahaha! Sister Gaia, you're right! I'll just go find a girl! I want a huge lily garden!"
"Yes! Find a girl and make a giant lily!" Gaia echoed, for some reason equally excited.
Alaya stared at them both. "Am I… the only normal one here?" she wondered. The thought didn't last long. Looking at these two, she sighed internally.Great. One's naturally stupid half the time, the other's just awakened a terrifying new trait. My life is going to be exhausting.
As Su Yu and Gaia celebrated their newfound mission, Alaya turned and walked slowly out of the house, her back radiating a "pretend adult" aura.
Just as she reached the door, Su Yu called out to her—