Esper X Family – Chapter 22 – Love and Bond? Ah, Yes, Yes, Yes!

Ye Yao didn’t expect Mo Qiuli to arrive before the new little cutie she was waiting for.

How could this magical girl be so tenacious?

Yesterday, she was lying on the ground with her eyes closed, looking like she was about to join 2.5 Satoru ¹ Gojo Satoru’s kanji is 五条悟, where 五 means 5. As for why he’s 2.5… Go / jo. in a resurrection match.

Yet, here she was, alive and kicking the very next day.

Ye Yao quickly dragged Mo Qiuli into the room.

“How’s your body? Are you feeling any discomfort?”

Ye Yao circled around Mo Qiuli and inspected her.

She touched here and there, thoroughly taking advantage of the situation.

But even after a careful examination, Ye Yao couldn’t find a single wound on Mo Qiuli’s body.

Not even a band-aid.

“Does your ability include super healing?”

“Ah… it’s not that exaggerated. The adults healed me, which is why I recovered by the next day.”

Mo Qiuli smiled sheepishly.

There was no doubt that she was scolded again after returning.

Incidentally, even the older brothers and sisters who arrived later were inexplicably criticized.

Mo Qiuli, who hadn’t even reached B-rank, dared to confront a B-rank enemy.

And she almost paid with her life.

Although it was to stop the bad guys from harming the innocent, she was still issued a punishment notice.

They wanted Mo Qiuli to properly reflect on her actions.

For example, she was prohibited from acting as a magical girl within the city.

The punishment would last a full week.

It seemed like a slap on the wrist, but those who knew Mo Qiuli understood.

For her, this was an absolutely significant punishment.

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Normally, not being a magical girl for over a week would stress her enough to leave her sleepless and wailing.

Fortunately, Ye Yao was by her side now.

It could slightly alleviate that oppressive feeling.

“I see, an ability that can heal injuries?”

Ye Yao nodded thoughtfully.

That explains it.

“It’s good that your injuries are healed, but why did you come so early? I just woke up not long ago.”

“…Because I wanted to see Ye Yao.”

Mo Qiuli mumbled these words shyly.

In her normal state, she rarely spoke so directly.

Only when she transformed into a magical girl would she become passionate and brave.

But Ye Yao’s rescue yesterday was too heroic.

Mo Qiuli still felt a bit of admiration when she thought about it.

That was an enemy she couldn’t defeat, even with all her strength.

Yet Ye Yao handled it effortlessly.

Although it was a pity that Ye Yao didn’t defeat the enemy in her magical girl form.

But wasn’t this act of stepping forward in despair to defeat the bad guy very much in the spirit of a magical girl?

“Ye Yao was amazing last night. Thank you for saving me.”

“Mm~ Mmm~ No need to thank me, it’s nothing.”

Ye Yao puffed up her chest, almost floating from the praise.

Being praised by such a cute little one was truly delightful.

It was like getting a pentakill in the canyon, with all four teammates shouting ““Big brother, you’re awesome!”” over the mic, and even having a cute girl expressing her admiration.

So satisfying.

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“By the way, you didn’t reveal my information, right?”

Mo Qiuli quickly shook her head like a rattle drum, her nervousness evident.

“Of course not, I’d never betray Ye Yao. Ye Yao wanting to hide her identity feels very much like a magical girl. I completely understand and support it.”

“Mmm, I suppose you could say that.”

Ye Yao was about to emphasize that she wasn’t a magical girl.

But seeing how persistent Mo Qiuli was, she decided to go along with it.

It was fine as long as she didn’t have to patrol outside every day.

The atmosphere grew quiet.

In her normal state, Mo Qiuli was like a socially anxious little slug.

If there was a dark corner in the room, she would probably instinctively head there to isolate herself.

She also lacked the ability to initiate conversations.

Like right now.

After explaining, Mo Qiuli lowered her head and fidgeted while staring at the floor.

Her hands didn’t know where to place themselves, so she sandwiched them between her thighs, visible through her white thigh-highs.

Her long bangs covered her eyes, and she didn’t even have the courage to make eye contact.

Coincidentally.

Whether in her past life or this one, Ye Yao wasn’t exactly a smooth-talking social butterfly either.

“Speaking of which… I think I killed someone.”

As soon as the words left her mouth.

Mo Qiuli’s body visibly stiffened.

Ye Yao also realized that she had brought up an awkward subject.

Was this something two little girls should be discussing?

But the words couldn’t be taken back.

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“Ah, just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Ye Yao tried to brush it off, although her voice lacked confidence.

“Ye Yao didn’t kill anyone.”

A soft whisper reached Ye Yao’s ears.

To her surprise, Mo Qiuli didn’t intend to end the conversation.

Mo Qiuli raised her head, finally daring to meet Ye Yao’s gaze.

Her eyes were firm this time, with a sense of undeniable determination.

“That guy wasn’t even human. Ye Yao killed him to protect me, to give closure to those who died. If Ye Yao feels any guilt or shadows because of this, I’d be very sad. So, please don’t think of him as a person. You’re not carrying the weight of anyone’s life.”

Ye Yao opened her mouth, her pupils shaking, momentarily speechless.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

“I thought you’d only say such things after transforming into Mercury.”

The heavy atmosphere shattered in an instant.

Mo Qiuli covered her face in embarrassment.

It seemed like steam was rising from her head.

“Uuu… it’s all for Ye Yao… please don’t look at me…”

“So cute~”

What a delicious reaction.

Ye Yao felt her inner lolicon soul awakening.

But if she teased Mo Qiuli too much, would she force her into her magical girl form?

Without undergoing fission, Ye Yao’s stats might not be enough to defeat Mercury.

And Mercury was truly courageous and proactive.

Unlike the timid Mo Qiuli now.

After a while.

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Mo Qiuli’s heated ears slowly cooled down.

With this little interlude, the atmosphere became much lighter.

“Ye Yao, aren’t you scared? Isn’t it your first time?”

“Mhm, it is my first time. But it’s like kicking a stray dog on the side of the road. I slept soundly afterward ² This is NOT related to the dog part. ‘I slept soundly afterward’ might be a reference to ‘Magical Girl Witch Trial’?. I’m not very sure since the phrase is quite common… .”

Mo Qiuli breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Ye Yao’s demeanor wasn’t forced.

“That’s great. A magical girl shouldn’t feel guilty for eliminating evil.”

Ye Yao almost felt like emphasizing once again that she wasn’t a magical girl, like a certain emperor ³ Warhammer 40K reference. The Emperor of Mankind said “I am not a god.” .

Would this child end up imagining her as a magical girl and launch a QQ space on her?

“Actually, I have one more question.”

Mo Qiuli’s words interrupted Ye Yao’s wandering thoughts.

“Why was Ye Yao so powerful last night?”

“Because I borrowed your power.”

“But my power isn’t that strong. Even if you borrowed all of it, you couldn’t have defeated that bad guy.”

“Because it needs the power of our friendship to unleash such strength.”

Ye Yao’s words were half-truths.

Upon closer examination, there was nothing wrong with her words.

Mo Qiuli quickly understood.

“So it’s the power of love and the bond between magical girls. Magical girls truly have infinite possibilities!”

“Ah… yes, yes, that’s exactly it.”

Ye Yao absolutely adored this little one who could fill in the gaps with her own logic.

Author Note

So annoying ⁴ 难绷nanbeng in raws. It’s slang for uncomfortable/hard to handle. . I wrote over fifty thousand words before realizing that this novel is hidden. Can’t be seen and can’t be searched, no wonder nobody is here. (“¯□¯)