Raiden Mei had been born with Stigmata, so the Herrscher of Thunder had existed ever since Raiden Mei’s birth.
After gaining her own consciousness, the Herrscher of Thunder received a gift from a god.
She was a Herrscher.
She had known that from the moment she became self-aware.
Not only did she possess all of Raiden Mei’s memories, she also had knowledge bestowed upon her by that god.
Thus, compared to Raiden Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder was far more mature.
Though still a child, she had the mind of a damselette and regarded herself as the true owner of this body.
Yet she had no control over it.
Every day, she could only remain in this lightless place and watch every moment of Raiden Mei’s life.
The Herrscher of Thunder had always thought that if she were the one controlling this body, she certainly wouldn’t burst into tears at the slightest provocation like that coward.
She cried when Father scolded her, cried when Mother died, and even cried whenever she tripped or stumbled.
She was an utter crybaby.
How could someone like that be worthy of using this body?
The Herrscher of Thunder, who considered herself the older sister, looked down on Raiden Mei completely.
There was no way she cared about her.
“Do you understand now?
I hate Raiden Mei, so I don’t care about her at all!
I hate how she’s always crying!
I hate that she’s occupying this body!” Standing before Ling Yi, the Herrscher of Thunder explained why she could never possibly like Raiden Mei.
“But even if you say that, what you’re really thinking is, ‘I don’t want to see her cry.’ Doesn’t that make you a tsundere?” Ling Yi retorted.
“Shut up!” Countless bolts of lightning erupted once more, completely disintegrating Ling Yi’s consciousness.
“What the hell is that damned bug talking about…?” How could she, the Herrscher of Thunder, possibly care about Raiden Mei, that little girl who cried at every little thing and still couldn’t even walk properly?
Hmph…
She’d see how that new consciousness tried to argue with her next time.
The Herrscher of Thunder stared coldly at the empty space before her.
She knew Ling Yi would appear again.
“I’m back.
Did you miss me?
I think chatting like this is pretty fun.” Just as the Herrscher of Thunder had expected, Ling Yi returned to her side with a gentle smile.
Cheerfully, she tapped the Herrscher of Thunder on the head, considering that her own little act of retaliation.
“Who would miss you?!
Just die already!” Ling Yi’s body disintegrated before the Herrscher of Thunder once again.
The first time, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth…
No one knew how much time passed.
Like an annoying fly, Ling Yi kept appearing before the Herrscher of Thunder.
And then, Ling Yi stopped appearing altogether!
?
“What’s going on?
She should’ve revived by now.” The Herrscher of Thunder stared at the empty consciousness space in confusion.
She had fought Ling Yi for a long time and knew that this damselette could return from the dead.
Now that she had killed Ling Yi once again, Ling Yi should have revived.
Could she really have killed her for good, leaving her unable to revive?
That was a good thing.
Logically, she should’ve been happy that there was one less person competing for control of the body.
Yet for some reason, a heavy emotion seemed to press down on her heart like a massive boulder.
The Herrscher of Thunder suddenly realized something.
Ever since she was born, that consciousness had been the only one who knew of her existence and communicated with her.
It felt awful.
Besides…
the coward called her Mother.
Now that she’d been killed, that coward would probably start crying again.
With that thought, the Herrscher of Thunder looked toward the shallower layer of consciousness.
But the crying coward she expected to see was nowhere to be found.
Instead, the little coward was fast asleep in Ling Yi’s arms while Ling Yi gazed at her dotingly.
?
Boom— Boom— Boom— Holding Raiden Mei in her arms, Ling Yi heard countless peals of thunder coming from the deeper space and felt a little puzzled.
The instant she revived, she had heard Raiden Mei calling for Mother, so she had come up to the subconscious space to take a look.
After realizing Raiden Mei had only been talking in her sleep, Ling Yi planned to go back down and fight the Herrscher of Thunder for another three hundred rounds.
But now, she could sense the Herrscher of Thunder’s inexplicable fury.
The moment she returned to the deeper space, countless bolts of lightning swept toward her once more.
“Hey, hey, hey!
What’s wrong with you?
You get angry when I appear, but you also get angry when I don’t.” Ling Yi couldn’t understand it.
She made a token effort to dodge a few bolts before being reduced to flying ash.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” As though venting the inexplicable emotions in her heart, the Herrscher of Thunder hurled lightning at the newly revived Ling Yi without restraint.
Boom—!
“Ah!” Just as had happened countless times before, Ling Yi’s consciousness was disintegrated by lightning once again.
“Hah…
Hah…” The Herrscher of Thunder panted heavily, fatigue showing on her face.
Her power came from the Stigmata and wasn’t limitless.
She couldn’t sustain this level of expenditure.
“Don’t be so angry.
It isn’t good for you.
I’m your younger sister, you know.
What kind of older sister uses violence against her little sister?” Just like before, Ling Yi gently tapped the Herrscher of Thunder’s little head.
“You’re…
my younger sister?” Perhaps because she had vented some of the complicated emotions in her heart, the Herrscher of Thunder didn’t attack Ling Yi this time.
Instead, she stared at her with a conflicted gaze.
“That’s right.
I’m actually another you—another one of you.
I’m a new consciousness born within this body.
Since you’re my Senpai, that naturally makes you my older sister.” Ling Yi moved close to the Herrscher of Thunder and whispered into her ear.
“Tch…
Hmph!
I’ll never acknowledge someone like you as my younger sister.” It tickled…
She really was a little annoying.
“I see.
If I can’t be your younger sister, then will you let me be your friend?” Ling Yi smiled.
“…What are you talking about?” The Herrscher of Thunder stared in astonishment at the person she had killed countless times.
She had just killed Ling Yi several times, yet this person wanted to be her friend?
“Look, this consciousness space is pitch-black.
Aside from that mark in the sky, there’s nothing here.
You’ve been alone here for so long, so you must be lonely, right?
If I become your friend and stay with you, you won’t be lonely anymore.” Ling Yi spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
She genuinely believed it.
No matter what the relationship between the Herrscher of Thunder and Raiden Mei eventually became, they were independent individuals right now.
Ling Yi wanted to be friends with both of them.
Just as she was friends with Mobius while also being Kiana’s friend.
“Didn’t you say you appeared to keep that coward company?” The Herrscher of Thunder instinctively resisted the idea.
“But I want to keep you company too.” Ling Yi’s warm breath brushed gently against the Herrscher of Thunder’s ear as she spoke tenderly.
“?!” The Herrscher of Thunder instantly flashed five meters away from Ling Yi.
Her cheeks were flushed, one hand pressed against her chest, and she glared furiously at Ling Yi.
“Why?
Why is my heart beating so fast?
What did you do to me?” “Ah…
Shouldn’t I be asking what you did to me?
Do you know why your heart is beating so fast?” Ling Yi smiled.
“Why?” “Because just like you care about Raiden Mei, you’ve started to care about me too.” “No, I haven’t!” Endless lightning erupted once more with the Herrscher of Thunder at its center.
This time, however, Ling Yi wasn’t disintegrated.
Instead, a tremendous repulsive force hurled her out of the consciousness space and sent her straight back to the real world.
“Honestly, I was only telling the truth.
Why did she have to hit me so hard?” Ling Yi sighed.
Still…
the Stigmata on her waist had indeed cooled down.
Ling Yi touched the Stigmata at her waist.
Its temperature had once been scorching enough to burn her, but now it was completely cool.
She claimed not to care, yet obediently restrained her own power anyway.
Mm…
Mei’s skin feels wonderful, smooth and warm like jade.
Wait, Mei is only three years old right now.
What am I doing?
“Miss, the egg pancake is ready.
I’ve left it outside your door.” The maid’s voice from outside interrupted Ling Yi’s thoughts.
“All right.
Just leave it there.” Ling Yi stood up, rose onto her tiptoes, and placed her hand on the doorknob, preparing to open the door.
Bzzzt— Purple lightning sprang from her fingertips, reducing the doorknob she had just touched to ash.
“Hmm?” ——————————————————————————————- ——————– Ohoho, another day spent writing about friendship between girls.
Wonderful, wonderful.
★ ★ ★ T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me!
★ ★ ★ Shilling time!