Why? Why hadn't Sayaka said anything? Taylor had handed her sensitive information about her past on a silver platter—Information that the control-obsessed idiots in the higher-ups would love to get their hands on. So why hadn't she said anything?
It didn't make sense, up until the last second, everything had gone just as Taylor had predicted, with only minor variations. Indeed, the whole ordeal with Shigure's mask had been a scheme to extract information from her. That it had been orchestrated primarily by one of the elders rather than all of them fell within her expectations, given the political environment where everyone sought to gain advantages while stripping them from others. The higher-ups were not a united front.
But that wasn't the case with Sayaka. She belonged to the Kamo clan and, therefore, had to obey her elder's orders.
That she would blatantly lie for Taylor, putting herself at risk of losing her clan's favor, was beyond expectations.
Was this a scheme within a scheme to lower her guard?
Did they know she could eavesdrop through her insects? Were they using it to manipulate her?
As she made her way back to her room, taylor kept asking herself these same questions over and over again.
She was becoming paranoid, unsure of what to think.
Absentmindedly, she changed her path to avoid crossing paths with a sorcerer heading towards her further down the road. It wouldn't be good for anyone to see her in this area.
Why did you do it, Sayaka? Why would you do that for me? Taylor questioned herself, frustration marring her face.
Late at night, with the moon shining in the sky, there was almost no one wandering the school grounds and pathways. Precisely for that reason, Taylor tensed when the sorcerer she had avoided by changing her path suddenly did the same, stepping back into her trajectory.
Once again, she switched routes, only to sense through her insects that the sorcerer mirrored her movements.
Her questions about Sayaka's motives were pushed aside as her thoughts raced at full speed.
Fight?
Flee?
Ignore?
Feign ignorance?
Confront?
All the possibilities crossed her mind—from the chance she had been caught snooping to the idea that it was all just paranoia.
No... Once might be luck, twice a coincidence, but three times… Three was a pattern.
There was no doubt now—the sorcerer could track her movements.
How? She wasn't using her cursed energy, yet they could still sense her from so far away. Was it their cursed technique?
With so many known and unknown possibilities, there was no point in focusing on the "how." What was clear was that the sorcerer wanted to meet her. The "why" was another mystery she didn't have time for.
Focusing on her power, Taylor began gathering her swarm toward her position, if there was going to be a fight, she needed every advantage possible.
Externally, it was as if nothing had happened. Taylor stretched a little, yawned, and slowed her pace, to any observer, it would seem as though she had simply grown tired of wandering and was now heading peacefully to bed.
Descending the stone path toward the meeting point, she pretended to admire the surroundings. Like many paths winding through the mountain, statues and bamboo flanked the walkway, lending it a traditional and elegant air that sorcerers seemed to love.
Moving through the shadows, hidden in plain sight, her swarm advanced parallel to her.
Turning the final corner she found her target, there, finally in sight, was a woman sitting, patiently waiting for her to approach. She was a beautiful young woman with a curvaceous figure and silver hair with a hint of blue that beautifully reflected the moonlighte, tied in a high ponytail with two parallel bangs, which perfectly complemented the suit and tie she was wearing.
At a single glance, Taylor could already sense the confidence radiating from her posture.
Their eyes met, she was young—probably only a few years older than Taylor. The woman smiled and gestured for her to sit beside her.
Without hesitation, Taylor advanced, already adopting her warlord demeanor. When she was only a few meters away, she didn't sit next to her. Instead, she took a position of power, leaning slightly against one of the traditional Tōrō (stone lanterns) that illuminated the path, staring at her impassively from her superior height.
Far from being intimidated, the woman even bit her lip, a glint of something unknown flashing in her otherwise joyful eyes.
"It's a beautiful night for a walk, don't you think?" the woman finally broke the silence, her voice was calm and mature, brimming with confidence and carrying a slightly playful tone.
"What do you want?" Taylor responded coldly, not in the mood for nonsense and mentally kicking herself for not bringing her nano-thorn knife.
"Straight to the point, huh? No need to be so tense. I just want to talk to you."
If it were that simple, she wouldn't have approached her in the middle of the night.
"Why?" Taylor made her swarm buzz threateningly.
"Why… The answer is simple," the woman replied, unfazed by the sound of millions of insects surrounding her. "For the same reason I get up every morning, my greatest virtue—greed," she said shamelessly.
"I don't think that's a virtue…" Taylor replied, somewhat confused by how things were unfolding, she had expected more threats, blackmail, and violence.
"I don't expect you to see things the way I do, I just want you to understand me"
"And why would I want to do that? I don't even know who you are."
"Oh, forgive my manners, you can call me Mei-Mei or Mei-senpai if you prefer. I'm a semi-grade 1 sorcerer about to finish my last year at school in Tokio high, though I prefer to see myself as an investor."
Alarms rang in Taylor's mind when she mentioned her name, she had heard about this woman a few days ago from Sayaka when she asked about sorcerers with abilities similar to hers. However, no matter how much she had requested more information from the administration, she had only received evasions and denials.
"You still haven't answered my question. What do you want, and what's your true objective with this meeting?" she tried to buy time while scanning the area for crows or other allies of the woman. She saw none.
"I already told you—I see myself as an investor first and a sorcerer second. You see… A couple of weeks ago, the higher-ups contacted me they wanted me to keep an eye on a crippled young girl who could barely walk…Imagine my surprise when that very same girl started showing monstrous potential and a mysterious power." She licked her lips sensually. "Let me put it plainly, Taylor they underestimate you, if they didn't, they never would have let you into their 'home.' A lifetime devoted to sorcery has closed their minds—they unconsciously ignore the danger you represent, but I'm different, I saw it clearly when you fought the principal on your first day. If I had to guess, the cursed organ in your brain allows you to use your cursed technique without cursed energy… In other words, no one knows what to look for or where to look, you could go unnoticed—even by Satoru Gojo—if you were careful." She let the implications settle, this woman was probably the one who best understood Taylor's power in this world
"And having such similar powers, I can't help but wonder what else you can do like me and what you could do without anyone knowing… It's no wonder my investor's instinct went crazy. That's why I'm here, Taylor—because I want to invest in you."
Taylor's mind stumbled for a moment. She was growing more and more confused, half-expecting the other shoe to drop at any second. There were many things to consider, but for now, the most important one was right in front of her.
"Why should I believe you? Why should I trust you when you're betraying those you serve right now?"
That earned a playful chuckle from the sorceress. "I haven't betrayed anyone, my loyalties have always been in the same place, they've never changed—and that loyalty is to money, besides, if I wanted to betray you, I could have reported your late-night strolls directly to headquarters, don't you think?
You've got to be kidding me.
"Money? And you seriously expect me to trust you? If they had paid you more, would you even be here?"
"It seems there's been a misunderstanding, let me clarify, they haven't
paidme, they're leveraging my eventual promotion to Grade 1 to make me work for them, with the implicit threat of delaying it if I don't cooperate, just one of the many reasons I'm going to become independent from the administration sooner or later." For the first time, her expression showed something beyond amusement and confidence there was now a trace of anger and disdain.
"They could never afford what I'd charge for making me your enemy… in a way, money isn't exactly what I desire, though it is the closest thing. What I truly want is value. And money is humanity's favorite way of representing it, but it can't encompass everything. That's where the things money can't buy come in… like, for example, the favor of the strong." Mei mei looked at her directly
"Suguru Geto, Satoru Gojo, Yuki Tsukumo, Toji Fushiguro, and now you. There's no amount of money in the world the higher-ups could offer me to turn against any of you," she finished with a smile that now unmistakably radiated ambition and greed.
Taylor didn't recognize two of the names on that list, but she knew the other two Satoru and Suguru were the ones she had met when she first woke up in this world. Later, she discovered they were special-grade sorcerers—the peak of sorcery the equivalent of the Triumvirate in her world, it was said they could destroy a country on their own. Now, what Mei Mei had said about investing in her made a lot more sense.
"So, you want me to owe you favors? What do you have to offer? If you're expecting to blackmail me with your silence, I can assure you things won't go well for you."
A small smile played on Mei Mei's lips at her words. "No, you can take my silence as a free show of goodwill, as for what I can offer you… well, let's just say quite a lot. I have an extensive network of contacts that I've cultivated over the years, both in the sorcery world and the mundane world I can get you almost anything—information, cursed tools, curse users, firearms, smuggled insects… even my own mentorship… all for the right price, of course."
The woman definitely knew how to sell herself.
"And since I don't have money, you expect me to owe you favors in return?"
Once again tonight, Taylor felt conflicted, on one hand, this woman was openly admitting that what she sought in dealing with her was only her personal gain. Could someone like that be trusted? on the other hand, there were no deceptions, no manipulations, not even a scam. Mei Mei wanted something and had something to offer in exchange. Taylor couldn't guarantee the woman wouldn't betray her if she refused to play along, but that possibility was starting to seem less likely. After all, she would be a fool to refuse, her help would be invaluable at this moment, and Mei Mei was clearly aware of it. The real question was how to obtain her assistance without indebting herself with favors. And Taylor thought she had an idea for that.
"You mentioned you were an investor, didn't you? What about the medical and textile industries? Do you have contacts there?"
"Mmm ? Now that you mention it, I do have some shares in pharmaceutical companies and textile manufacturers. What exactly are you thinking?" she asked with a predatory grin, making it clear she already had an idea of where Taylor was going with this.
A cluster of brown widow spiders descended from Taylor's head to her outstretched hand. "I've heard that spider silk is incredibly expensive, isn't it? And if I'm not mistaken, scorpion venom is even more so… What do you say we start a business together?"
The woman's laughter rang out so loudly that, for a moment, Taylor feared they would attract attention. "Mnhm… You… really know what to say to a woman like me, don't you, Taylor?" She sounded worryingly excited, and at some point, her playful tone had shifted firmly into something more sensual. "Of course, it all depends on how much control you truly have over your insects…"
The next step was delicate, but if she wanted the woman to commit, she would have to reveal part of her abilities—A minor risk at this point, considering everything the woman already knew.
"I have absolute control over my insects. If I tell them to weave, they will do so until they die. And you have the contacts. If you handle the initial investment, distribution, and legal permissions, I'll give you a share of the profits."
"And what percentage are we talking about?"
"Ten percent," Taylor offered.
"Thirty percent," Mei Mei countered.
"Impossible, you're only facilitating the process, if I wanted, I could do it all myself—it would just take more time."
"You'd also be at greater risk of the higher-ups finding out, it would be quite inconvenient to have them breathing down your neck at all times, wouldn't it?"
"…" Calculations, calculations…
"Twenty-five percent for the first five years, then twenty percent."
"Twenty-two percent, and I'll make sure everything stays hidden between us."
Taylor rolled her eyes. "Deal. How long will it take to set things in motion?"
"Depends on what species you want and in what quantity. I may have to resort to the black market, depending on your requests."
"That's up to you. You know better than I do which products are best for the market. As for quantity—the more, the better. I'll be able to breed them selectively for the best traits."
"Mmm… I have a couple of contacts in the Middle East who could get me golden-tailed scorpions… and others in Africa who might secure Madagascar golden silk orb-weaver spiders… but I'd need to talk to them to confirm."
"There's more."
"Oh?"
"There are some species I want for my swarm."
"Mmm, that could be arranged, but shipments will take time… and they'll be costly."
"Just charge it to my account, you mentioned your mentorship... how much do you want for teach me the tricks you've learned with your cursed technique?"
"The secrets of my technique aren't something I'll part with for money… If you want me to teach you, you'll owe me a favor in return."
Taylor clenched her teeth. As useful as Mei Mei's mentorship would be, she wasn't keen on owing something as ambiguous as a favor.
I need to negotiate… That's how everything works with her.
"Fine, but I have some conditions."
"State them," Mei Mei urged, not bothering to hide the delight in her voice.
"I refuse to harm innocent people or betray my friends. If I believe the favor you ask will endanger my life or my friends' lives, I will have the right to refuse your request."
"Deal." With those words sealing the agreement, Taylor felt her cursed energy surge from her body and meet Mei Mei's halfway.
"What was that?" she asked, startled.
"A binding vow. Now, neither of us can go back on our word without suffering unknown consequences."
"How does that work? Did you do it?"
"We both did it, your cursed energy recognized your intent to fulfill the deal and intertwined with mine to form the vow." she explained "With that settled, we should part ways for now, meet me here tomorrow at the same time, the sooner we start, the better.
"Alright, until tomorrow, then."
"Until tomorrow, Taylor it's been a pleasure doing business with you."
The night had already lasted too long, and she had a lot to mull over before sleeping, Taylor could only hope she hadn't made a mistake in partnering with Mei Mei.
Mei MeiMei Mei watched as Taylor Hebert disappeared into the distance—or at least, she did with her human eyes. High up in the sky, several kilometers away, a crow never took its eyes off her.
Nothing personal. She was sure Taylor was doing the same. And wasn't that incredible? The girl might or might not be watching her at this very moment, and she could only assume—she would never truly know for sure.
She wasn't ashamed to admit that Taylor's power was far stronger than hers. A crow was easy to spot, hard to sneak into places, and anyone with a decent sense of cursed energy could detect them if they got too close.
Taylor, on the other hand, could place her insects directly on a sorcerer without them ever noticing.
Well, with one exception—Satoru Gojo and his Six Eyes wouldn't be able to "see" Taylor's technique, but if she were careless, Gojo could still notice the unusual behavior of the insects.
Just thinking about what the girl could accomplish with her help… Mei Mei had to hold back another burst of laughter.
Today had been a good day. She had made a great deal.
Taylor Hebert
"Good morning, Taylor-san!" Sayaka seemed more cheerful than usual, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Is it because of yesterday? Taylor still didn't quite know what to make of it, but a warm feeling surfaced in her chest when she thought about what the younger girl had done.
"Good morning, Sayaka. Ready to train hard? I want to improve enough to reach the next level with the training tools the next time we go to the Shigure room… I also want to try the partial reinforcement, could you give me a hand?"
"Oh… You can count on me… Taylor…" Sayaka murmured, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
"By the way, what can you tell me about a sorcerer named Yuki Tsukumo?"
"Ugh, not much… In the clan, they say she's the worst special-grade sorcerer of her time—a lazy coward who refuses to take on missions and spends her time playing abroad. But I wouldn't know how much of that is true. Ever since she left Jujutsu administration, she's been a disgrace to them. Why do you ask? "
"No, nothing. What about Toji Fushiguro?"
"Mmm? Never heard that name before…"
.
.
Mei Mei led her to a deeper part of the forest while recounting how she had started her career as a sorcerer.
"At first, I dismissed my cursed technique, compared to many other sorcerers, it seemed weak and without potential, so I focused on cursed energy reinforcement and martial arts, it wasn't until I hit my limit with reinforcement that I turned back and started concentrating on improving my technique. Back then, I could only vaguely sense where my crows were and control two or three at the same time. Through practice and training, my technique evolved and improved. First, I managed to control more crows and pinpoint their exact locations, then, I learned to reinforce them and share their senses with me. But that still wasn't enough. As you may already know, cursed energy reinforcement is a multiplier, and no matter how much I reinforce a crow, it will never be strong enough to make a difference—at least not at my level. That's when I came up with my trump card, which, so far, only Satoru Gojo has been able to withstand head-on."
"And you're going to teach me your trump card?" Taylor asked skeptically.
"Yes. We've already made a binding vow, and don't forget—the stronger you become, the more valuable the favor you owe me."
"Then where do we start?"
"From the beginning. You need to transfer your cursed energy to your insects. Visualize them—they are a part of you. Imagine the connection that binds you and transfer your cursed energy to them. You can already do it without cursed energy—now, you just need to send it to them."
Easier said than done.
Sitting on the forest floor, she meditated on the issue. What was cursed energy, really? Up until now, Taylor had struggled to channel it into her insects because it felt rooted in her own body, resisting when she tried to separate it from herself to send it to them.
It was becoming increasingly clear that the most direct path—from point A (her core) to point B (her insects)—was not the right answer. From the start, she hadn't needed to push her cursed energy outside of her body to create a pathway to her target, her power had already built highways the day she first activated it in the locker.
Normally, she used her connection to gather information from her insects, but she had also used it in reverse to push her emotions away.
Applying that same principle, this time, as Taylor pushed her emotions into her swarm, her cursed energy surged up to her brain to follow them.
And then it happened
A small golden spark flickered across the insects around her—tiny, disappearing so quickly that she might have missed it if they weren't in the darkness of the forest.
But she saw it, and from Mei Mei's nod, she knew she did too.
Marveled by her success, Taylor started sending more cursed energy into her Corona Pollentia. There was more… more than just temporarily enhancing her powers as she had on her first day of training. As she delved deeper into her ability, her connection to her Fragment became clearer.
Taylor could see something—or rather, feel something. It was blurry and distant, but unmistakably her power and the parts that composed it, all the parts working together to create something unified yet divided, each carrying out its own function.
Somewhere, in the depths of her mind, she could vaguely sense the parts of her power responsible for range and multitasking. Fascinating. But that wasn't what she was searching for. She needed to look further, specifically for the function that connected the transmission of information from her insects to her and the one that sent her emotions into her insects.
She wasn't immediately successful—her power was simply too complex. Billions of processes were constantly being carried out to keep it running smoothly.
Trial and error would be necessary.
She sent her emotions into her swarm once more, along with her cursed energy, and Taylor noticed that one section of the functions activated more than the others.
She repeated the process, this time directing her cursed energy only to the part that had previously activated.
Around her, her swarm lit up, forming a beautiful yet terrifying golden galaxy spiraling around her.
A partial success
It wasn't enough. Her cursed energy wasn't being wasted—not exactly—but she could already feel how the clarity With which she sensed through her insects increased, consuming part of her cursed energy for that function instead of fully transferring it to them.
This was shaping up to be a long process, but Taylor couldn't help feeling excited about her progress tonight—not just with reinforcing her insects, but with her own understanding of her parahuman ability and its potential for improvement.
.
.
"I did it," Taylor declared the moment she stepped out of the Shigure room, she and Sayaka trained twice a week there, and this was the third time she had attempted it.
"Indeed," Yoshinobu nodded.
"And now?"
"Now you have the option to level up."
"I have the option? Isn't it the only way to keep progressing?"
"You've completed the basic training. Though inefficient and limited, you can now reinforce your body and move functionally. At this stage, sorcerers decide where to focus their efforts for improvement. You can continue refining your reinforcement as your primary goal, or you can focus on other areas such as combat, your cursed technique, or learning other useful skills. Whatever option you choose, you can always change your priorities later by informing the administration for a schedule adjustment."
She didn't need to think too hard about it. The decision was easy. While things like barriers and shikigami had piqued her interest, the most efficient use of her time for now was to focus on improving her control over cursed energy during the day while using Mei Mei's help to develop her parahuman abilities at night.
"What does the next level entail?"
"The fluctuation limit will be further reduced, and each tool will require a different amount of energy."
"Isn't that pretty impractical?"
"From this point on, the training no longer focuses on practicality but rather on increasingly difficult challenges to improve your control. Most sorcerers settle for learning full reinforcement and refining it through experience…"
.
.
In the blink of an eye, three weeks had passed—a month since she arrived at the school and two since she arrived in this world.
Once again, in training field A3, Taylor and Sayaka locked eyes, carefully observing and analyzing each other's movements.
Through an understanding forged by hundreds of battles, they moved simultaneously to initiate combat without a word. This time, however, the fight was different. For the first time, they were using their cursed techniques.
As Taylor lunged forward, her swarm following closely behind, Sayaka summoned a small flag—a shashimono, once used to identify soldiers' allegiances. On it was the image of a figure wielding a black-painted spear against a red background.
Planting the flag into the ground, Sayaka shouted at the top of her lungs, "Rise, soldiers! Yami-gumi Infantry Unit, advance!"
Taylor watched as two towering, two-meter-tall stone soldiers emerged from the earth, each wielding spears just as long. There was no armor to speak of, but given that both their "clothing" and their bodies were made of rock, she wasn't sure it mattered.
Both warriors reversed their grip on their spears, positioning the blunt ends forward. Lethal strikes, severe injuries, and attempts to end the fight quickly were forbidden.—they were here to learn by testing different situations. There would be time for realistic fights later. For the same reason, Taylor didn't overwhelm Sayaka with her swarm. Instead, she sent them ahead to form a dense cloud of insects, heavily obscuring the vision.
Merging into her swarm, Taylor began forming numerous insect clones around her before scattering them across the battlefield. Things had changed since her first battle against the director. Now, these clones shone in her senses with the same golden glow that surrounded her. Unfortunately the reinforcement she could apply to her insects was still somewhat limited compared to what she could use on her own body—which had already begun surpassing human physical capabilities before her degradation as Khepri—The positive side was that since her power already provided her with detailed information about each member of her swarm, she didn't have to learn the biology of each insect species one by one to reinforce them
As expected, one of the stone soldiers went after the clones while the other remained to guard Sayaka, who was intensely focused, trying to determine which Taylor was real. Her clones weren't as sophisticated as she would have liked—they were far from perfect, they would hold up momentarily the scrutiny, but someone observant enough would notice the inconsistencies.
Rather than wait for that to happen, Taylor began closing in on Sayaka, moving carefully through her blind spots. Some of her clones started acting slightly differently from the others to draw attention, only to be confronted by the warrior for a few seconds before being dismissed.
"Grrrrr, you're cheating, Taylor! Stop hiding!"
"If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough," one of the clones quipped, drawing the stone warrior's attention.
"We said no overwhelming tactics!" Sayaka protested upon seeing that the clones the warrior had not yet verified were multiplying and mixing in with the others.
"I can't make it too easy either," one of the new clones replied.
Let's see how you handle this.
Suddenly, Five groups of insects shaped like Taylor shot forward to attack—two from behind and three from the front.
At the last second, Sayaka spun around to face the two behind her. "From behind!" she yelled, sweeping her leg out just as the warrior at her back swung its spear.
"Too obvious," Taylor murmured as she ducked beneath the arc of the spear, shedding the layer of insects that covered her.
At such close range, Sayaka barely managed to turn in time, taking the hit to her ribs instead of her kidneys.
Letting out a grunt, she lunged forward to crash into Taylor in a coordinated pincer movement with her warrior.
Taylor couldn't fight either of them head-on. Even with her abnormally dense cursed energy and the gradual recovery from her Khepri degradation, Sayaka and the golem still outmatched her in brute strength and speed.
Luckily, she didn't need to, unlike in her usual sparring sessions, the movements of both opponents were as clear as day in her mind, thanks to the saturation of insects in the area.
Rolling forward, she dodged the spear thrust, stopping just in time to catch Sayaka's front kick between her stump and her arm.
"Shit..."
In a crocodile-like maneuver, Taylor began rolling sideways, dragging Sayaka to the ground to finish her with a rear-naked choke.
"Do you surrender?" she whispered into her ear.
"Never!" Sayaka growled, surprising Taylor as she broke free purely through brute force, sending her flying.
Feeling the air escape from her lungs upon impact, Taylor began to retreat to recover
This wasn't going to be easy.
Sensing an opportunity, Sayaka and her warrior charged forward like sharks drawn to blood in the water.
Even though Taylor could see all their attacks coming, that didn't magically give her the ability to dodge them all. Forced to take several hits, it seemed the bad news was piling up.
The second stone warrior began to approach. It was slow, its movements restricted by the layers of silk she had wrapped around it while it chased her clones. But without anything anchoring it in place, it still had enough mobility to be a problem
As her enemies advanced and her chances of victory diminished, an idea took shape in Taylor's mind.
Launching a swarm of insects toward Sayaka's face—who shut her mouth in horror too late—she sprinted toward the restrained stone warrior, the other hot on her heels.
At the same time, her slightly enhanced insects began extending their silk nets.
The plan was simple: entangle the two warriors with each other, then take Sayaka down one-on-one. She had to be fast, or all three would overwhelm her.
Planting her feet firmly, she suddenly pivoted ninety degrees to the left, feeling the telltale rush of air and sound of something slicing through the space she had just occupied. Continuing her movement fluidly, she gripped the spear tightly—not trying to take it away or attack the warrior directly, as that would be a waste of time. Instead, she jumped, tucking her knees to her chest and kicking both feet into the stone abdomen, propelling herself toward the other warrior in one leap.
Wasting no time, she engaged in a game of cat and mouse, dancing around the stone soldiers as her every movement wrapped them tighter and tighter in silk. Soon, they couldn't take a single step without throwing each other off balance.
Letting out a deep breath and wiping sweat from her forehead, Taylor turned to face her final opponent.
And…
The fight was already over. Taylor slowly approached a very distressed Sayaka, who was vomiting.
"Bleeergh! They got in my mouth! I can still feel them moving! Bleeegth—I have a leg stuck between my teeth!"
Taylor had to resist bursting into laughter as she patted Sayaka on the back.
Maybe I played a little dirty.
"I'll never be the same again… I think I swallowed one—I can feel it crawling inside me…"
She couldn't hold it in any longer.
"HaHahaHahaHa! Don't be like that, lots of cuisines use insects. In some cultures, they're a delicacy. I assure you, you didn't eat anything."
"Really?" Hope flickered in Sayaka's eyes.
"Nothing alive, at least…" Taylor burst out laughing again as Sayaka's face paled.
"Monster…"
"By the way, what have you been hiding since yesterday?"
"W-what? I don't know what you're talking about…"
"You can't fool me. Your right eyebrow twitches when you lie."
"That's not true! My eyebrow doesn't twitch!" She covered it anyway.
"Remember last week? When I grabbed the last custard… and you swore you didn't want it… and in the end, 'I didn't like it' so I gave it to you?"
A very red Sayaka turned away. "Y-you knew?! Ugh…"
"They don't call me the Sorcerer of a Thousand Eyes for nothing."
"No one calls you that!"
"Sooo?"
"Fine, fine! But don't complain when I stop preparing surprises for you…
"..."
"I heard they're considering promoting you, so you'll probably have to take an ascension test soon." Sayaka seemed happy for her
"A what?" Taylor, not so much
Author's Comment: Phew, I finally finished it! I'm not sure if I managed to convey Mei Mei's personality as much as I wanted. In general, for her, investing in Taylor is like investing in Bitcoin in its early days, and she knows it. Also, a small time skip to keep things moving forward.
By the way, a huge thank you for all your support! The other day, we were fifth in the Worm Story Search popularity ranking—it's a shame we're dropping now :C, but still, it's an incredible achievement for me! 🎉💛
As always, any help with spelling or ideas is greatly appreciated! 😊
