Chapter 83: Temporarily Staying at Your Place
The sleeping arrangement of the three sisters goes like this from left to right:
Noia, Moon, Little Light.
On the surface, it’s arranged by birth order, but there’s actually a great deal of significance behind it.
Noia sleeps on the outer edge of the big bed to prevent her little sisters from accidentally rolling off in their sleep;
Little Light sleeps snugly on the inside because that spot lets her enjoy the delightful sight of both big sisters.
As for why Moon sleeps in the middle—
Little Light is lying flat on her back, sleeping soundly, eyes gently closed, breathing evenly. And resting on her soft little belly are Moon’s short legs.
Her shoulders are snugly embraced by her second sister, looking just like a plush pink-haired pillow.
Little Light knows that Moon likes to cuddle something whenever she sleeps.
Before Little Light was born, she would hug the eldest sister;
And after Little Light arrived, she’d randomly pick one between the eldest and the youngest—
And that’s why Moon snuggles in the middle.
On the left is the soft and fragrant Little Sister, and on the right is the solid and classic Big Sister; the Silver Dragon’s third princess just loves to have the best of both worlds.
Little Light has gotten used to this setup, which is why she’s sleeping so soundly now.
“Jerky… jerky is so good…”
Moon, while cuddling Little Light, is reliving the after-dinner snack Noia brought her in her dreams.
Little Light remains entirely unresponsive, still caught in blissful slumber.
After years of practice, she won’t wake up unless there’s an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption.
After a while of enjoying Little Light’s cuddly presence, Moon decides she’s had enough and rolls over to embrace the eldest.
However, as soon as the little dragon turns around and reaches out her arm, she gets nothing but empty air.
With her eyes still shut, Moon furrows her brow and feels around for her sister, but still finds nothing.
Hmm…
Something feels off.
Usually, she can just roll over and hug Noia—did…
did her sister fall off the bed?
Moon groggily opens her eyes and wriggles a bit in bed, finally inching her way to the edge, but looking down, there’s still no Noia in sight.
“Sister?……”
No response.
Moon bolts upright, and with the moonlight streaming through the window, she scans the room again, trying to call out for Noia one more time,
“Sister?”
Still no reply.
Now Moon is starting to panic.
She quietly throws back the covers, hops out of bed, and tiptoes to the bathroom.
But the bathroom light is off.
Nor is there any trace of Noia in the other rooms.
With urgency, Moon scurries back to the bed, kneeling next to Little Light and gently nudging her shoulder,
“Little Light, wake up—Sister is missing!”
The pink-haired dragon turns over with a sleepy murmur, “Mmm~ Maybe she went to the bathroom…”
“She isn’t in there!”
Little Light, still a bit dazed, finally sits up, rubbing her messy pink hair. She glances around the bed, then the room, but Noia is still nowhere to be found.
Instantly, Little Light is wide awake.
“Could she be off looking for food again?” she wonders.
Moon’s big eyes fill with concern. Even though they’re at home and nothing catastrophic should happen, Noia has never just vanished in the middle of the night!
“Let’s check the dining room!” Moon suggests.
Little Light nods, “Okay!”
The little dragon girls hop out of bed, get dressed, and tiptoe past Dad and Mom’s room, through the hallway and down the stairs, finally making it to the dining room on the first floor.
Unfortunately, Noia is absent here too.
“Sister has gone missing!”
Moon slaps her cheeks with both tiny hands, and in an instant, a barrage of tragic scenarios flash through her head.
“Could she have been carried away by a Dangerous Species?”
“Or maybe that rift from ages ago opened up again, sucking her in?”
“Or worse, she might have left us all behind!”
“Could it be—”
“Second Sister!”
Little Light swiftly intervenes, cupping Moon’s soft, chubby face to stop her wild speculation,
“First of all, no Dangerous Species can get into the Silver Dragon Temple. Dad turns anything harmful into tasty BBQ long before it gets close;”
“Secondly, that rift business was ages ago, and Dad handled it really well;”
“Lastly, Big Sister would never abandon you. So don’t worry!”
With Little Light’s comforting words, Moon’s emotions gradually settle down.
With a gleam of tears in her eyes, she asks, “Then where could Sister be?”
Little Light ponders for a moment, then replies, “She’s been saying she’s hungrier lately because her training is ramping up. Could it be that she’s sneaking in some extra training during the night?”
Moon’s eyes widen in understanding, nodding wildly, “That must be it! Let’s go to the training grounds and find her!”
“Yep, let’s go!”
The little dragon girls dash from the dining room straight to the training arena in the back of the Holy Temple.
Sure enough, they find Noia sitting under a towering ancient tree.
Moon’s eyes light up and she opens her mouth to call out,
“Sis!—Wait!—”
But before she can finish, Little Light covers her mouth.
Little Light pulls Moon behind a tree, peeking out cautiously to observe Noia from a distance.
“What’s going on?” Moon frets.
“Look at Big Sister. It doesn’t seem like she’s doing a regular workout.”
Moon squints over and sees Noia sitting cross-legged under the tree, eyes closed, an invisible energy rippling around her, gently lifting her hair.
She doesn’t look like she’s doing strength training; it feels more like she’s gathering magical energy.
“Is she practicing magic energy gathering?” Moon queries.
Little Light shakes her head solemnly, “Big Sister’s magic is Thunder Element. When gathering energy, there should definitely be signs of that. But right now, there’s no elemental response at all.”
Noia doesn’t seem to be gathering Thunder magic, yet strangely, from this distance, both little dragons can distinctly feel a faint ripple of power.
What could that be…
Just as they ponder this, Noia’s voice rings out suddenly,
“Who’s there?!”
The two little ones are startled.
Yet, they obediently emerge from behind the tree, one after another.
Upon realizing who it is, Noia relaxes her tense demeanor.
She stands up and strides over to her sisters.
“What are you two doing up at this hour?”
“Um, we didn’t find you in the room just now and thought you’d run into some danger, so we came to look for you…”
“Danger? What could I—ah… what danger could I encounter?”
Noia chuckles lightly, giving Moon’s cheek a playful pat, “No worries, go back to sleep.”
“Really, Sister?” Moon looks up, her big, sparkling eyes filled with worry.
Noia puts her hands on her hips and waves one hand dismissively, “Really really. Now go back and sleep, okay?”
“Then let’s go back together!” Moon holds onto Noia’s hand.
Upon hearing this, Noia freezes for a moment, instinctively wanting to pull her hand back but manages to hold it steady.
Her eyes subtly dance, then she says, “Ah… fine. Let’s go.”
With that, she takes Moon’s hand and heads toward the Silver Dragon Temple.
Little Light follows a short distance behind, gazing at her sister’s back with a serious expression.
“Did Big Sister just use a strangely formal self-reference? Or did I mishear that…? ”
The pink-haired girl scratches her head in confusion, shakes her head to clear her thoughts, and quickly rushes to catch up.
The three sisters return to the bedroom, and after making sure Moon and Little Light are settled into bed, Noia says,
“I’m just going to use the bathroom, be right back.”
Moon hugs her blanket tightly, “Make it quick, okay, Sister?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Noia nods, then heads to the bathroom.
She carefully closes the door, turns on the light, and stands in front of the mirror at the sink, looking at her own reflection.
The smile on her face gradually slips away, replaced by a frosty little visage.
This expression is very different from Noia’s usual “coldness.”
Normally, Noia tends to “play” the role of an adult, known as the “big sister”;
But at this moment, her expression and gaze resemble an old king, weathered by the world and witnessing all its joys and sorrows, carrying a sense of detached calm.
“Even though I share a female body like this, it’s not hard to adjust. However, this little one is rather young. It could take some time to fully regain my strength.”
Noia looks at her hands, wanting to experiment with the power she just gathered.
But suddenly, a buzzing fills her brain.
She tenderly rubs her temples,
“Tch… This kid is pretty alert, huh…”
“After a week, I can still only control this body for less than two hours while she’s asleep…”
“Well, I guess for now, I’ll just be crashing at your place.”
“Let’s consider it… your unauthorized use of my name as a little payment.”
