MTL NOVEL Chapter 50
Chapter 50 & 45 The Freedom Within Sight
After returning to the main family residence, once dinner had been shared with everyone, Yukinoshita Yukino returned to her room.
Though she hadn’t been residing there in quite some time, her room still remained neat, evidently someone had regularly been cleaning it.
Only then did she have time to handle the messages piling up on her phone.
Opening E, the chat app that Yui Yuigahama had coerced her into downloading, only contained one person, the pink-haired girl with bouncy twintails.
It turned out, seeing as Yukinoshita Yukino had skipped lunch at the Service Club that day, Yui Yuigahama had later found out from Hiratsuka-sensei that she had taken a day off.
Yui: Yukino-chan, were you absent today due to illness?
Yui: Or did you need to take care of something important and couldn’t come to school?
Kiyotaka Ijichi: Hmm, a little concerned here, make sure to text me back if you saw this, Yukino-chan!
A warm feeling surged within Yukinoshita Yukino, her lips curling up as she edited a reply on the screen: “I’m fine, I’ve taken care of everything, will be back at school next week.”
As soon as she sent the message, it was marked as read and then an immediate response came: “That’s good!”
Yui: Let’s eat lunch together again at the Service Club next week!
Yui: By the way, Hachiman asked for your E number and should have added you already.
Three consecutive messages came quicker even than how she usually typed, causing her to feel somewhat embarrassed.
She glanced over the friend request from Hachigaya Hikigaya, and upon accepting it, he immediately sent another message.
Hachigaya: There were cursed spirits at school yesterday.
Lin Qi: Her pupils contracted instantly; she typed rapidly, seeking details about what had happened.
Hachigaya: I was attacked outside the Service Club’s premises in the corridor; they seemed to target me. There were five of them, very weak, likely grade four cursed spirits, all dealt with. Yui wasn’t harmed. And I think… I awakened some sort of technique.
Targeted me? Got it — must be that Dead Fish-Eyed Kid playing tennis with Hayama Xiao-deng, leaving behind residual curse energy which attracted the cursed spirits.
Upon reading Hachigaya Hikigaya’s message, Lin Qi immediately pieced together why he would have been attacked.
Yukinoshita Yukino reworded his statement and sent it to Hachigaya Hikigaya, though unexpectedly, his focus appeared elsewhere.
Hachigaya: So it involves Hayama Xiao-deng… Pfft! That’s got to be Lin Qi talking.
Ask him what specific technique he awakened.
Following Lin Qi’s mental command, Yukinoshita Yukino dutifully complied, and her typing speed improved over time.
Hachigaya: To be honest, it seems like it can trap someone inside a mirror.
Lin Qi: Seems related to space, right? But until I can verify by eye, it’s hard to say. See it for yourself next Monday.
After ending the conversation with Hachigaya Hikigaya, under Lin Qi’s suggestion, Yukinoshita Yukino meticulously deleted their chat history.
Why delete them?
This time, she learned her lesson: to stop her elder sister or others interrupting her privacy, Yukinoshita Yukino directly communicated mentally with Lin Qi.
Because I feel like your sister secretly reads your texts, he honestly replied. He hadn’t forgotten that both he and Yukinoshita Yukino were still being watched by Yukinoshita Yono, which could be troublesome.
Given Yukinoshita Yono’s suspicions, they had to stay cautious, especially after facing repercussions before. Lin Qi became more wary towards handling matters involving Yukinoshita Yono.
That woman is truly annoying, quick-witted and agile, yet shameless — stealing someone else’s data wouldn’t surprise him.
Got it.
Considering it quite likely that her elder sister might do such a thing, Yukinoshita Yukino nodded in agreement.
Speak of the devil.
In her mental communication, as soon as Lin Qi finished speaking, Yukinoshita Yono opened the door to Yukinoshita Yukino’s room.
Hearing the door open, she looked up to find Yukinoshita Yono wearing a thin nightgown, carrying a pillow and hairdryer, walking in with a smile.
“I’m here to sleep with you, Yukinoshita~”
Seemingly fresh out of the bath, a blend of shower gel and steam wafted over, damp strands of hair hung just below her shoulders, droplets trickling down her distinct collarbones, tracing her smooth skin, sliding into the cleavage of her chest playfully.
The nightgown was halter-styled, revealing white skin tinged with pink, light fabric slightly loose due to her raised breasts; a cool summer breeze wafted in through the window, gently teasing the hem of the nightgown, raising concern for her catching a chill.
Her legs were slender, her bare feet adorned in pink slippers, toes flexing freely due to moisture, without any brightly colored nail polish.
Yukinoshita Yono tossed the pillow onto her sister’s bed, then unceremoniously thrust the hair dryer into Yukino’s怀里。
说完，便径自挤开雪之下雪乃，坐到她的位置上，等待着妹妹的服务。
“为什么我非要和你睡一个房间……”嘴里虽然这么说，手上却乖乖地将吹风机插上电源，为阳乃吹起了头发。
呼呼的热风吹拂过发丝，再加上纤纤细手在为她按摩头皮，雪之下阳乃舒服地哼起了歌。
一边享受着可爱的妹妹所提供的服务，雪之下阳乃不动声色地摸过桌上的手机。
锁屏密码应该是她的生日吧，小雪乃真是耿直呢。
她几乎毫不费力猜到了雪之下雪乃手机的锁屏密码，却还没等到解锁，头上的温度就变得灼热起来。
“啊，烫烫烫！”
雪之下雪乃将吹风机顶住同一个位置吹了一会儿，阳乃发出了求饶般的呼唤。
正如寄生虫君所料，姐姐真是老辣啊。
小小惩罚一下雪之下阳乃后，她随手夺回了自己的手机。
“不让姐姐看手机，小雪乃是不是藏了什么小秘密？”企图行动失败的雪之下阳乃哼哼道。
“没有。”雪之下雪乃淡淡地说，“就算有，也不是姐姐的事情。”
“呜呜，小雪乃好狠心，是讨厌姐姐了吗？明明小时候雪乃酱最喜欢姐姐了的说！”阳乃试图搪塞过去。
“是的。”雪之下雪乃直截了当地回答。
感受到眼前娇躯突然僵硬，少女嘴角不自觉地翘起。
你看，我说有用吧，这姐姐真是妹妹控！
……
深夜，雪之下家的姐妹紧紧相拥睡眠，主要是小的那个被大的单方面搂在了怀中。
房间中只留一盏小台灯，橘黄色的微光与洒进屋内的皎洁月光交织，徐徐夜风穿过薄纱窗帘轻轻摇曳，为房间增添了一份夏夜的凉意。
雪之下家的宅邸位于郊区，远离城市灯光污染，黑夜愈加明亮，遥远星河镶嵌在黑色的天幕上。
没有睡意，但夜谈总得聊聊。
“呐，小雪乃，跟姐姐说说你捕获杀人犯的经历呗。”
雪之下阳乃用脸颊蹭了蹭妹妹散发着清新的头发，带着一丝湿润和温热的气息轻轻扑向脖颈，怀中女孩不禁缩了缩脖子。
“痒痒……”雪之下雪乃感到不习惯，象征性挣扎几下后便任由姐姐搂着，后背传来一阵柔软的触感，两人前胸相对。
“快说快说！姐姐很想知道的！”阳乃催促道。
“其实也没什么好说的。”无奈地叹了一口气，雪之下雪乃冷静地复述着早已准备好的剧本。
“在路上看到个鬼鬼祟祟的人影跟踪一个男性，正好发现他裤兜里的水果刀，我觉得不对劲便悄悄尾随并报警。”
“在凶手跟受害者进入公寓后，我在楼下等候，待警方到达一起上去时，发现受害者已被杀害，凶手当场被抓。”
“小雪乃记得凶手长啥样吗？”雪之下阳乃好奇地问。
“光头，左眼角旁边有个疤痕。”被用来替罪的死刑犯资料是伊地知洁高给雪之下雪乃的，因此她能够流畅地描述出来，这就是所谓的万无一失。
啥万无一失啊……在屏幕外窥视偷听的林绮无奈吐槽，难道没发现你是被引导说出这些的？
这不是早就说好的剧本吗？雪之下雪乃疑惑道。
哥们，你今天才刚刚演出因为看到血腥场面而感到惊吓需要休养的形象，你父母还带你去看了医生做了全面检查，现在才过几个小时，你就这么淡定地和你姐姐复述你的遭遇？
这就是所谓的百密一疏罢了。
听到自己被设计出来的真相，雪之下雪乃身体僵硬，在阳乃看不见的地方，脸上的表情逐渐变得木讷。
她曾以为自己已经可以平静面对那些可怕的场面，但这份淡然此时反而起了反作用。
“诶，小雪乃记得真清楚啊……什么意思？”
一阵心惊肉跳后，雪之下雪乃忽然转头面对阳乃那张成熟妩媚的脸，严肃地从被窝中伸手，捏住姐姐的脸颊开始用力拉扯。
女孩抿嘴不答，只是如释重负一般默默地摧残着姐姐的脸颊。
姐妹之间心连心，你跟姐妹耍心机？
“呜呜……”
雪之下阳乃委屈地嘟囔着说不出话，但眉眼弯成了月牙形，笑意洋溢开来，感觉像一只骤然怒目起的可爱小动物。
她也跟着伸出双手，在雪乃的脸颊上揉搓着。
待情绪释放完毕后，雪之下雪乃拍开阳乃作弄的手，扭过身把后背留给她。
“我要去睡觉了，姐姐别再打扰我了！”她说完便闭上眼睛，试着入睡。
不过，就算这么说，雪之下阳乃肯定还会固执地再次抱住她吧。
她从小就这样，根本不在乎自己的感受，只为自己的欢乐捉弄对方。
只是静静地闭着眼睛等待了许久，却没有预想中的事发生，少女不禁感到一丝好奇，偷偷瞥了一眼观察。
在眼角的余光中，雪之下阳乃正躺着床上，双眼盯着天花板，不知道在想些什么。
“最近总觉得，小雪乃像是改变了。”沉默片刻后，雪之下阳乃轻轻开口道。
与妹妹清澈空灵的声音形成对比，她的声音略带午后慵懒与略显沙哑，如同舞女红唇间的雾气轻轻吐出，烟雾缭绕让人无法忽视其散发的柔美。
“变得更……哦，更勇敢了。”迟疑片刻后，她确信无疑地给出了答案。
雪之下阳乃很清楚自己的妹妹其实是一个既胆小又倔强的小女孩。
胆小到受伤后便自我封闭，对外界竖起尖锐的刺；倔强到始终追随着自己的足迹，久久不愿放手，仿佛生命中除了这一目标外毫无其他意义。
听小静说，小雪乃的升学志愿填的是和自己相同的大学。
雪之下阳乃深知，自己的未来已然被决定，她将肩负起雪之下家族的责任。这样一来，小雪乃则可以不必重复她的过往，更能自由地、幸福地生活。
因此，她不希望小雪乃追随自己的脚步。
近来确实感到小雪乃的步伐不再紧跟她的节奏。
这本来是一件值得欢欣的事，但不知何故，心中反而滋生出一股烦忧，慢慢化成莫名的不安。
小雪乃会被人从自己的生命中夺走的不安。
“但这难道不是件好事吗？姐姐不希望我变得更好吗？”雪之下雪乃转身疑惑地问道。
“是件好事……至少对你来说。”雪之下阳乃心情复杂地说道，随后翻了个身，这次换成她将自己的后背留给妹妹。
“快去睡！小雪乃可别半夜偷偷抱着哦~”
“不会的。”
房间里橙色的灯光随之熄灭，黑暗吞噬了整个房间。
我希望，你能在我的视线内自由地活着。
……
放学后，成为一名咒术师。