Time should have meant nothing to a ghost. He could drift in one place for ten or twenty years without noticing. But ever since he started following this little brat, time suddenly felt like it had started moving again.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo~! Rise and shine, the sun's already kissing your butt!"
Su An floated right next to Lapland's ear and crowed at the top of his lungs. The silver hair on the side of her head twitched violently.
Lapland's eyes were still closed, but her hand was already groping blindly toward the sword beside the bed.
"Stop! Stop! It's me! Why is your morning temper getting worse and worse?!"
Lapland finally opened her eyes and locked onto the transparent figure hovering in mid-air. The sixteen-year-old Lapland was completely different from the girl she had been six years ago.
She was taller, her hair was longer, and her face had grown into something truly beautiful. Those eyes especially—six years ago they still held a hint of innocent stupidity. Now that innocence was gone.
Right now, the only emotion Su An could read in those eyes was: I want to kill someone.
"Su An, are you sick in the head?"
"Yeah, I am," Su An answered righteously. After all, she couldn't actually hit him. "Ghost sickness. Incurable."
Lapland sat up. Her long silver hair spilled over her shoulders. She rubbed her brow, took a deep breath, and looked at him.
"Turn around."
"Huh?"
"I'm changing."
Su An froze for a second, then grinned. "Turn around for what? It's not like I haven't seen it before. We're way past that kind of politeness, aren't we?"
"Before was before. Now is now. Are you turning or not?" Lapland's tone had already taken on a dangerous edge. Six years ago she had thought Su An was just a hallucination, so she hadn't cared. But things were different now.
Su An folded his arms and floated motionless in the air. "Nope. Not unless you make a wish."
"Fine. I wish it. Do you have to play this game every single time?"
Su An: "…"
He obediently turned around. He never missed a single chance to earn wish power.
Technically, he could fulfill wishes without her saying them out loud, but spoken wishes gave him more power.
After all, the desire that came from a casual thought and the desire that came from actively deciding to act were two completely different things.
Behind him came the soft rustle of fabric, the whisper of clothes being pulled on, the quiet click of a belt buckle.
"Done."
Su An turned back.
Sixteen-year-old Lapland was more than a head taller than she had been six years ago. Her long silver hair hung loose and casual. The traditional Saluzzo family outfit looked completely different on her—somehow wilder, sharper.
Su An nodded in approval. "Mm. Looking very… dog-like in human clothes."
"…Can't you say something nice for once?"
"Was I wrong?"
Lapland ignored him. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, crossed one leg, and started pulling on her boots. Her bare foot, still uncovered, looked dazzlingly white in the morning light.
She looked up at the transparent figure floating in the air and suddenly said:
"Lick it."
"Huh?"
"Lick." Lapland stretched her foot forward. "That's my wish."
Su An froze solid in mid-air.
He looked down at her foot, then back up at her face. She was dead serious.
So… should he do it? He was just a spirit. All he had to do was go through the motions. If she was satisfied, the wish would count. He wouldn't even actually touch her.
And if he actually did it, he would get way more wish power than from a casual spoken wish. Lapland clearly wanted this.
Su An fell into the deepest internal conflict of his ghostly life.
Dignity… Wish power… Dignity… Wish power.
Lapland just watched him, the corner of her mouth slowly curving upward.
So fun.
Really fun.
She had discovered a secret: as long as she played it just right, she could control Su An to a certain extent.
This guy who usually ran his mouth until people wanted to kill him would fall into this ridiculous, adorable struggle the moment the word "wish" came up.
Like a dog staring at a juicy bone, terrified it might be too hot.
Su An was still waging war with himself.
"What, a ghost can't even do something this small? Didn't you say you could do anything?"
Su An took a deep breath. "Fine."
He floated down, landed in front of Lapland, and crouched. Her eyes flickered slightly.
Su An reached out—then placed his own hand on his knee, looked up with the expression of a man marching to his death, and said:
"Come on."
Lapland stared at him.
Su An opened his mouth and held the pose. The two of them stayed locked in that ridiculous stalemate. Su An's nonexistent dignity refused to let him go any further.
"Hahahahaha—!"
Lapland burst out laughing. She fell backward onto the bed, silver hair fanning out across the sheets, shoulders shaking with laughter.
Su An remained crouched, staring at her with a deadpan face.
"You done laughing yet?"
"N-no… not yet…" Lapland could barely speak through her laughter. She covered her eyes with one hand, body still trembling. "Your… your face… hahahaha…"
When she finally stopped, she sat back up, pulled her foot back, and started putting on her boots again.
"Huh?" Su An blinked. "You're not waiting for me anymore?"
"Wait for you until when, exactly?"
Su An felt a pang of regret. The wish power had flown away…
"But if I really made a wish for you to do something, how much could you actually do?"
"Depends on what you want."
"For example?"
"For example, making your dad disappear. The stronger your desire and emotions, the harder it is. The more satisfied you are when I finish, the more wish power I get."
"Creating things from nothing, repairing anything, stopping time, reviving the dead—as long as I have enough wish power, I am a god."
Su An delivered the sales pitch he had prepared long ago.
Lapland raised an eyebrow. "Sounds pretty impressive."
She was skeptical. After all, this self-proclaimed god had just spent several seconds seriously considering whether or not to lick her foot.
"You don't believe me?"
"No."
"You totally don't believe me."
"Then why don't you turn yourself into a solid body right now and show me?"
Su An froze.
"Uh… that would require wish power…"
"Then I'll wish for it."
"You don't have enough wish power for that!"
Lapland was only joking. If he actually did it, he would be the one losing out. Besides…
"Creating a physical body would affect how I move," Su An spread his hands. "I wouldn't be able to fly or phase through walls anymore, and I'd have to eat on a schedule just to stay alive."
"Right now I'm great. I float around without getting tired, I don't need to eat, I don't need to use the bathroom. Have you ever seen a god who needs any of that?"
Lapland's hands paused for a second while tying her laces.
"So what you're saying is, if you had a body, you'd have to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom just like me?"
"Yep."
"That actually sounds kind of interesting."
"Interesting my ass!" Su An floated right in front of her. "It would be a huge pain."
Lapland finished tying her last shoelace and stood up.
"So right now, do you ever feel like eating or sleeping?"
"Nope. Right now the only thing I want to do is watch other people use the bathroom. Like sneaking a peek at your dad. I heard people are at their most vulnerable when they're on the toilet."
"We could just ambush him then."
"Su An."
"Hm?"
"Shut up."
"Why?"
"Because I'm actually starting to consider it."
"Isn't that great? So when do we make a move on your biological dad?"
Su An floated in the air, waiting for Lapland's answer.
But Lapland stayed silent.
She stood up, walked to the window, pushed it open. The cool morning breeze rushed in, lifting her silver hair. She simply stood there, gazing out at the vineyard beyond.
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