Dreamscape.

Maybe because of everything that happened during the day, after I fell asleep I was pulled into a dream. The dream set this time was surprisingly ordinary — it was just a projection of my room. Even the notebook lay quietly on the desk in exactly the same place it had been before I dozed off.

If it’s such an accurate copy, how could I tell this was a dream?

Because I’d turned into a girl, of course.

“Wow, what a surprise — even a perfect projection of your bedroom can’t fool you already?”
Master Halliluya bounced in from the doorway wearing pink bunny pajamas, striking a goofy pose with her arms for emphasis.

“Chang Kai-girl, next time try reshaping the dream yourself?” she suggested.

“No — I don’t have that power yet… Let’s be serious. You came to explain today’s events, right?”

“Right!” The white-haired loli nodded emphatically; her ahoge bobbed with the motion. “The notebook told me everything you wanted to ask. I came for that reason… So where shall I begin?”

She flopped onto my bed, buried her head in my pillow and let out a silly giggle — she didn’t seem bothered about dignity at all.

“Then start with the Li family first,” I said.

She turned and looked at me, silver eyes like a crescent moon. “You can’t save everyone in the world. Everyone has their own fate. If you try to defy the Heavenly Principles, the punishment can be severe.”

So does that mean the times I changed the fates of unlucky people, does it count as defying fate according to Heaven’s will?

“Master, are you saying I should give up trying to save the Li family’s father?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No — I won’t decide for you. You are my successor; you must choose yourself.”

Great — she’d just circled around and said nothing. I was half ready to smother her with the pillow.

“You’ve basically said nothing!” I snapped.

She sat up, crossed her legs beside me. “Set the Heavenly Principles aside for a moment — do you want to save him?”

“Of course I do — why else would I ask?”

“Then how much are you willing to pay for the life of ‘a friend’s father’?”

“Umm…”

“Speechless, huh?” she snorted.

“People are generous when it doesn’t cost them anything,” she continued. “Chang Kai-girl, you’re the same — for you, rewriting their fate is just writing a name in the notebook. When there’s a price, you hesitate. Does that make you a hypocrite?”

I felt a pang. She took my hand, then stood behind me and stroked my head. “Feeling guilty just shows you’re kind. You have cowardice and decisiveness both in you.”

Cowardice? Sure — Haitang always called me a coward.

“It’s just that some things — do them and you’ll regret it briefly; but don’t do them and you’ll regret it forever.”

I blinked. Her vague speech made me even more confused if anything.

“Then if I want to save the Li family’s father, what will it cost? Will I lose my qualification as a divine apprentice?”

She shrugged. “I’m not the Heavenly Principles; how would I know the punishment?”

Unknown punishments… great.

“Have you ever defied the Heavenly Principles, Master?” I asked.

She smacked my forehead playfully and laughed. “Ha! Never defy the Heavenly Principles? How could that be! I was also an apprentice god once. We didn’t have such a thing like a Bishoujo Notebook as insurance back then. Even as apprentices, we had access to raw divine power directly— easier to lose control, and the Heavenly Principles punished us plenty.”

So the notebook also acts as an insurance mechanism for apprentices? Interesting.

She paused in some memory, then said: “I don’t know the exact punishment, but changing a person’s fate is far less grievous than ‘promoting a cat to a human.’ You won’t automatically lose your qualification. You can relax on that point.”

“Well, at least I won’t get struck by lightning,” I muttered.

“Don’t sass me… Are you really going to test the Heavenly Principles’ limits?” she chided.

I admitted my thoughts. “If the Heavenly Principles is truly all-seeing, it’d stop me before I acted, right? If I can write the Li family’s father’s name in the notebook at all, isn’t that a hint it’s still within their tolerance?”

“You’re even daring to probe Heaven’s mind? You’ve got guts,” she laughed — happy more than angry — and then warned: “Decide and act, but be mentally prepared. The Heavenly Principles’ punishments are tailored, and they make the punished wish they were dead. I know from experience.”

Her eyes drifted to the distant night sky in the dream-window; sorrow and past burdens showed in her gaze. What had she been through?

Facing unknown divine retribution is terrifying. I know I can’t save everyone, but the things I do know are worth trying for.

Saving a life, saving a family — that’s right to try for.

Master watched me with an odd fondness and murmured, “Although your temperament is different, you really do resemble…”

“Resemble who?” I asked.

“Your mother.”

“You knew about my mom? You could’ve told me sooner,” I said.

“You’ll learn when the time’s right,” she replied, the same evasive line.

She hugged my neck with small, soft arms, her silver hair like curtains. “Don’t be too mad at this old man about this. Then let’s talk about the next issue…”

She must be referring to the notebook armor.

“Bringing this up just makes me even madder! So why did the notebook explode?” I demanded.

The black armor the notebook made had burst without warning, collapsing into a pile of black cloth.

Even if I didn’t question why such solid armor can just suddenly burst into pieces of black cloth, the worst part was how exposed I’d become at that exact moment — utterly naked, standing in front of the Li siblings with nowhere to hide.

We’d been discussing the Li family’s situation seriously one second, and the next I’d become a walking embarrassment. Even the muscle-sister spurted a nosebleed.

“Here’s the deal — the notebook overloaded,” Master Halliluya explained.

“Overloaded?”

“Sort of. The notebook can normally turn into ordinary clothes. You suddenly asked for full-body armor — the volume and density are far beyond normal clothes, so that puts a heavy burden on the notebook.”

“…So even divine artifacts have limits?” I said.

“Of course! So armor-mode only lasts three to five minutes; beyond that it will forcibly revert and the garment-change will cancel. You can use the armor as a trump card, but if you don’t want an embarrassing wardrobe pop, cancel it yourself before the time’s up.”

“Am I some bootleg Ultraman now…”

“Three minutes is generous — the Makai Knights only get 99.9 seconds!” she teased.

“I’ll just wear regular clothes under it then,” I said.

Master Halliluya covered her mouth and giggled. “No use. When an overload happens the explosion force will shred any regular clothes underneath too.”

“Totally bogus!”

How is this stupid setting not intentional!