Compensation and Punishment

"I can accept anything as long as it's not a single digit."

"Hehe, it's not a single digit, but only a dozen or so."

Xiao Chun explained with a smile, and said to Xiao Bai, "Of the nearly 100,000 Magical Girls, apart from the first, fourth, and fifth generation Magical Girls who have activated their Shining Form, not a single one of the remaining Magical Girls can activate their Shining Form."

Do you think this is reasonable?

This is indeed unreasonable.

Xiao Bai's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly remembered what Xiao Chun had mentioned earlier about 'ordinary talent', and immediately asked:

"Having 'talent' alone isn't enough? Just having talent doesn't allow you to unlock the Shining Form?"

"Yes, I asked Nino about the deeds of these Magical Girls and found something very strange: the generations in which the Shining Form was activated were quite concentrated."

"There were at least five Shining Magical Girls in the first generation, and in the fourth generation and the gradually peaceful fifth generation, there were a total of thirteen Magical Girls who activated their Shining Form."

"There were so many Shining Magical Girls back then, so why couldn't the Magical Girls who came after them activate their powers?"

After saying all this, Xiao Chun then shared her guess:

That's because there's no 'leader'.

"..."

"Therefore, I speculate that the last and most crucial prerequisite for activating Shining Form is that there must be a truly exceptional Magical Girls with extraordinary talent who can break through the limits of the world to be the first to activate 'Shining Form'."

"Only when this boundary is broken will other talented Magical Girls have the opportunity to unlock this form."

Xiao Chun lowered her eyes again and said, "Of course, all of the above are just my guesses, but judging from what happened yesterday... my guesses are at least not entirely wrong."

After Xiao Chun finished speaking, Xiao Bai down.

She was pondering what Xiao Chun had said, considering the possibilities of these speculations.

Youyou, who had been hiding behind Xiao Bai without saying a word, finally couldn't help but speak up after hearing Xiao Chun's guess:

"So you mean that the Magical Girls of the past failed to awaken their Shining Form because there wasn't a single Magical Girls with truly exceptional talent who could break the world's limits?"

"!?"

Youyou's sudden appearance startled Xiao Chun.

However, upon hearing Youyou's question, Xiao Chun nodded earnestly and said:

"That's right, the most important thing is going from 'nothing' to 'something'. It's because Xiao Qiu has unlocked a new form that I have the confidence to unlock a new form, which is why I thought of these things yesterday and unlocked my own Shining Form."

"But you drove a little slowly today," Youyou blinked, changing the subject.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chun looked up at Xiao Bai. Only after seeing that Xiaobai was looking at her did Xiao Chun say:

"I've said it before, one of the conditions for activating Shining Form is 'the surge of emotions,' and right now... I can't feel that surge of emotions, so activating it will be quite difficult."

"But this is only temporary. As long as I activate it frequently and become familiar with the feeling, I will be like Xiao Qiu in the Sky Screen, able to activate the Shining Form the moment I see my companion injured, just like..."

"I was the same yesterday."

Xiao Chun's words were quite meaningful, and it's unclear what she was referring to.

Xiao Bai was still pondering, unaware of Xiao Chun's gaze fixed on his profile.

After waiting quietly for a while, Xiao Chun interrupted Xiao Bai's thoughts and said:

"... So after all that I've said, you should be able to include me in the next part of the plan, right?"

"Hmm? What plan?"

Xiao Bai was startled and looked at Youyou.

Youyou also stared at Xiao Chun with her mouth agape in surprise.

What's going on? Magical Girls on the side of justice is going to cooperate with me in carrying out that 'great' plan?

However, Youyou quickly realized she had guessed wrong, because she heard Xiao Chun say:

"Didn't you devise a plan to make us activate our Shining Form? What you told me yesterday was that you forced me to do that so that I could activate my Shining Form, so... you'll do the same to Xiaoxia next, right?"

"Ah... oh, that's the plan..."

Xiao Bai felt relieved. She had really thought that Xiao Chun had been provoked yesterday and was going to turn against Xiao Qiu and the others today.

Xiao Chun asked in surprise:

"Who else could it be?"

"I came to see you today to confirm the details of the plan. Although you always say that Xiaoxia is stupid, Xiaoxia is not really stupid. On the contrary, in some areas her intuition is sharper than ours."

"So she wouldn't have activated her Shining Form unless she had truly felt the pressure."

"Are you willing to cooperate with me?"

Xiao Bai asked in surprise.

"After all, it's much better for Xiaoxia to activate her Shining Form under our arrangement and plan than for her to actually activate Shining Form when she faces a life-or-death crisis that could very well lead to her death."

"We can at least control the former, but the latter... she might really get into trouble."

Xiao Chun explained, but then quickly added, "But be careful, Xiaoxia will definitely be angry after this, so you need to prepare a gift to apologize."

"... Yes, I will."

"Me too." Xiao Chun pointed to herself and said, word by word, "I also want your compensation. This is what you owe me."

Xiao Bai:"..."

So you were waiting for me here!

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Compensation and Punishment

"It's okay... trust me..."

"But... but I still can't accept this--!"

"This is 'compensation,' you know, compensation, and also a punishment for you, so..."

"Punishment is such a... wait... wait, I'll do it myself! You get out!"

"Oops--"

In the small fitting room, Xiao Chun was pushed out by someone who was extremely shy.

Seeing the curtain being drawn back closed, Xiao Chun blinked, a happy smile on her face.

A few minutes later, the curtain was pulled open again, and Xiao Bai, who had changed her clothes, appeared in front of Xiao Chun.

At this moment, Xiao Bai was no longer dressed in black clothes, trousers, and boots.

She changed into a black dress adorned with white floral patterns.

The dress's hemline didn't reach her knees, and it had white lace trim. The neckline was decorated with a deep red ribbon tied into a bow, and even her hair was adorned with a matching black hair accessory.

Although Xiao Bai's face remained indifferent, a faint blush appeared on her fair complexion.

Upon seeing Xiao Bai like this, Xiao Chun looked at her in surprise, then took out her phone, pointed it at Xiao Bai, and turned on the camera mode.

Click--

"!!"

Xiao Bai's breath hitched, and he immediately reached out to snatch Xiao Chun's phone, but Xiao Bai Xiao Chun stopped him with just one sentence:

"A dignified 'veteran' Magical Girls wouldn't renege on her debt, would she?"

Xiao Chun waved her phone and said with a smile, "I told you this is compensation for me. Of course, if you insist on not paying, that's fine too. I'll delete the photos and won't do anything else afterward, but... I'll probably be disappointed in someone then."

"..."

Xiao Bai remained silent and quietly withdrew her outstretched hand.

She only just realized that Xiao Chun actually had a somewhat cunning and scheming side.

Xiao Bai tugged at her clothes, still a little uneasy, but she didn't refuse Xiao Chun's 'punishment' in the end. She sighed and asked Xiao Chun:

"... So what's next? What should we do?"

"Okay, the clothes are fine, let's change into these."

As Xiao Chun spoke, she handed over two pairs of pantyhose of different colors, one black and one white, and asked Xiao Bai:

Which of these two colors do you prefer? I recommend black; it suits you perfectly.

"... Can I not choose?"

"So you're letting me choose? Sure, here's the black one, try it on first."

Xiao Chun handed over the black one with a smile.

Xiao Bai took a deep breath, sighed deeply, resignedly took the stockings from Xiao Chun's hand, and turned back to the fitting room.

A dozen minutes later, Xiaobai, who had changed into black stockings and wore pure black round-toed shoes with bows, looking like Xiao Bai high school girl, appeared in the mall along with Xiao Chun, who wore glasses and was dressed similarly to her.

The glasses they wore were enchanted to prevent others from recognizing them, allowing them to walk freely in the mall without worrying about being recognized.

Their current destination is the movie theater on the fourth floor of the mall; they've agreed to watch a newly released film together.

I've heard that the anime movie about Magical Girls has received pretty good reviews.

But on the way, Xiao Bai, looking like this, suddenly asked Xiao Chun:

"... You guessed it all along, didn't you?"

"What did you guess?"

"My identity..."

"Oh dear, I suddenly don't understand. Xiao Bai, what is your identity? Can you tell me yourself?"

Xiao Chun turned her head and blinked innocently at Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai's lips twitched, his fists clenched involuntarily, but he quickly relaxed them and turned his head away, saying:

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it... then I won't."

It's not that I don't want to talk about it.

Xiao Chun turned around and walked side by side with Xiao Bai towards the movie theater. They reached the escalator, and Xiao Chun looked straight ahead, whispering to Xiao Bai:

"I'm just respecting your opinion."

"..."

"I really like Brother Fang Ming, that's a fact, so I will respect his choice and everything about him, but in return... I also hope that you can respect us."

"Although I can understand your thoughts now, there are still some things I can't accept. I've had enough of that idea of making you do certain things because it's 'for your own good' from my parents over the past ten years."

"... Feel sorry."

"It's okay, I don't want you to apologize, I just want you to know that being 'forced to choose' is not a pleasant feeling."

As she spoke, Xiao Chun turned her head, looked at Xiao Bai in her current state, and asked again with a smile:

"Being forced to make a choice must be unpleasant, right?"

Xiao Bai thought about Xiao Chun's actions just now and nodded slightly.

Xiao Chun continued, "I know you want to protect us, but sometimes I still hope you can discuss things with us instead of making choices alone and bearing everything on your own."

"I will never do this again after defeating the Songstress Witch with you."

Xiao Bai told the truth.

Before defeating the Songstress Witch, she did indeed intend to protect Xiao Chun and the others, which is why she tried to stop Xiao Qiu others in everything she did.

But after defeating the Songstress Witch, Xiao Bai realized that Xiao Qiu and the others were not children who needed her protection; they possessed the power to defeat Demons, and were sometimes even stronger than her.

It is not shameful to acknowledge Xiao Qiu and her friends' strength.

Especially after the appearance of the Sky Screen and the confirmation that Xiao Qiu and the others were the main characters, Xiao Bai's mindset had already changed.

She no longer plays the role of a guardian, but rather a guide, a senior figure standing before Xiao Qiu and the others.

So... Xiao Bai decided to take remedial action after learning that Xiao Chun and the others might be unable to activate their Shining Form because of him.

But in the end, she still committed the same sin of arrogance as an adult, ignoring the feelings of the person involved.

As Xiao Bai thought about it, she looked down at her current appearance, and a strange sense of shame welled up in her heart.

Being forced to make a choice... is truly painful...