Queen Year

--"A special assessment to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the disaster?"

While the atmosphere among the girls at the Secret Base was tense, Larkspur, driving on the road back, asked Asō Madoka with a hint of doubt, "Why commemorate something like this?"

After finishing their memorial service for Anya and leaving the cemetery in Fangting City, Lin Yun, considering their upcoming return to the Secret Base, once again transformed into the form of Larkspur in the car.

At that moment, she was driving while discussing certification exams with Asō Madoka.

She was also puzzled by Asō Madoka's previous suggestion that "the Fangting City Squad needs to beat the Bai'an City Squad before participating in the assessment."

"Hmm... if I really had to say there was a reason, it could only be because next year will mark another twenty years, right?"

Leaning against the passenger-side window, Asō Madoka gazed at the street scenes flashing by outside the car. "You know, every twenty years, the gates of the Rose Palace open."

Great Calamity and Celebration.

This is a word etched into the life of every magical girl, corresponding to nineteen years ago, a very special year.

The so-called "Great Calamity" refers to the "Great Beast Calamity" that erupts in the Material Realm. Its impact is so vast, the battles so intense, and the damage so devastating that it has never been seen in a century. Therefore, after surviving such a catastrophe that can be described as a natural disaster, the magical girls all remember this term with unwavering resolve.

The Great Calamity is only the first part of the word. The second part is the "great celebration." This great celebration refers to something else, which is generally called the "Queen Year" by the people of the Magic Kingdom.

For the Kingdom, this is a year that occurs once every twenty years, when the Queen leaves the Rose Palace to travel and engage in activities within the Kingdom.

As the pinnacle of power in the entire Magic Kingdom, the Kingdom is not always in the public eye. In fact, in the minds of most citizens, the Queen is far more mysterious than anyone else, because almost no one has ever met her in person.

Most of the time, the Queen resides deep within the Rose Palace, and at most ventures out to the "Garden" surrounding it. Only high-ranking members of the Royal Court, the Queen's confidants, and magical girls of Flower Card or higher are qualified to enter the palace for an audience.

But there are always exceptions, and that exception is the "Queen Year".

During this year, the Queen will take the initiative to travel throughout the Kingdom to inspect the people's conditions, examine the work of the Five Great Institutes, and even personally lead magical girls to resist enemies.

Therefore, the Great Beast Calamity nineteen years ago was not only a once-in-a-century catastrophe, but more importantly, it coincided with the special year of the "Queen Year".

Therefore, Kingdom Queen herself took part in and commanded the battle, and the victory in this disaster was described as "Battle of Honor under the Queen's wise command," which was followed by a grand celebration that was the likes of which it was not seen in a century.

A year marked by both Great Beast Calamity and great celebration will ultimately be remembered in the Kingdom's history as a year of "Great Calamity and Celebration."

Nineteen years have passed since the Great Calamity and Celebration, and next year will be the twentieth anniversary. This not only signifies the arrival of another "Queen Year," but also marks the twentieth anniversary of the victory over the Great Beast Calamity.

"Rose Palace ..." Larkspur murmured the words, pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and said, "I know, so who came up with this idea out of nowhere, and what are they planning to do with it? Just to curry favor?"

"Our Investigation Institute has received information that His Majesty will personally observe this assessment next year."

Asō Madoka stated, "To commemorate this special day that only happens once every twenty years, the Finance Institute, the Research Institute, and the Magic Affairs Institute will jointly conduct a new examination in addition to the traditional qualification examination. Magical girls who pass the new examination will also receive various special benefits."

"A new assessment..."

Hearing this, Larkspur felt a sense of foreboding, but to confirm it, she could only bite the bullet and ask, "What idea did they come up with?"

"Simulated Great Beast Calamity."

Asō Madoka sighed, "To recreate the situation of the Great Beast Calamity to a certain scale, so that the examinees can experience the scene firsthand and hone their ability to survive and fight in a crisis... at least that's what they said when they were promoting this project."

"... A lunatic." That was the only assessment Larkspur could offer.

As survivors of the Great Beast Calamity, no one knew the scene better than her and Asō Madoka —the devastation of ruins, the cries of despair, and the seemingly endless Aberrant Beast. Any one of these images was enough to send chills down one's spine. Even now, they couldn't forget the helplessness and despair they felt back then, let alone the current generation of magical girls.

It's important to understand that, as the most important assessment system in the entire Magic Kingdom, the annual qualification certification, despite its comprehensive security, still inevitably results in sporadic injuries and deaths. There will always be magical girls who encounter accidents of varying degrees due to non-compliant operations or their opponents' lack of restraint during the assessment.

This exam, which was already somewhat risky, is now being further complicated by a new assessment that has no practical testing capabilities. This undoubtedly amplifies the safety risks.

"This is too reckless."

Perhaps because the more she thought about it, the more illogical it seemed, so Larkspur added, "Is it a real-world simulation or a mental simulation? Who is specifically in charge of this? Can we stop it now?"

"It's too late. The venue and the Spell Formula have already been set up. Although the details are unclear, it's said that a large amount of manpower and financial resources have been invested in the construction. If we want to stop this now, we'll probably have to go to the current Diamond or Royal Court nobles."

Asō Madoka shook her head. "To be honest, I have no idea what those guys are thinking. But that's why I proposed this competition—two members of our team are magical girls who got their White Card at the beginning of this year. Only if the kids you train can beat them can they guarantee a certain level of safety. If they can't win, they might be in danger even if they participate in the assessment. Are you willing to see that happen?"

"... How is that possible?"

The Larkspur let out a long sigh, "Would you really want your descendants to be placed in such a dangerous place?"

"Of course I don't want to, that's why I'm bringing this up with you."

Asō Madoka said softly, "Our Bai'an team doesn't plan to participate in the qualification certification next year. White Thistle and Mimosa don't meet the standards for the Letter Card yet, and as for Wood Lily... I really don't trust her at all."

When the two of them talked about this, they both fell silent for a moment.

The Larkspur was thinking.

If she initially encouraged the girls to participate in the assessment simply because she was unaware of the specifics, now that she knows next year's assessment might be even more dangerous than previous years, should she still encourage them to participate?

She knew that being a "magical girl" meant a life filled with battles, and she couldn't forever keep her juniors out of danger. But was it really necessary to add a risk that didn't exist in the first place just for an assessment?

This left her feeling somewhat confused.

However, she quickly suppressed this confusion. As the SUV drove back to the Secret Base, she had to maintain her composure and at least not let her worries affect the children.

After a brief welcome party, the eight magical girls and one Fairy gathered around the table for dinner.

At the dinner table, Larkspur and Asō Madoka revealed the matter to their juniors.

"I must tell you very seriously that the danger of the 'Great Beast Calamity' far exceeds your current capabilities. Even if the assessment at that time is not 100% replicated, and may even be weakened to some extent due to your strength, it will still be an extremely dangerous event."

Looking at her juniors across the table, Larkspur said seriously, "I didn't know about this before, but now it seems that this assessment won't be as simple as we thought. I hope you can think it over carefully before making a decision."

"The decision-makers—I've discussed it with this senior Margaret —are that you need to have a battle against the magical girls of Bai'an City. If you win, you can then participate in the Kingdom's assessment."

Upon hearing this, the magical girls across the table displayed various expressions.

On the Bai'an City side, since they hadn't planned to participate in next year's assessment anyway, the magical girls all looked quite relaxed. The taciturn girl codenamed Mimosa sipped her soup expressionlessly; the blonde girl codenamed Wood Lily looked at the Fangting City with smug satisfaction; as for White Thistle, probably because she already knew about this, she simply nodded to her two seniors to indicate that she was aware of it.

The situation in Fangting City is quite different.

Xia Liang was probably the calmest of the three, but even she was stunned when she heard that such an unreasonable item had been added to the assessment, and a hint of difficulty appeared on her smile.

Bai Jingxuan, on the other hand, seemed to understand but not quite. She could roughly grasp the fact that "the assessment has become more difficult," but she didn't seem to see anything wrong with it.

As for Lin Xiaolu, she hadn't touched her chopsticks much to begin with, and the food in her bowl was almost untouched. After listening to Larkspur's words, she remained silent for a while, then put down her bowl and whispered, "I'm full," before leaving the table in front of everyone.

She didn't even offer a further explanation.

This left Larkspur was still considering other issues, stunned.

"... In short, you don't need to give me an answer right now. You can digest this matter and think about it for a few more days before we discuss and make a decision together."

After a long pause, she slowly spoke, "And, does anyone know what's wrong with White Rose?"

No one replied.

Not only were the three people from Bai'an City silent, but even their two companions from Fangting City seemed completely baffled by the matter.

Only Asō Madoka, after scanning everyone around, gave White Thistle a meaningful look, but didn't say anything more.

Having failed to elicit a response, Larkspur decided not to pursue the topic further. Although she harbored some doubts and concerns about Lin Xiaolu's behavior, she didn't say much and simply continued hosting the dinner until it ended.

Because the group from Bai'an City had only arrived for the first time, and were considered guests, Larkspur had to spend more time entertaining them. As a result, it wasn't until nearly nine o'clock in the evening that she finally had time to go to Lin Xiaolu's room to inquire about what had happened.

In the quiet of the night, she stood outside the door and gently knocked, the "knock knock" echoing through the corridor.

"White Rose?" the Larkspur called out.

After the call ended, there was first the sound of fabric rustling inside the door, followed by hurried footsteps. The Larkspur could vaguely hear the sound of a body hitting wood, and the doorknob being turned. However, the sound of the doorknob turning didn't continue; it only made the scraping sound of a lock before stopping abruptly.

The door was not opened.

Soon, Lin Xiaolu's somewhat muffled voice came from behind the door.

"Feel sorry."

She said, "Larkspur, can I be alone for a while to think? I'll be fine."

"I just wanted to ask if you've encountered any difficulties," Larkspur said calmly. "We can solve it together."

"... Feel sorry."

However, Lin Xiaolu only left this sentence and then made no further moves.

By the moonlight in the corridor, Larkspur could see that the doorknob had been pressed down slightly, but for some reason, Lin Xiaolu still didn't open the door.

There wasn't even a sound of footsteps. Is the child still standing behind the door?

Larkspur thought with slight worry, realizing that she could enter the room with just a little more effort. But she didn't do so, considering her daughter's somewhat awkward personality, she figured that barging in rashly wouldn't solve the problem.

In the end, she didn't ask any more questions and left silently.

She left the corridor where Lin Xiaolu's room was located and walked all the way to the stairwell connecting the floors. She had just gone downstairs when she suddenly noticed a figure standing in the stairwell.

It's White Thistle.

The girl, who had previously maintained a calm and composed demeanor, now had slightly reddened eyes, one hand gripping the forearm of the other, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"What's wrong?" Larkspur asked, somewhat puzzled.

"... I'm very sorry, Inspector, this is all my fault."

But White Thistle only left behind this vague apology before covering her mouth and running to the fourth floor.

This strange behavior left Larkspur even more confused. She could only watch helplessly as the other person disappeared around the corner of the stairwell, too embarrassed to chase after them and ask.

Filled with doubts, she didn't get any valuable information from Asō Madoka until she returned to the living room on the first floor.

"Sorry, one of our team's kids caused trouble for your side."

As she leaned back on the sofa watching TV, Asō Madoka said with a forced smile, "I already gave her a good scolding and made her apologize to you. Has she come to you yet?"

So that's how it is.

After hearing the other party's explanation, the Larkspur finally understood what had happened:

Lin Xiaolu and White Thistle had a fight.