The Day of the Match

A week has passed quickly since the Bai'an City Squad arrived in Fangting City.

With Larkspur and Asō Madoka in charge, the interaction between the two teams didn't cause too much trouble, and the impact of the new team quickly faded away.

At least that's how it appears on the surface.

As for what the girls were thinking and what actions they took in preparation for the upcoming competition, no one knows.

All that Larkspur knew was the movement of the Fangting City Squad.

After the Xia Liang, Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan both expressed their willingness to participate in the assessment and accept the competition to Larkspur.

However, compared to Xia Liang, communicating with these two children was noticeably more difficult. Lin Xiaolu seemed to be deliberately arguing with someone, and simply didn't want to say anything. No matter how kindly or seriously Larkspur spoke, she just lowered her head and apologized, completely refusing to communicate.

Bai Jingxuan, on the other hand, didn't feel that "participating in the assessment" was dangerous at all, and ironically, her thinking seemed to be without fault. Considering the abilities she had displayed when she lost control of Black Ash Dawn, Larkspur was more worried about the safety of the other examinees.

In this way, the team members reached a consensus, and all that remained was how to prepare for the competition.

As Lin Xiaolu had agreed with Asō Madoka beforehand, she secretly followed Asō Madoka to learn, seemingly to master some new skills before the competition.

Xia Liang learned a few basic Spell Formula structures from Larkspur and is currently in the research stage of Fawo Runes. She will proactively provide feedback on her learning progress every other day.

As for Bai Jingxuan, after her recent birthday party, she seems to have softened her obsession with becoming stronger. So, Larkspur took advantage of the situation and slowed down her progress in magical cultivation, instead starting to tutor her in her academic studies.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a solution derived after extensive assessment of the current situation.

She hopes to find some time to send Bai Jingxuan back to school.

On her birthday, Bai Jingxuan once told Lin Yun, "I hope there are more people I care about."

In the context of the time, this statement was merely an expression of personal feelings, but objectively speaking, it also provided Larkspur with another solution to alleviate Bai Jingxuan's identity crisis.

Undoubtedly, it's better for Bai Jingxuan to grow up healthier and return to school to accept her identity as a "student" and a "child" than to keep her immersed in the battle with the Aberrant Beast.

If she could make more friends at school and have more people she cares about in her life, it would likely help Bai Jingxuan develop a stronger sense of self as a human being, which might help her control the Aberrant Beast magic within her body.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that Bai Jingxuan can truly enjoy campus life after going to school.

Considering the treatment Xia Liang received at school due to her family issues, it's hard to imagine how bad things would become if Bai Jingxuan encountered a similar problem.

It's important to understand that children's malice and exclusion often come without reason. If we send them back to school without any preparation, we are simply pushing them from a "battle against Aberrant Beast" to a "battle against the community."

Therefore, it is necessary to be cautious, and even more cautious. This includes not only the academic preparation before enrollment, but also the school's student body and atmosphere, the philosophies of the teachers and administration, and whether temporary enrollment would be too conspicuous and attract attention. All these things need to be carefully examined.

Coincidentally, most primary and secondary schools are now nearing the end of the semester. It's already the latter half of December, and the long holiday for students is fast approaching, so starting school now is unrealistic. Larkspur has time to think things through and make a decision later.

She kept these thoughts to herself, never even giving any further explanation to Asō Madoka. Bai Jingxuan, who received tutoring from Larkspur every night, had no idea what complex things her "mother" was thinking.

Time slipped away quietly in this atmosphere.

Soon, the agreed-upon day of the competition arrived as scheduled.

The time was still Sunday, and the location was the basement's underground training room. Considering the limited destructive power of the competition itself, and the fact that the training room was built with the need to isolate magic to a certain extent, it was actually safer than going out to find a place.

The duel also followed the principles of fairness and impartiality. Six slips of paper with numbers written on them were thrown into a box, and Moko, Fairy who "claimed to be fair and impartial," acted as the notary. Both sides drew lots to determine their opponents.

The final match-up lineups are as follows:

Little Brocade versus Mimosa;

White Rose versus White Thistle;

Bo Xue versus Wood Lily.

It's hard to imagine that, even though it was a normal lottery, half of the people looked unwell after the draw.

The fact that Lin Xiaolu would be facing White Thistle might seem like a coincidence at first glance, but upon closer examination—at least two of the three members of the Bai'an City Squad would want to fight her, so whether she draws White Thistle or Wood Lily, it would be a match with a grudge—therefore, there is only a one-in-three chance that there is no personal grudge involved in the duel.

As for the remaining two matches, there were naturally no objections; at least, everyone except Wood Lily felt there were no problems.

"Alright, both players, take your positions!"

Floating down to the center of the underground training ground, Moko held a toy microphone that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in his paw. He scanned the crowd with a serious expression and said, feigning solemnity, "Now, as the Seeder of the Fangting City Squad, on behalf of the Royal Court, I hereby announce that the exchange match between the Fangting City Squad and the Bai'an City Squad shall now begin!"

It was met with only a few scattered applause.

Not feeling embarrassed at all, after loudly announcing the start of the competition, Moko continued, "Now let's read out the Rule! Each team has three members, and they will compete one-on-one against opponents drawn by lot. There will be a total of three matches. You get one point for winning a match, and no points for a draw. The team with the most points wins."

"The criteria for determining the winner are as follows: the opponent loses the ability to move due to exhaustion of magic, restricted movement, or physical suppression; the opponent is forced to leave the training area during the match, resulting in going out of bounds; the opponent voluntarily concedes defeat in any form during the match, and this is confirmed by the referee... These all count as conditions for victory!"

"In addition, since this competition is of an exchange nature, there is a special Rule: with the consent of both parties, the scope of the competition will be skills in the same field, and the winner will be determined by the two senior magical girls based on their skill!"

"Now, let's welcome the first pair of magical girls to compete, in the order drawn by lot— Little Brocade and Mimosa!"

This time, whether out of genuine feeling or out of politeness, the magical girls present applauded to express their welcome.

As the two contestants in the first match, Xia Liang seemed quite relaxed. After smiling and greeting everyone, she walked naturally to the center of the training field. The other contestant, Mimosa, was obviously a little nervous. She gripped her sleeve tightly with one hand, pursed her lips, and took small steps to stand opposite Xia Liang.

Seeing that both contestants were in position, Moko n't waste any time. With one paw raised high and the other still holding the microphone, he loudly announced, "Alright, take your positions, the first match is about to begin!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone's attention involuntarily focused on the two people on the field. However, neither of them seemed to make any move.

They didn't do anything, not even transform, as if they hadn't heard Moko's declaration at all; they just stood there.

Of course, not transforming doesn't mean she doesn't want to compete. At least from Xia Liang's perspective, she simply doesn't know what she should do.

Although she appeared very confident and natural, it was actually her first time facing off against a fellow magical girl. She had no idea whether to start fighting without saying a word or to follow some kind of etiquette before the battle.

Her original plan was to respond according to her opponent's behavior. If the opponent chose to transform and start a battle right away, she could naturally transform as well; if the opponent chose to greet her, she could respond properly before engaging in combat.

To her surprise, the other person really didn't say a word or make a move, just stood there in a daze, acting even more like a newbie than she did.

This indirectly resulted in Xia Liang, who originally wanted to go with the flow, being left standing there helplessly.

After a while, seeing that the two still hadn't made a move, Moko, as the referee, had to remind them again, "Gentlemen, the match has already started."

However, neither side moved an inch.

Seeing that things were continuing like this and the competition seemed unlikely to even begin, Xia Liang had no choice but to speak up, asking with a polite smile, "Excuse me, do you intend to decide the winner according to special Rule?"

The taciturn girl in front of him had her head down, almost burying it completely in her clothes, and her eyes were very unfocused. She showed no desire to win, not even the slightest hint of fighting spirit, so it's no wonder Xia Liang asked this question.

Seeing the other person's expression, Xia Liang was unsure whether she would get a response to her question.

However, to her surprise, Mimosa quickly answered Xia Liang's question, her voice soft but clear enough to be heard. "No need."

Saying "no need" indicates that the other party is at least prepared to fight.

Having received a response to her question, Xia Liang immediately continued, "So, how should we begin? After all, it's a competition; perhaps we should start with a simple test of magic power...?"

"Need not."

This time, Mimosa's voice was noticeably louder. "I became a magical girl a year earlier, so I'm your senior. You can start right away."

Everyone heard those words clearly.

Even Xia Liang, who had previously been puzzled by the other party's nervous attitude, slightly suppressed her smile because of the other party's words.

After all, this statement doesn't sound very friendly; at least in this context, it's hard to believe it doesn't come across as disrespectful to the opponent.

However, since it was during a competition, saying things that could provoke the opponent was a strategy, so Xia Liang wasn't upset by such words.

She simply realized that her opponent was not as simple as he seemed on the surface.

After all, being a magical girl is a profession that involves frequent battles. Most magical girls are very clear about their own strength, and they have long since become quite clear about what kind of enemies they can and cannot defeat through accumulated battles.

Therefore, when a magical girl is willing to hold back, it's either because she has a clear understanding of the opponent's strength, or because she truly has some trump card to rely on.

Both are Leaf Rank magical girls, a fact the other should be aware of. Blossoming abilities are at the same developmental stage, so even the most dismissive person wouldn't be completely unprepared for the opponent's attack. Therefore, the most likely explanation is that the other party truly has some kind of reliance on something.

With that thought in mind, Xia Liang had already finished reciting the incantation and silently completed the transformation, even raising the magic wand in her hand.

It wasn't until she had already adopted an offensive stance that Mimosa finally made a move, belatedly reaching for the Heart Gem in her pocket, and silently completing her transformation as well.

The Mimosa, which has transformed, looks completely different from its usual form.

She usually has long bangs that almost cover her eyes, and her clothes are always a drab gray jacket and jeans, making her extremely inconspicuous.

However, after transforming, her appearance, while not exactly rebellious, can certainly be described as "bold" among magical girl costumes.

First of all, the overall exposure of the outfit is quite high. The upper body is just a simple cropped tank top with a bow, and the length of the skirt is also considered short among magical girls, whose average clothing exposure is relatively high.

Secondly, the colors of the clothes are extremely saturated. Although the overall tone is light red, the color difference is huge, to the point that it looks like an anime character.

Finally, there's the hairstyle. The bangs that were originally level with her eyes were parted to reveal a pair of pomegranate-colored eyes, and her not-very-long hair was tied on both sides of her head with two ribbons, making a pair of pigtails.

This stark contrast in appearance caused Xia Liang's already racing thoughts about how to launch an attack to momentarily pause.