A Leisurely Day

--[Stop arguing!]

[It's Chinese New Year, a time for joy and celebration, yet you're all here haggling over a few red envelopes. What kind of behavior is that!]

[Our family was gathered here, which should have been a peaceful and harmonious place, but instead we've argued like this over such a trivial matter. Don't you think that's shameful?]

In the magical girl stronghold of Fangting City, the melodious "New Year Overture" was playing on the television in the living room. Along with the music, the energetic recitations of the skit actors could also be heard.

Opposite the television, Larkspur sat upright on the central sofa, expressionless, his deep blue eyes reflecting the light from the television screen.

This is an annual New Year's Eve gala organized by Heavenly City in Eastern Hua Prefecture. It invites famous artists from Donghua Prefecture and even other prefectures to perform and celebrate. The program is usually recorded in December of the previous year and then distributed to many cities of all sizes, and finally broadcast together on the eve of the New Year.

This celebration has continued since television became widespread in Donghua Prefecture, held annually for nearly a century. For many families in Eastern Hua Prefecture, the New Year's Eve party has long been an integral part of the New Year festival.

The magical girls born in Eastern Hua Prefecture wouldn't deny this, and Asō Madoka from Eastern Isles was already used to it. On New Year's Eve, the magical girls' original plan was to eat hot pot together and then watch the New Year's Eve gala, but all their plans were disrupted by Claw Mark's sudden attack, and in the end, they couldn't accomplish anything.

As for Larkspur, she hadn't expected to see the premiere of the program on New Year's Eve. She wasn't able to have a complete break during the first few days of the New Year holiday, so it wasn't until the morning of the fifth day of the holiday that she finally had time to sit on the sofa and watch what was being broadcast in this year's New Year's Eve gala.

However, she had already completely lost interest in listening to what the comedians on TV were saying after only watching half of the program.

It's not just because this year's programs are lackluster; apart from a few song and dance performances, most of the comedy sketches are quite boring, and you can even guess the ending of some of them from the beginning. It's also because she's genuinely feeling quite unwell and completely unable to concentrate on television programs.

She could only sit as upright as possible, because to her left was Lin Xiaolu, who was fast asleep with her head resting on her shoulder, and to her right was Bai Jingxuan was half asleep and lying on her lap.

Lin Xiaolu's decision to force herself to get up early just to have breakfast ultimately came at a price—when the boring program that she found utterly uninteresting started playing on TV, her already limited energy vanished along with the canned laughter from the screen. She had originally planned to watch TV intimately side-by-side with Larkspur, but soon she turned Cui Que's shoulder into her own pillow.

Bai Jingxuan didn't have any problem with sleep deprivation, but seeing Lin Xiaolu sleeping so soundly leaning against Larkspur, she wanted to do the same. However, Larkspur wasn't very fleshy, and her shoulders were stiff. Only when Lin Xiaolu Bai Jingxuan extremely tired could she lean on it to sleep. Bai Jingxuan felt uncomfortable no matter what she did, and her head kept turning around. In the end, Larkspur had no choice but to let her lie on her lap.

And so this is what happened: two people are sound asleep, while one is suffering.

[Big sister, you're right. I misunderstood before. What's the point of arguing like this? Why don't we make dumplings together!]

Hey, haven't you forgotten something? We're not just celebrating the New Year with just our family!

Oh, look at my memory! Everyone watching on TV is waiting for us to wish them a Happy New Year!

How should I put it?

[Then let's wish everyone watching on TV a smooth, perfect, prosperous, auspicious, and fulfilling New Year! Let's all send our New Year's greetings!]

"It's not very meaningful... but at least it's festive."

The Larkspur in front of the television gave this assessment.

The sleep-inducing program came to an end, but the replay of the New Year's Eve gala was far from over. After a brief burst of applause, the next program followed. Larkspur could only sit motionless, pondering whether to use his Magic Armament to create a substitute to continue serving as a pillow for the two children.

This wasn't difficult for her. She used Magic Armament threads to weave a clone with a similar body shape to herself, so that it wouldn't look or feel too unusual. Even if the clone was just an empty shell, unable to perform precise movements or speak, such complex functions weren't necessary for the current situation.

However, she put this thought aside after her gaze fell upon Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan's calm profiles.

Lin Xiaolu leaned on her shoulder, her breathing calm and peaceful, a little drool even dripping from the corner of her slightly parted mouth, clearly sleeping soundly. Bai Jingxuan, on the other hand, was as quiet as a puppy, her eyes closed, a contented smile on her face.

At least the children seemed happy.

The Larkspur thought.

Since it's a holiday and she has nothing else to do, being able to spend time peacefully with the children like this must be a rare experience for her, right?

Thinking about it this way, the current scene is actually a rare moment of peace for the magical girls who are usually very busy.

So she stopped thinking about getting away, and instead sat up as straight as possible to make sure Lin Xiaolu wouldn't slip off her shoulders, and then calmly started watching TV.

And just like that, noon was fast approaching.

As the winter sun climbed higher in the sky, the girls who had stayed up too late the night before finally emerged from their bedrooms one after another. Because of the holiday, everyone was feeling a bit lazy.

Among them, Asō Madoka was the most casual. She didn't even bother to comb her long hair, and simply shuffled into the dining room in slippers with her hair in a mess. As she passed the living room, she glanced at the sofa because of the sound of the TV and saw Larkspur being used as a cushion by the two children. She laughed out loud in a rather tasteless way.

Not wanting to speak loudly, the Larkspur could only glare at her silently.

By the way, at last night's board game party, after Bai Jingxuan was dragged to bed early, Asō Madoka filled in for her. But she had absolutely no sense of courtesy when playing games with children. Not only did she throw a tantrum when she lost, but she also acted smug and mocked others when she won. In the end, she was targeted by several of her junior teammates and became the person with the fewest wins all night.

As for Larkspur at that time, she and Hong Siyu in the study, using the noise from the living room as background noise while they worked overtime.

Since it was Hong Siyu's turn to be on duty at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau today, she was also in charge of making breakfast in the morning. In reality, she only slept an hour or two longer than Lin Xiaolu and the others.

No wonder she didn't give the unruly Asō Madoka a friendly look.

After a while, Xia Liang also strolled out of the room. Her hair, which had grown a bit recently, was braided into a side ponytail that fell down her shoulder. She stretched as she passed through the living room, and then, because of the sound of the television, she noticed the three people huddled together in the living room. Her gaze sharpened slightly.

"What are you doing?" she mouthed, slightly opening her mouth.

"They got up too early and are sleeping," Larkspur replied in lip reading.

This answer left Xia Liang stunned for a moment. Then, she turned around and, without any intention of going back to the dining room, went straight to the living room.

She first glanced at Lin Xiaolu, who was leaning on Larkspur's left shoulder with drool practically dripping down her face, and then at Bai Jingxuan, who was sitting to Larkspur's right, lying on her lap and had fallen asleep sometime earlier. She couldn't help but grin helplessly.

"And what about me?" she mouthed, pointing to herself.

"Let's go eat first," Larkspur replied helplessly.

Then she saw Xia Liang reveal a cunning smile, like a little fox.

Before Larkspur could react, she sat down on the ground, hugging her legs, and then leaned back, resting her entire body on Larkspur's calves.

At this point, the Larkspur was completely squeezed out of any room to move.

This bizarre scene naturally did not escape the eyes of the other team members. Before long, Asō Madoka, walked out of the kitchen. Seeing that there was another person next to Larkspur, she whistled with a rather malicious intent.

"They have such a good relationship," she remarked with a grin.

Unable to move its feet, the Larkspur could only respond with an even fiercer glare.

The lazy, leisurely morning passed quickly.

At noon, the task of cooking naturally fell to Asō Madoka had slept for half the day.

However, since most people got up late today, lunch wasn't very formal, with only three or five people gathered around the table. The others, like Mimosa was the last to get up, had their breakfast and lunch combined into one meal and didn't need to eat anymore. Right now, because Wood Lily had taken the TV remote, they were quietly scrolling through their phones in a corner of the living room.

Larkspur stretched her slightly sore shoulders, picked up some greens from the table, and slowly chewed them.

However, before she could even taste the flavor, she saw Asō Madoka across the table, resting her chin on her hand and staring intently at her.

"How was it?" she asked.

"... Not bad." Larkspur swallowed the food in his mouth, savored it for a moment, and then answered truthfully.

"The seasonings Hong Siyu and this guy use for cooking are too common, making it impossible for me to fully utilize my abilities."

Asō Madoka picked up her rice bowl. "If you could buy me more seasonings, I could cook you the most authentic Eastern Isles cuisine."

Upon hearing this, Larkspur didn't react much, but the girls beside her all looked up at Asō Madoka.

"Eastern Isles cuisine..." Lin Xiaolu gripped the rice bowl slightly tighter.

"I've never eaten this before..." Bai Jingxuan's eyes lit up.

"My supervisor has never done this before..." Qiu Yun's eyes widened.

Even if I bought it for you, you'd hardly ever go into the kitchen, right?

Unaffected by her appetite, Larkspur said expressionlessly, "She usually lies on the sofa ordering Hong Siyu around."

"After all, Hong Siyu really enjoy doing housework."

Asō Madoka, far from being ashamed, was actually proud. "So I voluntarily gave her the right to do the housework."

"It's not simply because of laziness?"

"Sister, do you expect someone who's been treated like royalty by their agent and personal assistant for ten years to do things themselves?"

Asō Madoka pointed to herself. "The fact that I can still retain these basic life skills means that my will hasn't been completely corrupted by capitalism."

The Larkspur rolled its eyes, indicating it had nothing to say.

"... However, it's not impossible if you want me to keep doing housework for you."

Halfway through her sentence, Asō Madoka abruptly changed the subject, laughing somewhat ambiguously, "You could even stop the singer's activities, you know that, right?"

She laughed teasingly, and her slipper under the table brushed against the tip of Larkspur's shoe, as if to make a pointed remark.

Lin Xiaolu, who was standing to the side, looked up alertly for some reason, her gaze sweeping between Larkspur and Asō Madoka. Larkspur understood what she was saying, but didn't respond. She just gave a casual "hmm" to show that she had heard, and then lowered her head to pick up some food.

To be honest, although she usually seems to dislike housework, Asō Madoka's cooking skills are actually quite good.

As a native of Eastern Isles who grew up in Eastern Hua Prefecture, Asō Madoka inherited the strengths of Eastern Isles women who are generally good at housework, while also possessing the cheerfulness and generosity of Eastern Hua Prefecture. In addition, she has the aura she has cultivated as a singer for more than ten years, as well as her beautiful appearance that does not show her age at all due to joining the Magic Kingdom. She is undoubtedly a very outstanding woman.

Larkspur had no doubt that someone like her would have many suitors.

As a friend of twenty years, she also hoped that the other party could find his own happiness. Even though Asō Madoka had made a somewhat vague "confession" to Lin Yun more than ten years ago, she never felt that the other party had to remain single because of it.

However, judging from the current results, as a singer, a profession that involves daily activities in the entertainment industry and frequent encounters with all sorts of handsome men and beautiful women, Asō Madoka has indeed never gotten married.

Larkspur wasn't stupid; she knew there must be an underlying cause for this unusual phenomenon. As for what that cause was, she had learned a little about it through Asō Madoka's subtle and overt hints.

This is partly due to her lifestyle— Asō Madoka is a very free-spirited person who doesn't like to be tied down by a relationship—and also because the only person she ever considered taking the relationship further has already passed away.

Just like her relationship with Hong Siyu, Larkspur can continue to treat Asō Madoka as a very good and important friend, but friendship is already the best relationship model between the two of them.

Asō Madoka understood this, so she would only occasionally make some suggestive remarks, but never bring these topics up in a formal way.

This can be considered a tacit understanding between her and the Larkspur.

Their simultaneous silence naturally steered the conversation away from the topic. Apart from Bai Jingxuan, whose heart was still fluttering because of the "authentic Japanese cuisine," everyone else began to focus on their meal.

Lin Xiaolu, who had been wary of the conversation between the two, gradually lowered her guard as the conversation ended and continued to pick up food with her head down, but she secretly moved her seat a little closer to Larkspur.

Larkspur noticed Lin Xiaolu's subtle movements, but pretended not to see them.

Now that she has decided to let Larkspur be Lin Xiaolu's support, she will not go back on her word. She will also respond appropriately to Lin Xiaolu's simple acts of affection.

However, this scene involuntarily reminded her of her previous conversation with the Emerald.

Because Lin Yun chose to accept Lin Xiaolu's request and became closer to her, the conflict between Lin Yun and Larkspur's identities will inevitably become more difficult to handle in future activities.

It wasn't just because her identity as "Larkspur" meant she couldn't act as coldly as before; she often had to give more specific answers to Lin Xiaolu's questions about her whereabouts. It was also because her current relationship with Lin Xiaolu was equivalent to "adopting a goddaughter" in the tradition of Eastern Hua Prefecture, and such a thing wasn't something that only she and Lin Xiaolu could agree to.

Undoubtedly, this still requires discussion between "Larkspur" and "Lin Yun".

Although Lin Xiaolu doesn't seem to be aware of this at the moment, if this process isn't completed formally, she might notice something strange when Lin Xiaolu's older and more mature.

However, it's impossible for "Larkspur" and "Lin Yun" to complete this "negotiation" under Lin Xiaolu's witness, given the substitutes that Larkspur's Magic Armament can currently create.

That's why she approached Emerald earlier, wanting to inquire whether there were any items with such functions.

As for the Larkspur's needs at the time, Emerald's answer was simple—no.

While it's widely known that Emerald has unique experience in manipulating doubles, the cost of creating a perfectly human-like double without any visible flaws is still enormous. According to Emerald herself, "Even if you killed me right now, I wouldn't have that much personal savings."

As for further enhancing the Magic Armament 'Larkspur capabilities and increasing its precision, that is certainly possible, but ultimately the matter comes back to the problem the Larkspur are currently facing: her True Form is still recovering from its injuries, making it inconvenient for her to tamper with the Magic Armament armor.

Thus, in the end, the Larkspur could only return empty-handed on this issue.

Of course, returning empty-handed does not mean that the meeting with Emerald was completely fruitless. In fact, before parting, Emerald did give Larkspur something.

--A completely new Forged Heart Gem.

This fake Heart Gem doesn't possess any of the functions of a normal Heart Gem. It can't transform a person, nor can it be used as Mana Source to generate magic. However, it does have the ability to fake magic fluctuations, allowing Larkspur to disguise himself in terms of magic fluctuations.

Magical fluctuations are a key monitoring item for magical girls when passing through the Kingdom borders.

"I've already arranged your fake identity. It just so happens that a retired magical girl's code name was recently rolled back, and my friend saw it in the files, so he saved that code name for you."

Emerald explained, "The codename is 'Gentian.' I'll have someone prepare the relevant information. If anyone checks at the Magic Affairs Institute, they'll find that after the previous 'Gentian' retired, a new magical girl from Fangting City received this codename."

"Does that mean that after I arrive in the Kingdom, I will use the code name 'Gentian' to pass through the border inspection?"

Larkspur looked at the Heart Gem in her hand. "And then, at that time, my identity was the same as the other team members, a 'magical girl who came from Fangting City to participate in the assessment'."

"That's right, I'll help you with some simple disguises to ensure you won't be easily recognized by appearance."

Emerald nodded. "Although the face definitely can't be changed, the Spell Formula for altering appearance are a key area of investigation. Disguising the face will be easily detected, and it will only arouse suspicion from the border guards. It's better not to do it."

"Then how else can you disguise yourself?" Larkspur felt a little strange.

"Hmph, of course it's through hairstyle and clothing."

The Fairy Doll on the chair puffed out its belly. "Clothes make the man. As long as your clothes and appearance change your aura, and you use that fake Heart Gem to fake your magical fluctuations, you can easily pass the test. Don't worry, the magical fluctuations in that fake gem have already been entered as 'Gentian's' personal information, so it will be absolutely flawless."

"It sounds like there's no problem..."

Larkspur pondered for a moment, then said, "But if what you say is true, then the codename 'Gentian' wasn't actually used, was it? What if a new magical girl was born during this time and thus received the codename 'Gentian'...?"

"It's alright, it's alright. Another friend of mine has already made arrangements. The Research Institute launched a new research project last month to investigate the relationship between 'magical girl codenames and magical properties,' so they've allocated a batch of codenames that are not currently in use from the Magic Affairs Institute for related research."

Emerald shook her paw. "So these codenames are naturally frozen and won't be assigned to any new magical girls for the time being."

Larkspur narrowed her eyes. "You mean, you included the code name 'Gentian' in that research project as well..."

"Watch your words, young man."

Emerald tapped the table. "Make it clear, the codename 'Gentian' isn't on our list of codenames. After all, Fangting City now has a new magical girl Gentian. Why would we use a codename that's already taken for research?"

"...The Magical Girl Codename is a very important magical resource, and this kind of project probably can't be carried out for too long." Larkspur pursed her lips.

"Indeed, so our research project can only last for a year. We must conclude this project and produce effective research results before Her Majesty the Queen closes the Rose Palace again."

Emerald nodded. "Of course, and to be honest, since I'm a once-in-a-millennium academic genius, this achievement was actually already taking shape decades ago."

"What should we do a year from now?" Larkspur continued to confirm.

"A year later? Naturally, that's when the project will conclude normally, the research findings will be reported, and the borrowed magical girl codename will be returned."

Emerald stood up, abruptly raising her voice as if trying to imitate a reciting tone, but it still sounded as flat as ever, "As for our poor new magical girl, Gentian, she 'sacrificed' herself in a valiant battle against the Aberrant Beast not long after the project ended. The Magic Affairs Institute sadly revoked the codename, and as the chief researcher of the Research Institute, I express my deepest condolences."

The Larkspur finally had no more problems.

It truly lives up to its name as Gem Scepter.

She didn't say those words aloud. Because she knew that even if she did, the other person would probably only reply with one sentence:

"Thank you for the compliment."