One Night

Because she had to work outside during the day, Larkspur was responsible for the housework after dinner that day. By the time she finished washing the dishes and putting away the utensils, it was already 7:30 p. m.

Shaking her hands, which were slightly damp from being in water for a long time, Larkspur walked into the living room and saw Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang sitting on the sofa playing on their phones.

Xia Liang's senses always seemed to be more acute than Lin Xiaolu's, so she noticed Larkspur's passing immediately and waved, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Lin Xiaolu, who was standing to the side, belatedly looked up and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Nothing much, how was today's special training?" Without bothering with pleasantries, Larkspur walked into the living room and asked quite directly.

"The progress is just barely acceptable... after all, what Sister Hong teaches is quite difficult."

Xia Liang blinked. "But to be honest, after studying for so long, there's actually a considerable amount of content that I don't even know what I'm learning."

"I know it's difficult, so just keeping up with the pace is good enough."

Larkspur nodded. "Learning Spell Formula is supposed to be a relatively long-term process, but we have limited time, and my personal abilities are also limited, which is why the mission is so urgent right now. I can only ask you to do the work."

"No, well, how should I put it..."

Puffing out her cheeks, Xia Liang let out a breath. "Mathematics and physics, many times, really can't be improved just by trying hard..."

"Is it stuck?" Larkspur walked up to the two people.

"It's not that bad, it's just really, really, really difficult."

Using the word "very difficult" three times in a row to express her situation, Xia Liang glanced silently at Lin Xiaolu beside her. Seeing that Lin Xiaolu still didn't react, she slowly said, "So, I still have to go to class with Sister Hong tonight. Just thinking about the arduous tasks waiting for me makes me feel so overwhelmed. Is there anyone who can encourage me when I'm feeling so helpless...?"

"Keep it up." Lin Xiaolu patted her on the shoulder.

"I really need some encouragement right now." Xia Liang's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly continued as if nothing had happened.

"Like this?" After hearing her repeat this over and over, even the slowest person should understand what she meant, so Larkspur squatted down on the spot, made a fist with one hand, and stretched it slightly forward.

Xia Liang's breath hitched when she saw Larkspur's fist extended in front of her.

"Young senior."

"What's wrong?"

"Who taught you to encourage others like that?"

"Hmm... you often do that during combat, don't you?"

Larkspur pondered for a moment, then opened her clenched fist. "Or do you prefer this? Should we put our palms together first?"

"... Let's just bump fists."

The conversation between the two ended with Xia Liang giving in.

Their fists lightly touched in mid-air, then each pushed forward forcefully before separating.

"Come on".

The Larkspur offered this encouragement.

"... Um."

After a brief silence, Xia Liang smiled and replied, "By the way, the new clothes are very pretty."

"Let's forget about that."

Slightly deflecting the topic, Larkspur turned to Lin Xiaolu beside her and said, "Alright, we should go to class now, White Rose."

"Good."

Lin Xiaolu, who had been silently watching the interaction between the two, turned off her phone screen and stood up. For some reason, Larkspur actually saw a hint of "obedience" in this rebellious girl.

"Let's go, Larkspur."

As Lin Xiaolu said this, she took two steps forward and followed behind Larkspur. Then, taking advantage of the moment when Larkspur turned to leave, she chuckled twice at Xia Liang beside her, and then held up two fingers, making a victory sign.

Xia Liang rolled her eyes at her, too lazy to argue with her.

Seeing that Xia Liang didn't respond, Lin Xiaolu stopped trying to provoke her. Instead, she grabbed her phone and followed Larkspur, handing her phone over as they walked. "Larkspur, do you want to see the photos I took for you this afternoon?"

"What photo?" Larkspur, somewhat puzzled.

"It's a new outfit," Lin Xiaolu said matter-of-factly.

"... If you think it looks good, that's fine."

After a moment of silence, Larkspur didn't take the phone Lin Xiaolu offered, but replied somewhat helplessly, "I don't really care about these things."

"Take a look, I took so many pictures, spent a long time choosing from them, and even spent ages editing them."

Lin Xiaolu said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "I spend all my time before and after meals doing this. If you don't watch, all my work will be for nothing."

"You'll be going to the Kingdom Assessment soon, where do you find so much free time...?"

Larkspur glanced at Lin Xiaolu sideways, about to launch into a lecture, but then stopped abruptly as if remembering something. She didn't continue her previous statement, instead changing her tone. "What kind of photo needs to be edited for half a day?"

"Ta-da!"

Lin Xiaolu seized the opportunity, ran in front of Larkspur with her phone in hand, and showed her phone screen. "Now I have to show off my talent—Wow!"

Then, before she could finish speaking, she walked backwards onto the stairs, lost her footing, and her phone flew out of her hand.

The short cry stopped after only a moment, as the Larkspur fortunately reached out and grabbed Lin Xiaolu's arm in time.

This position lasted for several seconds. After their eyes met for a moment, Lin Xiaolu belatedly grabbed the stair railing with her other hand.

"You..."

Larkspur glared, about to retort, but stopped halfway through her sentence. Her mind kept reminding her of her current status and that she shouldn't show excessive emotion. The conflict between her emotions and reason forced her to stop and take a deep breath.

After calming down a bit, she narrowed her eyes, pointed a finger at the stairs behind Lin Xiaolu, and said, "Be careful when you walk, watch your back. You almost fell just now. You're not in your transformed state now; you're very vulnerable."

"Yes, I'm sorry."

Lin Xiaolu didn't refute anything, but instead honestly lowered her head and admitted her mistake. "I was a little too excited."

She kept her head down, and even if Larkspur stared at her, she could only see her forehead covered by hair, making any emotional exchange impossible. After a moment of stalemate, she could only reach out and tap Lin Xiaolu's forehead.

"I'm serious about this issue, please be more careful next time."

Once again, Larkspur casually steered the conversation away from the topic. She walked to the side, picked up Lin Xiaolu's phone that had just flown out of her hand, checked it to make sure it wasn't damaged, and then turned it over.

Then, she saw the photo that Lin Xiaolu had wanted her to see.

The photo shows Larkspur, who was previously wearing the cheongsam. The surrounding background has been replaced with a dreamy fairytale style, while the other team members who were originally in the background have all been cut out. These changes instantly altered the atmosphere of the scene, diminishing the lively and cheerful atmosphere and even making it seem somewhat desolate. However, the people in the photo also stand out more as a result.

"Why did you decide to fix it like this?" Larkspur asked, handing the phone back to Lin Xiaolu.

"I suddenly remembered that there seems to be a similar character in an anime I watched before."

Because she almost caused a major disaster, Lin Xiaolu's initial excitement had subsided considerably. However, when talking about her favorite magical girl anime, she was still completely uninhibited. "The character in the anime was a magical girl with a Donghua Prefecture style. She was very cool and stylish, a very reliable senior character. Because she was so popular, she even had a spin-off. Larkspur, your new outfit looks a lot like hers, so I wanted to try wearing the background from the anime to see what it would look like..."

"Anime characters?"

Lin Xiaolu's words sparked a strange guess in Larkspur's mind, so she subconsciously asked, "Do you remember what that cartoon character's name was?"

"I remember, she was a magical girl named Gentian. Why?" Lin Xiaolu blinked in confusion.

"... the Gem Scepter."

"What?"

"It's nothing, just something that came to mind; it reminded me of some things."

Silently making a mental note of Emerald's bad luck, Larkspur walked up the stairs expressionlessly. "Alright, we've wasted enough time, we should go back to class."

"Oh, okay."

Lin Xiaolu, unsuspecting, stuffed her phone into her pocket and followed him up the stairs, holding onto the handrail. "What are we learning today? Are we continuing with cat's cradle practice?"

"We'll do that a little later. Today we need to check your Magic Armament progression first," Larkspur said calmly.

"Wasn't it already checked last week?"

"During a period of rapid growth, it is natural to need rapid checks and corrections; otherwise, it will be too late once the direction is discovered to be wrong."

"Oh, but my Magic Armament hasn't actually changed much this week."

"No?"

Larkspur looked at Lin Xiaolu with some confusion. "We've already deliberately increased the intensity of use, but there's still no change."

"Yes."

Lin Xiaolu nodded, then, as if remembering something, added, "I wasn't slacking off! I've been working hard to increase my usage, and I've been practicing according to Larkspur advice, not because I wanted to!"

"I believe you," or rather, "I can see it."

Larkspur, seemingly unsuspecting and having completely disregarded the possibility of Lin Xiaolu slacking off, said somewhat seriously, "This might not be your problem, but rather the practice plan I assigned you is flawed."

"How could that be? It couldn't possibly be Larkspur's fault."

Lin Xiaolu subconsciously retorted, "I don't think there's anything wrong with this kind of practice. Besides, Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan also train like this."

"Because your Magic Armament is very special."

Larkspur bluntly stated, "There are very few Magic Armament with changeable forms in the entire history of this Kingdom, and there are almost none with verifiable records. The experience that works for most magical girls may not apply to you."

"Not applicable?" Lin Xiaolu pointed blankly at herself.

Descending the stairs, Larkspur ignored the darkness and entered the training area, precisely pressing the light switch on the wall.

"Well, since there's no reference point, I can only speculate. According to my original idea, because it's a form-changeable entity, each specific form should have the potential to continue growing. That's why I proposed the training plan I did before."

The sudden light cast a shadow beside Larkspur. She turned her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I think we still need to verify it again. If your Magic Armament hasn't grown at all as a result, then based on my experience, there are only two possibilities left."

"Which two?" Lin Xiaolu asked curiously as she followed Larkspur into the training field, took off her down jacket, and hung it on a hanger.

"The first type is that Magic Armament with variable forms has no growth potential, because the variety of forms itself is a form of growth, replacing the possibility of Magic Armament growth."

Larkspur walked to a corner of the arena, crossed her arms, and said, "In short, first extract your Magic Armament so I can verify it."

Lin Xiaolu obediently did as she was told, holding the white scepter in her hand and handing it over, while not forgetting to ask, "Then what about the second possibility?"

"As for the second possibility..."

Taking Lin Xiaolu's scepter, Larkspur sensed the magical energy emanating from the Magic Armament while staring at the four crystals arranged in a row on the scepter. "It's very likely because you haven't mastered all the forms of your Magic Armament yet, so the current Magic Armament doesn't even meet the standard of 'newly born,' it's just a 'half-finished product.'"

"Huh? This is only a semi-finished product?"

Lin Xiaolu exclaimed in surprise, "But I can clearly use it normally, and it feels very powerful!"

"Whether Magic Armament is complete or not is not absolutely related to whether one possesses sufficient combat power."

Larkspur shook her head. "In short, these are all just conjectures, and I need to verify them first. Even if the conjectures are true, you don't need to worry, because it doesn't conflict with our course. Whether your Magic Armament is 'complete' at this stage is not that important for the exam."

As she spoke, she released her magic from her hands and began to carefully perceive the changes in Lin Xiaolu's Magic Armament compared to a week ago.

About a minute later, she opened her eyes, her expression slightly complicated.

The bad news is that Lin Xiaolu's feeling was correct: her Magic Armament did not change or improve at all during this week.

The good news, or rather, the news that Larkspur wasn't sure was good or bad, was that Larkspur could sense that the third crystal on the scepter had begun to emit a faint magical fluctuation.

This means that Lin Xiaolu's efforts were not in vain; however, the effort she poured into her Magic Armament was not to promote Magic Armament growth, but to incubate its currently unknown third form.

The reason this might be considered good news is that it means Lin Xiaolu's future direction is becoming relatively clearer, and focused effort is always more efficient than aimless exploration.

What made Larkspur hesitate about this "good news" was that she had a vague premonition that, just as Lin Xiaolu's second form of her Magic Armament some kind of intricate relationship with her own, the third form of this Magic Armament would probably have a lot in common with Anya.

Lin Xiaolu currently doesn't know Anya's fighting style or methods, nor does she know what kind of Magic Armament Anya uses. However, secrets can't be kept forever, and she will find out someday.

At that point, will Lin Xiaolu make any connections? For example, why does her Magic Armament resemble her mother's in some ways, while also resembling her "predecessor," Larkspur?

Larkspur wasn't keen on delving deeper into this line of thought, because no matter how she considered it, she seemed destined to construct more lies, and she didn't really want to add any more weight to the scales of lies and truth.

The more weights you add, the more chaotic the collapse of the scales will be.

Contemplating such a complex and profound question that was far too difficult for a child, Larkspur could only put on a straight face and pretend nothing had happened as she presented her conjecture to Lin Xiaolu.

Then, as the course began, she intentionally put these chaotic thoughts out of her mind.

At 10 p. m., the class ended as usual.

Not only Lin Xiaolu, but Xia Liang was also freed at the same time. The two bumped into each other on their way back to their rooms, and then bickered as usual before returning to their respective rooms.

Bai Jingxuan was relatively much freer, because her special training instructor, Asō Madoka, didn't need to go to work during the day, so her classes ended during the day. In the evening, after playing games with the Bai'an City Squad for a while and reading a book alone in her room, she was urged by Larkspur, who had finished class, to wash up and go to bed.

After settling her juniors in, the director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, exhausted from a long day, returned to her unchanging study to wrap up her work. The study light stayed on until midnight before being turned off by Larkspur's slightly weary sigh.

After washing up and changing clothes, Asō Madoka, who was staying up late watching TV, and exchanged goodnights with Hong Siyu, who was also working overtime until late at night. Larkspur returned to her room, checked the messages on her phone, threw the phone aside, and collapsed heavily onto her single bed.

"Another day is over."

She murmured to herself, raised her right hand, placed her wrist over her eye socket, and let out a long sigh.

While magical girls don't experience obvious physical fatigue, mental exhaustion and mental strain are unavoidable. For Larkspur, who is forced to maintain her transformed state, sleep is not a way to relieve fatigue, but rather a way to clear her mind and avoid mental exhaustion.

She doesn't need to let her body rest; she just needs to empty her mind and feel this tranquility and peace on her own.

The room was completely silent except for the faint sound of breathing. The darkness provided the best protection, shielding her from the disturbances of the day. With her eyes closed, Larkspur felt as if she were floating on a dark river, drifting with the current.

Then, at some point, a knocking sound rang out in the silence.

The sound was so soft and faint that it made one wonder if it was a hallucination, so Larkspur didn't get up immediately. It wasn't until the second knock that she was certain it wasn't a hallucination, but that someone was really knocking on her door.

She opened the door and saw Bai Jingxuan standing outside, holding a pillow in her arms.

"What's wrong?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down.

"I can't sleep," Bai Jingxuan replied softly.

"Still can't sleep so late?"

Larkspur glanced at the wall clock; it was already one in the morning. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Bai Jingxuan didn't say anything, she just stood at the door and looked longingly at Larkspur.

Under such a gaze, no one could withstand it for long, so Larkspur had no choice but to open the door and allow Bai Jingxuan to come in.

"So?"

She asked somewhat helplessly, "What exactly happened?"

"I want to sleep with my mom," Bai Jingxuan said.

"Oh, you want to be with Mom... um?"

The Larkspur started reciting something before realizing something was off. "Why?"

"For no reason."

Bai Jingxuan tightened her grip on the pillow. "I just want to sleep with you."

"That's possible, but... Mom's bed isn't very big."

Looking back at her single bed, Larkspur turned to Bai Jingxuan and said, "Wouldn't it be more comfortable to sleep in your own big bed? Why did you squeeze in here?"

"... Because, Xiao Lu is only absent at this time."

Bai Jingxuan pouted. "Recently, it's always Sister Xiao Lu with Mom during the day. Mom, you haven't spent much time with me."

The Larkspur understood.

She herself was aware of this problem. In fact, she had tried very hard to find a balance between the two, so that no child would feel neglected. But in reality, she probably hasn't done a very good job so far.

Bai Jingxuan is very sensible, which means she won't actively cause conflicts with other team members, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have her own ideas. In fact, once she sets her mind on something, her stubbornness is second to none in the Fangting City Squad.

In other words, the moment she appeared at the Larkspur's door with her pillow, it was a sign that there was no turning back.

Based on Larkspur's understanding of Bai Jingxuan, she had no doubt that if she rejected Bai Jingxuan now, the girl would probably rather stand outside her room all night with a pillow in her arms.

Thinking of this, she really couldn't bring herself to refuse. In addition, she had done a lot of mental preparation for this period of time and was able to directly block out the idea of "a middle-aged man sleeping in the same bed with a minor girl who is not related to him" from her mind, thereby reducing her sense of moral guilt.

"Okay, then Mommy will sleep with you."

Perhaps there's something wrong with me right now?

Larkspur thought to herself with a touch of self-mockery, but kept her expressionless as she lay down in bed with Bai Jingxuan.

Although the room had a single bed, it wasn't too crowded because Larkspur was small and Bai Jingxuan was practically a child herself. In fact, Larkspur had a low body temperature, while Bai Jingxuan was a fiery young woman, so when Bai Jingxuan crawled into the covers, the initially cool bed warmed up considerably.

To be honest, it feels kind of comfortable.

The thought flashed through Larkspur's mind, but she quickly shook her head to dismiss the dangerous idea.

Most importantly, Larkspur had slept with Xia Liang by some coincidence before. Compared to Xia Liang's disturbing sleeping posture, Bai Jingxuan's sleeping posture could be described as neat and orderly.

Completely different from her usual clingy self, Bai Jingxuan meant exactly that when she said they would sleep together. Not only did she not touch her at all, but she also lay quietly on her own side, without any intention of encroaching on Larkspur's space. Such civilized behavior made Larkspur, who had been somewhat wary before, feel guilty about her thoughts and couldn't help but steal a glance in Bai Jingxuan's direction.

Then, she noticed that Bai Jingxuan's eyes were blinking, with the open eye staring straight at her.

--"Pfft, cough, cough, cough..."

The Larkspur nearly choked on its breath and coughed violently a few times.

"What's wrong with Mom?" Bai Jingxuan asked with concern.

"... Nothing much, my throat just suddenly feels a little itchy."

The Larkspur tried to suppress the strange emotion in her voice and asked in a calm tone, "And what about you? Why aren't you sleeping? Why are you watching me?"

"I want to see when Mom falls asleep," Bai Jingxuan answered honestly.

"Does it really matter when I fall asleep?" Larkspur asked curiously.

"Um."

"Why?"

"Because after Mom falls asleep, I can hug her while I sleep..." Bai Jingxuan said in an extremely soft voice, while burying the lower half of her face further into the blanket.

"... Can't you sleep like this?" Larkspur asked, looking at the ceiling.

"Um."

"Then why not just hug him?"

After a moment's thought, Larkspur turned to face Bai Jingxuan and said, "Mom won't mind your request."

"Because Mom doesn't seem to like sleeping close to others."

Bai Jingxuan blinked her eyes, which were peeking out from under the blanket. "I guessed."

"You guessed right, Xiao Xuan is so smart!"

Larkspur smoothed the hair that had fallen beside her cheek and tucked it behind her back. "But it's okay, you can sleep like this if you want."

"I don't want to." Bai Jingxuan shook her head, which was half outside the blanket.

"Really don't want it?" Larkspur looked directly at her.

"Yes, because I don't want Mom to be uncomfortable," Bai Jingxuan answered honestly. "So Mom, you should fall asleep first, so I can hold you while I sleep."

"Then I'm going to sleep, okay?" Larkspur confirmed.

"Okay, goodnight, Mom."

Okay, goodnight.

As Larkspur said this, she leaned forward slightly, reached out, and gently placed her hand on Bai Jingxuan's shoulder.

"... Mother?"

"What's wrong?"

"Um... your hand?" Bai Jingxuan asked uncertainly.

"Oh, is this not okay?"

Larkspur asked with a hint of difficulty, "Does it have to be that kind of sleeping position where we're tightly embracing each other?"

"Um, I... I actually want to sleep like that."

Bai Jingxuan hesitated for a moment, then readily succumbed to her desires. "But, I think it's fine as it is now."

"Is everything alright?"

"Okay, no problem."

"That's good."

And so the room fell silent once more.

After a long while, when Larkspur was half asleep, she heard Bai Jingxuan's soft voice again.

"Mother."

"What's wrong?"

"Professor Asō told me that if I were to go to the Kingdom to take the exam, I might encounter some problems."

"What kind of problem?"

"That's right. Because I have the same magic as the Aberrant Beast, she said that every time I transform into that particularly powerful state, the nature of my magic becomes different from others, or rather, it becomes similar to those villains from Claw Mark. This way, I might be recognized and possibly mistaken for a bad guy by everyone in the Kingdom."

"That's what she told you?"

"Um."

So what do you think?

"Um?"

Do you consider yourself one of those villains from Claw Mark?

"Of course not!"

"Really? Then there's no problem."

"Huh? Is it alright?" Bai Jingxuan asked, slightly confused. "But that is, after all, the magic of Aberrant Beast..."

"Yes, no problem, because Mom told you, right? What matters is never how others see you, but how you see yourself."

Half-asleep, Larkspur lowered her voice and said, "No matter how others define your life, only what you want and believe in yourself will be the real you."

"Is that so?" Bai Jingxuan was still somewhat uncertain.

"That's right," Larkspur said with certainty.

"However, I don't think I can completely ignore these things yet. If I still can't control my magic and someone finds out..."

Bai Jingxuan's voice was slightly hoarse. "I don't want to be seen as Claw Mark, much less as Aberrant Beast."

"It's okay."

The Larkspur's voice was gentle. "That won't happen, because even if it really comes to that, I'll be there."

"Mom is here..."

"I'm here, so I won't let that happen."

The Larkspur's voice grew softer and softer. "Does this make you feel at ease?"

"... Um."

Bai Jingxuan's voice also calmed down. "I'm relieved."

She lay there for a while, her eyes peeking out from under the covers as she gazed at the Larkspur. After a short while, she whispered again, "Mommy."

"... I'm going to get angry if you don't go to sleep soon!"

"I like you the most."

Bai Jingxuan suddenly said this.

The room fell silent again in an instant.

The silence lasted much longer than before, so much so that Bai Jingxuan herself didn't know whether Larkspur had heard her or had fallen asleep.

After a long while, she heard the Larkspur's voice coming faintly from the other side:

"Thank you, Mom is very happy, goodnight."

Upon hearing this, Bai Jingxuan took a long time to decipher its meaning, but after carefully reading it, she felt happy.

She glanced one last time at the Larkspur, who seemed to have fallen asleep, and then closed her eyes with a sense of peace.

"Goodnight, Mom."

With a murmur, the curtain was drawn on the night.