Tudingui

"Excuse me, ladies, for your safety, please present your travel documents before boarding."

On the quiet platform, a neatly dressed train attendant stood at the train carriage door and bowed to Larkspur and her group. "Please forgive my abrupt reminder, but considering that some of you may be passengers on this special train for the first time, please be careful not to use false or forged documents. This is not a joke, as it may affect your subsequent travel if discovered."

"Passes?"

Upon hearing the term, Lin Xiaolu paused, then looked at Larkspur with a somewhat blank expression. "Do we have this? I don't remember it?"

Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan, who were standing nearby, also turned their gazes over.

"Generally speaking, anyone wishing to travel to the Magic Kingdom needs to apply to the local Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, filling out detailed personal information and the reason for entry, and paying a certain fee. Only then will the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau submit the application to the Kingdom Civil Governance Institute for approval. Usually, the application will be accepted within a month, and if approved, a limited-time pass will be issued. This pass can then be used to travel to the Kingdom, and it will be revoked when the pass expires and the person leaves the Kingdom."

Without batting an eye, Larkspur calmly explained, "However, this is a standard channel; we don't need that."

"Why?" Lin Xiaolu asked.

"Magical girls holding Certification Card can use their Certification Card as passes to freely enter and exit the Kingdom."

As Larkspur said this, she pulled a few cards from her coat pocket. "For us, all we need is our exam admission ticket."

When she said "we," she naturally included herself, because from this moment on, her identity to the outside world was no longer "Magical Girl Larkspur," but "Magical Girl Gentian." As a "rookie magical girl," Rindou, who had not yet participated in the qualification assessment, Gentian did not have her own Certification Card.

She had already told several of her juniors about this, but she explained that she "had to the Kingdom to carry out a secret mission and needed to conceal her identity." This explanation, combined with her identity Inspector from the Investigation Institute, seemed perfectly reasonable, so her juniors had no doubts whatsoever.

"Let me see... I see, so they are magical girls from Fangting City: Miss White Rose, Miss Little Brocade, Miss Bo Xue, and Miss Gentian, right?"

The flight attendant in charge of checking tickets took the admission ticket, widened his eyes slightly, and a few Fawo Runes faintly appeared on his pupils, clearly verifying the authenticity of the document.

He didn't react further to the fact that the girls were magical girls. Clearly, countless magical girls travel on this train between the Material Realm and the Kingdom every day, so being a magical girl isn't a particularly rare status here.

"Okay, document verification is complete, and all documents are confirmed to be valid. We sincerely apologize for the time taken up."

After saying that, he bowed slightly and stepped aside, making way for the car door behind him.

Larkspur took the exam admission tickets from them, counted them, put them back in her coat pocket, and then led the younger generation into the train.

She remained calm and composed, but her juniors behind her were incredibly excited, practically impatient. They eagerly rushed into the train, eager to see what this train from the Kingdom was like.

However, when they went inside, all they saw was a small room, only a few square meters in size, covered from floor to wall with greenery.

"This is... the train of the Kingdom?"

The scene before them truly surprised the younger generation, to the point that Lin Xiaolu blurted out, "Why is the car so small?"

It's no wonder she asked such a question, because the room was really too small, and apart from a crystal pillar of unknown purpose placed in the center, the rest of the room was just vines and grass, and there wasn't even a place to sit. It didn't look like a train carriage at all.

"This is the transfer level, not the carriage."

Larkspur glanced at Lin Xiaolu with a hint of helplessness, then took out her own ticket and stuck it on the crystal pillar in front of her as she explained, "Put your tickets here, and it will move us to the carriage we're supposed to go to."

"Transfer?" Although still doubtful, Lin Xiaolu followed and pasted her train ticket on as well.

Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan followed suit in turn.

Before long, the crystal lit up, and the group felt the floor beneath their feet shake violently. Then, they felt as if the small room they were in was moving like an elevator.

"Because this train's route covers the Central City of the entire state, as well as dozens of large cities within the Kingdom, it carries a huge number of passengers during peak hours, far exceeding the capacity of ordinary trains."

Removing her ticket from the crystal pillar, Larkspur explained, "For this reason, the space inside this train has been modified using Spell Formula to ensure a larger internal capacity, enough to fit nearly a hundred carriages."

"Considering that there are simply too many carriages, it would probably take ordinary passengers more than ten minutes to find their own carriage on foot, so we added this transfer level to take passengers to their destinations."

As she spoke, she walked back to the entrance. "This way, the time it takes for passengers to reach their carriages will be reduced to just over ten seconds."

As she finished speaking, the door in front of them slowly opened once again.

This time, the view from the other side of the door is the true view inside the carriage.

As Larkspur just said, the space inside the carriage is larger than it appears from the outside. Although the train seems to be only three to four meters wide from the outside, the space inside the carriage looks to be nearly five meters wide, making it seem exceptionally spacious.

Within this incredibly spacious interior, the decor deviates from the conventional norms of trains. Instead, it features a bar, long tables, and variously shaped coffee tables, surrounded by soft-looking chairs and cushions. The carriage walls are painted bright yellow, and the floor is covered with a soft brown carpet. Further out, a separate reading area is even designated, with several large desks nestled among the staggered bookshelves. The entire space feels more like a reading salon and café than a train carriage.

As Larkspur and the others entered the carriage, some passengers had already taken their seats. Some were engrossed in their studies in the reading area, some were chatting in small groups in the rest area, some were leisurely sipping coffee at the coffee table, and others were fast asleep, buried in the soft sofas and covered with blankets.

Without exception, most of these passengers were human women, and the vast majority of them looked quite young. As for the remaining small group, they were all Fairy.

This is quite normal, because the carriage that Larkspur and the others went to was specially prepared for new candidates going to the Kingdom to take the exam. In this carriage, there were only new magical girls who did not even have Certification Card, and the Seeder accompanied them to the Kingdom.

Compared to the generally quiet magical girls, these Fairy were much more boisterous, currently gathered together playing some games that humans couldn't understand. However, judging from how much they enjoyed it, it must be quite interesting.

The group of Fairy made a ruckus for a long time, oblivious to everyone else, before finally ending the game amidst a chorus of cheers. Then, a Fairy that looked like a small pony slowly flew out and landed in front of the Larkspur and the others.

"Welcome aboard this train. Thank you for choosing the Kingdom Express. I am the attendant in carriage 68. You can call me Opera."

The little pony Fairy, with an impeccably polite demeanor, showed no trace of his recent antics with other Fairy: "Our carriage is entirely self-service. You can freely choose any empty seat, and the drinks and food at the bar are all available for you to take. You can also freely borrow books from the reading area, but please remember to return them before you get off. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact me anytime, and I will do my best to accommodate your needs."

It recited its lines as if reciting a memorized script, then immediately followed up with, "So, what do you need now?"

The magical girls exchanged glances, then shook their heads. After all, they had just arrived and didn't know what to ask for.

Seeing this, the Fairy named Opera understood and said no more. After bowing to everyone again, she flew back to the place where she had been playing with a group of Fairy.

"The gap in professional skills is really huge." As if she had thought of something, Lin Xiaolu said with emotion while looking at the Fairy's back.

"Indeed," Xia Liang had to agree.

Here we must mention Moko, the Seeder from Fangting City, who for some reason was not traveling with the group.

As is customary, when a new member of Magical Girl Squad from a city goes to the Kingdom to participate in an assessment, the Seeder in the squad must accompany them. This is because, compared to the new magical girl, or even compared to the older, more experienced magical girls, they have a better understanding of the Kingdom and can better handle various procedural issues and unexpected situations encountered during the journey.

However, in Fangting City, the situation was completely different, because Moko showed considerable resistance to returning to his Kingdom.

Logically speaking, even if it had left the Kingdom without permission, it was now an officially certified Fangting Seeder, so returning to the Kingdom shouldn't have been a big problem. However, when the Larkspur brought this up with it, Moko flatly refused.

"I'm not going back!"

Such a resolute attitude even raised questions, but Moko no intention of offering further explanation, so the others could only give up.

After all, there are no explicit Rule requiring the Seeder to accompany the Magical Girls during the assessment, and with Larkspur as a natural guide in the team, it seems that Moko comes or not will not affect the itinerary too much.

Considering that Hong Siyu and Asō Madoka were staying in Fangting City, Moko also seemed to have no safety concerns in Fangting City, so everyone let it be, and that's how things ended up like this.

Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan rushed to the bar almost without stopping and started picking out snacks from the long glass display case, while Xia Liang found a spot in the rest area and lay on the sofa playing on her phone.

Larkspur also sat on the sofa in the rest area for a while, but firstly, she didn't have the habit of playing on her phone, secondly, she didn't feel tired at all, and thirdly, she couldn't concentrate on reading for the time being. After thinking it over, she stood up again and decided to take a walk around the entire carriage.

Compared to twenty years ago when she was a complete newcomer taking the exam, the interior of the train had obviously been renovated more than once. So even though Larkspur had ridden the Kingdom Express many times before, she didn't find it boring this time. She just kept going, stopping here and there, looking around. If there was anything noteworthy, she would stop.

However, compared to the furnishings inside the carriage, what is most noteworthy is the group of magical girls in the reading area.

The group of magical girls were basically all sitting around the same desk. In the middle of the desk sat a white-haired girl, and the other girls gathered around her. They seemed to be reading quietly, but in fact, some of them would occasionally look up and glance at the white-haired girl.

This strange sight naturally didn't escape Larkspur's notice, but she couldn't figure out what these people were doing even after watching for a long time. It wasn't until after she left that she pieced together the whole story from a conversation between several magical girls at another table.

"How about it? Do you want to join that table?"

"I'd like to go... but all the seats are taken."

"Ugh, those guys are so annoying. They take up seats and don't say a word. Isn't that just wasting an opportunity? If you don't want to be teammates with Tudingui, then don't take up such valuable seats!"

From the snippets of conversation among these magical girls, it can be inferred that the white-haired girl, codenamed Tudingui, is quite famous as a new magical girl. Besides being famous, she also possesses strength that commands the admiration of the other magical girls.

Because Tudingui came to participate in the Kingdom Assessment alone, and because the assessment includes team projects that require candidates to form teams, it means that Tudingui's teammate position during the exam is completely vacant. Therefore, the magical girls who recognized Tudingui all wanted to curry favor with her, hoping to become her teammate in the team projects.

"That must be tough, you famous person." That was Larkspur's comment after learning the reason for the matter.

She could completely understand the thoughts of the magical girls around her. After all, it was about getting ahead in exams, and there was nothing shameful about it. As long as it followed the Rule and didn't harm anyone, it was perfectly acceptable.

However, Tudingui, surrounded by the crowd, had a rather difficult time. The entire desk was crammed full, which meant that she could only read in a rather cramped position, huddled in the crowd. In addition, there were always people around her trying to make some noise to attract her attention, so it was fair to say that the reading environment was really terrible.

However, to Larkspur's surprise, even when she was being disturbed like this, Tudingui's eyes never left the pages of the book in her hands. Even when she was being jostled from side to side by the wall of people around her, she did not utter a sound of protest, but was truly focused on reading.

What kind of captivating book could possibly hold someone so engrossed? With this question in mind, Larkspur stared intently at the book's cover:

--The book is titled <Efficient Casting of Spell Formula and Spell Formula Placement>.

The Larkspur turned and left.

It wasn't that she had any problem with this new magical girl who had just learned her codename, but in her opinion, someone with such a strong learning spirit would surely have a bright future as a magical girl, and she didn't need to watch any longer; she wasn't really reading gossip.

After circling the reading area, Larkspur returned to the vicinity of the restaurant and saw Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan sitting on either side of a small round table, which was already full of refreshments, from cakes to ice cream to fruits.

"Ah, Larkspur, there are so many kinds of pastries here! I can't even choose from them all!"

Seeing the Larkspur approach, Lin Xiaolu immediately greeted her as if introducing some treasure, "It's all free anyway, why don't you come and eat with us?"

"No, thank you."

Larkspur patted her head. "I just wanted to look around, I'm not hungry yet, you guys eat."

After saying that, she was about to leave the bar area, but after taking only two steps, she noticed Bai Jingxuan staring at her expectantly. So she had to turn back two steps, pat Bai Jingxuan on the head, and then leave.

After wandering around the carriage for a while, getting a basic understanding of its internal structure, and admiring the carefully arranged flowers inside, Larkspur returned to the transfer level and left the carriage.

On Kingdom Express, passengers are not confined to their own carriages. In fact, depending on their privileges, there are many other carriages with different functions.

For example, passengers who spend more money and have membership benefits can go to a dedicated gym car, a swimming pool car, a high-class dining car that reportedly employs the former private chef of the Gem Scepter, and a bath car where they can enjoy massage services from Fairy... The huge interior space gives this special train a luxurious service comparable to that of a high-end hotel. As long as you have enough money, simply riding this train is a pleasure.

In addition, magical girls with Certification Card can access other carriages, such as meditation rooms where they can focus on their Soul Meditation practice; laboratories where they can conduct simple experiments; highly reinforced training rooms that can withstand intense attacks; and combat conference rooms where they can discuss battle plans during the journey... All services that can provide combat assistance to magical girls are also on this train.

Ordinary passengers, such as those who have simply applied to travel between the Kingdom and the Material Realm, or rookie magical girls like the Fangting City Squad who don't even have Certification Card, have very limited access to additional service carriages. Basically, they can only access facilities like bars and shops that require payment, as well as dedicated observation carriages.

The Larkspur was heading to the observation car.

Considering that the train uses a space-expanding Spell Formula, most of the carriages are actually completely indoors with almost no windows facing outwards. Therefore, the train crew specially added this scenic carriage so that passengers who like to enjoy the scenery can appreciate the views along the way.

For Larkspur, this carriage was probably the only place on the entire train that she felt a sense of nostalgia for.

The interior of the train is just like any other ordinary old-fashioned train: a long, narrow rectangular space, benches along the inner walls, and large windows. However, in this special train carriage, the aisle is filled with colorful flowers, as if a sea of flowers in spring has extended here.

Roses, daisies, lavender, and baby's breath... pink, purple, and yellow flowers intertwine, with lush green grass filling the spaces between them. Soft sunlight streams in through the window, making the colors of the flowers even more vibrant, as if the boundary between nature and artifice has been erased.

Perhaps because the space is so long, the passengers aren't crowded. Judging from where the Larkspur entered the carriage, there were only four or five passengers there taking pictures of the scenery. The benches inside the carriage are covered with delicate cushions and decorated with simple and refreshing patterns. Green vines and small flowers are wrapped around the handrails of the tram, and the overhead lights emit a warm yellow glow. The whole space is like a still moment drawn out of a dream, familiar yet strange.

This place is still the same as it was twenty years ago.

Thinking this, the Larkspur lightened her steps, trying not to step on the flowers and plants on the road, and then chose an empty bench and slowly sat down.

She still clearly remembers the scene when she first took this train to the Kingdom: the four-person team from Fangting City had solved the problem of no one on duty by applying for assistance from neighboring cities, and then solved the financial problem of travel expenses by applying for assistance from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. After finally embarking on the journey, and after being exhausted from the long journey, she didn't know who led the way to this carriage.

At that time, Larkspur was so tired that her eyelids were drooping and she just wanted to go back to her own carriage to sleep. So Anya dragged her, who was very unwilling, into this carriage. After that, the beautiful scenery in this carriage was deeply imprinted in everyone's memory.

Besides, Anya was scolded by the Fairy managing the carriage for trampling too many flowers and plants with her careless movements; Asō Madoka opened the carriage and shouted outside, almost getting thrown out; Larkspur herself was so tired that she fell asleep on a bench halfway through the journey; Su Shengzi took this opportunity to take a set of photos of Larkspur, which she named "Alice in Dreamland," and even won an award in a photography competition later on...

These memories are filled with long stretches of foolish things, which would normally make one feel embarrassed, but at this moment, the Larkspur recalls them without feeling embarrassed at all; instead, she feels nostalgic.

With this somewhat indescribable feeling, she looked up at the window opposite her, watching the scenery rushing past as the train moved forward. The train was about to leave Yannan City, so there were vast fields outside the window, echoing the flowers and plants inside the train, as if they were connected into one.

Just as Larkspur was becoming increasingly lost in his thoughts, the sound of a door opening came from the entrance to the transfer level.

She turned to the side at the sound, and as the car door opened and closed, the magical girl with the code name Tudingui stepped into the carriage.

This magical girl named Tudingui has a well-proportioned figure, neither too tall nor too short, with fair skin and a pampered appearance. Her facial features are slightly defined, yet delicate and graceful, suggesting she is of mixed race from different continents.

What's most eye-catching is her gray-white hair, which is quite rare in Eastern Hua Prefecture where most people have black or brown hair. Her white hair is tied into two half-up pigtails, with some hair hanging down at the back of her head and ponytails tied on the sides, giving the girl a sweet and refreshing first impression.

The magical girl known as Tudingui entered the carriage, carrying the book she had been reading, "Efficient Casting of Spell Formula and Spell Formula Position Selection," in her arms. Her dark blue skirt swayed among the flowers and plants, and then she stopped in front of a bench diagonally opposite the Larkspur.

The girl slightly tugged at her white shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles caused by walking, then straightened her light-colored knitted vest, and sat down on the bench, holding her skirt. Throughout the entire process, she seemed oblivious to everyone around her, perhaps because she was completely absorbed in her own thoughts, so she was completely unaware that there was someone sitting diagonally opposite her.

The Larkspur showed no inclination to strike up a conversation with the stranger. The two of them sat in their respective seats, one reading a book and the other lost in thought, without exchanging any words.

It wasn't until much later, probably due to eye strain from reading for so long, that Tudingui reluctantly looked away from the pages, tilting his head back with a hint of lingering reminiscence, as if deep in thought.

After a while, perhaps she had figured it out, she smiled happily and waved her fist in the air.

Then, seemingly realizing that her actions were somewhat inappropriate, she furtively glanced around to check if anyone else had seen her. However, there were no other passengers watching her, which made her breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Finally, her gaze fell upon the Larkspur in the corner.

Without a doubt, in terms of appearance alone, even among the generally beautiful magical girls, Larkspur is one of the most eye-catching. Even though she is currently wearing a very simple trench coat without any decorations, it does not diminish the stunningness of her appearance. "Perfect and exquisite like a doll" is often a compliment to appearance, but for Larkspur, it is an objective description.

So, did the girl notice the Larkspur really just because she thought it was "pretty"?

The Larkspur didn't know.

All she knew was that from a certain moment on, after the white-haired girl diagonally opposite noticed her, it seemed that her gaze would drift over from time to time, and this very strong sense of being stared at made her feel quite uncomfortable.

Until one point, after the girl had stared at the Larkspur in a daze for what seemed like the umpteenth time, the Larkspur finally couldn't hold back any longer and had to ask, "Excuse me... is there something you want to tell me?"

"Um?"

Perhaps not expecting the Larkspur to initiate conversation, the girl paused slightly before shaking her head. "No."

"Excuse my bluntness, perhaps it's because I'm overly self-conscious, but you've been looking in this direction the whole time because..." Larkspur raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, was it that obvious? Sorry."

The girl bowed slightly. "I didn't mean to bother you, it's just that seeing you reminded me of something. I'm very sorry if it's caused you any trouble."

"Thinking about something?" Larkspur pressed.

"Well, because you look very young, even about the same age as my 9-year-old sister, I was thinking things like, 'Oh, there are such young children participating in the assessment,' which led to some unnecessary associations."

The girl nodded, speaking frankly, "Of course, this might be my subjective assumption, but since you're in this place, you should also be a magical girl, right? Anyway, I subconsciously assumed you were a magical girl... Sorry."

"No, you guessed right, I really am a magical girl."

Larkspur shook her head. "However, I cannot agree with your use of the word 'child,' because I am actually older than I appear."

"Oh, is that so?"

Tudingui blinked. "That seems even more awkward, I'm sorry. May I ask how old you are this year?"

How old am I this year?

This is indeed a question for the Larkspur.

Although she knew very well that she was 36 this year, soon to be 37, that was the age of Lin Yun and Larkspur, not the age of "Magical Girl Gentian".

So, how big should the Gentian be this year?

15? 16? Or 18? Larkspur wanted to give a slightly higher number, at least not to appear too young among these new magical girls, otherwise she might easily attract unwanted attention. After all, there's a baseless rumor circulating among magical girls that "the younger you are when you become a magical girl, the higher your potential." She was here to infiltrate the Kingdom, so naturally, the more low-key she was, the better.

However, in this situation, the age given is not based on the Larkspur's mood, because theoretically, the age of the fake identity "Gentian" should have been determined by Emerald when it was created. If she gives a random number now, it might become a flaw.

Thinking about this, Larkspur suddenly remembered the examination admission ticket she was carrying. Undoubtedly, her personal information should be written on the admission ticket. As long as she checked it, she could find out exactly how old "Gentian's age" should be.

Without delay, Larkspur immediately pulled her examination admission ticket out of her clothes and looked down at it:

--[Candidate Information]

[Name: Gentian]

[Place of birth: Fangting City, Donghua Prefecture]

[Age: 10 years old]

Age: 10 years old.

Looking at the numbers written on her admission ticket, Larkspur almost couldn't resist tearing the little card up.

Fortunately, she had enough composure to not let these emotional fluctuations affect her actions. After calming herself down slightly, she raised her head expressionlessly and said calmly, "Although I look young, I'm actually 16..."

"Oh, so you're 10 years old. You do look a bit older than you do look 9."

Tudingui stood in front of Larkspur, looking down at the numbers on her exam admission ticket with her, then looked up and praised, "Becoming a magical girl at the age of 10, and even about to participate in the qualification certification, is truly remarkable."

"...No, actually...the admission ticket..." Larkspur struggled to organize her thoughts.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" But Tudingui was clearly completely certain that he was 10 years old, and there was no doubt on his face. He looked incredibly cheerful. "Ah, sorry, do you think I'm looking down on you because you're young? No, that's not true. I really think you're amazing... Uh, why do you look so disappointed?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little preoccupied."

In the end, the Larkspur gave up trying to explain.