Emerald of the Emerald Book Gallery

As the most mysterious region in Luen Nore's Land, the Emerald Book Gallery is located north of the Academy District, encompassing the entire Emerald Mountains. It is named after the fact that its main structure is a huge, magnificent, and sprawling gallery built along the mountain ridge.

As one of Luen Nore's iconic buildings, the Emerald Book Gallery is the subject of numerous rumors. Some say it houses every book that has ever existed in the Kingdom's history; others claim the name "library" is merely a facade, and it's actually a sinister research base for forbidden studies; still others believe it's a signal center for communication with extraterrestrials, with Research Institute research primarily focusing on alien technology...

Because no one could personally visit the bookstore to verify the truth of these rumors, some of the content became increasingly outrageous with repeated dissemination, evolving from nine parts true to one part false, and finally to ten parts false and none true. The public gradually succumbed to the indistinguishable information, adhering to the mentality that "if it hasn't been debunked, it must be true," thus creating even more rumors that couldn't withstand scrutiny. These rumors ultimately became layers of mystery unique to the Emerald Book Gallery, making it increasingly enigmatic in the public eye.

This mysterious Emerald Book Gallery, at some unknown moment today, opened its doors to a special guest.

For the people who work and live here, the real Emerald Book Gallery is not as mysterious as the rumors suggest. It is the archive of the Magic Kingdom Research Institute and a memorial hall that gathers the wisdom of countless predecessors. It is important and sacred, but "important" and "sacred" do not describe the building itself, but rather the knowledge it contains and the people who gather here.

Therefore, although ordinary people or magical girls may never have the opportunity to enter here in their lifetime, in fact, the Emerald Book Gallery is not a closed institution in the entire Magic Kingdom. There are always guests here, and even many guests, because the Research Institute invites all accomplished researchers to come here. It never rejects knowledge and scholarship.

Besides researchers, there are also many Flower Card magical girls who come to the Research Institute seeking cooperation, powerful magical girls from the Five Great Institutes, and even Royal Court nobles... No matter how much power these guests have in their Kingdom, they are not considered "special" to the Research Institute.

The reason why today's guests are considered "special" is quite simple—

The chief Research Institute, who had been holed up in the lab alone for a month, leading some to suspect he might have died suddenly there, has finally emerged from the lab.

Those who have access to the Chief's whereabouts are all absolute core members of the Research Institute. For these people, what kind of powerful dignitaries and grand occasions have they not seen? But even going back several decades or a hundred years, it is likely that they would not find more than a few occasions that would allow the Chief to personally appear.

What's even more alarming and unsettling is that their chief—Ms. Emerald —has unusually appeared in the library early this morning. Instead of conscripting people to cooperate with her experiments or looking for a place to sleep with a pillow, she's dressed properly in clothes that she can go out in public, styled her hair, and even put on some makeup!

This scene filled the researchers who witnessed it, and who were well aware of how many legal red lines their chief had crossed over the years for research convenience, with increasing panic: Had the truth finally come out, and the Royal Court sent people to investigate?

Driven by a naive desire to avoid harm and seek benefit, the apprehensive researchers began to subtly probe the Emerald, trying to elicit information, but all their efforts were in vain.

They tried to get a glimpse of the guest at the entrance, but to no avail. The visitor had already been personally escorted by the bookstore's manager and entered the bookstore through a dedicated reception passage.

The researchers were uneasy, and the guide remained silent. These core members of the Research Institute were all in turmoil due to their chief's unusual behavior. So, what exactly was the Emerald doing at this moment?

"I stepped on your shadow, you're dead," Emerald said, squatting on the ground and pointing at the Larkspur's shadow.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Larkspur asked expressionlessly.

"Shadow Game! Shadow Game!"

Emerald stood up, patted the hem of her coat, and said, "A duel often begins in the instant eyes meet. You lack vigilance, young man."

"When did I agree to play games with you?" Larkspur was completely baffled.

"Don't you have one? But you look so tense, like you're about to duel me."

Emerald spread her hands. "Since that's the case, then I'll duel with you. I've won, you've lost, the game is over. Can you relax a bit now?"

"... Feel sorry."

Larkspur paused for a moment, then understood, and tried to adjust her expression to appear more relaxed. "Because I felt this meeting was a very serious matter, I was a little tense."

"It's alright, I agree with you. It's just that everyone here is on our side, so there's no need to worry too much."

Emerald said this, keeping her arms outstretched, and spun around in place. "Well? This must be your first time seeing me in person? Don't you feel honored?"

Unlike before, when she always appeared as Fairy Doll, this time Emerald is indeed revealing her magical girl form to Larkspur for the first time.

Although she claims to have lived for many years, judging from her appearance alone, Emerald seems to be just a young girl. She is about half a head taller than Larkspur, has a fairly well-proportioned but slender figure, and fair and smooth skin, showing no signs of aging.

Larkspur had seen the Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye, which was also Gem Scepter. Compared to the Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye, which exuded an air of authority and looked like a person in a superior position, the Emerald scepter had a much gentler temperament. Neither her light green hair, which was tied in a single braid and draped over her shoulder, nor her pair of drowsy, grass-green round eyes gave people any sense of dominance.

At this moment, she was wearing a light blue-white top that resembled a ruyi (a type of traditional Chinese dress) but had no sleeves. The loose top was cinched at the waist with a wide belt, and the skirt only reached mid-thigh. It had a two-layered structure: a golden inner layer and a dark green outer skirt. The outer skirt was embroidered with cloud patterns in gold thread, giving it a very elegant look. But what was most impressive was the coat she wore, which at first glance looked like a lanqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), but upon closer inspection, resembled an enlarged mandarin jacket: this coat was large and long, with a dark green background adorned with different colored patterns, and the opening was trimmed with white fabric embroidered with Rule dark blue patterns. The first impression of the entire coat was one of opulence, and when Emerald spread her arms, letting the hem of the coat fall to her calves, she looked like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

Playful and languid, yet possessing a touch of glamorous elegance befitting a lady from a prominent family.

This is the first impression that Emerald's outfit gives.

Although through past interactions, Larkspur had a general feeling that Emerald was not a very serious person, upon actually meeting her, he still felt that her real appearance was quite different from the impression he had in his mind.

"Hmph, before you met me, you must have thought I was some kind of unkempt, crazy scientist who always wore a white lab coat and had a bird's nest on his head, right?"

Since the Larkspur remained silent, Emerald took the initiative to speak, saying with a hint of pride, "Unfortunately, I'm a very self-aware beauty. If I dress up carefully, I look like a very standard beauty."

"So, if you don't dress up normally, you're a mad scientist?" Larkspur bluntly pointed out the flaw in her statement.

"Keeping silent when necessary is also a social strategy, young man."

Emerald lowered her eyelids instantly, giving off a "I can't do anything with you" look. "If favorability could be expressed numerically, your last sentence alone caused the Chief's favorability towards you to drop by 5 points."

"It sounds like something a teenager would say these days," Larkspur commented.

"I'm only 17 years old this year, that's why I care so much about my appearance." Emerald stretched out her coat again, like a peacock in breeding season always looking for an opportunity to display its plumage. "Adding a comment like 'Your Excellency is so beautiful' now can help salvage the lost favor."

"What number system?" Larkspur asked.

"A system of numbers? You mean a rating system?" Emerald blinked. "It's out of 100."

No, ask about age.

"Ah, age..."

Emerald looked like she wanted to say something, but after a brief pause, she gave a rather demure smile, "That's right, that's right, you guessed correctly, it is indeed base-100. As a reward for your intelligence, my favorability towards you has increased."

It seems you haven't been guessing correctly even with a base-100 system.

The Larkspur couldn't help but come to this conclusion.

However, she wasn't about to expose even this. The questions she asked earlier were barely within the realm of trash talk, but continuing to pursue whether "17" was a base-1000 age would be considered provocative. So, she decisively ended the topic.

"Thank you for taking the initiative to ease the tension; I feel much better now. So, what should we do about what we agreed on before?"

Taking a deep breath, Larkspur spoke again, "Is there anything I need to do beforehand?"

"You mean healing? Oh, that can be done now, in principle."

After saying that, Emerald held up two index fingers and made an X in front of her. "But you also know that 'in principle it' means 'in practice it'."

"Why?"

"Insufficient favorability rating, access temporarily suspended, young man."

Emerald once again mimicked a peacock spreading its tail feathers, shaking her sleeves. "You need to increase the Chief's favorability to unlock related items. For example, you can compliment my coat right now."

"... Oh, your coat is really nice," Larkspur said expressionlessly.

"That's so perfunctory... But since you rarely say anything nice to me, I'll give you 1 point of goodwill." Emerald nodded. "Not enough? Is there anything else you want to say?"

"The hair accessory is beautiful," Larkspur, sounding slightly helpless.

"Hmm, still 1 point." Emerald proudly touched the hair ornament tucked behind her head.

"The lipstick works very well."

"Now that I've mentioned my proudest achievement, here are two points."

"... The hairstyle is suitable."

"One point, barely enough."

"How much is still needed?" Larkspur couldn't help but ask.

"About 20 points short," Emerald said, arms crossed, looking quite pleased. "Out of 100, say a little more."

The Larkspur was speechless for a long time before finally sighing and squinting, "The dress is beautiful."

"1 o'clock."

"The lines of her brow bone and bridge of her nose are very good."

"2 o'clock!"

"Long eyelashes."

"0.5 points."

"Why is it only 0.5?"

"Saying something like 'because your eyelashes are prettier than mine' is actually sarcastic."

The two chatted back and forth like they were playing a spot-the-difference game, haggling over the price for a long time, until Larkspur thought he had found all the "beautiful" qualities on the Emerald, but it was still 3 points off from the standard set for the Emerald.

"Do I really have to reach 20 points? I'm starting to get tired of this boring little game."

Having stared at the other person for too long, Larkspur had to close her eyes and say, "Perhaps it's a bit unreasonable to set such harsh Rule for people meeting for the first time?"

"Sigh, I clearly already gave you a subtle hint, young man, you're so oblivious! Your thinking is trapped in its own silliness."

Emerald shook her head. "There's no other way. To ensure you achieve your goal smoothly, let the embodiment of wisdom, beauty, and kindness, the Chief, guide you. What does 'favorability' mean? It means that any behavior that increases my favorability towards you is allowed. Having you praise how beautiful I am today is just one way."

"So?"

"Think it over carefully, young man. What kind of things would make me happier?" Emerald looked at Larkspur, her lazy yet sly expression reminiscent of a cat. "Let me make it clear beforehand, praising me for being clever, wise, or knowledgeable won't work, since others praise me like that every day."

So, in reality, very few people compliment her on her looks?

The Larkspur couldn't help but think this.

"Deduct 5 points." Emerald's voice quickly turned cold.

"I didn't say anything," Larkspur feigned innocence.

"My wisdom tells me that you are secretly plotting something to tarnish the Chief's reputation," Emerald said mercilessly.

"Hmm."

A single thought caused a setback, Larkspur fell into deep thought once more. She had to seriously consider her interactions with Emerald over the past few months, analyze the underlying logic of Emerald's various behaviors, and ultimately deduce what her needs were...

Then, she came up with an answer that had no basis whatsoever.

Although there's no basis for it, and it even sounds like she's overly self-conscious, it seems logical. Besides, there's no consequence for being wrong anyway.

"No time for jokes, we have a lot to do, Emerald."

So she spoke, half pragmatically and half sincerely, "I have chosen you, and I need your help."

Emerald's lips curled slightly.

"50 points, no, 100 points."

She gave a rating that made one wonder if she had misheard, "Great job! As expected of the magical girl who almost became my colleague, your comprehension is impressive."

You have chosen me.

As she said this, she stretched lazily. "This means we're allies. I've offered you my highest price, so I need your approval."

"And you need my help."

She lowered her hand, making a pushing motion in the air behind her. "This sentence doesn't need any interpretation. It's enough that you're willing to say it to me, and my answer is only one."

Click.

A door that was not originally in Larkspur's sight opened in the void, revealing countless fine pipes and research equipment behind it to the two of them.

"It's my pleasure to serve you."

With her eyes half-open, she grinned under the bright white lights of the research lab. "Welcome to the marrow of the Kingdom, the heart of the Research Institute, my true private research lab."

"The Research Institute's... heart?" Larkspur murmured.

"This is not boasting, but simply stating the facts: the prosperity of the Research Institute began with me, and it will only end with me."

Emerald stepped inside and beckoned to Larkspur: "Come on, what you want is right here."

Unlike the previous temporary research institute set up in Fangting City, this place, which Emerald called a "real private research lab," did not have a large number of experimental equipment. In fact, apart from a few experimental devices that were difficult to understand and some culture tanks with strange flesh and blood floating on them, the most numerous things here were monitoring devices that shone with magical light.

It's less of a research lab and more of a monitoring room, with a row of screens displaying more than ten, even close to twenty, different perspectives from the Fairy Doll.

The scenery seen through the doll's field of vision is largely the same, consisting of temporary research institutes filled with various experimental equipment. However, the interior furnishings of these institutes vary considerably, proving that each field of vision corresponds to an independent research institute.

By setting up temporary research institutes around the world, while controlling clones within the Research Institute to conduct experiments with different needs in various laboratories with different focuses, Emerald has chosen this working method to ensure that even with a large number of projects on hand, they can be handled in parallel.

"No matter which research institute experiences an accident, I can immediately transfer the data to a nearby institute to ensure that the experimental results are not lost. And each additional research institute and clone is like having an extra pair of hands, which can greatly increase my work efficiency."

Emerald stood beneath the rows of screens, brimming with pride, and declared, "As long as I can complete the scheduled work at ten times the speed, I can spend the remaining 90% of my time sleeping. And even if I fall asleep before finishing my work, my faithful clones can still take over the meaningless repetitive tasks, so I can continue working even while I'm asleep."

"Impressive." The Larkspur clapped symbolically to show her approval.

"There's no need to pretend to be envious; it just makes me uncomfortable... Anyway, since I've already brought you here, I won't make things difficult for a kid like you just because you often speak ill of others."

Emerald opened her arms. "Let's get down to business first. Give me your Heart Gem."

"Which one?" Larkspur took out two gems from her person, one was her own Flower of the Heart, and the other was the Heart Bud that "Gentian" had disguised.

"Of course it's the real thing, what would I do with a fake one?"

Emerald reached out and took the Flower of the Heart from the Larkspur, then pointed to the treatment bed not far away. "Alright, lie there until I tell you to get up. The treatment might be a bit tiring, don't resist, just take a nap."

"That's it?" Larkspur somewhat skeptical.

"What else can I do? I'm a researcher, not a doctor. It's called 'treating injuries,' but it's essentially repairing your Heart Gem. Of course, I don't need to operate on your body."

Emerald held the Flower of the Heart of the Larkspur, examining it repeatedly like an expert appraising a gemstone. "Just as I suspected, the Heart Gem is so badly cracked; it's just a bunch of fragments barely stuck together. Anyone else would have been dead long ago."

"But I'm not dead yet. I came here specifically to solve this problem," Larkspur replied earnestly, standing beside the treatment bed.

"Yes, solving the problem..."

Emerald continued to observe the gem, "Hmm, it seems the initial treatment was effective. The magic overflow has stopped, which has improved the fit of your gem fragments. Although some internal structures are completely damaged, it's still within the scope of repair."

"So?" Larkspur sat down on the bed.

"So there's no problem, we can begin treatment."

Emerald put down the gemstone in her hand, clapped her hands lightly, and a hidden compartment suddenly appeared in the middle of the floor filled with pipes. She reached into the compartment, took out a key, and then removed one of the surveillance screens in front of her, revealing the door of a safe.

Ignoring the suspicious gaze of the Larkspur beside her, she opened the safe and took out a liquid-sealing device resembling a thermos. Then, with dazzling speed, she arranged a pure decryption Spell Formula on the surface of the device and opened its lid.

"What is that?" Larkspur asked, already lying on the treatment bed.

"The raw material used to repair the Heart Gem —no, that's not right, because it is the very raw material of the Heart Gem — the Love Source."

Emerald took a peculiar container resembling a test tube from the side, carefully placed the apparatus horizontally, took out a pipette, and slowly drew out a liquid that shimmered with iridescent colors and was almost white. Throughout the entire process, she didn't utter a single word, or even breathe, but simply quietly carried out the process of transferring the liquid into the container until it was half full. Only then did she stop with utmost care, put the instrument back in place, and turn off the apparatus.

"Just 10 milliliters, just 10 milliliters, is enough to create one more Heart Seed for the Kingdom, and also the combat power of a magical girl. If it were to fall into the hands of the Kingdom, it would be the most top-tier magical material in the world, and no one would be able to resist its allure."

Emerald gazed at the liquid in the test tube with a fascination. "Even within the Kingdom, it's only permitted to appear in the Rose Palace and Garden, and in the hands of a very few leaders of the Magic Affairs Institute, and its use is strictly regulated. Even if our Research Institute wanted to apply for some as research material, the process would be extremely difficult, and it would be almost impossible to obtain even 10 milliliters."

"Judging from the name alone, it certainly sounds like something qualified to be traded with the Beast Source."

Larkspur looked at the Emerald: "But why do you have so many?"

"A gift from a friend," Emerald said succinctly.

"Friends?" Larkspur confirmed.

"Friend."

Emerald spoke with certainty, then cleared her throat lightly. "Ahem, enough chit-chat. Pay attention, I'm about to start repairing your Flower of the Heart. Don't distract me; wasting materials would be a huge loss for both of us."

The Larkspur stared relentlessly at the Emerald's face, trying to glean something from its expression, but the Emerald remained remarkably composed, its face unchanged. Finally, annoyed by the Larkspur's gaze, it simply changed direction, turning its back to the Larkspur's gaze.

Now, the Larkspur really couldn't see anything at all.

So be it.

The Larkspur withdrew its gaze and looked at the ceiling bathed in the bright white light.

Even if these things are of dubious origin, he is still a wanted criminal in the Kingdom. The so-called "Love Source" applied to a wanted criminal is something that would probably never happen if it weren't for someone as audacious as Emerald.

She was indeed starting to feel sleepy.

It wasn't physical or mental exhaustion, but a simple feeling, as if my soul was telling me that a good night's sleep would make me feel better.

So she stopped thinking about it, closed her eyes, and cleared her mind.

The only sounds in the laboratory were the hum of the instruments and the rustling of Emerald fiddling with them. And then, in this environment that resembled white noise, the Larkspur fell asleep.

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for your support of this book over the past year, for continuing to support my work and writing despite such a dismal update schedule. Because of your support, I was able to recover from a poor mental state and continue to push forward this story that I cherish so much. I don't want to make promises I might not be able to keep, but my desire to work harder and tell this story better is genuine. I sincerely hope to recreate the stories in my mind in my future writing, and bring to you stories that I believe will resonate with you.

Thank you all. If possible, please continue this journey with me in the new year, witnessing this story together, witnessing the ending that belongs to Larkspur, which may have setbacks, but deserves happiness.