Memorial Cemetery

As a long-time employee of the reception office under the Magic Kingdom Examination Institute, Receptionist No. 7 has always enjoyed a reputation for being "capable" among her colleagues.

Admittedly, being recognized and even praised in daily life is a good thing, but in the workplace, Receptionist No. 7 would rather not have this so-called "reputation".

Thanks to this "reputation," her superiors always assigned her some very demanding tasks, and her colleagues would often come to her with unfinished or unfinished work. Overtime work would also frequently and inexplicably be assigned to her.

Although the Examination Institute is a joint subordinate organization of the Magic Affairs Institute and the Research Institute, so it is not lacking in overtime pay, the ever-increasing workload will make even the most hardworking person feel frustrated because there is never enough work to do.

Because of the excessive overtime hours, her workstation at window number 7 had practically become her personal workstation, earning her the unpleasant nickname "Number 7." Today, when a colleague who was supposed to be on leave suddenly had an emergency, she naturally stepped in to handle the registration for recent qualification certifications at the reception desk.

The reception area is located in the Academy District of Luen Nore and now serves as the registration point for qualification certification, the final hurdle that magical girls must pass before taking the exam.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone's personal information has been verified and entered into the internal system. Thank you for your cooperation."

Pushing his admission ticket out of the window, Number 7 fought off the drowsiness from days of overtime work, strained his eyes to gather the remaining documents at hand, and flashed a rather standard business smile at the magical girls in front of him:

"Judging from the information on your admission tickets, everyone here is taking the 'White Card' assessment, and it seems like this is your first time participating in the qualification certification process. There are unexpectedly many candidates this year, so the competition will be fierce. Good luck!"

"There are a lot of test takers?" The magical girl in front of her took the admission ticket and redistributed it to her companions, but after understanding what Number 7 said, she showed a puzzled expression:

"Why?"

"Uh-huh?"

Perhaps not expecting the candidate to ask such a question, Number 7 paused for a moment. But she quickly realized why the girl was puzzled and replied, "There are actually many reasons, but the most important one... is because this year is the Queen Year, and Her Majesty the Queen might personally come to the assessment site to observe, right?"

She used the word "possibly" to avoid making a definitive statement. But in reality, until nearly a century ago, the Queen personally participated in almost every Queen Year, both large and small, across the Kingdom.

The exceptions were the Queen Year 40 and 20 years ago.

According to the official statement of the Royal Court, 40 years ago, the war between the Kingdom and the Interrealm had already begun, and the situation was very serious, which kept the queen busy and prevented her from appearing to celebrate that Queen Year. 20 years ago, although the war had ended, the wounds of war still needed to be healed, and the Great Beast Calamity that broke out in the middle of the year dealt a heavy blow to the Kingdom and the Material Realm, which ultimately led to the hasty conclusion of the Great Celebration.

Therefore, in fact, since the establishment of the qualification certification system in the Magic Kingdom, except for two unexpected events, the Queen Year.

Considering this is also the Queen Year, and 20 years have passed since the war, it seems unlikely that anything will disturb this grand celebration in such a peaceful year. Therefore, it seems only natural that "the Queen will resume her travels throughout the Kingdom to attend the ceremonies."

For the magical girls of the Kingdom, having the opportunity to appear before the Queen is already a memorable event; while the magical girls of the Material Realm also harbor the dream of "being noticed by the Queen through outstanding performance and thus being given important responsibilities." Considering that the last time the Queen Year is indeed beyond imagination.

If the Magic Affairs Institute hadn't made the relevant regulations in advance, some magical girls who had already obtained their Letter Card might have cancelled theirs before participating in the assessment, which would have caused chaos.

As for how this trend kept the people at the Examination Institute extremely busy, how it prompted the Examination Institute's superior, the Magic Affairs Institute, to make a series of adjustments, and even rumors that they deliberately increased the difficulty to discourage test takers... those are entirely another topic.

"So, if we perform well in this year's assessment, we might even catch the attention of the Queen of the Magic Kingdom?"

Sitting on a bench near the registration desk, Lin Xiaolu looked solemn, gazing into the void, and slowly came to a conclusion that seemed quite reasonable to her. "Then, if I show off my Deviant Magic in actual combat, will it make her look at me differently?"

The person who spoke with receptionist number 7 at the reception desk just now, and who once stumped the receptionist with her question, was none other than Lin Xiaolu.

It must be said that although her question was somewhat strange to the people of the Kingdom, it did provide the three members of the team with relatively useful information: the Queen Year, and the war and disaster that occurred 20 years ago.

Considering there were other magical girls in line behind them, Number 7 didn't have time to give them a full account of the Kingdom's history. She only briefly introduced the origin and significance of the Queen Year tradition, but that was enough for them to understand many things they hadn't noticed on the way here—such as why people were giving away free gifts on the street, why the streets and alleys seemed to be decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and why Fairy were throwing themselves at them on the street...

They arrived in a hurry yesterday and it was quite late, so they didn't witness the city-wide celebration in Luen Nore. But today, they have personally experienced this enthusiasm and the people's heartfelt joy.

"Give up. I think even if the Queen really comes back to inspect the exams, she definitely won't be looking at our 'White Card' exam venue."

Xia Liang, who was standing to the side looking at a map, heard Lin Xiaolu's prank and couldn't help but look up at Lin Xiaolu with a "Is this girl serious?" look. "Besides, it's just that the magic power has turned white. You can't prove that this is a deviation in a short time, right? Other magical girls who can Turbidification can also make the form of magic power become strange, can't they?"

"Ha, how could the Queen of the Magic Kingdom have such a vague perception of magic as a mortal?"

Lin Xiaolu, however, was completely unaffected by Xia Liang's cold water. "Maybe she can see right through everyone's magical nature in the exam room? Maybe she'll notice even the slightest change in my true colors?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Liang gave a dry laugh, somewhat speechless, and turned her face away. Bai Jingxuan, standing beside her, immediately looked terrified. "Eh? Is that really true?"

"I think so," Lin Xiaolu said confidently.

"Then, what should I do..." Bai Jingxuan pointed to herself. "What if I get found out too?"

"Ah? Ah, right, the Magic Base Color..."

Lin Xiaolu blinked, as if remembering something, and then paused before she could blurt out something she shouldn't have. She covered her mouth, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then spoke again, "Well, considering your situation is indeed a bit difficult, I'd like to change my perspective. It's better if the Queen can't detect other people's Magic Base Color."

"Does something like this just happen because you think about it?" Xia Liang couldn't help but sigh.

"Even if you say that, what if Her Majesty the Queen actually finds out?" Bai Jingxuan still looked completely uncomforted.

"Will I be used as a claw... or rather, captured?" Lin Xiaolu made a chopstick motion and slashed her neck back and forth.

"Ah? I don't want to..." Bai Jingxuan cried and hid behind Xia Liang.

"Alright, stop bullying Xiao Xuan. Aren't you ashamed of targeting children every day?"

Xia Liang turned around and hugged Bai Jingxuan, patting her on the back to comfort her. Then she rolled her eyes at Lin Xiaolu: "Even if we don't know the details, our senior must have considered this, right? Since she let Xiao Xuan participate in the assessment, she shouldn't need to worry about this, right?"

After scolding Lin Xiaolu a couple of times, she turned to Bai Jingxuan and asked, "Your senior must have talked to you about this, right?"

"Uh-huh."

Xia Liang's words activated Bai Jingxuan's memories, reminding her of Larkspur's promise, and her expression immediately became much more reassured. "Teacher said that as long as I control my magic, there won't be any problems, and even if something unexpected happens, she won't let anything bad happen."

Xia Liang immediately gave Lin Xiaolu a look that said, "See?" Lin Xiaolu glared back at her with a look that said, "What are you so smug about?"

"Ah, thinking about it that way, it makes sense. Larkspur is still Inspector of the Investigation Institute. With that connection, even if she's arrested for Claw Mark, she can probably be released, right?"

Realizing she couldn't continue teasing Bai Jingxuan on this topic, Lin Xiaolu suddenly felt bored and sighed listlessly, "This is so boring, the adult world."

"You'd better shut up." Xia Liang said with a forced smile.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Luen Nore, at the border between the Emerald Book Gallery and the Mana-Free District, Larkspur was lingering in an open space.

Compared to the urban layout in the Material Realm, the building density in Luen Nore is undoubtedly much sparser.

In the Material Realm, considering the need to prevent attacks from Aberrant Beast, if a city's area is too large but its land utilization rate is not high enough, it will easily increase the probability of Aberrant Beast attacks. At the same time, it will also require magical girls and the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to travel longer distances to provide assistance. Officially speaking, a city that is too large and impractical will indirectly reduce the efficiency of city defense and increase related costs, which is quite not worthwhile from various perspectives.

In the Magic Kingdom, however, city planning does not need to consider these issues.

It's not that human cities in the Magic Kingdom are immune to the threat of Aberrant Beast, but compared to the Material Realm, the Kingdom have a greater number of magical girls, and their cities are covered with a more comprehensive Spell Formula. Major cities like Luen Nore, after the Garden Defense War twenty years ago, even deploy high-cost Spell Formula like "Colossus Slowdown" to restrict the movement of Aberrant Beast that land in the city.

Therefore, even in the Mana-Free District of Luen Nore, buildings are relatively sparse, and large areas of green space and flowerbeds are embedded in the city's road network, making the whole city appear lush and green.

Even within the Mana-Free District, there are designated neighborhoods. Typically, a small residential neighborhood covers an area of about 2-3 kilometres, which translates to 3-5 square kilometers in the Material Realm terms. The entire Mana-Free District has over 370 small neighborhoods. Near the two neighborhoods closest to the northeast, almost bordering the Academy District, there is a rather well-maintained green space. This green space is open to everyone, so residents often stroll and relax here.

Residents who know each other well will gather together to hold activities, or chat about neighborhood gossip when they have nothing to do; this place is practically their plaza and park.

"Okay, all done."

As Larkspur pushed the wheelchair she had just repaired in place, she said to an elderly man sitting beside her, "Give it a try, it should be fine now."

It was noon, and Larkspur, who had just come out of the Research Institute, planned to take a walk in the Mana-Free District to clear her head, process the information she had just received, and relieve her frustration at being tricked by Emerald again. It was then that she discovered an elderly man who was unable to move due to a malfunctioning wheelchair near this green space.

Considering that she didn't have anything urgent to do, she offered to help him check the wheelchair, which led to the scene we see today.

"Oh, I'll try... Hmm, it moves now, it moves! Thank you!"

The old man sat in the wheelchair, tried moving it back and forth a couple of times, then smiled and nodded, "I was originally planning to call my grandson to pick me up, but this weather, this blazing sun... I'd be roasted alive by the time he got here. Thank goodness for you, you're so kind, I don't know how to thank you enough, sir..."

The old man paused mid-sentence, as if realizing something, then squinted at the Larkspur for a few more moments, muttering something under his breath before finally continuing, "... Little girl?"

It was only when the old man paused that Larkspur realized what he was thinking. After all, magical girls in the Magic Kingdom could maintain their youth forever; many looked like young girls, but no one knew their actual age. Considering that she, Lin Yun, was only almost 37, she couldn't possibly be older than the old man in front of her, so she nodded and replied, "Yes, I just came to the Magic Kingdom this year to participate in the assessment; I'm a new magical girl."

Although it might seem like he's trying to look younger than he is, this way of addressing him is a way of accepting the title of "elderly person."

"Oh, a newcomer! Hello, newcomer!"

The old man, having received confirmation, seemed relieved and said, "Yes, it is indeed this time of year."

"Grandpa, how did you figure out I was a magical girl?"

Larkspur asked with some doubt, "Logically speaking, there should be quite a few ordinary girls around here, right?"

Although she was indeed still wearing the magnificent cheongsam that belonged to "Gentian"—even in the Magic Kingdom where everyone wore strange clothes, it was still considered a rather gorgeous outfit—if she remembered correctly, there were also some people in the Mana-Free District who liked retro outfits, and cheongsams were not a particularly rare style of dress among them.

"Hey, what else could it be? Putting aside your outfit, you magical girls just have a different kind of energy and spirit than ordinary girls."

The old man seemed to have heard something amusing. He pointed at the Larkspur's eyes and couldn't help but chuckle, "Even as newcomers, your eyes are completely unlike those of your peers. People with eyes like yours are people who want to be heroes."

"Really? Thank you, you flatter me." Using her Larkspur expression management skills, after a brief moment of hesitation, she gave a slightly awkward, conversational smile.

After Emerald's treatment, her True Form returned to normal. She no longer experienced soul-wrenching pain when using her Magic Armament, and she no longer felt various discomforts during her daily activities.

In terms of outward expression, she can now show a variety of different expressions more naturally, without having to worry about managing her expressions as she did before, which resulted in her always having a tense face.

"Ha, after all, she's my grandma. She was a magical girl too, and I practically grew up under her care, so I'm more familiar with your affairs."

Withdrawing his hand, the old man leaned back slightly against the back of his wheelchair. "It's her. She used to love pretending to be a young girl to play pranks on people, and she even joked with my husband at my wedding. But if anyone in the family addresses her as younger or lower in seniority, she gets upset, making the family always rack their brains over how to address her."

"That is indeed... an interesting senior," Larkspur replied.

"Who can argue with that? At least I like her very much; she's one of the elders I respect most."

The old man sighed and squinted. "It's only been a moment, and I've already reached her age. She's been gone for a long time now. Our family hasn't produced a magical girl in all these years, unlike when she was alive, back then..."

As if a floodgate had been opened, the old man gradually became lost in his memories. As Larkspur pushed his wheelchair to take him away from the green space, he spoke intermittently about his grandmother, who had once been a magical girl.

The conversation lasted for quite some time until Larkspur took him back to the more bustling city center and said goodbye. Only then did he stop, seemingly satisfied, and waved goodbye to Larkspur with great pleasure.

By this time, it was past noon, almost afternoon.

Feeling her phone vibrating in her shoulder bag, Larkspur opened the bag and rummaged through it for a moment before finding it—not Larkspur's phone, but Lin Yun's phone.

Who would be looking for her under this identity at this hour? Is something wrong with the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau? Thinking this, Larkspur unlocked her screen and glanced at the messages in her chat app.

The messages mostly consisted of reports from several department heads, along with some temporary applications from employees. Larkspur read them one by one, giving feedback on each one, until she scrolled to the top of the message bar and finally noticed the message that had caused her phone to vibrate.

[Lin Xiaolu: [Image]]

[Lin Xiaolu: I've already reported to the Magic Kingdom, everything went smoothly. [Go for it!]]

Upon opening the message, Larkspur saw a picture sent by Lin Xiaolu. It was a selfie of Lin Xiaolu and two others at the entrance of the Examination Institute. Although their expressions were rather unnatural and clearly staged, they could still be seen to be in good spirits.

This was something Lin Xiaolu had promised Lin Yun before leaving Fangting City: to send a message every few days to update him on her situation. Clearly, Lin Xiaolu hadn't forgotten this promise, so she sent Lin Yun a message after registering for duty.

As for Larkspur's phone, it's likely because Larkspur mentioned last night that she had a task to attend to, so the others didn't send her any messages to bother her.

After staring at the message for a while, Larkspur thought for a moment, then typed in the message box, "Dad saw it. Prepare well and try to get good grades." After pondering for a while, she added a rose after the text with slight hesitation.

That shouldn't seem too frivolous, right?

With that thought in mind, she clicked send message and put her phone back in her bag.

"Next... I really should find some time to change my clothes. Wearing these clothes all the time is getting too conspicuous."

Feeling the occasional stares from passersby, she couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Lin Xiaolu and her two companions had just finished registering, and presumably wouldn't return to the hotel immediately, but would instead explore the Luen Nore Academy District. In fact, they could have completed most of the registration process online, and the final identity verification could also have been handled remotely using Spell Formula. However, based on Lin Xiaolu's strange principle of "not wanting to use technological means in the Magic Kingdom," the three of them chose to register in person and take the opportunity to sightsee in the Academy District.

Considering this, there's no point in returning to the hotel now. Instead of rushing back, she might as well walk around outside and think about how to explain her inexplicably shrunken height, or how to cover it up and pretend nothing happened.

With these complex emotions in mind, Larkspur strolled along the street, occasionally accepting sample chocolates from vendors along the way, savoring the bittersweet taste as she continued on her way.

When she received the chocolate at a snack shop on a street corner, she simply said "thank you" and received a compliment from the shop assistant. "Haha, little sister, you're so cute." Then, another chocolate in a small, neatly packaged box was slipped into her hand.

"Here are two for you. You can give them to someone you like later," the shop assistant said.

"Thank you." So Larkspur thanked her again, and without hesitation, opened the wrapper of one of the chocolates, popped it into her mouth, and after savoring it, gave a heartfelt evaluation:

"It's very sweet and delicious."

"Hehe, thanks for the compliment, I'm glad you like it." The shop assistant was quite pleased with himself.

Larkspur was about to put the remaining chocolate into her bag and leave, but after taking two steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back to ask, "Is your shop nearby?"

"Hmm? Yes, it's in that alley over there, less than 20 meters from here." The shop assistant pointed to the side.

How much is one box?

"It's a bit pricey, since it's handmade, so it's 20 pounds a box."

The shop assistant quoted a price equivalent to 100 yuan in the Material Realm.

"Alright, give me three boxes." Larkspur held up a number with her hand.

Wow! Big business!

The shop assistant immediately beamed with joy and led the Larkspur into the pastry shop, where they began packing chocolates for him.

This pastry shop isn't very big, and because it's located in an alley, the layout is a bit odd. However, the overall decor is quite tasteful, with a homey style featuring mainly wooden furniture and warm yellow lighting, creating a rather leisurely and cozy atmosphere.

While the staff were busy packing orders, Larkspur herself wasn't idle either. She wandered around the pastry shop, hoping to find some desserts worth buying as gifts for her younger relatives. However, after looking around, aside from various flavors of chocolate, most of the items were baked goods, not really suitable as snacks. Although there were some Kingdom specialty desserts, Larkspur hadn't tried any of them, so she wasn't sure about their taste.

While wandering around the store, she spotted a very unusual item in one of the warming cabinets.

Cloud-Qi Cake – this is the name of this product. It is a pastry unique to this Kingdom. Its most distinctive feature is that it is almost colorless and completely transparent, looking like a large piece of glass, but it is very soft, chewy and sweet when you eat it.

What makes it special is that Larkspur knows this pastry has a very unusual purpose in the Kingdom —generally, it's not for human consumption, but rather for offerings to the deceased, especially to deceased magical girls.

The exact origin of this tradition is unknown, but the explanation that has survived to this day is that because the Cloud-Qi Cake has no color and a vague shape, it resembles a cake-shaped soul and is therefore called a "Soul Cake." Since cake is one of the most popular foods among magical girls, offerings should be made to commemorate them, and considering that deceased magical girls have no physical bodies, Soul Cake are naturally used as offerings.

Under such a seemingly far-fetched logic, Cloud-Qi Cake, a dessert that was not bad in itself, became an offering specifically for the deceased. Over time, normal dessert shops stopped selling it.

"Hello, excuse me, why do you have Cloud-Qi Cake) in your shop?"

Larkspur didn't intend to keep this question to herself; with doubts in mind, she went back to the counter and asked directly.

"Hmm? Cloud-Qi Cake)?"

The shop assistant, who was still comparing the chocolate boxes to the wrappers, looked up and blinked. "Oh, is this your first time in our neighborhood?"

"Yes," Larkspur honestly admitted.

"It's understandable that you have doubts, because our store's location is rather unique. Just 500 meters down the road leading uphill, there's a cemetery."

"Cemetery?"

"Yes, the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the previous Interrealm War, especially those soldiers who died in the Garden Defense War."

The pastry shop clerk's expression was calm, as if she were indeed stating something common knowledge to her. "The Kingdom built a Memorial Cemetery for them, and they are all buried there. Every year, many people go there to pay their respects, so our shop also sells 'Cloud-Qi Cake' to earn a little money from offerings."

The Larkspur was stunned.

She stood there like a statue, lost in thought, staring blankly at the shop assistant's work, watching as the assistant wrapped the chocolates in paper, tied them with ribbon into pretty knots, and finally neatly stacked them into gray-brown paper bags.

"Okay, your chocolates are packed up, little girl. Be careful, they're a bit heavy..."

The shop assistant then picked up the chocolate and faced Larkspur, but upon seeing Larkspur's rather complicated expression, she stopped speaking, "Uh, what's wrong?"

"... nothing."

Larkspur shook her head slightly, regaining her composure. She accepted the chocolate from the shop assistant as if nothing had happened, and then, as if casually asking, "Speaking of which, which direction is the Memorial Cemetery you mentioned?"

"Well, just keep walking along the alley, and after you pass through it, head north, and you'll see a mountain..."

"Is it up in the mountains?"

"At the foot of the mountain."

"Okay, I understand. Then could you do me one more favor?"

"... Please speak?" For no apparent reason, the dessert shop clerk sensed an inexplicable air of authority emanating from the little girl in front of her. This air suggested that the girl was probably not a "little sister," so she changed how she addressed her.

"Pack me a few servings of Qi Yun Gao (a type of Cloud-Qi Cake)."

The Larkspur had no idea what expression she wore when she said those words.

She hoped she hadn't let her emotions show inappropriately, because she didn't want to frighten the kind shop assistant. She could only instinctively apologize to show she wasn't deliberately causing trouble, although the shop assistant clearly didn't understand why she was apologizing.

Then, Larkspur eagerly accepted the Cloud-Qi Cake handed to her by the shop assistant, thanked her under the slightly worried gaze, and left the pastry shop.

Carrying the Cloud-Qi Cake, Larkspur followed the path indicated by the dessert shop clerk and found the location of the Memorial Cemetery.

The other party was right; this was a large cemetery, decorated in a grand and solemn manner. Seven life-size bronze soldier statues stood behind the gate, gazing outwards. Judging from their clothing, one could roughly discern that three were magical girls, one was Fairy, and three were ordinary humans.

A bronze statue stands in a square, behind which stands a monument. The edges of the granite monument have been worn into blurred curves by twenty years of rain. Three bundles of plastic-sealed lilies lean against the base, a thin layer of dust accumulated between the petals and cellophane, like an hourglass, calculating the progress of something being forgotten.

Looking again into the distance, one can still see the circular memorial wall surrounding the square, with reliefs of over a thousand Heart Gem carved on it. Because twenty years have passed, some of the reliefs are now incomplete. Next to them, there seems to Fawo Runes, but the distance is too great for Larkspur to see clearly.

This is it.

A certain intuition made this clear to the Larkspur.

She had never heard of this cemetery before, nor had she ever been here. However, as she stood at the gate, memories from the past began to surge uncontrollably. She could even smell the stench of burning corpses mixed with the odor of Aberrant Beast.

Perhaps because she had just had a dream about the past, these memories, which should have been dormant, became unusually active, almost pulling her back to the past. She could only raise her hand to cover her nose, trying to mask the scents that no longer existed.

Garden Defense War.

This was a battle that was incredibly epic and glorious in legend. It was hailed by later generations as a miracle of love, a hymn to courage, and an epic of magical girls. Cornflower, who became a hero in the war, was idolized by countless people and is still talked about today.

But for Larkspur, this was one of the memories she least wanted to recall in her entire life.

Unlike the grief brought by Anya's departure and the stinging sensation from countless small things in her life afterward, if one had to describe Larkspur's memory of the Garden Defense War in one word, it would be:

--nausea.

A war whose core purpose was to end a war—perhaps this was the greatest significance and glory for the people of the Magic Kingdom —but for Larkspur, it was not. The horrific scenes of the battlefield, the cries and screams of her comrades, the roars of the Aberrant Beast, and the stench of burning flesh that still tried to seep into her mind. It was not a place of glory; for those who experienced it firsthand, it was nothing but hell.

The cemetery before her commemorates "martyrs," but not all of them were prepared to sacrifice themselves in life. Many of these magical girls are just naive young girls who might be chatting with family and friends about their future one day, only to have their Heart Gem shattered the next. Apart from the broken gems and a corpse, they leave nothing behind in the world that they wanted to.

To be fair, among these magical girls, Larkspur didn't really know many of them well. So while some of the names that were being mourned might make her feel sad, most of the names were a kind of mark on her. These marks told her that she shouldn't forget them, and that some things shouldn't be discarded just because recalling them is too painful.

I really should have come and taken a look.

That's what the Larkspur thought.

She shook her head a couple of times, trying to banish those unpleasant thoughts, then let out a long sigh, picked up the Cloud-Qi Cake, and started walking, intending to enter the cemetery gate. But as she got closer, she found that someone was already standing at the gate.

This person appears to be a visitor who came to pay respects, but now seems to be in trouble.

"No, you can't go in without identification. This is a martyrs' cemetery, not a place where you can just make an exception!"

The security guard at the door said to the visitor without any mercy, "No matter how much you beg me, it's no use. I don't have that authority, you know that?"

"Please," the visitor said, bowing deeply.

"I already said no! Telling me this won't work!" the gatekeeper said impatiently.

"Please," the visitor said, bowing even lower.

"No!"

It seems that the security guard was unwilling to let her in because she did not have identification.

This is a girl dressed in a black school uniform, with a long-sleeved cardigan over her top. Because the girl is facing away from the Larkspur, her face is not visible; only a short ponytail can be seen bouncing behind her head as she bows.

Larkspur waited behind her for a while, seeing that the girl was unwilling to leave and kept pleading with the gatekeeper, who showed no intention of letting her through and was becoming increasingly impatient, Lark realized that the two would definitely clash if this continued. So he took the initiative to speak up, "Excuse me, I have a question for you both. Are you a magical girl?"

These words were spoken to the black-haired girl in front of her.

The black-haired girl's intention to enter the park to pay her respects was very strong; she was likely either a family member of a martyr or a colleague of the magical girl. Of the two possibilities, the latter is more likely: after all, a martyr's family member should have visited many times before and surely would know to bring identification.

Upon hearing Larkspur's words, the girl in front of her immediately stopped.

She stood frozen in place for two seconds, then slowly straightened up, turned her head, and looked at the Larkspur with a very surprised expression.

"... What's wrong?" Larkspur asked helplessly, "If you're a magical girl, do you have Certification Card? Showing him the Certification Card should prove your identity, right?"

In the second half of her sentence, she was already asking the security guard.

"That's possible, but are you sure this little girl is a magical girl?"

Upon hearing the question from the Larkspur, the gatekeeper first snorted, then glanced at the black-haired girl with some displeasure. "I think she's just a kid from the neighborhood coming here to have fun. Those brats always like to play pranks."

"... I have."

The girl said in a low voice.

"Huh?" The gatekeeper glared at her.

"I have Certification Card," the girl said earnestly.

"You have it? Then what were you doing just now? Playing me for a fool?" The gatekeeper was even angrier after hearing this.

"... I don't remember."

As the girl spoke, she raised her hand and rummaged through the inside pocket of her knitted cardigan. After a while, she slowly pulled out a dusty gray tag and handed it to the gatekeeper.

Although the gatekeeper looked very displeased, he still took the dusty sign. He first carefully read the words written on it, then used his magic to sense it before returning the sign to the girl.

"Alright, it's genuine. You've passed. Go in." He said somewhat sullenly.

"... Thanks."

The girl immediately bowed and scraped as she slipped through the door to the side.

Without the girl blocking the entrance, Larkspur easily walked through the gate. Although the identity document Emerald had prepared was fake, it was 100% genuine, so the guards at the martyrs' cemetery wouldn't notice anything.

However, shortly after Larkspur entered the cemetery, she discovered that the girl from before was standing by the statue, waiting for some reason. At this moment, the girl was staring at Larkspur with wide eyes, clearly wanting to say something.

"Captain, it's been a long time."

But when the Larkspur approached, her words were even more startling.

Is she calling herself "captain"? What does that mean?

It took Larkspur a long time to realize what the other party meant by "captain": Twenty years ago, to be precise, twenty-one years ago, when she was in the Luen Nore City Defense Force, she was indeed a squad leader.

But then she became even more confused, because her team actually consisted of very few people. Apart from those who had already sacrificed themselves, she remembered the remaining members. And the girl in front of her, although she did look somewhat familiar, did not match any of the faces in her memory.

Short, black-haired, and thin—these features aren't particularly common. There is indeed a magical girl in her team with similar characteristics, Nina Craigios, but her appearance is completely different from the girl in front of her.

Most importantly, she is not "Larkspur" in theory, but "Gentian" right now. The rookie magical girl Gentian seems to have no reason to know these veteran magical girls who participated in the war 20 years ago.

"May I ask who this is?" So she could only respond with this somewhat hurtful question.

In fact, those words seemed to be quite hurtful, because the girl in front of him turned pale after hearing Larkspur's words, and her already thin body trembled even more, looking as if she would be blown away by a gust of wind.

"I... I... it's me." She stretched out her hands, pointing to her face, her voice trembling, "Captain, it's me."

"Okay, I know you mean to say you're one of my old teammates..."

Larkspur suddenly understood why the gatekeeper had been so irritable. She also realized that her disguise seemed to be ineffective in his eyes, and continuing to pretend to be "Gentian" was pointless. She could only say helplessly, "But so many years have passed, it's hard for me to recognize people just by their faces. Excuse me, could you tell me your code name?"

The girl was stunned for a moment.

Not long after, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she reached out, grabbed her face, and pulled it upwards sharply.

Puff.

With that sound, her face, or rather, the skin on her face, the leather mask, was torn off.

"I'm sorry, I forgot... I was wearing a mask."

She lowered her head somewhat ashamed as she spoke, and at the same time took out the Certification Card that she had just shown to the gatekeeper and handed it to Larkspur.

However, after she took off her mask, Larkspur no longer needed to look at that drab sign, and she already knew who was in front of her.

Larkspur was also relieved, because it turned out that it wasn't that her ability to remember people had declined. Rather, even if the other person had been wearing a mask, she had already mentally sifted through the correct answers.

Before him stood Nina Craigieos, a teammate who had been with him 21 years ago.

Just as inscribed on that dusty, gray Certification Card:

--[ID 13251, Ink Lotus]