Confession

Once the Aberrant Beast are vanquished and the danger to the city is confirmed to be eliminated, the magical girl's work is finished. Next, it's the time for the sheriffs under the jurisdiction of the Civil Governance Institute to maintain order in the neighborhood, organize special teams to rebuild damaged buildings, and oversee the return of residents.

After reporting the successful operation to headquarters, Cornflower and Nina left the scene and began their journey back to camp.

Each of them held a large candied hawthorn stick in their hand, and their heads were adorned with all sorts of strange and wonderful trinkets. These were gifts from the residents of the neighborhood; the people of the Magic Kingdom always showed extra enthusiasm towards magical girls.

On the way back, the two of them were somewhat silent.

Nina would occasionally take a small bite of the candied hawthorn in her hand, her face showing lingering fear, as if she was still trapped in the dangerous situation she had just experienced and had not yet recovered.

Although she used magic to repair her body and clothes after leaving the battle, the feeling of being submerged in water, almost turning into a puddle, was still too terrifying for a child her age.

At this point, she could be said to have physically emerged from the mire, but her soul remained trapped in her memories.

As for Cornflower, although she, having grown up as a boy, felt a little lingering fear, that was all. Rather than worrying and being afraid, she preferred to reflect on the mistakes she made in the battle, such as whether she had underestimated the enemy at the beginning, whether she had given the Aberrant Beast too many opportunities, and whether she could have done better if she could do it again.

Besides, the reason she remained silent was also because of the somewhat awkward scene during the battle.

When faced with enemy threats, she could ignore them or put them aside, but looking back, she and Nina were almost soaking wet and clung to each other in disheveled clothes. Nina's clothes were mostly corroded away, making Cornflower hesitate to even take a second look.

Cornflower didn't think she had many strange thoughts, but her real identity was Lin Yun, and she was, after all, a middle school boy in his adolescence. It was inevitable that she would feel a little awkward having this level of contact with the opposite sex.

In this awkward situation where she couldn't speak her mind, she could only remain silent and let the strange atmosphere continue to fester.

It wasn't until the two had flown most of the way and the outline of the camp gradually came into view that Ink Lotus gradually came to her senses, and her previously pale face returned to normal. She looked at the candied hawthorn in her hand, which had been half-eaten at some point, pondered for a moment, extracted her Magic Armament, and used the "Grip of the Present" ability to seal it away.

"Captain," she suddenly spoke.

"What's wrong?"

"Nim... she always told me that the captain was a very powerful magical girl, and how amazing she was. The other teammates even told me that the captain was the kind of magical girl who was extremely talented and powerful, someone you only see once every few decades."

Holding the sealed candied hawthorns hanging beside her, Nina looked at Cornflower: "But only today have I truly realized that you, Captain, are indeed remarkable."

"No way, they're exaggerating."

Cornflower looked a little embarrassed by the sudden, sincere praise, "I do have a sense that I'm pretty good, but I certainly don't deserve to be called a once-in-a-lifetime talent."

"No, Captain, your greatest strength is that you can remain so calm throughout the battle."

Nina shook her head. "Even now, I still feel fear when facing those Aberrant Beasts that might actually kill me. And, if I'm gripped by fear, I become completely unable to think. Without you, Captain, telling me what to do, I probably would even forget how to use my Magic Armament."

"Huh? Is that so?"

Noticing that the other person seemed a little down, Cornflower pretended not to know what she was saying, "I feel like you did pretty well, didn't you? That was a half- Half-Molt, and you did a great job fighting it."

"That's only because you were directing me, Captain... What's impressive is that you were able to consider my abilities and figure out how to use them even in that situation."

Nina pursed her lips. "So, I actually feel that I can understand Nim's thoughts to some extent now."

"What's your sister thinking?" Cornflower looked at her with some surprise.

"Yes, I understand why Nim is more willing to learn combat skills from the captain, and why she always tells me that she wants to become a magical girl like the captain."

Nina spoke much more fluently than usual, clearly the result of her deep thought on the way, "Because the captain is really much stronger than me, and although the difference in Blossoming levels is only 1 level, I feel that the gap between us is countless times greater than that 1 level."

"... Ah, so you really are jealous after all."

Cornflower blinked, a knowing look on her face. "It's actually quite good to say it like this. I told you before that I don't mind."

"Because, I only just realized what I truly thought."

Ink Lotus tilted her head slightly, feeling the breeze brush against her cheek. "It's not just because I feel sorry for the captain, but also because hearing the other team members and Nina praising the captain made me feel resentful and even jealous, which is why I didn't want to face you."

"Oh, I see."

"Won't the captain be angry? Or think that someone like me is ugly, despicable... or something?" Nina cautiously probed Cornflower's thoughts.

"Hmm, maybe a little? But mainly it's because you were always avoiding me before, which made people a little unhappy."

After a moment's thought, Cornflower said, "Now, we're comrades who've been through thick and thin together, and we almost died together when we were unlucky. With that kind of relationship, those little bit of resentment from before doesn't matter, right?"

"Is it possible to go that far?"

Nina's eyes widened slightly as she realized her movements were too abrupt, nearly blowing her hat off. She quickly raised her hand to steady it, saying, "I'm practically useless, just a hindrance. Saying we're going through thick and thin together is a bit of a stretch..."

Even if I tell you that you really did a great job, it won't change your self-deprecating attitude, right?

Cornflower sighed, looked at Nina, and smiled somewhat helplessly:

"Well, let me put it another way—because even in the most dangerous moments, I felt I had teammates by my side, and I trusted her completely, believing she could help me turn the tide. That's why I remained so calm."

The sun, already close to the horizon, cast its radiance across the blue sky. Two magical girls, soaring among the clouds and dancing in the air currents, gazed at each other, and for a moment, even time seemed to stand still.

Nina gazed at the girl before her, whose navy blue dress danced in the golden light like the most dazzling wings. Her azure hair fluttered, intertwining with her clear, jewel-like eyes, creating a beautiful picture.

That smile, blooming in the golden light, was perhaps destined to become one of Nina's most precious memories.

Years later, even though the world has changed beyond recognition, and many things have become unrecognizable, even if she herself has become someone she doesn't recognize, that smile will still be there, unchanged.