Power

"I see. You need to know the scope of authority we currently possess, is that right?"

Zhe Helan was in charge, nodded, and a calm smile returned to her face, "I understand. This is a very reasonable request. So please allow me to explain to you the current power distribution within the Magic Affairs Institute."

She stepped forward from the queue, cleared her throat, and said:

"Since Your Excellency has not been in the Kingdom for many years, you may not be aware of the current situation within the Academy. As we are an institution directly under Her Majesty the Queen, we need to liaise directly with the Royal Court and even the Rose Palace. Therefore, the Magic Affairs Institute currently has two vice-directors appointed by Royal Court from the Royal Court. These two vice-directors do not usually participate in the exercise of power, but if there are any matters requiring the Magic Affairs Institute to liaise with the other four academies in public, they will act as the representatives of the Magic Affairs Institute."

"Besides that, there are currently five Flower Card magical girls in the academy, all of whom hold high-ranking positions within the academy— Education Selection Office. These five Education Selection Office are responsible for carrying out specific tasks and exercising authority. You can understand it as the actual power of the Magic Affairs Institute currently being distributed among these five Education Selection Office."

"Unfortunately, although the five of us together could theoretically influence any decision made by the entire Magic Affairs Institute, in reality, our political views often don't align."

"It's a bit embarrassing to say, but the high-ranking magical girls in the Kingdom all know that our Magic Affairs Institute's power is being divided up by outsiders. Each Education Selection Office has a relatively fixed business partner, and I'm the one responsible for liaising with the Research Institute and helping Research Institute secure their respective benefits."

She paused briefly after saying this, looking at the Larkspur, probably wanting to give the Larkspur some time to process the information or ask questions.

Although Larkspur knew a little about the current situation of the Magic Affairs Institute, this was the first time she had heard such specific information as "the Education Selection Office has five people." Besides this, there was another point that concerned her—

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to say these things in front of the chief Research Institute?" she couldn't help but ask.

After all, in her view, the other party's words seemed objective and fair, but combined with his previous expressions of loyalty, they could be interpreted as implying "dissatisfaction with external forces."

"It's alright, Your Excellency, because if the Chief did not wish us to discuss these matters, this occasion would not exist."

Zhe Helan bowed gracefully to the Emerald, then added a bow to the Larkspur: "Actually, what I'm saying now is primarily to serve you."

"Um... thank you?"

Glancing sideways at Emerald beside her and seeing that the other woman didn't seem to care much, Larkspur forcibly suppressed her unease and accepted the other woman's overture with a composed expression. "Alright, then I understand a little better now. In other words, you are the faction that was friendly with the Research Institute before, and there are no members of the other four factions among the people present, is that right?"

"Yes, Your Excellency." Zhe Helan nodded in agreement.

"Okay... then I guess my question still hasn't been completely answered."

Having already decided to take over this power, Larkspur tried to behave more appropriately, at least appearing composed enough in front of these "new subordinates": "What I want to know most right now is, in the division of affairs within the Magic Affairs Institute, what specific rights do you have to exercise, or even formulate?"

"We have the right to communicate with the Research Institute, Your Excellency," Zhe Helan replied.

"Is that all?" Larkspur tried to maintain a semblance of calm.

"In essence, that's the case."

Zhe Helan remained unfazed. "Because without the Research Institute's advice, or rather, without the Research Institute's statement, we wouldn't actually formulate any plans, nor would we be able to pass any applications."

"And what about in name only?"

Larkspur pressed on, "With so many departments in your Magic Affairs Institute, there must be some differences in their functions. I remember you also have several department heads, right? Is the work done in your departments no different from that of other departments?"

"Yes, sir."

Zhe Helan glanced back at her companions and, with a polite smile, continued answering Larkspur's question, "Nominally, we have the right to receive feedback from the public and respond to and process it; the right to organize internal activities, formulate activity Rule, and distribute rewards; the right to write weekly, monthly, and annual work reports, calibrate the data, and report to the Vice Dean and even His Majesty; the right to record important work achievements and the experiences of contributors, and to commend and publicize these matters and people; the right to formulate annual certification and assessment standards and publish them to the outside world..."

She rattled off a string of long, complex sentences, making even Larkspur, with her magical girl concentration and thought speed, a little dizzy. After reciting the list of dishes, she added, "... Of course, exercising these rights is contingent on other factions having no objection to our decisions, or at least not remembering that we can do these things."

"... Is it possible for these conditions to be met?" Larkspur asked, frowning as she mentally reviewed the other party's report.

"Perhaps there are, but I haven't seen any in the more than ten years I've been in office."

Zhe Helan's smile was radiant, "After all, without the Research Institute's intervention, they would probably have opinions on everything, and it's obviously impossible to make them forget the rights they haven't touched."

Now, the Larkspur understood completely.

Returning to a previous topic, what stereotypes exist about the Magical Girls of the Kingdom regarding their work at the Magic Affairs Institute?

This stereotype is probably -- a slacker.

Because there are too many factions within the Magic Affairs Institute, and each faction has its own interests to maintain, it will inevitably give more support to "its own people." This makes each employee of the Magic Affairs Institute not only have the "Magic Affairs Institute" background, but each one is a double agent, or even a triple agent or a quadruple agent.

There's a legendary tale that once circulated among the many employees of the Magic Affairs Institute: a magical girl, now imprisoned for embezzlement and bribery, achieved the highest feat a Magic Affairs Institute employee could accomplish—a six-way spy. While simultaneously accepting offers of allegiance from the Royal Court and the other four academies, she secretly cultivated a network of illicit gains in the Material Realm, using bribery to allocate more Heart Seed to certain cities, thereby enabling those cities to have more magical girls.

This magical girl used her extraordinary talent to acquire resources unimaginable to ordinary people, forcibly elevating herself to the Strong Flower Stage. Even when her scheme was exposed, she had secretly allied herself with the Claw Mark faction, preparing to defect. However, too many of her envious colleagues overshadowed her plans, and her scheme was exposed by a barrage of anonymous whistleblower letters. Therefore, she was arrested by Inspector the day before her defection and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The reason she was able to do all this was because the power dynamics within the Magic Affairs Institute were usually mutually constrained, and most matters often could not be implemented, earning it the reputation of a "power vacuum." Even though she held the position of a six-way spy, no one would find it strange if she failed to fulfill the demands of any party.

After all, the affairs of the Magic Affairs Institute often go sluggishly, and everyone has gotten used to it.