Arrival

While many young magical girls in the Silver Gallery were still busy forming teams, in an ancient building in the same Academy District, a large door opened in a luxurious hall.

Countless magical girls serving the Royal Court stood at the entrance, none of them speaking or raising their heads. They were all lined up on both sides of the gate, silently pledging allegiance to some being with a respectful and solemn posture.

Footsteps could be heard inside the gate.

The footsteps grew closer and closer until they reached the edge of the doorway, and then stepped into the space without hesitation.

They were a group of female knights clad in armor and uniforms, their faces solemn. Their attire lacked the usual flamboyance of magical girls, appearing neat and uniform. The black, or rather, the dark gray and gray uniforms added to the solemnity of their formation. Their posture was upright and straight, their eyes fixed straight ahead, filled with vigilance, as if the whole world could become their enemy at any moment.

The orderly procession marched swiftly through the gate, accompanied by the clanging of armor, and closely followed behind, surrounded by these knights, were two elegantly dressed women.

Or, to put it another way, one appears to be a "woman," while the other is a "girl."

The "woman" was clad in a black monastic robe adorned with opulent decorations. She wore a mask over her eyes, with a blood-red ruby embedded in the center of the mask above her nose. A faint smile played on her lips, and apart from moving with the procession, she was lifeless, like a walking doll.

As for the "girl," she was dressed in a white princess dress with a pale pink Diamond necklace around her neck. Her light pink hair was tied into two low pigtails, which cascaded down her shoulders with slightly curled ends. She held her head high with her arms crossed, looking at the hall outside the door with a disdainful expression, scrutinizing everything she saw.

Every magical girl present knew these two people, or rather, everyone working at the Royal Court knew them— the Ruby Gem Scepter and the Diamond Scepter were the two people at the pinnacle of power in the entire Magic Kingdom.

However, even these two were merely supporting characters in the group at this moment. Although they were surrounded by many knights, they were actually just there to clear the way for someone.

About a few meters behind them was a completely deserted area.

Calling it a vacuum isn't entirely accurate; it's more accurate to say that there's only one person in the entire area.

It was a petite figure who walked alone through the door of the hall. Her light, almost imperceptible footsteps resonated with the heartbeats of everyone present. Though the sound was soft, it was as if mountains were trembling.

She was surrounded by a hazy, ethereal light, as if shrouded in mist, making it impossible for anyone to see her true appearance. The only things that could be seen were her waist-length black hair and the small, jewel-encrusted crown on her head.

Silence.

Apart from the two Gem Scepter, all the magical girls held their breath; apart from the sound of the guards' footsteps, there was not a single other sound.

The atmosphere only eased slightly after the entire group passed through the gate, and two winged guards emerged from behind it and gently closed the gate.

In the Kingdom's "Five Capitals," each city has a gate leading to the Rose Palace.

However, even the rulers of the Five Capitals and Five Institutes, who wield the Gem Scepter, cannot arbitrarily use this gate. Only in extremely urgent situations can they pass through this gate to go to the Rose Palace to report the situation.

Apart from the Queen herself, only she has the freedom to travel freely, and even to have a entourage accompany her.

"Who among those present is from the Magic Affairs Institute?"

After a moment of silence, the girl in the center of the group, dressed in a white princess dress and with light pink hair, spoke up, "Are you ready for today's assessment?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency Purple Diamond, it is we."

A magical girl stepped out from the crowd and cautiously replied to the girl, "The assessment should be starting soon."

"Hmph... it seems the timing is perfect."

The girl known as "Purple Diamond" narrowed her eyes, her expression scrutinizing. "Speaking of which, I remember you mentioned that some of you were proctors for the written exam?"

"That's right." The magical girl lowered her gaze, avoiding eye contact with the girl.

"Did something go wrong during the written test?" The girl's unforgiving voice still came from above her head.

"... Yes."

The magical girl from the Magic Affairs Institute pursed her lips, then replied softly, "There are dangerous individuals with unknown intentions who have tricked examinees into using Confusion Spell in the examination hall."

"What were the investigation results? Who did it?"

The girl's tone was unfriendly. "Daring to cause trouble at such an important occasion, and the other party actually succeeded. Your Magic Affairs Institute and Research Institute are really becoming more and more useless."

The magical girl from the Magic Affairs Institute didn't dare to retort and could only stammer, "Not, not yet..."

"Not yet?"

The girl's voice, now devoid of warmth, Echo in the lobby.

"How many days has passed? One day, or two? You mean His Majesty is about to attend the ceremony at the Silver Gallery, yet your people haven't properly investigated and eliminated any potential dangers at the scene?"

"I'm sorry." The magical girl from the Magic Affairs Institute kept her head down.

"I'm talking to you, why aren't you looking at me?"

The girl continued to question, "Don't you people from the Magic Affairs Institute even know how to report your work?"

"... I'm sorry." The magical girl, who had been looking down, raised her head, her eyes slightly red.

"He's already in this position, yet he can't even do his job properly, and all he does when he encounters a problem is cry."

The girl crossed her arms and looked disdainful.

"You are the only institution among the Five Institutes that is fortunate enough to be directly under His Majesty's command, yet everyone in your Magic Affairs Institute is so lazy and useless... It's truly unbearable."

Her words caused all the members of the Magic Affairs Institute present to avert their gazes from her.

No one likes to be insulted in such a public setting, but the one who said those words was the Diamond Scepter, and behind the Diamond Scepter, someone was watching everything. Even if they wanted to defend themselves, they would worry about saying something wrong that could lead to even more serious consequences.

The atmosphere, which had just eased up a bit, began to turn tense again. Just as everyone was keeping their eyes down and bracing for a storm, another voice interrupted everything.

"The time to depart has come."

The woman, dressed in a black nun's robe and blindfolded, spoke, her voice hoarse yet magnetic. "Everything is ready; we should not delay."

"What do you mean?" The girl turned around and looked at the woman in the nun's robe.

"It's time to go to the examination hall." The woman in the nun's robe turned to the girl, her gaze seemingly piercing through the blindfold. "His Majesty is very much looking forward to this ceremony."

The girl slightly widened her eyes and glanced back at the figure behind her, but the figure remained standing there motionless, without uttering a word.

Even so, the girl didn't look at him again. Instead, she closed her eyes and said indifferently, "The people from the Magic Affairs Institute will lead the way."

"Yes, okay!"

The magical girl from the Magic Affairs Institute was immediately relieved and, along with several other members, walked to the front of the group to lead the way.

The procession began to move forward once again.

Silence, solemnity, and a somber atmosphere. Perhaps no one had ever imagined that in the "Queen Year," a year that should have been filled with joy, the procession from the Royal Court would be in such an atmosphere.

No one present felt there was anything wrong with it; supreme power should be accompanied by supreme authority, and no one questioned or reflected on it. The large crowd passed through the hall, exited through another door, and left the ancient building.

The petite figure walking in the vacuum area paused slightly before stepping out of the door.

The bright sunlight shone through the figure and onto the golden ground, but left no shadow.