Striking Up a Conversation

The magical girl, whom Mint called "Anthurium," stood out from the crowd in the center of her small group.

The phrase "standing out from the crowd" doesn't mean the person has an exceptional temperament, but rather means literally: she is quite tall.

Anthurium was a full half-head taller than her companions, and by visual estimation, she was almost a head taller than Lin Xiaolu, probably over 1.7 meters. Among the candidates, who were mostly underage girls, she was definitely considered very tall.

Her magical attire also bore some characteristics of Ancient Donghua Prefecture. Her upper body wore an ivory-white, double-breasted long armor, with slits on the sides of the sleeves revealing her forearms, the cuffs slightly tinged with rouge. Her lower body wore a dark blue horse-face skirt, with embroidered patterns resembling flower branches outlining a series of heart-shaped designs on the skirt. However, the length of this skirt was not very traditional; even the hem only reached her knees. Combined with Anthurium's rather tall stature, she looked more like a dancer about to perform on stage than a magical girl.

However, her long, light brown hair and her unusually shaped irises that resembled bright red hearts made her appearance quite fantastical.

At this moment, the magical girl, taking advantage of her towering height, turned her gaze toward Mint.

This situation slightly surprised Lin Xiaolu: it seemed the other person really did know Mint? Running into acquaintances in the hallway so casually—how could Mint, a former member of the Black Ash Dawn, be so socially adept?

However, before she could even revise her opinion of Mint in her mind, she saw the magical girl codenamed "Anthurium" blink her memorable eyes and give a somewhat confused look:

"Who are you?"

The atmosphere at the scene immediately froze, even becoming somewhat awkward.

Not only were Anthurium and her friends confused, but Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan also looked at Mint with strange expressions. Only Mint herself remained calm and composed, walking confidently up to the other person and pointing to her face.

"Hey, I'm a student from the Material Realm. I've been living upstairs from you lately. I've seen you in the study room a few times before, don't you remember me?"

Clearly, the other party appears to be a magical girl from the Silver Gallery.

Because they were from the Silver Gallery, when Luen Nore was chosen as the examination venue this year, these graduates could briefly return to their alma mater and live in the dormitory building, instead of having to spend money on accommodation outside like other candidates.

Meanwhile, magical girls like Mint, who come from the Central City, also have the "privilege" of living in the Silver Gallery. So it's only natural that the two of them would run into each other.

However, after hearing Mint's description, Anthurium still didn't seem to understand. She even stared at Mint's face for a while before speaking somewhat uncertainly:

"Ah, I seem to remember you... you're Tudingui's henchman?"

"Roommate, roommate."

Mint waved her hands repeatedly.

"Oh, okay, you're Tudingui's roommate."

Anthurium Zhu nodded. "So, is there something you need from me?"

Her response was so blunt that just hearing their conversation made Lin Xiaolu so embarrassed that she couldn't help but turn her face away. She simply couldn't imagine how thick- Mint must be to continue talking to her under such circumstances.

"Haha, it's nothing, I just happened to overhear you guys discussing the assessment."

Meanwhile, Mint, seemingly unaffected, flashed her signature refreshing smile, "As you know, we candidates from the Material Realm don't know much about the assessment, so we're a bit nervous. I think you locals know more, so I wanted to come and chat with you."

Anthurium didn't respond immediately, but some of her companions showed slightly impatient, even disdainful, expressions, instinctively wanting to tell this shameless person who was trying to get information out of her with empty words to get lost. But before they could speak, Anthurium stopped them.

"You're telling the truth."

Anthurium Zhu looked thoughtful. "However, although it's the truth, we don't seem to have much of a relationship, so why should I tell you this?"

"Hmm... because all the magical girls in your Silver Gallery School are beautiful, kind-hearted, and helpful?" Mint's eyes darted around.

You lied.

After Anthurium made her statement, she stopped discussing the topic and turned to Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan: "Are these two your teammates?"

"... She's a teammate, but we're not on the same team."

Lin Xiaolu immediately rolled her eyes and took two steps in the opposite direction from where Mint was. "I'm not as shameless as her."

She had felt that the code name "Anthurium" sounded familiar, and after a moment's thought, she remembered that the other person was seventh on the Carry Ranking. In addition, not only was she ranked high, but her teammate who participated in this assessment was none other than Cotton Tree was ranked first on the Carry Ranking.

As the author of this list, Mint's high ranking of these two naturally indicates her high regard for their abilities. It's no wonder she's now so awkwardly trying to get on their good side.

Bai Jingxuan didn't think too much about it, and she didn't even bother to remember the so-called list. But after looking around, she didn't say anything and followed Lin Xiaolu for a couple of steps.

"Ah, those two..."

Mint instinctively wanted to bring up Lin Xiaolu's identity to exaggerate her abilities, but when she thought about it, she remembered that she had just gotten Cornflower's autograph yesterday, and it seemed inappropriate to speak so recklessly in public now, so she stopped herself from saying anything.

But she didn't speak; instead, Anthurium spoke first, "Are you magical girls from Fangting City?"

"How did you know?" This time, Lin Xiaolu was surprised.

"Any candidate with even a little bit of inside information should already know this."

Anthurium Zhu said calmly, "After all, Little Brocade from your city just won first place in the first assessment, and many people want to know about you."

"Oh, you mean her?" Lin Xiaolu suddenly felt bored.

"You are members of Cornflower's team, or more precisely, her students," Anthurium added.

"Yes." Lin Xiaolu's expression had already become wary.

She now knows that Larkspur is quite famous among magical girls, and even as a "candidate Gem Scepter," he is someone many people would want to curry favor with.

Just yesterday, Mint had already managed to get close to Larkspur through her. Now, she sees everyone as having ulterior motives, wondering if they want to use her as a stepping stone to contact Larkspur.

She would absolutely not allow this to happen again.

"Very good, you are telling the truth."

After hearing Lin Xiaolu's answer, Anthurium looked satisfied. "Then, I think it's necessary for me to get to know you."

"... Huh?" Lin Xiaolu was a little stunned, her lips unconsciously parted, revealing a rather sharp canine tooth.

"Every magical girl in the Silver Gallery understands one thing: to become a successful magical girl, it's necessary to befriend colleagues with potential. You are Cornflower's students, and may even become her confidants in the future, so I think it's important to build a connection with you."

Anthurium Zhu said calmly, "You want to know more about the Magic Armament Assessment, right? I'll tell you everything."