Early Summer

Summer vacation was undoubtedly a vacation, but its emphasis ultimately fell on the word "summer."

It was mid-July, and early summer had already turned scorching hot. Mole crickets occasionally chirped along the streets, clamoring as if complaining about the blazing sun.

Warm gusts swept past the lush roadside trees, yet even the lingering shade beneath them held little coolness. The air was saturated with heat, making every breath feel scorching.

Lin Xiaolu sat quietly on the sofa in her living room, her eyes tightly shut. Though she was at home, she had transformed into her Magical Girl form. With her hands overlapped over the Heart Seed before her chest, she meditated in deep concentration as magic power surged around her.

The standing air conditioner in the living room hummed as it pumped out cold air, making the house considerably cooler than outdoors. Even in weather like this, she could settle down and train properly.

The hour hand of the wall clock ticked silently onward. Before she realized it, it had gone through more than half a turn in the quiet atmosphere, pointing to eleven o'clock sharp.

"Time's up. Break!" a voice called from beside her.

Returning from her lengthy meditation, Lin Xiaolu slowly opened her eyes and withdrew the magic power spilling from her body. After sitting blankly for a moment, she let out a long breath, and life returned to her expression.

Looking toward the source of the voice, she saw the pink cat-shaped Fairy sitting there smugly and imperiously. Seeing Lin Xiaolu look over, it swished its tail. "Wonderful! Your meditation hasn't been interrupted on its own these past two days. You've improved a lot, Xiaolu!"

"...Well, thanks for the compliment."

She instinctively wanted to pout, but Lin Xiaolu managed to control her expression.

The summer vacation intensive training had been underway for nearly half a month. Larkspur had indeed kept her word, multiplying both their magic training and schoolwork severalfold without the slightest mercy, practically stripping Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang of their entire summer vacation.

If it had been anything else, Lin Xiaolu would have lost patience long ago. But first, she had requested this training herself; second, the one making the plan was a senior she greatly admired; and third, it concerned whether she could become a Magical Girl capable of standing on her own. With so many reasons piled together, she had no choice but to take it seriously.

After this period of high-intensity training, not only had her magic power and soul steadily grown stronger, but her control over magic power had finally become somewhat more natural as well.

Of course, she still could not compare to the other newcomer from her generation.

"Brr, it's so cold. Can't you turn the air conditioner up a little?"

Xia Liang leaned over from behind her and complained softly. "My legs are shivering from the cold. I can't focus at all."

"Then go stay in another room." Lin Xiaolu glanced at her.

"But it's too hot without air conditioning?" Xia Liang smiled obediently.

"Why do you have so many demands? If you want to be comfortable, go back to your own house!" Lin Xiaolu shot her a vicious glare.

"You know my place only has one old air conditioner." Flopping onto the sofa, Xia Liang pulled a throw pillow in front of herself and let out a low sigh, looking thoroughly content. "Ah, this is much better. I feel like I could take another afternoon nap."

Originally, Larkspur had intended for the training location that summer to be Xia Liang's home. Whether it was indoor training during the day or study sessions at night, they would all gather at Xia Liang's house, which could at least help ease some of her loneliness.

But for some reason, Lin Xiaolu had developed a competitive streak over this matter and insisted that her own home would work too. In the end, the daytime intensive training location was moved to Lin Xiaolu's house. Thus, they ended up in this awkward arrangement: training in one place during the day, then changing locations for training at night.

"...You're the only one who can be so carefree." Seeing how composed she was, Lin Xiaolu's breath caught, and she finally began to feel a little troubled. "After all, your training progress is so fast."

After making up her mind half a month ago, Xia Liang had devoted herself entirely to improving her strength. The talent she displayed had repeatedly surpassed the understanding of both Lin Xiaolu and even Lin Yun.

Never mind the growth rate of her magic power—even her soul strengthened at an absurd speed, while the precision of her magic control came as naturally as breathing. At most, in another half month, both her magic power and soul would reach the threshold for forming her True Form.

By comparison, for some Magical Girls with ordinary talent, going from nothing to that point would take at least half a year to a full year.

At present, Xia Liang only needed to grasp the trick to forming her True Form before she could calmly bloom into the Bud Stage and obtain her own Magic Construct.

Lin Xiaolu's talent was not bad, but she was still far inferior to Xia Liang. She likely would not reach that standard until after summer vacation ended.

"Come to think of it, you never explained it in detail."

Hugging the pillow, Xia Liang suddenly said, "You said a contact sent you some strange messages a few days ago. What was that about?"

"Hm? They said some evil Magical Girl was operating near Fangting City..."

Lin Xiaolu propped up her chin carelessly. "What was her name? Claw?"

"Though I don't know her real name, I don't think it's what you said."

Xia Liang felt rather helpless at her nonchalant attitude. "But an evil Magical Girl? So people like that really exist."

"Isn't that normal?"

Lin Xiaolu glanced at her. "Magic can hurt people, after all."

"True. That's different from what they show on television." Xia Liang could not help sighing.

"On television? Magical Girls who don't hurt people? You must be talking about anime from years ago."

"That's not how it is now?"

"It hasn't been for a long time."

Lin Xiaolu sat up and began counting on her fingers. "From the era of Magic Cannon Girl to the recent Rainbow Sky Angel, Magical Girls have had to keep ordinary people out of the way when fighting enemies."

"Xiaolu, you seem to know a lot about Magical Girl anime?" Xia Liang caught the implication in Lin Xiaolu's words.

"...I watch some occasionally." Lin Xiaolu turned her face away.

"Occasionally?" Xia Liang asked as if confirming it.

"Occasionally." Lin Xiaolu answered decisively.

The two stared into each other's eyes. Xia Liang's gaze held a hint of inquiry, while Lin Xiaolu, though somewhat guilty, stubbornly insisted on meeting her eyes.

Apparently, she truly did not want anyone to think she liked Magical Girl anime.

"Hehe, I won't ask about that, then. Let's talk about something else. What would an evil Magical Girl be like?"

Seeing that teasing her was useless, Xia Liang changed the subject. "Would bad Magical Girls still drive away Aberrant Beasts?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't do bad things, after all."

"...True. I probably wouldn't either."

Rarely being shut down by a single sentence from Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang continued asking, "Then what should we do if we really encounter one?"

"I asked Larkspur. She said we should be more careful when heading out normally, and if we see a Magical Girl we don't recognize, just tell her right away."

Lin Xiaolu thought seriously for a moment. "I remember Larkspur saying she's an 'Inspector.' Catching bad Magical Girls is part of her job too, right?"

"An Inspector..." Xia Liang raised her head.

—"Ding-dong."

Just as the two began a new round of gossip over that term, the doorbell suddenly rang from the entryway.