Early Summer

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

It was mid-July, and the weather in early summer had already turned sweltering. Crickets occasionally chirped along the streets, noisily complaining about the scorching sun.

Warm breezes swept through the lush roadside trees, yet even the shade beneath them offered little coolness. The air was filled 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, her hands layered over the Heart Seed before her chest as she meditated, magic power surging around her.

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

The hour hand of the wall clock moved soundlessly. Before anyone noticed, it had gone more than halfway around and pointed to eleven o'clock.

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

Returning from her long Soul 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.

She looked toward the source of the voice. The pink cat-shaped Fairy was sitting there smugly and imperiously. Seeing Lin Xiaolu look over, it swished its tail. "Wonderful! Your Soul Meditation hasn't been interrupted on its own these past two days. You've improved a lot, Xiao Lu!"

"...Well, thank you for the praise."

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

The summer vacation special training had begun nearly half a month ago. Larkspur had indeed kept her word, multiplying both their magic training and schoolwork several times over. With no mercy at all, she had practically deprived 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 plan had been made by a senior she greatly admired; and third, it concerned whether she could become a magical girl capable of standing on her own. With all those reasons piled together, she had no choice but to take it seriously.

After this period of high-intensity training, aside from her magic power and soul steadily growing stronger, her control over magic power had finally become somewhat more natural.

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 shaking from the cold. I can't focus at all."

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

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

"Why do you have so many demands? If you want to be comfortable, go back to your own home!" Lin Xiaolu glared at her fiercely.

"You know my house only has one old air conditioner." Flopping onto the sofa, Xia Liang pulled a throw pillow into her arms. She gave a soft moan of enjoyment. "Ah, this is much better. I feel like I could take another afternoon nap."

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

Yet for some reason, Lin Xiaolu's competitive streak had flared up over this matter. She insisted that her own home would work too, and in the end, the daytime special training was moved to Lin Xiaolu's house. Thus came their current awkward arrangement: training in one place during the day, then changing locations at night.

"...Only you would be in the mood for that." Seeing how unhurried Xia Liang looked, Lin Xiaolu faltered, finally beginning to feel 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 repeatedly surpassed the understanding of Lin Xiaolu—and even Lin Yun.

Leaving aside the speed at which her magic power grew, even her soul strengthened at an absurd rate. Her precision in controlling magic power came as naturally as breathing. At most, in another half month, both her magic power and soul would reach the threshold needed to form her True Form.

In comparison, magical girls of ordinary talent needed at least half a year to a year to go from nothing to that point.

Given the current situation, once Xia Liang grasped the knack of forming her True Form, she could calmly Blossom into Bud Rank and obtain her own Magic Construct.

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

"Come to think of it, you still haven't explained it in detail."

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

"Hm? They said some evil magical girl was active near Fangting City..."

Lin Xiaolu rested her chin on her hand indifferently. "What was she called? Claws?"

"Though I don't know her real name, I'm pretty sure it wasn't what you said."

Xia Liang felt somewhat helpless at her careless attitude. "But an evil magical girl? So there really are people like that."

"Isn't that normal?"

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

"That's true. It's different from what they show on TV." Xia Liang could not help sighing.

"On TV? Magical girls who don't hurt people? You must be talking about cartoons from years ago."

"Is that not the case anymore?"

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

Lin Xiaolu straightened up and counted on her fingers. "From the era of Magic Cannon Girl to the recent Rainbow Sky Angel, magical girls have had to avoid ordinary people when fighting their enemies."

"Xiao Lu, you seem to know a lot about magical girl anime?" Xia Liang caught the implication in Lin Xiaolu's words.

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

"Occasionally?" Xia Liang asked for confirmation.

"Occasionally." Lin Xiaolu answered firmly.

Their eyes met. Xia Liang's gaze held a trace of inquiry, while Lin Xiaolu, though somewhat guilty, stubbornly insisted on meeting her eyes.

It seemed she truly did not want others 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 Lin Xiaolu in a single sentence, Xia Liang continued asking, "Then what should we do if we really run into one?"

"I asked Larkspur. She said we should be more careful when we go out, and if we see a magical girl we don't recognize, we should tell her right away."

Lin Xiaolu thought seriously for a moment. "I remember Larkspur saying she was 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.