An Unexpected Visitor

Hong Siyu laughed even more at her awkward reaction. "Just kidding, no need to be so nervous."

With that, she leaned back of her own accord, putting a little more distance between them to show her friendly intentions.

Only then did Lin Xiaolu relax somewhat, though her expression remained wary. Rather than sitting beside Hong Siyu, she stayed where she was and asked, "So what is Larkspur's contact doing at my house?"

"Not just Larkspur's contact—I'm also a former Magical Girl."

Hong Siyu wagged a finger as she corrected her. "There's a huge difference!"

"What difference, exactly?" Lin Xiaolu raised a brow, clearly unconvinced. "Once Magical Girls retire, they're just ordinary people, aren't they?"

"On the level of magical power, that's true. Right now, I'm just a frail woman with relatively good health."

Unshaken by Lin Xiaolu's doubts, and showing no reaction to the term "ordinary person," Hong Siyu declared confidently, "But my understanding and knowledge of the magical side surpasses yours."

"Not more than Larkspur's, anyway," Lin Xiaolu said faintly.

"Ahem... don't say things like that. It makes you less cute."

Choked up for a moment by Lin Xiaolu's words, Hong Siyu clasped her hands somewhat awkwardly. "Anyway, I happened to take leave today, so I volunteered to come check on you. I heard you're training under the Seeder now?"

"Training under it? It's nothing but a lackey throwing its weight around," Lin Xiaolu scoffed.

—"I'm a Fairy, and even by appearance, I'm a cat. Calling me a lackey is slander!" Moko protested sternly from the side.

"I think you've been so full of yourself these past few days that you're one step away from barking!" Lin Xiaolu glared at it.

"What's wrong with barking? Some people couldn't become this lackey even if they wanted to."

The whiskers on Moko's face twitched as it opened its mouth wide and snapped back. It had been riding high lately and paid no mind at all to Lin Xiaolu's slander. "At your rate of progress, you'll be a junior for the rest of your life—from an active junior to a retired junior. That'll be the only relationship you ever have!"

"What did you say?" Lin Xiaolu was instantly furious. Just as she was about to lash out, she suddenly glanced at Hong Siyu, who was seated nearby, and forcibly swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

From an active junior to a retired junior, with nothing more between them forever... if Hong Siyu was telling the truth, then she herself seemed to be a living example.

With such a "typical case" sitting right in front of her, Lin Xiaolu found herself at a loss for words instead.

Fortunately, ordinary people with little magical power could not see Fairies, much less hear what they said. Hong Siyu merely raised her head and asked curiously,

"Your Seeder is here? Are you arguing?"

"Ah... yeah, it's nothing." Lin Xiaolu brushed it off, rather awkwardly.

Before long, Xia Liang returned from the kitchen carrying several cups of tea. Seeing the two talking, she set the cups down and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Just chatting, just chatting."

Hong Siyu took the shoulder bag off her lap and set it aside, then beckoned Xia Liang over. "I mean, I wanted to come see how you two were doing. After all, Larkspur told me that you plan to take next year's certification test?"

"That's right. Do you have any advice?"

Xia Liang understood what Hong Siyu meant and obediently sat beside her. "And you said you retired as a Magical Girl ten years ago. How are you going to prove your identity?"

"Of course, with this!"

After rummaging through the bag beside her, Hong Siyu pulled something out and held it before the two girls.

In her hand was an ornament card with a purplish-red background. The number "41422" was written in its center, surrounded by numerous tiny, illegible Fawo Runes. A name was also inscribed in runes above the number, though neither Lin Xiaolu nor Xia Liang could read it.

They had seen Larkspur's Certification Card before. Compared to hers, the ornament card Hong Siyu had produced lacked some of the elaborate, gorgeous decorations, but it also had one major difference: its surface was dull and dim, covered in a grayish film, unlike Larkspur's card, where magical power occasionally flowed and made it gleam with shifting colors.

"This is the Certification Card I had when I was a Magical Girl. No matter what, it was a Letter Card. Though it was canceled after I retired, so now it's just an accessory."

Hong Siyu casually stuffed the ornament card into Xia Liang's hand. "Look, both of you, take a look!"

The two girls leaned closer and examined it carefully.

Since becoming Magical Girls, this was the first time they had observed a Certification Card from so close. Larkspur had shown them hers before, but she had never been willing to display it for long.

Xia Liang poked the ornament card in her hand with her index finger and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, people say Certification Cards are symbols used to judge a Magical Girl's strength. How are they different from Blossoming ranks?"

"If your abilities Blossom to the Flower Stage, can you become a Flower Card?" Lin Xiaolu added from the side.

—"Of course!"

"Actually, that's not how it works."

As soon as she finished speaking, two voices rang out at once, but their answers were completely different.

Moko had suddenly chimed in with "of course," while Hong Siyu's answer was a denial.

Upon hearing Hong Siyu's response, Moko immediately covered its mouth as though it had caused trouble. Hong Siyu, being an ordinary person, had no reason to hear Moko's voice, so she continued on her own. "Put simply, Flower Cards are all combat elites among those at the Flower Stage, along with a small number of Magical Girls who haven't reached the Flower Stage but have made major contributions."

"The evaluation of Flower Cards is subjective. It depends on how much the Royal Court recognizes a Magical Girl, so there are cases where extremely strong Magical Girls are only Letter Cards. That's what you call the corruption of the higher-ups."

Taking back the Certification Card Xia Liang returned, Hong Siyu was in high spirits and casually set it aside. "But generally speaking, just think of Flower Cards as the most successful group among Magical Girls. They count as big shots."

"Huh? So that means..."

Only then did Lin Xiaolu glance at Xia Liang. Seeing no surprise on the other girl's face, she could only cry out herself, "Larkspur is actually a big shot?"

"Haha, you only realized that now?" Xia Liang smiled helplessly.

"Larkspur should have told you she's an 'Inspector,' right? That's her official post as a big shot. In fact, most Flower Card Magical Girls hold nominal positions in the five major institutes."

When it came to such matters, Hong Siyu spoke with complete familiarity. "The five major power institutions under the Royal Court are the Investigation Institute, Finance Institute, Research Institute, Civil Governance Institute, and Magic Affairs Institute. The entire Magic Kingdom operates within this system."