Chapter Summaries

Larkspur visited Xia Liang’s home to learn about her strained family circumstances. Xia Liang revealed that she lived alone because her father was dead and her mother was in prison for killing him.

• Larkspur noticed Xia Liang’s lonely expression at the parent-teacher meeting and decided to learn more about her circumstances.
• Larkspur followed Xia Liang to her old apartment in Sunset District, where she found the home neat but nearly empty of appliances and people.
• Larkspur asked Xia Liang whether anyone else lived there, and Xia Liang said her family would never return.
• Xia Liang told Larkspur that her father had died and her mother was in prison for killing him.

Xia Liang’s childhood need to be a good, lovable child collapsed after her parents’ marriage and family fell apart, leaving her orphaned and rejected. After she became entangled with delinquent friends, someone pulled her from danger and asked whether she wanted to become a magical girl.

• Xia Liang tried to keep her troubled parents happy by being obedient, but their arguments and financial problems worsened.
• Her mother stabbed Xia Liang after killing her father, and the police took them both away.
• After losing her parents, Xia Liang lived alone, endured classmates’ bullying, and failed to find acceptance among her peers.
• Xia Liang changed her appearance and behavior to gain the approval of gyarus and delinquents, but they drew her toward a mire she wanted to escape.
• A girl with clear, azure eyes pulled Xia Liang from the darkness and asked whether she wanted to become a magical girl.

Xia Liang told Larkspur about her loneliness and unresolved feelings toward her mother, and Larkspur encouraged her to express her wants instead of trying to be perfectly obedient. Xia Liang finally voiced her desire for a closer, more affectionate bond with Larkspur and Lin Xiaolu, ending by asking Larkspur to sleep with her that night.

• Xia Liang explained that becoming a Magical Girl had given her a sense of purpose, but she still felt empty and lonely.
• Larkspur told Xia Liang that obedience did not earn love and that children had the privilege to be willful.
• Larkspur encouraged Xia Liang to share her true feelings with her teammates and offered herself as someone who could accept her requests.
• Xia Liang complained that Larkspur and Lin Xiaolu seemed biased toward each other and listed ways she wanted Larkspur to treat her differently.
• Xia Liang said she wanted a warmer, closer relationship with Larkspur and Lin Xiaolu, then asked Larkspur to sleep with her that night.

Larkspur and Xia Liang shared a bed after discussing Xia Liang’s family, and Xia Liang opened up about wanting to be friends without being pitied. Xia Liang resolved to grow stronger, while Larkspur agreed to hold their future study sessions at Xia Liang’s house.

• Larkspur and Xia Liang prepared the master bedroom and agreed to sleep in the same bed.
• Xia Liang hugged Larkspur despite her protests, and Larkspur let her stay close.
• Xia Liang said she did not want to tell White Rose about her parents because she feared White Rose would pity her.
• Xia Liang cried quietly as Larkspur listened and reassured her that sharing or keeping family matters private was her choice.
• Xia Liang promised to work hard for the Certification Card assessment and become stronger so she could stand by Larkspur.
• Larkspur proposed holding future study sessions at Xia Liang’s house, and Xia Liang happily accepted.

Larkspur woke beside Xia Liang and flew home to get ready for work, where Moko caught her entering through the balcony. She used the encounter to assign him supervision of White Rose and Little Brocade’s vacation training, then left without retrieving her work bag.

• Larkspur escaped Xia Liang’s embrace, changed into her usual dress, and flew home before work.
• Larkspur unlocked her balcony door with magical threads and encountered Moko waking on the living-room sofa.
• Larkspur told Moko to supervise White Rose and Little Brocade’s training for their certification test.
• Moko accepted the assignment after Larkspur praised his potential, and she explained the training plan to him.
• Larkspur left without going to her room, and Lin Yun went to work without her bag and made three apology calls.

Lin Yun considered leaving his job to hunt Aberrant Beasts full-time, but his reluctance to return to the Magic Kingdom brought back memories of his father and the choice he had made years ago. Hong Siyu revealed that other Seeders refused to aid Fangting City because of Lin Yun’s past, then offered to help train the newcomers herself.

• Lin Yun weighed relying on Aberrant Beast hunting for income but decided he did not want to resume life as a magical girl.
• Hong Siyu told Lin Yun that Seeders in Central City could not spare anyone to reinforce Fangting City.
• Hong Siyu quoted Pikali and Little Youyou refusing to help because of Fangting City and the approaching twentieth year.
• Hong Siyu connected the Seeders’ responses to Lin Yun’s summons to Rose Palace after the Garden defense battle, and Lin Yun confirmed she had guessed part of the truth.
• Hong Siyu asked whether she could visit and help with the newcomers’ special training.

Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang continued Larkspur’s intensive summer training while discussing reports of an evil magical girl near Fangting City. Their conversation ended when someone rang Lin Xiaolu’s doorbell.

• Lin Xiaolu finished Soul Meditation, and Larkspur praised her improved ability to maintain it.
• Xia Liang complained about the cold air conditioning and relaxed at Lin Xiaolu’s home, where daytime training was being held.
• Lin Xiaolu reflected that Xia Liang’s rapid progress could let her form her True Form and reach Bud Rank before the summer ended.
• Xia Liang asked Lin Xiaolu about reports of an evil magical girl near Fangting City, and Lin Xiaolu recalled Larkspur’s warning to report any unfamiliar magical girls.
• The doorbell rang as Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang discussed Larkspur’s work as an Inspector.

Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang met Hong Siyu, a liaison from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau and a former magical girl from Fangting City. Hong Siyu entered their home and continued trying to draw the wary Lin Xiaolu closer.

• Lin Xiaolu answered the door while Xia Liang watched from the couch with her wand ready.
• Hong Siyu greeted Lin Xiaolu with exuberant familiarity, leaving Lin Xiaolu confused and Xia Liang wary.
• Hong Siyu introduced herself as Larkspur's liaison and said she had been a resident magical girl in Fangting City ten years earlier.
• Lin Xiaolu reluctantly gave Hong Siyu shoe covers and let her into the apartment while Xia Liang went to make tea.
• Hong Siyu reminisced as she looked around the home, then teased Lin Xiaolu and invited her to sit beside her, but Lin Xiaolu stayed frozen.

Hong Siyu visited Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, showed them her retired magical-girl Certification Card, and explained how Flower Cards and the Royal Court’s institutions worked. The girls learned that Larkspur was an important person in the Magic Kingdom, while Hong Siyu’s visit left their plans for next year’s certification test under discussion.

• Hong Siyu introduced herself to Lin Xiaolu as both Larkspur’s contact and a former magical girl, then said she had come to check on the girls’ progress.
• Lin Xiaolu argued with Moko about its role as their Seeder, while Moko teased her about remaining Larkspur’s junior forever.
• Xia Liang returned with tea, and Hong Siyu asked about the girls’ plan to take next year’s certification test.
• Hong Siyu showed Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang her canceled Certification Card and explained that Flower Cards were elite or especially recognized magical girls, not simply everyone who reached Flower Rank.
• Hong Siyu revealed that Larkspur was a Flower Card Inspector and that many Flower Card magical girls held nominal posts in the Royal Court’s five institutes.

Hong Siyu explained the Magic Kingdom’s administration and the Investigation Institute’s role, including why Larkspur’s Inspector position made her a powerful and unusual mentor. She warned Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang that their sheltered life under Larkspur’s protection would not last, and Xia Liang ended by asking who assigned magical girls in the Investigation Institute.

• Hong Siyu explained that the Seeder and Heart Seed selected magical girls for magical talent and wishes, but their character could change over time, allowing bad magical girls to exist.
• Hong Siyu described how the Investigation Institute investigated and arrested magical girls and other Magic Side criminals, and said Inspectors handled the most serious cases.
• Xia Liang inferred that Inspectors were Hong Siyu’s direct superiors, and Hong Siyu clarified that Inspectors investigated cases but did not manage the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.
• Hong Siyu told Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang that Larkspur’s protection let them avoid dangerous matters for now, but their sheltered life would not last long.
• Xia Liang asked who in the Investigation Institute was responsible for assigning magical girls.

Hong Siyu explained the Gem Scepter and the Queen’s authority over the Magic Kingdom to Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang. The conversation ended with Hong Siyu cooking lunch while the others grew wary of her seasoning.

• Hong Siyu explained that magical girls’ codenames usually came from flowers and that their names appeared when their Heart Seeds awakened.
• Hong Siyu told Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang that the Queen had granted five gems, authority over the Five Great Institutes, and exceptional power to trusted magical girls known as the Gem Scepter.
• Hong Siyu identified Chrysoberyl Cat’s Eye as the Gem Scepter responsible for the Investigation Institute and said the Magic Affairs Institute remained under the Royal Court’s authority.
• After discussing the Magic Kingdom, Hong Siyu volunteered to cook lunch using ingredients from the refrigerator.
• Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang watched Hong Siyu cook and became uneasy as she added increasingly questionable amounts of seasoning.

Lin Yun considered resigning and prepared to mark his fifteenth wedding anniversary with a crystal gift for Anya, whom he planned to visit at her grave. Later, Lin Xiaolu went downstairs to return Hong Siyu’s forgotten Certification Card and unexpectedly found Hong Siyu talking with her father, Lin Yun.

• Lin Yun decided he could resign after finishing his remaining work and looked for crystal jewelry to give Anya on their wedding anniversary.
• Lin Yun met Hong Siyu in his apartment lobby, thanked her, and grew uneasy when an elevator rose to his floor despite no one entering from outside.
• After Hong Siyu left Lin Xiaolu’s home, Lin Xiaolu found her forgotten Certification Card and went downstairs to return it.
• Lin Xiaolu stepped out of the elevator and saw Hong Siyu speaking with her father, Lin Yun.

Lin Xiaolu struggled with the possibility that Larkspur’s attention toward her was connected to her father, then tried to ignore her suspicions. After seeing Lin Yun dress up, she decided to have Moko help her follow him when he went out.

• Lin Xiaolu wondered whether Lin Yun knew Larkspur and whether Larkspur’s kindness toward her was a favor to her father.
• Lin Xiaolu remained distracted during a study session at Xia Liang’s house, then decided to stop searching for answers and enjoy the moment.
• A few days later, Lin Xiaolu noticed Lin Yun grooming himself unusually carefully and suspected he was preparing for a date.
• Lin Xiaolu told Xia Liang she did not want Lin Yun dating Hong Siyu, while privately fearing he might be meeting someone else.
• Lin Xiaolu asked Moko to help her follow Lin Yun when he went out in private.

Lin Yun drove alone toward Luoming District’s commercial center to talk with Lin Xiaolu about Anya, but Moko secretly followed him, prompting Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang to trail him in a taxi. Lin Xiaolu tried to reassure herself that Larkspur would not intrude on another family, and the group continued toward the person Lin Yun planned to meet.

• Lin Yun sensed that the tracking Spell Formula on Moko had activated and discovered it clinging to his car window with Xia Liang’s phone around its neck.
• Lin Yun suspected Xia Liang had been behind the earlier incident in his apartment building’s elevator lobby, but continued driving without letting Moko know he had noticed it.
• Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang followed Lin Yun in a taxi, with Moko tracking him and reporting his location through Xia Liang’s phone.
• Lin Xiaolu insisted she wanted to find out whom Lin Yun planned to meet, while Xia Liang teased her about whether she would accept Hong Siyu as a possible stepmother.
• Lin Xiaolu said she had to believe Larkspur would not intrude on someone else’s family, and kept watching the locations on her phone as they followed Lin Yun.

Lin Yun discovered that Moko was secretly following him and used feints to make it keep its distance before trailing it to Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang. He found the girls watching him from the mall atrium, and the chapter ended as he tapped Lin Xiaolu on the shoulder.

• Lin Yun startled Moko at a jewelry counter and repeatedly feinted toward it until it stopped creeping close to him.
• Moko received an apparent instruction on its phone, then flew away from Lin Yun.
• Lin Yun followed Moko through the mall and saw it meet Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang on the third floor.
• Lin Xiaolu argued with Moko about keeping track of Lin Yun, while Xia Liang pointed out that they could no longer see him.
• Lin Yun approached the girls and tapped Lin Xiaolu on the shoulder, startling her.

Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang confronted Lin Yun after following him, and Lin Yun explained that he was shopping for a gift for his fifteenth wedding anniversary. He invited Xia Liang to join them for lunch and gift shopping, and she accepted.

• Lin Xiaolu startled and hit her head when Lin Yun caught her and Xia Liang watching him from a mall railing.
• Lin Xiaolu admitted she had followed Lin Yun because she thought he might be looking for a stepmother, and Lin Yun explained he was preparing for his anniversary with her mother.
• Lin Xiaolu apologized, agreed to help choose a gift, and said she would visit her mother's grave with Lin Yun the following week.
• Xia Liang tried to leave so Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu could spend time together, but Lin Yun invited her to join them for lunch and offered to drive her home.
• Lin Xiaolu urged Xia Liang to stop acting like an outsider, and Xia Liang accepted their invitation.

Lin Yun, Lin Xiaolu, and Xia Liang spent the day shopping, watching a movie, and having lunch before an Aberrant Beast attack struck the mall. Lin Yun tried to get the girls out while planning to transform into Larkspur, but Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang hesitated because they intended to protect the civilians.

• Lin Yun, Lin Xiaolu, and Xia Liang shopped together and bought Lin Xiaolu a rose-quartz cherry-blossom necklace.
• The three watched a movie and ate lunch at a Hong Kong-style café.
• A tremendous crash rang out across the mall, and Moko sensed a nearby Aberrant Beast.
• Lin Yun used an evacuation alert from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to explain the danger and urged the girls to leave by another exit.
• Lin Yun planned to get separated from the girls so he could transform into Larkspur, but Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang stayed seated, unwilling to abandon people in danger.

Xia Liang revealed that she was a magical girl and prepared to confront the Aberrant Beast, prompting Lin Xiaolu to confess the same to her father, Lin Yun. After the girls left, Xia Liang called Larkspur and exposed that Lin Yun was carrying Larkspur’s phone.

• Xia Liang showed Lin Yun her Heart Seed and told him she was a magical girl so she could fight the Aberrant Beast.
• Lin Xiaolu called Lin Yun “Dad,” revealed her own Heart Seed, and said she had to go too.
• Lin Yun accepted their decision and asked Lin Xiaolu to stay safe before she, Xia Liang, and Moko left the restaurant.
• Lin Yun planned to transform into Larkspur and follow them, but Xia Liang stopped to call Larkspur.
• Xia Liang found Larkspur’s number and called it, making the ringtone sound from inside Lin Yun’s coat.

Lin Yun struggled to hide that he was carrying Larkspur’s phone when Xia Liang called, then got caught after she hung up. Their awkward conversation ended when an Aberrant Beast attacked Golden Fort Shopping Plaza, sending Xia Liang off to respond while Lin Yun prepared to transform.

• Lin Yun tried to silence Larkspur’s ringing phone without letting Xia Liang realize it was not his.
• Xia Liang hung up her call and worked out that Lin Yun was carrying Larkspur’s phone; Lin Yun admitted it and claimed they were not romantically involved.
• Xia Liang suspected Lin Yun and Larkspur were in a relationship, and Lin Yun tried to redirect her by saying Larkspur was closer to Lin Xiaolu’s mother.
• Lin Xiaolu and Larkspur posted in the Magical Girl Squad group that an Aberrant Beast had attacked Golden Fort Shopping Plaza in Luoming District.
• Xia Liang left to deal with the Aberrant Beast, while Lin Yun stayed behind and considered where to transform.

Lin Yun watched Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang defeat an Aberrant Beast, then began explaining why he had been worried when his daughter became a magical girl. He shared a photograph that revealed Larkspur’s connection to Lin Xiaolu’s mother, leaving both girls stunned.

• Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu defeated the Aberrant Beast while Larkspur watched from the shadows, then Lin Yun arranged for the Bureau to handle the aftermath.
• Lin Yun picked up Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, and Lin Xiaolu asked when he had learned she was a magical girl.
• Lin Yun admitted he had been worried about losing Lin Xiaolu and apologized for not trusting her enough to discuss the danger.
• Lin Xiaolu praised Larkspur for protecting her, prompting Lin Yun to ask whether the senior was called Larkspur.
• Lin Yun recalled his promise to tell Lin Xiaolu the truth and sent her a photograph of four magical girls standing atop an Aberrant Beast’s corpse.
• Lin Xiaolu recognized Larkspur and her mother in the photograph, and she and Xia Liang stared at it in shock.