Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

"It's too late, the venue and the spell techniques have all been set up. Although I'm not clear on the specifics, it's said that a large amount of human and financial resources have been invested in the related construction work. If we want to stop this now, I'm afraid we can only go find the current Purple Diamond or the nobles of the Royal Court."

Asou Haruka shook her head, "To tell the truth, I can't fathom what those guys are really thinking. But this is why I proposed this competition—two members of our squad have already obtained the white cards at the beginning of this year. Only if the children you've taught can defeat them, can we ensure their safety to a certain degree. If they can't win, even if they take the assessment, they might encounter danger. Do you want to see that happen?"

"...How could I."

Emerald Sparrow let out a long sigh, "Do you really want your juniors to be in that kind of perilous situation?"

"Of course, I don't want that, that's exactly why I'm bringing this matter to you so straightforwardly."

Asou Haruka spoke softly, "Our Bai An squad is not planning to participate in the qualification validation next year. Bai Ji and the girl coded Impatiens can't yet reach the standard required for the name cards. That child Wood Lily... I really don't have any confidence in her."

The two fell into a silence on this matter for a while, seemingly in agreement.

Emerald Sparrow was reflecting.

If previously she desired the girls to participate in the assessment because she was unaware of the specific details, now that she knew next year's assessment might be more dangerous than in previous years, should she still encourage them to go?

She herself knew that "Magical Girls" always live a life accompanied by battle, and she couldn't keep her juniors safe from danger forever. But, is it really necessary to take on an additional risk that doesn't originally exist just for an assessment?

This left her feeling somewhat confused.

However, she quickly suppressed her confusion as the SUV returned to the secret base. She had to maintain a good attitude, at the very least not to let her worries affect the children.

After a brief welcoming party, eight Magical Girls and one Fairy gathered around the dining table to have dinner together.

At the table, Emerald Sparrow and Asou Haruka disclosed the situation to their juniors.

—"I have to tell you all seriously, the danger level of the 'Great Beast Disaster' far exceeds what you're capable of handling right now. Even if the assessment will not reproduce it one hundred percent, and might even be weakened to a certain extent due to your powers, it is still a very dangerous event."

Looking at the juniors across the table, Emerald Sparrow said in all seriousness, "I didn't know this news before, but now it appears that this assessment won't be as simple as expected. I hope that you will consider it thoroughly before making your decision."

"And the one who makes the decision—I've discussed this with senior Margaret. You need to have a fight against the Magical Girls from Bai An City, and only if you win should you go to participate in the national assessment."

With these words, the expressions on the faces of the Magical Girls across the table varied.

On the side of Bai An City, since they weren't planning to participate in next year's assessment, the faces of the few Magical Girls were relatively relaxed. The taciturn girl codenamed Impatiens sipped her soup expressionlessly; the blonde girl codenamed Wood Lily looked triumphantly at the Fangting City group; as for Bai Ji, probably because she already knew about the situation, she simply nodded to the two seniors, indicating her awareness.

The situation was quite different for Fangting City.

Xia Liang was probably the calmest of the three, but even she was a bit stunned upon hearing about the addition of such an unreasonable event to the assessment, her smile faltering with difficulty.

Bai Jingxuan appeared half-understanding, probably also grasping the fact that the "assessment got tougher," but she didn't seem to think there was any problem with it.

As for Lin Xiaolu, she had hardly touched her food to begin with, barely eating what was in her bowl. After listening to Emerald Sparrow, she fell silent for a while before putting down her bowl and quietly muttered, "I'm full," then left the dining table under everyone's gaze.

She didn't even offer an additional explanation.

This left even Emerald Sparrow, who had been considering other issues, taken aback.

"... Anyway, you don't need to give me an answer right now. You can digest this news for a while, think about it for a few more days, and then we'll discuss and make a decision together."

After a moment, she continued slowly, "And, does anyone know what's up with Bai Mei?"

No one answered.

It wasn't just the three from Bai An City who remained silent, even the two teammates from Fangting City seemed to be puzzled by this issue.

Only Asou Haruka, after glancing at everyone, gave Bai Ji a somewhat meaningful look, but refrained from saying anything further.

After asking questions to no avail, Emerald Sparrow felt it was not appropriate to continue the topic. Even though she was somewhat puzzled and worried about Lin Xiaolu's behavior, she didn't say much more and simply carried on hosting the dinner until it was over.

Since the group from Bai'an City had just arrived that day, and being a guest warranted a certain hospitality, Emerald Sparrow had to spend extra time accommodating them. Consequently, it wasn't until around nine in the evening that she finally found time to go to Lin Xiaolu's room to inquire about what exactly had happened.

Through the quiet corridor at night, she stood outside the door and gently knocked—a "thump-thump" echo reverberated through the hall.

"Bai Mei?" Emerald Sparrow called out like this.

After the call, first came a sound of fabric rubbing from within, followed by some hurried footsteps. Emerald Sparrow faintly thought she could also hear the impact of a body against wood, and the noise of a doorknob being turned. However, the sound of the knob turning didn't continue, it just made the noise of the lock scraping and stopped abruptly.

The door was not opened.

Soon, Lin Xiaolu's somewhat muffled voice came from behind the door.

"Sorry."

She said, "Emerald Sparrow, can I have a moment alone to think? I'll adjust myself."

"I just wanted to ask if you've encountered any difficulties," Emerald Sparrow said calmly, "We can solve it together."

"...Sorry."

However, Lin Xiaolu just left her with these words and then there was no other movement.

In the moonlight shining through from outside the corridor, Emerald Sparrow could see that the door handle had actually been pressed down a little more, but for some reason, Lin Xiaolu still did not open the door.

Not even the sound of footsteps—was the child still standing behind the door? Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Emerald Sparrow thought with some concern, realizing that she seemed to be just one step away from entering the room. But she did not do so, taking into account her daughter's somewhat stubborn nature, rashly barging in might not solve the problem.

In the end, she did not ask any more questions and quietly left.

She left the corridor where Lin Xiaolu's room was located and walked all the way to the stairwell connecting the floors. She had just started to descend the stairs when she suddenly found another figure standing in the stairwell.

It was Bai Ji.

This girl, who had maintained a calm and composed attitude before, now had a subtle redness in her eyes, one hand clenching the forearm of the other, looking hesitant to speak.

"Is something wrong?" Emerald Sparrow asked with some confusion.

"...I'm terribly sorry, Inspector, this is all my fault," Bai Ji said, leaving her with such an abrupt apology, then covered her mouth and quickly ran to the fourth floor.

This strange behavior left Emerald Sparrow even more baffled. She could only watch helplessly as the other person's figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor, not feeling comfortable enough to chase after her and ask.

With her mind full of questions, she didn't get a piece of valuable information until she returned to the living room on the first floor and spoke with Asou Haruka.

"I'm sorry, one of our little ones stirred up trouble with your side," Asou Haruka said, lounging on the sofa and watching TV while smiling apologetically. "I've already given her a good talking-to, and told her to apologize to you. Did she come to find you?"

So that was it.

After listening to her explanation, Emerald Sparrow finally understood what had happened:

——Lin Xiaolu and Bai Ji had an argument.