Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

——"The inspection is complete. All indicators are normal. Congratulations, young one. Your Heart's Gem is nearly healed, and you can use all your abilities normally again."

Her fingers slid across the light screen floating before her, and Emerald gave this conclusion to Emerald Sparrow: "Of course, I still hope you don't try blooming here in my lab. Please find a practice field to test it out yourself when you get back, or I can help you make an appointment."

Her words made Emerald Sparrow halt the intention to place her hands over her Heart's Gem.

It had been a week since Emerald Sparrow arrived in the Kingdom and completed the healing. To ensure the treatment had the desired effect, Emerald had asked Emerald Sparrow to come to the Research Institute for a final "re-examination."

With this inspection's conclusion, it meant that Emerald Sparrow's Heart's Gem was fully repaired, and she would no longer need to frequently visit Emerald's laboratory for further assessments.

The other party didn't want her to attempt blooming here, and Emerald Sparrow naturally didn't have any intention of pushing her luck. She slowly sat up from the treatment bed, holding onto its edge as she jumped down to the floor, then grabbed her jacket draped nearby, shook it out, and put it on: "Thank you."

She rarely, and genuinely, expressed her gratitude to Emerald.

Although to this day, Emerald Sparrow still hadn't fully understood what the deal between them was truly about, Emerald had indeed provided considerable assistance to her up until now.

As the current holder of the Gemstone Scepter, Emerald's high rank and great power in the Magic Kingdom made her second only to one. Her attitude towards Emerald Sparrow was already amicable enough, even humble. Given that the other party had done so much, Emerald Sparrow indeed had no reason to withhold a word of thanks.

Hearing Emerald Sparrow's gratitude, Emerald couldn't help but show an expression as if she had heard something unbelievable. She opened her perpetually sleepy eyes slightly and examined Emerald Sparrow as if seeing something rare. After a long while, she finally reclined back in her chair and gave her a slight bow:

"It's rare to hear you say 'thank you' voluntarily. This old woman has received it. However, as I said before, we are now grasshoppers tied together on the same rope. Many times, helping you is also helping myself, so it's not purely out of kindness."

"I know, after all, you are the Gemstone Scepter."

Buttoning her jacket and smoothing out the creases, Emerald Sparrow replied earnestly: "This is not an insult, but a fact I recognize – those who hold power at the top rarely do anything that doesn't benefit them."

"Yes, yes, I am the Gemstone Scepter. After all, the scepter won't grow legs and run away just because people say something about it. You youngsters can say whatever you like."

If it had been during their first meeting, Emerald might have felt indignant about this description. But now she showed an attitude of resigned acceptance, even yawning: "Anything else you want to say? If not, I'm going to see you out."

Anything else to say?

This question made Emerald Sparrow pause, then she began to ponder.

In truth, she indeed had something to say – or rather, something she should say. That was the sentence Mo He had told her a few nights ago: This assessment, "there might be some dangerous things happening."

This sentence sounded like a simple riddle. So, when Emerald Sparrow woke up the next day, her first reaction was to find Mo He again to see if she could get to the bottom of it. But the result was disappointing – the small room where Mo He lived was already empty.

It was only then that Emerald Sparrow realized they hadn't even exchanged contacts on the Magic Mirror or phone, and when she asked the management at Colorful Cloud Wetland, she didn't get any useful information.

It was as if they had only met at a crossroads in life, exchanged words, and when looking back, they could no longer see each other's figure.

But though Mo He had left, her "warning" stayed with Emerald Sparrow, growing ever more concerning.

After that night, she continually reviewed her conversations with Mo He from those days, extracting information, and gradually noticing details she had initially overlooked or intentionally ignored.

Combining these details made it clear that Mo He's unwillingness to confront her further and sudden departure itself was an annotation to her words.

This suggested that what Mo He had warned about was highly likely to be true, and her involved "danger" might not position her in a favorable role.

If it had merely been a baseless rumor or an ordinary joke, Mo He wouldn't have taken such a secretive attitude and left right after leaving that remark, as if anticipating her actions.

If Mo He had been delivering information as an enforcer, it made even less sense for her to abandon a viable resource like Emerald Sparrow, leaving only a strange riddle before evaporating.

And the chance to verify these assumptions was now right at Emerald Sparrow's fingertips.

She just needed to ask one question to get all the answers.

But as the words formed on her lips, she remained silent.

"What's the matter? Is it something difficult to say?"

Seeing Emerald Sparrow's state, Emerald found it curious, extending her head from the reclining chair: "What is it? You're shorter by two centimeters and want to settle the score?"

"...I hadn't intended to bring this up."

As Emerald mentioned this, Emerald Sparrow immediately frowned, glaring at her. But this interruption seemed to have slightly relaxed her tense emotions.

She knew she couldn't ignore the truth before her eyes.

Even if the truth wasn't always pleasant, it was necessary to take that step, know the truth, and make changes.

"Let's leave the height issue for later. Right now, I want to ask about something else."

She collected her emotions, restoring her expression to calmness, then asked in a neutral tone: "Chief, do you remember a Magical Girl with the codename 'Tulip'?"

She didn't mention Mo He directly because the name "Tulip" had wider recognition, and also because she felt it wasn't appropriate to mention Mo He's codename there.

She was facing Emerald, who might be considered half an ally. However, once the information spread beyond this lab, entering the Kingdom and even the Royal Court... honestly, Emerald Sparrow couldn't trust those people.

Mo He had concealed something from her, and the Royal Court wasn't trustworthy. Caught in this dilemma, Emerald Sparrow chose only to mention the name Tulip.

And in truth, she had a hunch about the kind of answer she would receive.

——"Tulip? Ah... oh, you mean Stonegarlic's daughter?"

Emerald repeated the codename Emerald Sparrow mentioned carelessly, seeming unaware of the turmoil within her, lazily saying, "Why, have you seen her these days?"

"...She was my comrade-in-arms back in the army. A few days ago, I visited the Memorial Cemetery and thought of her, so I wanted to ask about her."

"Oh, just remembered and wanted to ask? I see. Normally, you wouldn't have seen her, of course."

Emerald returned to her reclining position, staring vacantly at the lab's ceiling:

"After all, that girl defected to Claw Mark, didn't she?"