noveldepot Chapter 61 Can't you even speak?!
Chapter 61 Can't you even speak?!
In a laboratory in a magical kingdom.
The art style here is completely different from the "magic" style. The lab table is filled with various flasks, tubing, and observation instruments.
Before the experimental table stood a rather strangely dressed magical girl. She was tall and wore a green dress that combined elements of traditional Chinese dress and Lolita style, with her long green hair casually disheveled. However, she wore a white lab coat over it, which added a touch of intellect to her appearance.
At this moment, the green-haired magical girl held a dropper in one hand and a test tube in the other.
Just this one last drop...
"Oh no! Lord Scepter—!"
The laboratory door was suddenly pushed open roughly, and a young magical girl rushed in in a panic. She tripped and slid face-first onto the lab table on the smooth floor.
"..."
The green-haired magical girl's hand trembled, squeezing out an extra drop of liquid from the dropper, instantly changing the color of the liquid in the test tube.
Seeing the experiment fail, the green-haired magical girl's face darkened. She put the test tube back on the lab table, turned around unhappily, and looked down at her subordinates kneeling at her feet.
"...What's all this fuss about?"
"Someone...someone is going to punish the traitor!" The magical girl lying on the ground gasped for breath, uttering these startling words.
"...???"
The green-haired magical girl was stunned for a moment, her mind filled with question marks. "Punish the traitors of the nation?"
The subordinate quickly got up from the ground and recounted the intelligence he had just received in detail.
In short, these are veterans who participated in both wars and peace, and have long harbored resentment over post-war treatment and compensation. Currently, some people are inciting these veterans, planning to cause a major disturbance at the upcoming medal award ceremony.
After hearing her subordinate's report, the green-haired magical girl's face darkened even more.
She stepped forward and punched the magical girl who was reporting information on the head with a "thud".
"it hurts!"
"Idiot! That's called rebellion! What do you mean by 'divine punishment for traitors'? Can't you speak properly?! Whose side are you on anyway?!"
"Waaah... But... But that's what they were shouting when they gathered together..." The subordinate covered the large bump on his head, tears streaming down his face, looking aggrieved.
"Alright, alright, get out of the way and get out of here to keep watch!"
After dismissing the unreliable subordinate, the green-haired magical girl paced back and forth in the laboratory, clearly annoyed.
These heroes who participated in the "Two Worlds War" are actually going to riot during the medal awarding ceremony... We absolutely cannot let this happen!
The green-haired magical girl knew very well that although the veterans' strength had declined due to the trauma of war, if they were to gather together and form a large force, they could really cause a big stir.
The political implications are even more challenging.
While "gardeners" can be sent to maintain order, if that fails to stop the veterans from causing trouble, then other magical girls will have to be called in to suppress them.
But if we do that, won't it cause an even bigger riot?
Those veterans are heroes who shed blood to protect the country. If active-duty magical girls were to suppress them, it would inevitably evoke a chilling sense of sympathy and fear.
Moreover, what if those magical girls who were initially observing the situation were to join the riot out of sympathy for the veterans? If things escalate to that point, the magical kingdom will truly face a civil war.
"Tsk, what a mess..."
We need to prepare for both possibilities.
First, we need to keep those people calm and prevent them from doing whatever they want during the award ceremony. If that doesn't work... then we'll have to resort to force...
In short, we need to figure out exactly where the problem originates.
The green-haired magical girl strode to the magic mirror in the corner of the laboratory. She stretched out her finger and gently touched the mirror. Wherever her fingertip touched, the mirror immediately rippled like water.
A moment later, a girl wearing a white princess dress and with long light pink hair appeared in the mirror.
"Emerald, you were looking for me?" the girl on the other end of the magic mirror asked.
"Snow White, where's the money?! Where's the money for the veterans?! I heard from Azure from the Demon Academy that the veterans' pensions haven't been disbursed. Those guys are planning a rebellion now, what exactly is going on on your end?"
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Meanwhile, in Yuanting City...
On the street, the battle with the remaining beasts had just ended.
A lizard-like beast with three enormous heads lay on the ground, its body reduced to shattered remains.
Magical girl Dongnuan and Qingluan landed on the ground.
"The battle is over, let's collect the spoils." Dong Nuan stepped forward, stretched out her right hand towards the remains of the beast, palm up, and began to mutter incantations.
From the scattered fragments of the beast on the ground, countless bright points of starlight slowly emerged. These points of starlight seemed to be drawn towards Dong Nuan, all converging and swirling in her outstretched palm.
This is the process of collecting "echoes".
After the defeated beasts are defeated, the remaining magic and soul fragments within them are collected and become "Echoes." Magical girls collect these Echoes and then hand them over to Seeders like Momoko. The Seeders are then responsible for returning these spoils of war to the magical realm.
The kingdom will determine the magical girl's contribution based on the intensity and purity of the response, and then issue corresponding rewards.
Of course, the simplest use of Echoes is to exchange them for currency in the material world, but that's the least efficient way to use them. Ambitious magical girls will exchange Echoes for "Crystals of Love" and "Honey of the Heart" to enhance their strength.
It could even be said that the economic system between the material world and the magical realm is a "reverberation-based" system built upon the corpses of beasts.
"Young man, what are you thinking about?"
Dong Nuan's voice interrupted Qing Luan's thoughts.
She came to her senses and found that Dong Nuan had already collected all the "echoes".
"Hmm... I was just thinking, what's the approximate value of the feedback we get from defeating these ferocious beasts we've encountered on patrol these past few days?"
Upon hearing this, Dong Nuan smiled wryly and said, "Well... the value isn't actually that high... because the beasts we've encountered these past few days have all been quite weak, just 'egg' level beasts. We haven't even encountered a 'worm' level one yet."
At this point, she quite skillfully imparted her experience to Qingluan:
"Of course, even if we encounter a 'Cerato' level beast, I can handle it. But if we encounter a 'Chrysalis' or 'Mortal' level beast, that's beyond our capabilities. In that case, we'll just run away and call for Senior Arc Moon to come to our rescue."
Upon hearing this, Qingluan pretended to be a novice encountering this knowledge for the first time and nodded earnestly.
That's the downside of pretending to be a newbie; you often have to pretend you're hearing something you already know for the first time.