When Xiaoxi had taught her personally before, she hadn’t noticed it.
But now, watching Xiao Keke take notes on Silver Bell’s words, she realized how serious this child really was.
Well, her original purpose in teaching her little sister was to make her give up being a magic girl, so it was normal not to notice.
Xiao Keke had always been this type of character.
Compared to her, she herself, as the older sister, was simply a demon child.
Especially since she started skipping classes in middle and high school to be a magic girl… No wonder her little sister looked down on her.
Luckily their two mothers never played the comparison game, or else she’d probably have heard a lot of “Look at your little sister, then look at yourself” kind of talk.
Su Yuening had a good temper.
Except when she was truly angry, she had a terrifying smile hiding a knife.
Usually, she treated both children equally, whether the spirit pearl or the demon child.
As for her own mother… Xiaoxi pouted. Her dear mother was simply bad-tempered.
When she scolded, she scolded her pure and simple, without pulling in Xiao Keke at all.
“Alright, that’s about all. It looks like you still have questions. Ask whatever you want.”
Xiao Keke looked frustrated and hesitant to speak.
Xiaoxi found it strange.
Her little sister had always been an unconceding character.
She shouldn’t be so discouraged by such a small setback.
Actually, it would be strange if she could beat the Silverflame Dragon Princess.
“I… I don’t have any problems in combat, it’s just…”
Xiao Keke hesitated for a moment before speaking: “I wanted to ask Senior, what should I do if I feel scared in battle… Well, but Senior probably never had that kind of emotion, right?”
The Silverflame Dragon Princess could be called the most cold-faced magic girl.
In Xiao Keke’s opinion, the other party probably didn’t have any extra emotions when fighting enemies.
“Do you think being scared of the enemy in battle is something shameful?”
Xiao Keke secretly glanced at Xiaoxi. Silver Bell was only half right.
Another part of the reason was that she didn’t want to be so weak, weak to the point of needing her older sister to save her every time.
Even just now, her sister had unhesitatingly stood in front of her.
But she had become a magic girl precisely because she hoped to stand on her own.
It seemed Xiao Keke had entered the stage that most magic girls go through.
Seeing this, Silver Bell couldn’t help but soften her tone.
“Being scared is very normal. Magic girls are also ordinary people, so of course they have ordinary people’s emotions… And who said I’m not scared? When I first became a magic girl, I was actually more timid than you.”
“Huh?” Xiao Keke opened her eyes in surprise. “Senior actually…”
Silver Bell nodded. Rather, it would be strange if a person with her personality became a magic girl and never feared those terrifying magical creatures and monsters. As for how she adjusted…
Silver Bell awakened as a magic girl around the same time as Xiaoxi, so soon after awakening, she got to know Xiaoxi and became teammates.
So Xiaoxi knew very well how timid Silver Bell was back then.
Even though on the outside she was such a dignified magic girl, to use a not-quite-appropriate metaphor… she was like a golden-faced straw mattress—outwardly strong but inwardly weak.
At that time, Silver Bell didn’t even dare fight those mindless magical creatures.
Dealing with monsters was easier.
She was like King from One Punch Man—as long as she stuck her sword into the ground and released her magic power, many monsters would be scared stiff.
As for those who weren’t scared, she’d let her teammates handle them.
But she couldn’t avoid fighting forever.
Silver Bell knew that magic girls had the mission to protect the people.
During the Chaos, magical creatures ran rampant.
It wasn’t something she could choose not to fight.
Thankfully, Silver Bell’s stats were high enough that even if she was scared numb and her mind went blank in battle, the enemy couldn’t break her defense for a while.
After taking hits for some time, her teammates would naturally come to save her.
This led outsiders at that time to think this was their planned tactic—the Silverflame Dragon Princess was specifically responsible for being the meat shield, attracting attacks to create opportunities for other teammates.
“But I also knew I couldn’t hold out like this forever.” Silver Bell touched her nose. “At that time, I had the same problem as you, so I went to ask A Xing.”
That was not long after they first clashed with the Divine Summon Order.
At that time, in Silver Bell’s eyes, Xiaoxi was the perfect magic girl—good personality, strong strength, and she never backed down against that terrifying Blood Moon Witch… And more importantly, she was a two-dimensional fan.
“A Xing gave me a very useful answer back then. Now I’ll tell it to you too—if you feel scared, then pretend.”
Xiao Keke was stunned, tilting her head in confusion.
She completely didn’t understand what Senior Eternal Star meant by that answer.
“Pretend? What do you mean by pretend?”
Facing Silver Bell’s question, Xiaoxi smiled faintly.
The two of them sat on the rubble after the battle, the afterglow of the setting sun casting long shadows behind them.
“Haven’t you heard a saying? If you want to become the person you idealize, the first step is to pretend to be that person. Pretend enough and you’ll become that person.”
“Magic girls are the same, I suppose. After all, everyone was an ordinary person before becoming a magic girl. Being scared is normal. But doesn’t the saying go that magic power comes from within? You transformed into this form because you hope you can be this kind of person. So the first step is to play the role of your magic girl image well.”
“Is it because I want to become this kind of person…” Silver Bell swayed slightly, the armor on her body clanking dully.
Maybe that was true. That’s why her introverted self transformed into this kind of image when she became a magic girl.
Since she had been a social anxiety sufferer since childhood, she always hoped to become someone sunny and strong… just like A Xing.
What was the [Silverflame Dragon Princess] she imagined to be perfect?
It should be dignified and strong, an image that fears no one.
Such a Silverflame Dragon Princess naturally wouldn’t be scared of enemies in battle, so…
“So the first step to overcoming fear in battle is to pretend you’re not scared, to play the role of that fearless ideal self.”
Silver Bell’s words made Xiao Keke’s eyes light up a little.
She thought of her experience dealing with the Red Hood Ghost in the Mirror Space earlier.
The magic girl’s image is the form she desires deep down?
In order to become someone who can stand alone, to protect her sister in turn…
That’s why she transformed into the appearance of [Little Red Riding Hood]?
“Thank you, Senior! I know what to do now!”
Silver Bell smiled casually: “Well, this was also what A Xing told me. I’m just repeating it. But someone like A Xing probably never fears any enemy, right?”
Silver Bell still remembered that day she nodded thoughtfully and immediately asked A Xing the same question.