Several days later, outside the quiet Military Base in the western part of City A.
A young girl stepped out of a black private car. She wore a sky-blue short-sleeved blouse, her expression calm as she walked toward the base’s main gate.
“Miss Sapphire, clearance granted!”
“Yes, sir!”
As the girl approached, the gate of the military base was opened by the sentries.
Soldiers in uniform, armed with live ammunition, saluted her and watched as she walked inside.
“Thank you.”
Sapphire quietly expressed her gratitude before entering the mysterious military base.
She moved with familiarity, bypassing the soldiers’ training grounds and heading straight to the conference hall at the heart of the base. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside.
“What have you all been doing?! Over a hundred people with specialized equipment, yet not a single girl has been found! Are you not afraid of being laughed at?”
The moment Sapphire entered, she heard an angry reprimand.
An elderly man wearing a dark green coat stood on the platform, pounding forcefully on the wooden table, his words full of dissatisfaction.
The people sitting in the audience lowered their heads in silence, none daring to meet the elder’s furious gaze.
“You’re a bunch of useless idiots! Wasting all this food for nothing!”
“The banners of honor given to Blazing Flame by the grateful public are nearly piling up the room, yet we haven’t even found her!”
“If that poor girl gets hurt, you can come with me to face the firing squad!”
Watching the elder still ranting passionately, Sapphire quietly moved to the last row and sat down, waiting for the meeting to end.
About ten minutes later, the elder on the platform finally tired of cursing.
He looked at the group of subordinates who had searched for the Transformation User in vain and waved dismissively, telling them to leave.
The people in the audience breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and quickly left the conference hall, running faster than rabbits.
The vast conference hall suddenly became empty except for the elder and Sapphire.
The elder sighed as he watched the backs of the departing crowd, then stepped down and turned off most of the lights, leaving only the last row illuminated.
Sapphire looked up and met the elder’s gaze as he approached her, her expression still as calm as water.
“Apologies for making you witness such a farce. We’ve been searching for a while but haven’t found the Magic Girl who’s recently appeared in City A,” the elder began, speaking first to Sapphire.
“Hm. Why did you call me here? Director Xu?” Sapphire nodded slightly.
“You’re still as straightforward as ever, Miss Sapphire…” Director Xu’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Let me be direct. I want you to help us find Miss Blazing Flame and bring her here.”
“And the reason?” Sapphire did not agree immediately, instead asking.
Director Xu paused for a moment, then raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled.
“City A really needs Blazing Flame’s power right now. Is that reason enough?”
“That’s sufficient. It’s a very good reason,” Sapphire stood up. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait, don’t rush off.”
Director Xu hurriedly called after her.
“Anything else?” Sapphire stopped, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
“What about Meteor? Why didn’t she come with you? I remember telling her to come to the base,” Director Xu asked.
“She’s at home studying, preparing for next year’s College Entrance Examination,” Sapphire explained. “She doesn’t want to use the bonus points from being a Magic Girl to get into college. She wants to get into her dream school by her own efforts.”
“Good, very good. Young people should have such spirit,” Director Xu nodded with approval. “What about you? You’re taking the exam next year as well, aren’t you?”
“I don’t need to study.”
Sapphire finished speaking and left the conference hall without staying any longer.
Director Xu watched her retreating figure, silent for a moment, then sighed softly.
“Why are all the Transformation Users in City A such problem children…”
***
After leaving the conference hall, Sapphire walked out of the military base and saw her driver waiting outside.
She nodded slightly at him, and the driver immediately understood, opening the back door for her to get in.
Silence replaced words as Sapphire slid into the car, lying on the soft brown seat without a word.
The driver turned back to the front seat, turned the ignition, and the car swiftly departed from the location.
The trees outside blurred into the distance as Sapphire rested her cheek on one hand, staring absentmindedly out the window, looking just like a sulky child not yet of age.
“…Miss Jiang, both the Old Master and Madam just called for you,” the driver suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
“Hm, I know,” Sapphire replied lightly.
“Miss Jiang, the Old Master and Madam both hope you’ll attend their banquet. They said they want to introduce you to several outstanding young talents and hope you’ll bring your Magical Outfit…”
“Tell those two to get lost!”
Before the driver could finish, Sapphire cut him off sharply.
Anger was written all over the girl’s once calm face as she growled coldly.
The driver wisely closed his mouth.
The scenery outside continued to rush past, and Sapphire suddenly calmed down.
She looked at the silent driver and slowly spoke.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You’re just delivering messages from my parents.”
“You’re too kind, Miss. So, are you going back? Or like before, returning to the place the Monster Response Department provided?”
“Same as before.”
“I understand, Miss.”
After receiving the instruction, the black sedan suddenly veered onto another road.
Sapphire leaned back on the seat, staring at the car roof above her, lost in thought.
She didn’t understand what her parents were thinking.
She had only just reached adulthood, and yet her parents were already eager to push her out into the world.
They had barely paid her any attention before, focusing all their thoughts on her older brother and second sister.
But after she unexpectedly became a Magic Girl, it was as if they had become completely different people, beginning to care for her daily life and studies, treating her with great affection.
At first, she thought they had changed their minds, but not even half a month later, they wanted her to go with them to meet some bigwigs, claiming it was for her own good.
And this time was even worse—they actually wanted her to bring her Magical Outfit to meet those so-called young talents.
Did they think she was ignorant? Had they not seen that full-color eighteen-plus comic about her?
Did they really want to imitate that comic’s beginning and have her “accidentally” drink some pink beverage after meeting those old fogies?
Hmph…
Disgusting, the both of them.
“Dice, come out.”
Sapphire withdrew her gaze and took out a translucent, teardrop-shaped blue gem from her pocket.
The next moment, a cat-like little beast with golden patterns on its body and kite-shaped twenty-four-sided earrings suddenly appeared on Sapphire’s lap.
“My dear Contractor, it’s daytime now, I’m still sleeping.”
The little beast yawned anthropomorphically, its voice tinged with mild complaint.
“Stop sleeping.” Sapphire poked Dice’s face. “I need your help on the next mission.”
“Hm? Dear Contractor, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help.”
“Two small Pure Shards. On the next mission, help me find Blazing Flame.”
Without hesitation, Sapphire laid out her condition.
“Really?! Deal! No problem! I guarantee I’ll find Blazing Flame, meow!”
Dice immediately became excited and meowed happily.
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