"Thank you." Perhaps feeling that her sobbing was indeed a sorry sight, Nina accepted the handkerchief from Cornflower.
It is said that one does not slap a smiling face, and although Nina had maintained a distressed expression throughout, her attitude was sufficiently humble, even subservient, that Cornflower found it difficult to harbor any ill will. While Nina was busy wiping her tears, Cornflower pondered and finally made a proposal that seed reasonable.
"…Fine, I'll say it again, I don't want your money, but considering your and your sister's special circumstances, I can't just make no arrangents at all."
Trying to project seriousness, Cornflower coughed twice, cleared her throat, and mimicking the tone she had heard adults use, she declared: "And since it was your own request, I shall grant your wish and assign you a very dangerous and arduous task."
"Yes." With her tears wiped dry, Nina stiffened her expression to one of resigned determination.
"—For the next month, you will coach the newbie Magical Girl in our squad, teaching her the basic skills for the battlefield, aiming to ensure she does not drag the team down."
Lifting her chin slightly, Cornflower adopted a condescending stance despite being shorter: "If you fail, I will deem all of you unfit for the Kingdom's army, and I'll ask the platoon leader to report further, to have you removed from the ranks of the Kingdom's army."
Nina, holding the handkerchief Cornflower had offered, looked sowhat bewildered.
Seeing that she had not responded, Cornflower raised her voice slightly: "Can you do it?"
"Ah, yes, I can."
Responding in a low whisper as if talking in her sleep, Nina raised the handkerchief to wipe away the tears that threatened to spill again: "Thank you so much, I'm sorry."
"Your voice is too soft; I can't hear your determination. Tell , can you do it?" Cornflower increased her volu again.
"I can do it!" This ti, Nina finally shouted out loud.
"Good, then from now on, you're a formal mber of the Cornflower squad, so from now on, I will only address you by your code na."
Extending her hand, Cornflower managed a slight, more congenial smile:
"I look forward to your performance, Mo He."
...
...
Erald Sparrow opened her eyes amidst a sea of white light.
It took her quite a while to discern the source of the light—it was the lamp above the healing bed—and then she realized where she was.
She was in the Research Institute, in Erald's private lab, having just received repairs and healing treatnt for the Heart's Gem.
"Awake?"
Erald Sparrow's reaction did not escape the vigilant eyes of Erald, who shifted from a semi-reclined to a sitting position on her wheeled chair and moved closer to the healing bed: "I didn't wake you up since you seed to be sleeping soundly. How do you feel?"
"I had a dream, rembered so things from the past."
Erald Sparrow, supporting her head, sat up from the healing bed, shook her head, and noticed the Heart's Gem beside her: "Apart from a bit of dizziness, I feel fine. How did your work go?"
"The surgery was a complete success. Your Heart's Gem now has no issues."
With her legs crossed, Erald wore a triumphant smile: "Aside from those two pathetic pieces of Magic Armor that you utterly destroyed yourself, you should now be able to use all the abilities you had before your injury."
"All abilities?"
Erald Sparrow sported a doubtful look, then slightly extended a hand, as several threads sparkled in her palm. She discovered that the painful soul-deep sensation that used to plague her when using the Magic Armor had vanished, and now it seed she no longer felt discomfort when using it.
With this realization, she snapped her fingers, and a wall of silvery white material erged by her side—this ti, she was testing her own Miracle Realm. The process of unfolding was incredibly smooth, with no hitches or discomfort, even better than the sensation she felt before the Full Moon Festival.
At this mont, Erald Sparrow's expression shifted from doubt to amazent.
Without hesitation, upon realizing that her injuries really seed to have healed, she crossed her hands, striking a pose she hadn't been able to assu in twenty years. As she did this, threads from her Magic Armor obediently wrapped around her fingertips, with specks of silver-blue light, like living things, flowed along the threads, culminating in a silver-blue bud of thread forming in her hands.
Gazing at the bud, Erald Sparrow was montarily entranced before she slowly spoke:
"Great Prosperity Bloom—"
—"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!"
Erald, who was nearby, practically lunged at her to prevent Erald Sparrow from continuing her action: "Don't use Great Prosperity Bloom in soone else's lab! Also, I haven't finished saying what I was saying, you can use all abilities, but it would be best to refrain from using Great Prosperity Bloom for a few days!"
"Why?"
"What do you an, why? You have lived in the Material Realm for so many years, how can you ask such a foolish question? Have you ever seen a normal person from the Material Realm start running imdiately after abdominal surgery?"
Erald frowned: "I told you, your injuries are healed, but the repaired parts need ti to stabilize fully. Like the stitches from a physical surgery, moving carelessly could start the healing process all over again."
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