And the reason it is considered special is because Erald Sparrow knows, these pastries have an unusual purpose in the Kingdom—they are generally not ant for consumption, but are taken to morialize the deceased, especially to commorate the Magical Girls who have passed away.
The origin of this tradition is now obscure, but the prevailing explanation is that because the magic cloud cakes completely lack color and have a blurry shape, they resemble soul-like cakes and are thus called "Soul Cakes." Additionally, since cakes are one of the most popular foods among Magical Girls, it is customary to use the favorite food of the deceased when commorating Magical Girls, especially considering that the deceased Magical Girls no longer have physical bodies, and so the offering naturally becos a Soul Cake.
Under this sowhat far-fetched logic, magic cloud cakes, originally a pleasant dessert, have beco an exclusive offering for the deceased, and over ti, regular sweet shops have ceased to sell such items.
"Hello, sorry to bother you, but why do you have magic cloud cakes in your store?"
Erald Sparrow did not intend to keep this question to herself, and with the doubt in mind, she went back to the counter and asked directly.
"Uh? Magic cloud cake?"
The clerk, who was comparing wrapping papers for chocolate boxes, looked up and blinked, "Ah, is this your first ti in our neighborhood?"
"Yes," admitted Erald Sparrow honestly.
"Then it's no wonder you're curious, because our shop is situated quite uniquely. Just turn 500 ters up the road beside, and you'll find the cetery."
"Cetery?"
"Yes, it is the previous warriors who sacrificed themselves in the wars between realms, especially those soldiers during the Garden Defense Battle."
The pastry clerk spoke with a calm deanor, apparently speaking about sothing that was common knowledge to her: "The Kingdom built a morial Cetery for them; they are all buried there. Every year many people go there to pay tribute to them, so our shop also sells magic cloud cakes to make a little offering money."
Erald Sparrow was stunned.
She stood there like a statue, pondering sothing unknown, staring blankly at the clerk as she wrapped the chocolates, twirling the ribbon into a beautiful bow, and neatly packing them into a brown paper bag.
"Um, your chocolate is all packed, little miss, be careful, it's a bit heavy..."
As the clerk picked up the chocolate and turned towards Erald Sparrow, she noticed the complex expression on Erald Sparrow's face and stopped mid-sentence: "Uh, what's wrong?"
"…Nothing."
Shaking her head slightly, Erald Sparrow regained her composed deanor, as if nothing had happened, and accepted the chocolate handed over by the clerk. Then, as if speaking casually, she asked: "By the way, the morial cetery you just ntioned, which direction is it exactly?"
"Um, just continue along this alley, pass through and head north, you will see a mountain…"
"On the mountain?"
"At the base of the mountain."
"Okay, I understand. Then, please do another favor."
"…What is it?" Unconsciously, the dessert clerk felt a certain undeniable presence from the young girl in front of her, noting that she probably wasn't just "a little sister" as she initially thought, so she changed how she addressed the young girl.
"Pack a few magic cloud cakes for ."
Erald Sparrow did not know what expression she wore when she spoke those words.
She hoped she did not unintentionally reveal any inappropriate expressions due to slight emotional fluctuations because she did not want to frighten this kind clerk. She could only apologetically say sorry to signify that her request was not ant to be trouble, although the clerk clearly did not understand why she was apologizing.
Afterward, unable to wait, Erald Sparrow took the magic cloud cakes handed to her by the clerk, thanked her in the slightly worried gaze of the clerk, and left the pastry shop.
Carrying the magic cloud cakes, Erald Sparrow followed the path described by the clerk to find the location of the morial Cetery.
The clerk was right; it was a grand cetery decorated with stateliness and solemnity. Seven life-sized bronze soldier statues stood behind the gate gazing outwards; from their attires, one could roughly distinguish that among them were three Magical Girls, one Fairy, and three ordinary humans.
The bronze statues were located in a plaza, with a monunt standing behind them. The edges of this granite monunt were blurred into curves by twenty years of rainfall. Three bouquets of lilies in plastic wraps leaned against the base, a thin layer of dust accumulated between petals and the plastic, seemingly acting as an hourglass counting the progress of so things being forgotten.
Looking far ahead, one could also see a circular morial wall around the plaza, with over a thousand Heart's Gems relief carved on it. After twenty years, so of the carvings were damaged. Next to them, it seed sothing was engraved with Favo Runes, but it was too far for Erald Sparrow to see clearly.
This was the place.
So intuition clearly indicated so to Erald Sparrow.
She had never heard of this cetery before, nor had she ever visited this place, but as she stood at the gate, uncontrolled mories from the past began to churn. She could even sll the pungent odor of corpses mixed with the scent of Remnant Beasts.
Perhaps it was because she had just had a dream about the past, these mories that should have been dormant beca exceptionally active and almost pulled her back to the past. She could only raise her hand to cover her nose, to hide those long-gone scents.
Garden Defense Battle.
This was a battle legendary and splendid in rumors, celebrated by future generations as a miracle of love, a hymn of courage, and an epic of Magical Girls. Cornflower, who beca a hero in the war, was still adored by countless people as an idol even today.
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