As twilight soaked the cobblestone streets, the roadside scenery of Luennolay seed to be bathed in a thin layer of blue.
The props store by the road had already turned its sign around to "Closed," warm yellow glows seeping through the display windows, where the busy figure of the shop owner could be seen; at the street corner café, the last order of the day was being placed, and a few Magical Girls walked out, holding their coffee cups, chatting and laughing, making the place quite lively.
Sitting in the slowly moving Fairy Carriage, Erald Sparrow was fiddling with the pair of gloves that made her feel sowhat uncomfortable.
The body of the gloves was cyan, with white lace at the wrists fitting snugly onto her hands, a few strands of starlight slipping through the gaps, and the pearl buttons occasionally reflecting the passing lights. The hem of her princess gown nearly touched her heels, and the taffeta, drenched in twilight, flowed like solidified milk on the Yingwood seat.
Such overly lavish attire was obviously not Erald Sparrow's style. Her intent was to find a relatively fitted female suit, but upon telling this idea to the Erald, she promptly rejected it, stubbornly picking out this outfit for her instead.
Since the other party made the choice, Erald Sparrow went along with it.
She had her own philosophy in choosing clothes, but it didn't an she held steadfast to it. Rather, Erald Sparrow didn't really care much about what she wore. Unless it was too revealing or overly complicated to hinder movent, most clothing to her was much the sa.
The princess gown draped on her right now hadn't crossed those two lines. Though its structure was sowhat complex, it was still within Erald Sparrow's acceptable range. Moreover, the "gathering" she was attending was initiated by the Erald herself, who was undoubtedly more familiar with the etiquette and requirents, so following her lead should be fine.
As for the mastermind behind all this—the Erald herself, she was sitting opposite, draped in the sa cape-like coat she wore when she first t Erald Sparrow. Her head leaned slightly back on the headrest, her body slightly tilted to the right, half reclining on the armrest. The subtle yet even breathing and the slight rise and fall of her chest indicated she had fallen into a slumber.
The Erald had given no indication of what kind of occasion they were heading to.
Even when asked, she rely referred to it as "a gathering of a few friends," "a place to casually eat and chat," without ntioning anything specific about the other parties involved.
Thus, at this mont, Erald Sparrow had no idea who she was about to et, and the necessary social etiquette prevented her from interrupting the Erald's sleep. With all work correspondence handled via her phone, which there was now no reason to check, Erald Sparrow turned her head to look at the scenery passing by outside the carriage.
The suspense left by the Erald lasted until the carriage traversed the Magic-free Zone, coming to a stop at a secluded launch site. As Erald Sparrow looked at this site, the first thing she saw was a Flying Airship docked there.
"Ah… yes, it looks like we're here."
The Erald awoke at so point, stretched and yawned. With one hand on the carriage door, she took in the outer scenery before straightening up and lazily walked onto the grassy take-off area.
"Get off, our destination is over there." After a while, she seed to suddenly rember the person following her and turned to speak to Erald Sparrow.
"Destination? Do you an this…"
Erald Sparrow, following her off the carriage, looked at the Flying Airship before her, montarily at a loss for words, "Are you saying the so-called gathering is on this ship?"
"Yes, though I'm not too clear on the details, it seems to be sothing the young folks ca up with.
The Erald rubbed her eyes to wipe away the tears brought by yawning, mumbling drowsily, "They call it sothing like 'Flying Kitchen' or a chain restaurant. Anyway, a few Flying Airships carrying a cooking team claiming to be from the Royal Court fly around, making dishes that aren't all that remarkable, but it seems quite famous among so rich folks? It's all about novelty anyway."
"Chefs from the Royal Court?" thought Erald Sparrow out loud as she walked forward, taking care to lift her overly long skirt to avoid tripping. The Erald's ntion of these keywords had caught her attention: "That must be expensive, right?"
"I think it's all hype. I've been invited to eat there twice, and their food isn't comparable to that of the Rose Palace,"
said the Erald, walking ahead and tidying her collar, which had gotten a bit wrinkled from sleeping, "As for whether it's expensive, it indeed is, but since soone else is treating us today, we don't need to worry about that."
"Ordinary friends inviting us to such an upscale restaurant?"
Erald Sparrow, having gauged the level of expenditure for this Flying Airship, couldn't help but ask, "So, who exactly am I going to et?"
"Of course, fulfilling my previous promise to you."
Casually arriving at the Airship's boarding gate, just showing her face to the waiters at the entrance earned a respectful greeting, ushering the Erald and Erald Sparrow in. While they walked ahead, the Erald restored her appearance, adopting a rarely seen, sowhat dignified deanor:
"After all, as we agreed in our transaction, apart from resolving the Heart's Gem issue for you, there is one more condition."
"...Oh, I see."
Erald Sparrow understood the Erald's intent with just that sentence.
At the sa ti, she realized why the Erald wanted to present this "dignified" posture and have her dressed this way.
Several months ago, during their transaction with the Source of Beasts as a bargaining chip, the Erald had ntioned that she had so "friends" in the Magical Affairs Institute of the Magic Kingdom.
The so-called friends were, of course, a euphemism. The position of the Sapphire Wand had been vacant for years, and the Magical Affairs Institute, though nominally under the Royal Court, had been slowly divided among a few Royal Court nobles and the other four Gemstone Scepter holders.
In the power struggles, most mbers of the Magical Affairs Institute couldn't remain neutral. Whether willingly or unwillingly, they had to align with a certain faction.
As the head of the Research Institute, holding the Green Erald Scepter, the Erald must have her own network of "contacts" within the Magical Affairs Institute.
Following the entrance of the Flying Airship, Erald Sparrow and the Erald arrived in front of a large door after passing through a short but luxurious corridor ant more for display than function).
Even from outside the door, the sounds of laughter and chatter were audible, indicating a sizable group of guests inside.
Without needing any commands, the waiters standing by the sides bowed to these clearly most honored guests before gently pushing open the door.
Inside, in that relatively spacious "restaurant," a dozen or so Magical Girls of various appearances were seated in a circle.
Unlike the notion of "banquets" in the Material Realm, none of the Magical Girls gathered here were dressed in formal evening or banquet outfits. Most of them wore stylish, girlish dresses, or cute yet appropriate common attire.
Before the door opened, they were still chatting away, the room filled with a lively atmosphere and the sweetness of pre-dinner desserts, painting a picture more like an innocent girls' soirée than anything else.
But as soon as the door opened and the Erald entered, the magical girls quickly ceased their conversations, curbing their slightly frivolous deanor and standing up in unison.
As the Erald took her position and Erald Sparrow stately stepped into the restaurant with her skirt lifted, the last bits of sound died away, leaving an absolute silence.
Erald Sparrow looked at the magical girls and they in turn looked at her.
No words needed to be exchanged. At a certain mont, the tallest among them, who stood closest to the head seat, took the lead, prompting everyone to step away from their seats.
They perford a standard curtsy towards Erald Sparrow. The curtsy included a modification, not rely a bowing but gradually kneeling, their skirts fanning out on the wooden floor like radiant blossoms.
No words were needed, no explanations required.
This was the most solemn gesture of allegiance from the subordinates to their superior in the Magic Kingdom.
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