Chapter 142

The private research institute arranged by the Emerald for the Strange Strategy Bureau is located in the commercial real estate district under the bureau's jurisdiction, within an office building that is not particularly popular.

The advantage is that it is quiet amidst the bustle and not easily discovered; the disadvantage is that the space is small and hardly grand.

During the process of discussing the location, the Emerald once felt that such treatment was unworthy of her status as a Gem Scepter and voiced considerable complaints. However, Lin Yun was unwilling to agree to her demand for "an entire floor" the moment she opened her mouth, so the final compromise was two rooms.

Taking the elevator to the corridor of the office building, Lin Yun and the fairy doll walked side by side, arriving before the door to the Emerald's research institute.

"Transform first," the Emerald suddenly said.

Lin Yun raised an eyebrow slightly, but ultimately did not suspect anything, took out the Heart Gem, and transformed into the likeness of Senior Cuique. Immediately after the transformation was complete, she discovered: the door before her had become different.

What had originally appeared to be an ordinary security door in an office building had now become a metal door inscribed with intricate runes, shimmering with magical light.

"—"

Standing before the door, the doll opened its mouth, and a string of sounds completely unlike human language emerged from it. With every syllable spoken, a previously dim rune on the door would light up, until after it finished speaking a full sentence, the shining runes finally connected into a circle.

Click.

The door opened in response.

Senior Cuique followed behind the doll, entered the room which had been transformed beyond recognition, looked up and gazed around, feeling that nowhere retained any trace of the original office building.

The interior decoration of the room was primarily made of copper and iron, while the floor was paved with wood of some kind; the furnishings looked magical yet carried a sense of technology.

Tall bookshelves were stuffed with documents and notebooks written in unknown scripts, revealing an ancient and quiet atmosphere. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting the dust on the bookshelves into golden spots of light. On the workbench by the window stood reagent bottles of various shapes. The liquids inside the bottles shimmered with colorful light, making them very eye-catching.

On the wall nearby, several large mirrors were embedded within copper and iron patterns; above the mirrors, dense data and runes were currently arranged, seemingly serving the function of display screens.

And in the corner of the research institute, there was a facility that looked particularly conspicuous.

If Senior Cuique had not guessed wrongly, that should be a healing bed. Although it differed greatly in appearance from healing beds in hospitals of the Material Realm, both its size and outline made Senior Cuique think of this type of medical equipment often seen in hospitals.

"So? Why were you so insistent on having me come over?"

After scanning the furnishings of the research institute, Senior Cuique turned her head to look at the fairy doll beside her: "Is it simply to show off your new house to me?"

"Do not be so eager, youngster."

The Emerald's voice sounded leisurely: "I imagine you know very well that I called you over is naturally for the matter of the transaction."

"If it is still those previous conditions, I am afraid I would still not agree," Senior Cuique replied with a frown. "As I have said, the better the conditions you offer, the more I will suspect your motives."

"Really, I have already said it, right? Do not be in a hurry."

The fairy doll turned its head, presumably trying to perform the action of "shaking its head": "Since I have asked you to come, I certainly intend to offer some new conditions."

While saying this, it extended its paw, pointing remotely toward the healing bed not far away:

"For instance, let's look at that first."

"... What is that for?"

"As you can see, it is a healing bed. Its basic functions are like those in hospitals of the Material Realm, except it is an optimized version for magic and the soul."

The doll walked to a light screen nearby and turned a knob on the control console with its hand: "If you had agreed to the transaction we discussed earlier, that healing bed would have been for your preliminary conditioning."

"Preliminary conditioning?" This phrase made Senior Cuique unable to help but raise an eyebrow.

"Yes, repairing the cracks in your true form is actually a huge undertaking. After all, in terms of scale you are Flower-class, and in terms of injury it is extremely severe; it is not something that can be accomplished in one fell swoop."

The doll spoke without turning its head: "Although we cannot go to the Realm for the final repair work until next year, the work before that can still be carried out."

"Specifically?"

"Specifically, it means using various methods to stabilize your injuries, first ensuring your magic does not continue to leak and overflow. If this continues, you will degrade to Bud-class before next year arrives, youngster."

The doll looked up at the screen: "Explaining it is simply too troublesome; you lie down on it yourself, and I will let you try it."

"Now?"

"Now, without any cost or exchange of benefits."

The doll turned around, and a simple, honest smile appeared on its furry, fairy-like face: "Just consider it the customer experience segment during a product sales pitch; just feel its effects properly."

Senior Cuique said nothing, yet the look of suspicion on her face was completely unmasked.

She approached the healing bed pointed out by the Emerald, reached out to touch its surface, then raised her hand to look at it: "It seems there are no abnormal magical fluctuations; it does not appear to be a mechanism or trap."

"There won't be such things, you know."

The Emerald sighed: "Although I have said it many times, I must emphasize once again that I am a person of noble and beautiful qualities and will not do such despicable things."

Senior Cuique did not reply; silently placing both hands on the edge of the healing bed, she pushed herself up with force, leaped lightly, turned around, and sat down on it.

After sitting on the bed surface, she paused for two seconds and spoke again: "It is quite comfortable."

"Just simple optimization for the human body; you must know, it counts as the most cutting-edge achievement in the medical direction within our research institute."

The doll left the screen wall and walked to the side of the healing bed: "Even if I wanted to secretly bring it to the Material Realm, it would require quite a bit of effort."

"... Secretly?"

"Yes, secretly. This was transported by me commissioning my confidant from a smuggling route over a great distance."

The doll raised its paw, stroking the outline of the instrument: "You should feel proud, youngster. This is my first self-built research institute in the Material Realm, and currently only the two of us know this location."

"Is that so."

Responding with a tone completely devoid of inflection, Senior Cuique's gaze swept over the entire room: "Then, may I ask boldly, is there anything in this room that was brought through official channels rather than secretly transported?"

The doll said nothing and pointed confidently behind itself.

Senior Cuique looked in the direction indicated, seeing a huge workbench there.

"... That workbench?" she said somewhat uncertainly.

"No, it is the notebook I placed on top of it," the Emerald stated with certainty.

"Besides that?"

"Nothing."

The Emerald's lazy voice emerged from the doll: "After all, I did not report to Your Majesty at all."

Senior Cuique pondered slightly, then raised her head again: "Your Excellency the Chief."

"What is it?"

"In our Material Realm, we generally call your behavior 'smuggling' and 'illegally constructing unauthorized structures'."

"That's quite a coincidence."

The doll lowered itself and tapped the operation screen beside the treatment bed: "In the Realm, the definition seems to be the same."

"I don't think this is a coincidence; it's simply because your actions are in violation of the rules." Senior Cuique said expressionlessly.

"Sigh, after all, we can't let Your Majesty know about this matter."

Emerald was somewhat helpless: "Think carefully about what we are going to do next. Whether it's helping you fabricate a false identity or smuggling you back to the Magic Realm, not a single thing is legal. So, my presence here must definitely not be known by others."

"That's why you're using a clone?"

"That's why you're using a clone."

The doll extended its paw and pushed Senior Cuique's arm: "Alright, the instrument is calibrated. Lie down first."

Senior Cuique said no more and, responding to the command, lay down on the treatment bed.

She stared fixedly at the doll tapping and pressing the operation screen beside her. As it moved, faint ripples of mana emanated from inside the machine, rhythmically washing around Senior Cuique.

Faint mana light enveloped Senior Cuique, and a tingling sensation slowly crawled up her limbs.

The faint hum of the machinery became the sole melody in the research institute, while the sound of the doll tapping on the screen served as its accompaniment. No one knew how long passed before the doll finally raised its paw and looked at Senior Cuique, saying:

"Okay, next, take off your clothes."

"How much?"

"All of it."

The doll said casually, but then noticed Senior Cuique's gaze was a bit off: "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Your Excellency the Chief, I recall you just said you are a person possessing 'noble and beautiful' qualities."

Senior Cuique looked at it expressionlessly: "Do the words you just spoke fall under these qualities?"

"What do you take me for? I said, this is treatment, treatment! It's not for some despicable and filthy purpose! Do doctors in your Material Realm also question you at every turn like this? I am your attending physician right now, youngster!"

The doll put its hands on its hips and said dissatisfied: "Leaving aside the fact that I don't have the absurd interests you imagine, even if I did, I wouldn't be interested in the figure of a little girl like you. What are you worried about?"

Senior Cuique stared seriously at the doll for a moment, but unfortunately, nothing could be read from this body, which was merely a puppet.

After much thought, she felt she indeed had no need to be so wary of the other party. So she reached out and pressed her hand against her Soul Gem. The navy blue dress on her body instantly turned into mana threads shrouded in light; the threads went from dense to sparse and gradually spread outward.

A Magical Girl's attire is mainly composed of mana; putting it on or taking it off doesn't require the same trouble as normal clothes. Furthermore, since Senior Cuique's ability inherently includes threads, manipulating clothing was naturally a piece of cake for her.

However, just as she intended to slide the clothes off her body, she found the doll in front of her staring motionlessly at her, a pair of emerald-green pupils deep and focused. Whether it was an illusion or not, Senior Cuique could even see strangely jumping numbers and runes within its eyes.

"... Your Excellency the Chief, just for the sake of basic social distance and propriety, could you please turn your back slightly?"

"I've only placed a clone here; the main body has already turned its back. You can take off your clothes with peace of mind." Emerald's voice sounded somewhat subtly discordant.

"Then could you please ask this clone to close its eyes?" Senior Cuique asked, her eyelids drooping.

"Sorry, this clone doesn't have the function to close its eyes." The doll said, blinking its eyes.

Senior Cuique gradually loosened the hand pressing on the gem and stared silently at the doll once more. The two fell into a long standoff beside the treatment bed.

Not long after, she suddenly sat up from the treatment bed and jumped to the ground:

"Sorry, that's all for today. I must take my leave."

She always felt that Emerald had brought her here with ulterior motives, and casting out so many lures beforehand was even more contrary to reason. Given the other party's personality of filling their mouth with "transactions" and "benefits," there was certainly no reason to let her gain so many benefits for free.

The fact that the other party suddenly appeared in Fang Ting City and actively offered her various kinds of help was strange enough; now they even wanted to provide some sort of "customer experience segment"? Plus, the other party insisted on staring at her during the process, making this sense of incongruity even stronger.

Although she felt no shame in exposing her skin and believed the other party wasn't acting out of some "absurd interest," she still felt there was some other reason behind this.

So, after confirming this point, she decisively stopped the so-called treatment and planned to leave directly.

"Hey, don't go! The data I worked so hard to get... no, the explanation of the next functions I worked so hard to give you!"

The fairy doll tumbled and crawled down from beside the treatment bed and ran right in front of Senior Cuique: "It's just taking off your clothes, just for a tiny, tiny bit! It won't make you lose a piece of flesh!"

"'The data I worked so hard to get'... is that right?"

Senior Cuique bent down and pressed her palm onto the doll's head: "Your Excellency the Chief, can you explain to me exactly what data it is?"

"Hmm... you misheard!"

The doll struggled to wave its paws, trying to reach Senior Cuique's hand: "This is a proposal full of goodwill and sincerity; how could there be such a cold, unfeeling thing as data?"

Having said that, it hooked Senior Cuique's wrist and began to pull hard in the direction of the treatment bed: "Come on, let's go back and continue for a bit. Three minutes... no, just two minutes!"

However, Senior Cuique stood there, motionless.

"... It's because your Wands of Gems are always like this that I don't trust you."

After hearing Emerald's words, she sighed for some reason and took another step, walking towards the institute's door: "No need for you to see me off. Wish you a smooth research life here. Goodbye."

The fairy doll left behind by her raised its pair of short legs but couldn't catch up. Seeing she was about to leave the institute like this, it finally gave up, stood still on the spot, and then raised its voice:

— "Alright, don't go yet! I'll say it!"

Although still that lazy and careless, a hint of helplessness was clearly present in Emerald's tone: "Isn't it just the reason I want the Beast Source, and what I actually want by bringing you here? I'll say it. Anyway, come back first."

Senior Cuique stopped her steps.

However, she didn't return to the treatment bed as the other party had said; instead, she remained silent, quietly watching the doll on the ground.

You say something concrete first.

That was the meaning she wanted to express.

"... You want me to speak first? You youngster really won't let go of the eagle until you see the rabbit."

Understanding Senior Cuique's meaning, the doll could only sigh and shake its head: "Alright, then I'll tell you something first and truly show my sincerity."

"For example, let me think..."

"Oh, how about we start with 'Claw Marks'?"

(End of this chapter)