Chapter 184: Asō Madoka's Proposal

"Using magic counts as fighting seriously; fighting seriously qualifies it as a 'battle.' Regardless of the outcome, this is the fairest criterion for judging whether a magical girl has engaged in internal conflict."

Asō Madoka spoke slowly: "After all, some are skilled at causing greater impact with little magic, while others lack such means."

"... Is this meant to comfort me?"

Lin Xiaolu thought for a while before gradually understanding: "Are you saying that if it weren't for that rule restriction, but rather if both of us had gone all out, I wouldn't necessarily have lost?"

"No, I am merely analyzing the cause of your defeat."

Asō Madoka glanced at her and shook her head: "Even if you went all out, you still couldn't beat Bai Ji, because she is my most satisfied disciple."

Surprised by this unexpected answer, Lin Xiaolu first froze again, then felt a surge of anger: "You person—"

"But I also said I am on your side."

Asō Madoka cut off her outburst: "Not only because Bai Ji provoked this first and was in the wrong, but also because she is Leaf-Rank while you are Seed-Rank. A contest spanning two blooming stages isn't a contest at all; it's just one-sided bullying."

"... I am not like ordinary Seed-Rankers."

Her words of outburst were forcibly held back. Lin Xiaolu gathered her emotions before speaking gloomily: "If we speak purely of the quantity of magic, I absolutely would not lose to a Leaf-Ranker."

"Because you have been stuck at Seed-Rank for a long time, yet your magic has never stopped growing..."

However, before Lin Xiaolu could finish speaking, these words were uttered from Asō Madoka's mouth opposite her: "You want to say that, right?"

Lin Xiaolu looked up at her in astonishment, momentarily speechless.

"Because I was curious about the whole story between you and Bai Ji, I also asked Senior Cuique. She has already told me your situation."

Asō Madoka continued: "I acknowledge your uniqueness; your abilities in many aspects have already surpassed the limits of this stage. But even so, Seed-Rank is still just Seed-Rank. The gap between Seed-Rank and Leaf-Rank is not merely a difference in magic quality and combat experience, but also in abilities and techniques."

"Let me give you an example."

She held up two fingers: "Suppose two ordinary people of similar height and weight want to fight, but one is only good at street brawling and has never undergone any systematic training; the other is an expert proficient in multiple practical combat arts, mastering various methods of exerting force and techniques for striking enemy vital points. Then I ask, is there any suspense about the outcome of this fight?"

"No suspense, right?"

"Moreover, this child Bai Ji, even among Leaf-Rankers, is the most studious, having mastered more spells and magic usage techniques than magical girls at the same stage. The gap between you and her is even greater than the gap between an ordinary person and a martial arts master."

The more Asō Madoka spoke, the more personal thoughts were mixed into her words, to the point where a considerable portion of the content resembled talking to herself. However, Lin Xiaolu had no intention of speaking; she simply listened quietly. After hearing a certain sentence, her tightly clenched fist gradually relaxed.

— "Then why did you come to find me?"

She spoke calmly, the numbness in her words making even herself feel somewhat unfamiliar: "Anyway, according to your words, I never had a possibility of defeating her from the start. Since I can't beat your team, there's no need for me to participate in next year's assessment at all. Because anyway, such a dangerous assessment, a half-baked person like me going there would only cause trouble for others, right?"

"I didn't say that," Asō Madoka blinked.

"Then what do you want to say? Apologize? 'My disciple bullied a younger one and won against you, so there's a suspicion of bullying'? Is that what you want to say?"

Lin Xiaolu widened her eyes slightly: "You called me out of the room to blow in the cold wind, freezing my legs until they kept shaking, just to tell me this?"

"Is that not allowed?" Asō Madoka asked in return.

"Then just go back. I don't need this kind of 'apology'."

Lin Xiaolu spoke word by word: "The contest between me and your disciple was fair and square. I lost because I was too weak and my skills were inferior. Losing is losing; I am not so unable to accept defeat."

"On the contrary, you, whose disciple clearly won, instead of praising and congratulating her, put on such a hypocritical appearance, saying she was wrong, and coming over to 'apologize' to me? Who exactly are you looking down on? Do you think I'm a child who cries and whines whenever someone bullies me?"

"Are you here to apologize to me? You are not here to apologize to me at all! You just want to save face for Senior Cuique. Put away that face; it's really disgusting!"

"I'm telling you, I don't need an apology at all. This is an insult to the result of our contest!"

On the balcony where the light could not reach, Lin Xiaolu's indignant words were also drowned out by the wind, failing to reach anywhere else. However, Asō Madoka standing before her heard every word clearly.

These words held no respect whatsoever for a "senior," and could even be said to give no face at all, just short of pointing at her face and calling her "hypocritical." Although the words were intense due to emotion, their meaning was accurately conveyed to her.

Being scolded so mercilessly by a child more than twenty years younger, ordinary people might not be surprised to feel angry and ashamed, but Asō Madoka did not do so.

The expression on her face was less anger and more surprise, along with gratification.

"... Truly unexpected. So that is what you think."

She murmured: "Then it is indeed my fault. I tried to coax you as if you were a childish kid, failing to correct my attitude and treat you as a true 'junior'."

Saying this, she bowed slightly, actually making a very solemn half-bow to Lin Xiaolu, and spoke steadily: "I apologize. I was not thoughtful enough."

"I just said I don't want to see such hypocritical formalities and rituals."

Lin Xiaolu frowned: "If you have nothing else to say, I'll be going back first."

"There is something else. I brought you out here, of course, not just to say some superficial pretty words."

Asō Madoka straightened up, brushed her hair that had fallen in front of her back, and said helplessly: "I just didn't expect that, originally wanting to comfort you first, I ended up patting a horse's leg instead of its back. What a miscalculation."

"So?" Lin Xiaolu looked at her with bad temper. "What exactly do you want to do?"

"Because I really want to know what a child of Anya's would be like after becoming a magical girl."

Asō Madoka looked at her gently: "Although I held you in my arms personally when you were born, it has been so many years since we last met, so it is natural to be curious."

"Disappointed?" Lin Xiaolu asked lightly.

"No, very satisfied." Asō Madoka smiled.

"Hah?" Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but retort.

"Haha, after all, unexpectedly, you have a very cute personality. It's just that compared to your mother, you resemble your father a bit more."

Asō Madoka touched her chin and said: "How to put it? That kind of personality that seems like someone provoked her all day long, either ice-cold or looking unhappy, is simply carved from the same mold."

"You call that kind of personality 'cute'?" Lin Xiaolu was somewhat stunned.

"Isn't it very cute?"

Asō Madoka tilted her head to look at her: "At least both I and your mother quite like it, right? Otherwise, your birth wouldn't have happened."

"I feel like your way of putting it sounds a bit strange..."

"Sigh, but there are still traces of your mother in some places. At least, I couldn't imagine you saying such words to me just now... My feelings of being moved are about to overflow."

Asō Madoka pretended to wipe her eyes and extended a hand: "Come, let big sister touch you."

"Playing with a puppy? I don't want to!"

Lin Xiaolu quickly stepped back: "So cringy! Can you say something serious!"

"You don't want to be touched?"

"Of course not!" Lin Xiaolu shouted.

"You could go to school and show off to your classmates, like, 'Young Lady Mary touched my head; I haven't washed my hair in three days'..." Aoshino Enka suggested.

"That sounds disgusting!"

"Then it's what I want to do. Come on, let big sister touch you."

"Even an open request won't work." Lin Xiaolu continued backing away while crossing her hands in front of her to form an X.

"Sigh, what a pity."

Seeing Lin Xiaolu refuse in every possible way, Aoshino Enka found it hard to press further, so she could only sigh and drop the matter: "Then let's talk about serious business."

With these words, the atmosphere that had just begun to ease grew heavy again.

Lin Xiaolu stared at the woman she had met only a day ago; her sudden shift in demeanor made her quite uncomfortable. She felt she could read no specific emotion from the other's face and had no idea what the other truly wanted to do.

She could only subconsciously swallow and wait for the other's words.

"Just now, we mentioned that you are still stuck at the Seed grade. Although I may be projecting my own experience, you must be anxious about this now, right?" Aoshino Enka asked.

"Do you have a way to make my ability bloom?" Lin Xiaolu looked at her suspiciously.

"No, I certainly don't have that kind of power; after all, even Senior Cuique doesn't know why you can't bloom yet."

Aoshino Enka shrugged: "However, I have another proposal."

"What proposal?" With the topic touching on what concerned her most, Lin Xiaolu's question became a bit more urgent.

"I mean, since you are in this state now, you can't awaken your Demon Armor, nor can you learn any techniques. Being idle like this is a waste..."

Aoshino Enka smiled once more. The smile was ordinary for her, but paired with that face, it appeared quite alluring: "How about you learn a thing or two from me?"

(End of this chapter)