Chapter 357: Cuique's Worry

"It's taken care of."

At the same time, in another examination room in the Silver Corridor, a plump fairy doll suddenly spoke.

"Taken care of what?" Cuique, who had been sitting beside the equipment with nothing to do, tilted her head toward the doll.

"Your little girl's matter."

The fairy doll waved its paw and projected the light screen in its hand before Cuique: "Her test results should have been selected and sent to Your Majesty by rights, but I smuggled her through."

Unlike the previous maze examination's observation mechanism, during the magic equipment examination stage, the Examination Institute did not organize a collective observation session.

First, because the examination process itself had little to watch; second, because the testing used many high-end instruments internal to the Research Institute, which was reluctant to display such content publicly.

But the absence of observation did not mean the results would go unseen. In fact, during this examination, all magic equipment data with a final rating above "Briza" would be transmitted in real time to the Selection Division of the Huangguan Sect within the Magic Affairs Institute.

The Selection Division of the Huangguan Sect would screen these results, select from them those it considered to have potential, and send them to Wang Ting. There, the court secretaries would conduct the next round of filtering, sending the most valuable data to the Queen.

Undoubtedly, data appearing before the Queen in this manner was bound to leave an impression. If all went well, the "being valued" that Lin Xiaolu had once fantasized about was not impossible. But regrettably, she had never imagined that on her "official career path" there stood a villain blocking the way.

This "villain" was none other than Cuique.

Cuique did not want her daughter's test results sent before the Queen.

Lin Xiaolu's magic equipment was very special—special to the point of being unprecedented. Cuique knew this well, so if Lin Xiaolu's data were sent to Wang Ting, she would inevitably become a focus of attention.

She knew that, because of her own reasons, Lin Xiaolu might have already entered certain people's sights. Even the matter of Lin Xiaolu becoming a magical girl—even though all the key points had been clarified and it truly seemed to be mere coincidence—Cuique still harbored a trace of doubt about it.

But even so, she would not let Lin Xiaolu's magic equipment data flow into Wang Ting, because the written record would give them an excuse to pay attention to and approach Lin Xiaolu.

Cuique did not want that.

She believed that most of her magical girl colleagues in this world were still good people with hearts of justice and benevolence, and that the magical girls within the kingdom still had their share of upright individuals. She had even reached the point where she could try to trust Emerald, to trust the Gem Staff she had once doubted in every way... but she could never trust this country's Wang Ting.

Certainly, she had now resolved to set aside her reservations, to find ways to approach the Sapphire Staff position, to step into the power core of this country, to coexist with that Queen. But the starting point of all this was precisely because she did not trust Wang Ting—she wanted to do her utmost to see if she could change it.

Before she could truly accomplish these things, she would not let Lin Xiaolu be exposed to the gaze of those in Wang Ting.

Perhaps there was her own prejudice in it, perhaps it would to some extent cut off the channel through which Lin Xiaolu, as a magical girl, could receive the kingdom's attention. But if doing so could make Lin Xiaolu's situation a little safer, Cuique was willing to be that villain.

"Thank you."

Cuique pulled herself back from her thoughts, thanked Emerald sincerely, then took the light screen: "But how can something like this be done? The Huangguan Sect doesn't have our people, right? Won't it be traced later?"

"That? Don't worry, I didn't use any improper means. It's actually quite simple—intercept a portion of the B-level examination results in advance. When your little girl's results come out, release them together with this intercepted batch. The moment the Huangguan Sect people retrieve one file, the information database in the rear has already quietly logged ten. Under mutual cover, we can prevent the child's information from being seen right away."

Emerald's avatar waved its paw: "After all, I am Your Majesty's Gem Staff—I won't do, nor can I do, anything that betrays her."

"What if the Huangguan Sect people later want to retrieve these logged data from the database?" Cuique frowned.

"Then at most they can only see what Selection Division-level clearance allows."

Emerald's avatar spread its paws: "As for your little girl's data, it's now been set to require Gem Staff-level clearance or above to view, and as everyone knows..."

"The Huangguan Sect people don't have a Gem Staff behind them." Cuique understood.

"That's exactly how it is." Emerald said lazily: "The entire process is compliant. The information backlog can be explained as coincidence, their missing the S-level rated data at first glance is also coincidence, and this data being subsequently raised to a higher confidentiality clearance is for our Research Institute's research needs. It's simply that only the Huangguan Sect people are responsible for screening examination results, but their clearance isn't enough to see all the data, so they missed it in the end."

"Thank you." Cuique thanked again, and for once did not say much about these bureaucratic methods.

Rather, on this matter, it was precisely such bureaucratic methods that put one more at ease.

Right now, she had entered this examination room under the examinee identity of Long Dan.

However, because she and Emerald had communicated beforehand, Emerald had specifically prepared an avatar in this examination room. At the same time, the two examiners here were also direct-line "our people," which gave Cuique and Emerald the opportunity for this private meeting.

She looked at the light screen before her—Lin Xiaolu's examination results and data were already on record:

【Ability Specification: Level 4】

【Development Potential: Gem Staff】

【Application Field: Relatively broad, suitable for the vast majority of scenarios beyond support and logistics】

【Development Potential: Extremely High】

【Stability: Extremely Low】

【Comprehensive Rating: Soliflor+】

【Remarks: This examinee's magic equipment is suspected to be an unprecedented new type; existing testing standards cannot fully measure all its data. It is hereby specially rated S+ level, in the hope of receiving high-level attention.】

Beyond that came a long string of highly specialized descriptions and data, which Cuique, given her theoretical level, could only grasp in general terms.

As early as the Fang Ting days, Cuique had already consulted Emerald about Lin Xiaolu's magic equipment, but limited by the makeshift laboratory's hardware in Fang Ting, Emerald at that time could not offer very specific insights.

Coming to the kingdom for this examination was also an opportunity for the two of them to evaluate Lin Xiaolu's magic equipment in detail.

Even though she had long been mentally prepared, when she saw Lin Xiaolu's magic equipment marked as "S+," Cuique's heart still sank.

This too was an unprecedented rating, but anyone with eyes could tell what the examiner giving this evaluation meant: the value reflected by Lin Xiaolu's magic equipment had already exceeded the existing evaluation system.

And among the sub-item data, the development potential marked as "Gem Staff level" also made Cuique's eyelids twitch.

"... What level is Gem Staff level?" she could not help but look up and ask.

"It's a purely theoretical concept I derived long ago, back when I was still leading research on magic equipment potential."

Emerald's tone remained as lazy as ever, but her inflection rose slightly, letting Cuique detect a hint of "smugness": "At the time, my assistants and students all thought this theoretical concept was too outrageous, even insulting to Wang Ting, and urged me not to publish it. For the sake of these juniors whose courage was even less than that of lab mice, I agreed."

"Then? Why did it appear in this examination result?" Cuique's eyelids drooped.

"Of course because I secretly changed the standards recorded in the system afterward."

Emerald said matter-of-factly: "No one can stop me from leaving the correct research results in this world. If there is such a person, it must be because they proved me wrong. And now, this report fully proves my correctness in the induction of magic equipment potential—I am right!"

"Ah, I see."

Cuique opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally just nodded, calmly continuing what she considered the main topic: "Then what is the specific meaning of this rating?"

"It means that your daughter, if she can grow smoothly and blossom, may be able to become a magical girl on our level without needing Your Majesty to bestow authority."

The fairy doll spread its arms: "The Magic Kingdom will welcome its sixth 'Gem Staff'—one who has not been granted destined authority and power, yet still possesses corresponding strength."

Listening to Emerald's somewhat impassioned words, Cuique closed her eyes.

"You don't seem very happy." Emerald tilted the doll's head.

"... I'm very happy."

Senior Cuique took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and tugged the corners of her mouth upward slightly: "How could anyone not be happy hearing that their child will be extraordinary in the future?"

"I'll be kind and believe your words for now, but you don't look all that surprised." The doll looked at Senior Cuique.

"Surprised... should I be surprised right now?"

A hint of indescribable emotion colored Senior Cuique's voice: "But I can't deceive myself; I'm actually not surprised at all. As a magical girl, I'm somewhat special, and Anya is special too. For us, who are so special, to have an ordinary child would be the abnormal thing."

"Yes, that would be the abnormal thing."

Emerald nodded in agreement: "We live in a world of the magical side, and everyone knows that magical talent and bloodline have never been easily separated."

"I know what is right, what is normal, what is destined to happen. I even thought I had long since prepared myself."

Senior Cuique pressed her knees together, rested her elbows on her thighs, bent forward, and covered her mouth and nose with her interlaced fingers. A trace of worry flickered across her originally calm face: "But when I actually saw the concrete result, I realized I might still need to convince myself once more."

"Feeling very worried?"

"Yes, I can't help but worry."

"It just feels like that child is still so small in my eyes, as if she only just stepped out of her swaddling clothes not long ago. Clearly, she is still the little Princess I hold in my mouth for fear of melting her and in my hands for fear of dropping her, yet in this instant, it's as if I've already seen her reach that position and face the wind and rain?"

Emerald suddenly asked this out of the blue.

Senior Cuique was stunned: "How did you..."

"Of course I know." Emerald's boastful expression remained unchanged: "As I said, I know far more than you can imagine."

"Have you ever been married?" The other's astonishing remark had diluted Senior Cuique's sorrow; now she only felt a bit strange.

"No. Don't laugh at me; I haven't even held a man's hand in my entire life." Emerald said casually, but after a moment's thought, added: "Handshakes with male colleagues and partners don't count."

"Then how can you describe such a thing so concretely?"

"Expectations and love for the younger generation sometimes don't require the bond of blood relations." Emerald pretended to be profound: "Just like that child whose magic leans toward the Beast. You actually no longer resist her seeing you as family, do you? After all, the first thing you did upon entering wasn't ask about your own daughter's condition, but whether that little girl had slipped up."

Senior Cuique fell silent.

The three juniors had already told Senior Cuique the order of their magical armor assessments, so she naturally knew very well that Bai Jingxuan was the first of the three to undergo the test.

Before entering this examination hall, the three things she worried about most were whether Bai Jingxuan would slip up during the assessment, whether Lin Xiaolu's magical armor information would be reported, and whether Xia Liang would be bullied in the upcoming combat phase.

Fortunately, Emerald had already brought her two good results: both Bai Jingxuan and Lin Xiaolu had successfully passed the assessment. While still worrying about the more distant future, Senior Cuique was actually much more at ease regarding the immediate matters.

"Alright, I've given you an answer to the thing you care about most. Regarding your daughter's magical armor, I still have some guesses, but we'll bring that up later."

Seeing that Senior Cuique seemed to have digested the information, Emerald shifted the topic and spoke:

"Next, let's talk a little about the thing I care about most—you should have already observed those Beast children. Do you have any opinions or conclusions?"