Chapter 47: Early Summer

Summer vacation is undoubtedly a holiday, but the focus ultimately lies on the character "heat."

It is mid-July; by early summer, the weather has already grown stifling. Crickets occasionally chirp on the streets, clamoring and complaining about the scorching heat of the fierce sun.

Warm gusts sweep past the lush street trees lining the road, yet not even a trace of coolness remains in the shade beneath them. The air is thick with heat, making every breath feel like a scorching gasp.

Lin Xiaolu sat quietly on the sofa in her living room, her eyes tightly shut. Although she was at home, she had transformed into her magical girl state, her hands folded over the Heart Seed on her chest, deep in meditation as magic surged around her.

The floor-standing air conditioner in the living room hummed, pumping out cool air. The indoor temperature was considerably cooler than outside, so even in such weather, she could calm her mind and practice properly.

The hour hand on the wall clock jumped silently. In the silent atmosphere, it unknowingly swept past more than half the dial, pointing to exactly eleven o'clock.

"Time's up, rest!" A voice came from her side.

Pulling her thoughts back from the long trance, Lin Xiaolu slowly opened her eyes and withdrew the magic overflowing around her. After a moment of dazed stillness, she let out a long sigh, and her expression regained its liveliness.

Looking toward the direction the sound had come from, the pink cat-like fairy sat there with an air of smug superiority, bossing people around. Seeing Lin Xiaolu look at her, she wagged her tail and said, "Wonderful! Your trances these past two days haven't been interrupted voluntarily once. Your progress is very obvious, Xiaolu!"

"... Well, thank you for your praise."

She instinctively wanted to pout, but Lin Xiaolu controlled her expression.

The summer special training had been underway for nearly half a month. Senior Cuique had indeed done as promised, multiplying the tasks for magic cultivation and academic study several times over. Without a shred of mercy, she had almost completely deprived Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang of their summer vacation.

If it were anything else, Lin Xiaolu would have long since reached her limit. But first, this training was something she had requested herself; second, the plan was drawn up by a senior she greatly admired; and third, it concerned whether she could become an independent magical girl. Layer upon layer of reasons stacked together left her no choice but to take it seriously.

After this period of high-intensity training, besides her own magic and soul steadily growing stronger, her control over magic had finally become somewhat more fluid.

Of course, it still paled in comparison to the other newcomer of the same cohort.

"Hiss, it's so cold. Can't you turn the air conditioner up a bit?"

Xia Liang, leaning in from behind her, complained softly, "I feel so cold my legs are trembling; I simply can't concentrate."

"Then go stay in another room," Lin Xiaolu glanced at her.

"No air conditioner and it's too hot?" Xia Liang smiled obediently.

"Why so many demands? If you want to be comfortable, go back to your own house!" Lin Xiaolu glared at her fiercely.

"You know perfectly well my house only has one old air conditioner." Leaning back on the sofa in a shameless manner and clutching a cushion to her front, Xia Liang murmured, "Ah, this is much better. I feel like I could take another afternoon nap."

Originally, according to Senior Cuique's idea, the training location for the rest of this summer should have been Xia Liang's house. Whether it was indoor training during the day or study sessions at night, everything could be done at Xia Liang's place, which would help alleviate some of her loneliness.

However, on this matter, for some reason Lin Xiaolu developed a competitive spirit, insisting that her own house would work too. In the end, the location for daytime special training was changed to Lin Xiaolu's house. Thus, the current awkward situation arose: training in one place during the day, and having to switch to another place for evening training.

"... Only you would have such thoughts." Seeing her composed demeanor, Lin Xiaolu's breath hitched, and she finally began to feel a bit worried. "After all, your cultivation progress is so fast."

After making her decision half a month ago, Xia Liang had completely focused her mind on improving her strength. The talent she displayed repeatedly surpassed Lin Xiaolu's, and even Lin Yun's understanding.

Leaving aside her rate of magic growth, even her soul reinforcement speed was unreasonably fast, and her precision in controlling magic was effortless. It was estimated that within at most another half month, both her magic and soul would reach the threshold to form her True Form.

In comparison, for some magical girls with ordinary talent, reaching this stage from zero would take at least half a year to a year.

Given the current situation, it can be said that once Xia Liang masters the technique to form her True Form, she can calmly advance to the Bud Grade and thereby obtain her Magic Construct.

Although Lin Xiaolu's talent was not bad, it still fell far short of Xia Liang's. To reach this standard, she would probably have to wait until after the summer vacation ended.

"Speaking of which, you haven't explained in detail yet."

Xia Liang, holding the cushion, suddenly said, "You mentioned that a contact sent you some strange messages a few days ago. What was that about?"

"Hmm? I just said there were evil magical girls acting near Fang Ting City..."

Lin Xiaolu propped her chin up with a somewhat indifferent expression: "What was the name? Claws?"

"Although I don't know the real name, it probably isn't the one you mentioned."

Feeling somewhat helpless at her casual attitude, Xia Liang said, "But evil magical girls? So there are people like that."

"It's quite normal, isn't it?"

Lin Xiaolu glanced at her: "After all, magic can hurt people."

"Indeed, that's quite different from what's shown on TV." Xia Liang couldn't help but sigh.

"On TV? Magical girls who don't hurt people? Then you must be talking about cartoons from several years ago."

"It's not like that anymore?"

"It hasn't been for a long time."

Lin Xiaolu lifted her body and counted on her fingers: "Since the era of the Magical Gun Girls, up to the recent Color Sky Angels, battles between magical girls and enemies have had to avoid ordinary people."

"Xiaolu, you seem to know a lot about magical girl cartoons?" Xia Liang noticed the information in Lin Xiaolu's words.

"... I watch them occasionally." Lin Xiaolu turned her face away.

"Occasionally?" Xia Liang asked, as if confirming.

"Occasionally." Lin Xiaolu stated firmly.

The two locked eyes. Xia Liang's gaze held a hint of inquiry, while Lin Xiaolu, though feeling slightly guilty, stubbornly persisted in maintaining eye contact with her.

It seemed she really did not want others to think she liked magical girl cartoons.

"Hmph, I won't ask you about that then. Let's talk about something else. What would an evil magical girl be like?"

Seeing that teasing was useless, Xia Liang changed the subject: "Do evil magical girls still drive away residual beasts?"

"I don't know, after all, I wouldn't do evil things."

"... True, I probably wouldn't either."

Rarely being shut down by a single sentence from Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang continued to ask, "Then, what should we do if we actually encounter one?"

"I asked Senior Cuique. She said that during normal sorties, just be careful; if you see an unfamiliar magical girl, tell her directly."

Lin Xiaolu thought seriously for a moment: "I remember Senior Cuique said she is a 'Patrol Officer'. Catching evil magical girls is part of her mission, right?"

"A Patrol Officer, huh..." Xia Liang tilted her head up.

—"Ding-dong."

Just as the two began a new round of gossip using that term, the doorbell suddenly rang at the entrance.