Chapter 51: The Gem Scepter

"You noticed?"

Hong Siyu raised an eyebrow, but then showed a somewhat troubled expression: "It's just that this isn't something I can talk about casually. If Cui Que hasn't agreed, I shouldn't be telling you on my own."

"Can't you tell us?"

Xia Liang was even more curious: "Why must we have the little senior's consent?"

"What? Little senior... Hahahaha!"

Hearing Xia Liang's form of address, Hong Siyu laughed out loud on the spot: "This nickname is interesting, you actually call her little senior?"

To this, Xia Liang only tilted her head in confusion, clearly not understanding where the punchline was.

But being sharp, she immediately realized this was a good opportunity, then leaned forward, showing a somewhat pitiful expression: "The little senior is so gentle, she definitely won't blame you, just tell us, big sister."

"Playing cute is a foul!"

Finding it hard to fend off Xia Liang's offensive, and nearly speaking up on the spot, Hong Siyu still didn't give in easily: "I can tell you! But you have to admit, the things I know are still a bit useful, right? Cui Que wouldn't tell you these things; she's deathly afraid of you being overly ambitious."

The target of this remark was clearly Lin Xiaolu, who was still dwelling on the previous conversation where she was insulted as being "not as good as Cui Que."

"Hmm..."

Having her curiosity piqued and being singled out, Lin Xiaolu had to put aside the few strands of melancholy in her heart and weigh the new question.

She actually wanted to stay tough to the end, but what Hong Siyu was about to say might be closely related to Cui Que, making it hard for her to refuse.

"Fine, I'll grant that what you say is useful."

After a long moment, she could only pout in defiance and say: "So I've admitted it, can you tell us now?"

"Hehe! That's more like it!"

Finally obtaining Lin Xiaolu's admission, Hong Siyu raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction and began: "Since you've both requested it, I'll reluctantly enlighten you."

"First question: have you ever paid attention to your codenames?"

"Codenames?" Lin Xiaolu didn't understand what she was up to and could only answer in a daze, "My codename is Bai Mei."

"The little sister here..." Nodding at this, Hong Siyu looked at Xia Liang again.

"My name is Xia Liang."

"Good, then Xia Liang, what about your codename?"

"My codename is Xiao Jin, it should refer to the small brocade flower, or perhaps the butterfly bush?" Xia Liang answered while tapping her chin.

"Then I can tell you now that my former codename was Asagao, and as you know, Cui Que's codename is also a flower. Have you discovered the commonality?" Hong Siyu winked at them.

"They're all flowers?"

"They are all flowers."

The two magical girls gave the same answer one after the other.

"Yes, that's right, magical girls' codenames are actually all named after flowers."

Hong Siyu proudly lifted her chin, summarizing as if this conclusion had come from her personally: "The moment you become a magical girl, your codename emerges in your heart along with the awakening of your Heart Seed; it is the very proof that you have obtained power. You can imagine it as your wish causing the Heart Seed to bloom into a flower."

"But having said that, you should also be able to guess that there are exceptions to everything."

"Although every magical girl has a codename corresponding to a flower name, in reality, there are also magical girls who do not use that as their codename."

"Why? Do their Heart Seeds not have codenames?" Lin Xiaolu asked suspiciously.

"No, that's not the reason."

Hong Siyu shook her head: "But if I want to explain it clearly, I have to tell another story here."

"Can't you just say it directly?" Lin Xiaolu was somewhat dissatisfied with her cryptic, riddle-like demeanor.

"No, I must tell the story first!" Hong Siyu insisted firmly.

"Why do we have to insert a story in a place like this?"

"You'll regret it if you don't listen!"

"Alright, forget it, Xiaolu, we've already come this far."

Xia Liang acted as a peacemaker in the middle, persuading Lin Xiaolu: "Anyway, it's almost lunchtime, why not just listen?"

A few words were indeed enough to soothe Lin Xiaolu.

"I get it... then try to keep it short." Lin Xiaolu was actually someone who yielded to soft tactics rather than hard ones; since Xia Liang persuaded her nicely, she reluctantly agreed.

"Fine, fine, fine."

Hong Siyu responded somewhat perfunctorily, then adjusted her state and tone of voice, narrating in a voice akin to a recitation:

"The reason the Magical Kingdom is called a kingdom is because it is a nation—yes, just the kind of 'nation' mentioned in history books."

"Since it is a nation, it naturally has its leader, and within the Magical Kingdom, the one who rules over everything is Her Majesty the Queen in the Rose Palace."

"Her Majesty the Queen has a very exquisite and magnificent Gem Scepter, and embedded at the top of the scepter are five extremely luxurious gems, all of which are her most beloved jewels."

"Later, one day, Her Majesty the Queen bestowed the gems from the scepter upon the magical girls she admired and trusted the most, and at the same time, granted them her own power and authority."

"The so-called authority is actually the power of the Five Great Academies, handing the Five Great Academies over to those magical girls along with the gems; while power means a more transcendent strength within the kingdom."

"At the same time, for the magical girls who were bestowed with gems, their codenames would no longer be the names of flowers, but the names of those gems bestowed by Her Majesty the Queen."

"Precisely because of this, these few magical girls are also known as the 'Gem Scepter,' the pinnacle of authority and power among the magical girls in the kingdom."

"The Investigation Academy we speak of, its corresponding authority belongs to one of the Gem Scepter lords, the magical girl corresponding to the chrysoberyl gem on the scepter—her codename is Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye."

"Using the Queen's gems as codenames..."

Lin Xiaolu's eyes shone as she listened: "That sounds so gorgeous!"

Even Xia Liang was nodding with a look of longing.

"Right?"

Hong Siyu shrugged and said with a touch of nostalgia: "Every magical girl who hears this story for the first time has this reaction; even I was no exception in the past."

"Only your senior Cui Que, when she heard this story, had a face as if it were frozen, without any reaction at all."

Once these words were out, Lin Xiaolu, who had been enchanted by the idea of "using gems as codenames," immediately froze, then straightened up and also put on a calm appearance.

"So, that 'Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye' is the person in charge of the Investigation Academy, which is the top boss of your Heterogeneous Strategy Bureau?" On the other side, after understanding what Hong Siyu had expressed, Xia Liang asked again.

"You child! Why do you always have to ask such questions?"

Hong Siyu couldn't help but sigh: "But if you insist, indeed, Lord Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye should be considered our top boss."

"What about the Magic Affairs Academy?" Xia Liang continued to press.

"The Magic Affairs Academy... the power has not been delegated; it remains with the Queen, that is, the Royal Court."

Hong Siyu rubbed her chin, her train of thought inspired: "Come to think of it, the Queen can also be considered our direct superior?"

"Ah, she's starting to gild her own lily," Lin Xiaolu, who was still playing it cool, said faintly.

"You too! Didn't I tell you not to say things that make you seem uncute?" Stung repeatedly, Hong Siyu was slightly annoyed.

After throwing out the topic of the Gem Scepter, the group chatted for a while about the current state of the Magical Kingdom. When the time reached exactly twelve o'clock noon, Hong Siyu stood up and stretched.

"Hmm—what are you planning to eat for lunch? Takeout?"

"There are leftovers in the fridge that the cleaning lady cooked yesterday," Xia Liang answered honestly while lounging on the sofa.

"Leftovers?"

Hearing this, Hong Siyu waved her hand: "Then that won't be necessary! Since I'm here, let me show you what I can do! What other ingredients are in the fridge?"

"Um... if you want to eat fresh food, I actually know a little bit of cooking."

Xia Liang straightened up alertly and suggested with a smile: "It's not exactly delicious, but it should be edible."

"It's improper to let a child cook for me; I'll let you witness the results of a single young woman's culinary training!" Hong Siyu boasted.

"Isn't it already a middle-aged woman?" Lin Xiaolu said mercilessly from the side.

"You child, if you say things like that again, this big sister is going to cry!"

"I know, I know, just talk properly, don't lean over here!"

After another round of chaos, Hong Siyu finally tied on an apron, walked into the kitchen, and rummaged through the fridge for various vegetables and frozen meat.

Behind her, Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu watched her busy at work; although her technique seemed quite skilled, there was always a trace of unease in their hearts.

"It should be fine, right?" Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but mutter to herself.

"Ahaha, she said so herself, shouldn't we trust her?"

Xia Liang smiled at her comfortingly, and after saying this, she looked toward the kitchen. But watching the increasingly strange ratio of seasonings in Hong Siyu's hands, her smile gradually froze:

"Should... be?"