When the news that Luo Shuangyue had successfully acquired the method to construct a Teleportation Gate reached the ears of the Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls, nearly every one of them wept for Luo Shuangyue in their hearts.
Heavens, what a noble, kind-hearted child she is!
For the future of humanity, she exhausted her spirit in the fierce struggle with the Item Teleportation Gate, working herself to collapse and falling into a coma.
And even after losing consciousness, she continued to labor at unlocking the secrets of the Teleportation Gate.
The first thing she thought of upon waking was to inform everyone that she had deciphered the secret.
She even wanted to drag her still-unrecovered body out of bed to demonstrate her success to everyone!
“No, no, no, what you need to do now is get some proper rest. The matter of the Teleportation Gate can wait a day or two.”
The silver-haired, golden-eyed girl pressed Luo Shuangyue back onto the bed.
Her eyes, usually calm as a tranquil lake, were now overflowing with guilt and admiration.
Long Wen was truly moved. In her heart, Luo Shuangyue was nearly a saint.
This child’s character was so pure that Long Wen even wanted to compare her to that legendary Magical Girl.
Although the color scheme of the two seemed vastly different, at this moment, Long Wen inexplicably felt that the color of their hearts was exactly the same.
Dark Moth truly is a remarkable child.
“Mentor, I’m really fine, you don’t need to worry so much about me.” Luo Shuangyue, pinned to the hospital bed like a child, raised her hands high, her face written all over with: ‘I’m not dead yet, help me up so I can keep working.’
She had only experienced spiritual exhaustion once—it wasn’t like she’d been gravely wounded and taken a stroll on the edge of hell.
There was really no need for such concern.
She was a little scared.
“Besides, just lying here is boring. Why not discuss the feasibility of my Teleportation Gate plan with the Mentors on Earth?”
There weren’t many entertainment facilities here at the Lunar Base, and this ward was even more barren, housing only the necessary equipment.
Wasn’t that boring to death?
She couldn’t possibly play ‘fairy fights’ with Xia Mo in this place to pass the time, could she?
So, while her mind was still clear, telling the Mentors at Headquarters about her findings was perfectly normal—why was Long Wen being so insistent in her refusal, with that kind of look in her eyes?
Luo Shuangyue really didn’t understand.
“We let you get so badly hurt, and you were unconscious for two whole days. Yet when you woke up, you bore no grudge and still thought of us first. We’re truly ashamed.” Long Wen continued to press down on Luo Shuangyue’s shoulders, her expression making it clear: today, you must rest properly for me.
“My coma wasn’t your fault, Mentor. I was just careless.” Noticing that Long Wen attributed her fainting to the Magic Department, Luo Shuangyue was even more puzzled.
She knew exactly what had happened.
This coma had nothing to do with the Mentors from the Magic Department.
Even she hadn’t expected to faint—how could the ‘Singularity’ who was protecting her have known?
If the Mentors had any responsibility, it would have been if they’d seen her struggling and didn’t stop her, causing her to fall unconscious.
But was that the case here?
Her situation was that one moment she was making great progress, and the next she collapsed. No one could have predicted it.
To dump the blame on the Magic Department would truly trouble her conscience.
And now that the Mentors were fussing over her, treating her as their most beloved junior, she was getting goosebumps.
She liked being praised, and admittedly had a bit of vanity, but when confronted with compliments that far exceeded her expectations, she still felt embarrassed and shy.
Her reaction only made Long Wen even more moved and even less willing to push Luo Shuangyue.
In the end, it was Xia Mo, who couldn’t stand the meaningless tug-of-war between the two, who stepped in to mediate.
Since Long Wen was determined not to let Luo Shuangyue work, then Luo Shuangyue wouldn’t work.
But it should be fine to play some simple games with magic in the hospital room, reviewing what she’d learned.
This way, Long Wen wouldn’t feel guilty, and Luo Shuangyue wouldn’t feel bored—a perfect compromise.
“Just treat it as preparation for tomorrow. Think through how you’ll explain things, and you’ll be able to present it to the Mentors twice as efficiently.” Xia Mo said to Luo Shuangyue, successfully winning her agreement.
Then Xia Mo turned her gaze to Long Wen, very seriously promising that she absolutely would not let Luo Shuangyue overexert herself.
If she saw even a hint of fatigue on Luo Shuangyue, she would immediately press her back into bed and force her to rest.
As someone with a relationship beyond friendship with Luo Shuangyue, Xia Mo’s words had credibility, making Long Wen nod hesitantly.
Before leaving Luo Shuangyue’s hospital room, Long Wen repeatedly reminded Xia Mo not to let Luo Shuangyue get tired—half an hour of work at most.
The nearly overflowing concern was honestly a bit hard for Luo Shuangyue to take.
Once Long Wen had completely disappeared beyond the door, Luo Shuangyue finally slumped against her pillow and let out a helpless complaint, “I really haven’t been mistreated. Why does Mentor Long Wen act like I’ve suffered some great injustice?”
She truly didn’t understand this situation.
She didn’t feel there was any problem, yet everyone around her acted as if there was, making her feel like she was swimming against the current of the whole world.
“It’s because the Mentors are all really good people. That’s why.” Xia Mo, smoothing out the hospital gown rumpled by Long Wen, answered with a smile.
Everyone here was a kind-hearted Magical Girl. It was only natural that things were this way.
It might be a little troublesome, but it made your heart feel warm, didn’t it?
“Sigh, I really don’t get you guys.” Luo Shuangyue propped herself up, stretched her hand forward, and grabbed her Transformation Hairpin.
After these days of indulgence, the Butterfly Hairpin now had a few new embellishments.
The most eye-catching was the shimmering starlight on the tiny Butterfly Wings.
But Luo Shuangyue didn’t notice these little details.
She simply clipped the hairpin onto her hair and entered her Transformed State.
Black-purple magic tinged with an ominous aura surged from her palm, then gradually transformed into deep blue Starlight Magic.
Under Luo Shuangyue’s guidance, the magic gradually sketched out the complex outline of a Magic Circle.
Just creating this rough outline made Luo Shuangyue’s head spin again.
“That’s enough, let’s stop here for today.” Xia Mo, who’d been watching her closely, acted immediately to stop Luo Shuangyue from continuing her exploration of the Magic Circle.
This time, Xia Mo’s gaze was extremely firm, and Luo Shuangyue knew she could only obey.
Otherwise, Xia Mo might resort to drastic measures to force her to stop.
“Okay, okay, I’ll rest properly.” Luo Shuangyue used White Magic to seal the half-formed Magic Circle, then quickly exited her Transformed State.
After having copied Luo Shuangxing’s Sealing Card ability, Luo Shuangyue gained a power no other Magical Girl possessed: the ability to exit her Transformed State midway through constructing a spell to recover her strength.
Other Magical Girls had to build a spell in one go during a single transformation.
While they could interrupt to use other spells, exiting the Transformed State would immediately invalidate any partially-constructed Magic Circles.
Luo Shuangyue had been the same before.
This limited the maximum scale of the Magic Circles she could build, and thus the power of the magic she could use.
But with Luo Shuangxing’s ability, everything changed.
She could build half of a Magic Circle, seal it with a Sealing Card, and then take it out next time she transformed to continue building.
She could take ten days or even half a month to carefully craft an extremely powerful spell—how unfair was that!
Could any other Magical Girl do that?
“Now that you’re done, it’s time for sleep and rest, okay?” Seeing Luo Shuangyue archive the half-finished Magic Circle, Xia Mo pressed her, now back in her normal form, onto the bed.
Her sparkling eyes stared at Luo Shuangyue, and from those eyes, Luo Shuangyue could hear the unspoken words:
‘I’ll be watching you sleep right here!’
Knowing she couldn’t get away with anything, Luo Shuangyue resignedly closed her eyes.
As drowsiness crept in, her consciousness slowly slipped into darkness.
When she opened her eyes again, the person by her side had become her sister, now in regular clothes.
Right now, Luo Shuangxing was resting her cheek on her right hand, her little head nodding—she looked like she’d fall out of the chair from sleep at any moment.
But despite looking ready to doze off at any time, the moment Luo Shuangyue opened her eyes, Luo Shuangxing’s gaze shifted to her.
“J… Dark Moth, you’re awake?” Instinctively wanting to call her ‘sister,’ but after the first syllable, Luo Shuangxing quickly changed her words.
After a nap, Luo Shuangyue felt her mind had become much clearer.
Glancing at her little sister, she curiously asked, “Where’s Rosemary?”
Hearing that her sister’s first question after waking was actually about Xia Mo, Luo Shuangxing immediately pouted.
Couldn’t you at least thank me for keeping you company?
I know you’re head over heels for Sister Xia Mo, but right now, the one in front of you is me, Luo Shuangxing!
“Mentor went to rest. Taking care of you here all this time is exhausting.” Luo Shuangxing replied in a flat, emotionless tone.
After Luo Shuangyue lost consciousness, the Magic Department granted Xia Mo an indefinite leave so she could focus on caring for Luo Shuangyue.
But even with leave, not sleeping for days was still a major mental challenge for Xia Mo.
So after Luo Shuangyue woke up and it was certain she was okay, the exhausted Xia Mo switched shifts with Luo Shuangxing and went to get some rest.
However, Luo Shuangxing wasn’t doing so well herself. As a key figure in resource transport, she had to ration her limited magic every day, with not a bit to spare.
The Magic Department’s usage of Luo Shuangxing could almost be called exploitation.
Every day, she used up all her magic.
In the past, after exhausting her power, she could sleep and recover, but today she had to cover for Xia Mo and watch over Luo Shuangyue.
Hence, the scene Luo Shuangyue had just witnessed.
“It’s fine for you to get some rest too. I’m very healthy now.” Noticing her sister’s fatigue, Luo Shuangyue spoke with concern.
She didn’t believe there weren’t monitors in this ward or someone watching her.
If anything happened, those secretly caring for her would surely appear right away.
“No, I promised Mentor I’d take good care of you.” Luo Shuangxing shook her head firmly, even though her face screamed ‘I want to sleep so badly,’ her mouth still stubbornly insisting.
Watching her little sister forcing herself to stay awake, Luo Shuangyue sat up, wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulders, and pressed her head down onto the quilt over her own thighs.
“Then just keep me company like this.” “No.”
“Be good.”
Luo Shuangxing fell silent.
A few minutes later, Luo Shuangyue heard her sister’s gentle snoring.
The girl truly was exhausted. Even in such an awkward position, she drifted into sleep almost immediately.
Click.
The ward door was gently opened, and the white-haired, golden-eyed dragon girl walked in.
Luo Shuangyue’s guess was right: the two people openly in her ward weren’t the only ones caring for her.
She had always been under the attentive watch of a Full Bloom-Class Mentor.
Tonight, it was Mentor Long Wen whom she was so familiar with.
After entering, Long Wen gently moved the now-sleeping Luo Shuangxing to the empty bed beside her, then sat down next to Luo Shuangyue, taking over Luo Shuangxing’s duties.
“She’s very much like you.” Long Wen suddenly said, gazing at Luo Shuangyue’s face.
In both appearance and inner nature, these two children were so alike that one couldn’t help but question their relationship.
After learning the strategic importance of Luo Shuangxing in logistics, the Magic Department had investigated her background—but with little result.
Luo Shuangxing appeared to be just an ordinary girl, from a fairly happy family, except for the mysterious disappearance of her parents years ago.
But when the Magic Department tried to dig deeper, they found only fog behind her.
Who were Luo Shuangxing’s parents? Why was there no clear record of them?
After going over Luo Shuangxing’s file again and again, the Magic Department concluded: this child’s background seemed anything but ordinary.
And when the Department shifted its attention to Luo Shuangxing’s only remaining relative, they discovered another oddity.
“Dark Moth, your connection with Lily of the Valley is probably not simple, is it?”
Luo Shuangxing’s elder brother, Luo Shuangyue, was a mysterious figure as well.
The photos he left behind led the Department to link him to another recently famous Magical Girl.
When they compared the photos of Luo Shuangyue with those of Dark Moth’s real body, the Magic Department was shocked to find: Luo Shuangyue looked—