Chapter 253 Colorful Cloud Wetland
It was cool in Lunore in the evening.
The high and overlapping clouds blocked out most of the remaining sunlight. The gentle breeze rustled the grass and trees, and the clear air made people feel relaxed and happy.
Sitting in the magic carriage driven by the fairy, Delphinium looked at the orange sky, and her previously unstable mood finally slowly calmed down.
The carriage was traveling on the bluestone road in the magic-free area. Because they were passing through a residential area at this time, there were relatively low residential houses on both sides of the road.
The style of these houses is very similar to that of houses in the material world, and most of them are white, red and blue. However, they are different from the material world because they are built with magical equipment, which makes these houses have various shapes and styles, and even some strange structures that violate the laws of physics, making people wonder if they are in a dream.
On the way, the group also saw a shop built on a pond. In order not to damage the original ecology of the pond, only two wooden poles were used to support the house, and then a spiral staircase connecting the shop and the ground was built along the wooden poles. The staircase even turned into an arch bridge halfway...
All these wonderful, unique and bizarre buildings finally cheered up Lin Xiaolu, who was almost reduced to ashes. She sat up without knowing when, with her hands on the handrails, looking at the scenery along the way without blinking a word.
Xia Liang was taking pictures, and Bai Jingxuan fell asleep leaning against the delphinium because she was hungry. The carriage, which should have been noisy, was unexpectedly quiet at this moment.
"We're almost there, bosses. We can already see where you're going."
The fairy driver in front of the carriage mumbled a bunch of strange syllables. It didn't sound like a language used in the material world, but the magical girls in the car could understand what it was saying: "How was your ride on the road? If you have any discomfort, please tell me. I will listen carefully, so remember to give me a good review."
The magic-free zone restricts people from using magic, but it does not mean that there is really no magic here - some spells covering the entire Runore still affect this land, including the auxiliary spell of "mutual understanding" to solve language barriers.
After all, most of the local residents spoke the national language, some fairies from small settlements spoke the fairy language, and people in the material world also had dozens or even hundreds of languages depending on the region... If there were no similar techniques to assist in communication, it would be too inconvenient.
The magic carriage followed the path out of the magic-free area and stopped beside a sparsely populated meadow. Then, the goblin driver said, "We're here."
The few people who were still awake on the train looked out of the car together. All they could see was a patch of grass swaying slightly in the sunset light, and a sign in the grass written in multiple languages:
【Take-off point 43】
Apart from this, there was only them and the magic car, nothing else.
"So where is this? Didn't we say we were going to find a place to live?"
After jumping out of the car, Lin Xiaolu looked back at Delphinium with some confusion: "Why is there nothing here?"
"Maybe there's some secret passage, or maybe it's a trick?" Xia Liang had already run to the sign on the grass without knowing when, took a selfie with his phone, and then began to analyze it seriously: "Look, this sign says it's the take-off point... Will there be airships or hot air balloons coming to pick us up later?"
"There is no such thing."
After paying the fairy driver in the front seat, Cuiqiao led the sleepy Bai Jingxuan to the sign: "So, let's keep going, we are still quite a distance away from the accommodation."
"Hmm, could it be that..." Lin Xiaolu seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes jumped: "Could it be that they want us to fly over by ourselves?"
"What else?"
Delphinium looked at her strangely, and at the same time, she clenched her hand and a magic wand appeared: "The flight point does not prohibit the use of magic, so wouldn't it be faster to fly there by yourself instead of using transportation?"
"That's what I said, but..."
Lin Xiaolu opened her mouth, but in the end she didn't continue to argue. Instead, she sighed helplessly and summoned her magic wand: "Alas, it feels like the country people in the period drama moving to the city. I was so stupid to expect this to be some fairy tale kingdom in my dreams."
"You mean the fairy tale kingdom?" Because she didn't hear the conversation between Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang at the border before, it was the first time that Cuiqiao heard the specific content of Lin Xiaolu's sighs.
"Yes, it's the kind of place that's beautiful, delicate, and warm, just like what's written in storybooks or animations..."
Lin Xiaolu frowned: "But now I feel like I have just come to a city that is much more developed than Fangting City, and the architectural style is different."
"Oh, if you want that style of landscape, we should be there soon." Delphinium couldn't help but blink.
"Huh?"
"That's what you said, right? The fairy tale kingdom?"
Delphinium pointed to the sky above her head and said, "That's the Emerald District."
…
…
"Whoa! Oh! Woohoo! Aaaaah!"
Half an hour later, Emerald District, Caiyun Wetland.
Lying on the cloud-like Simmons mattress, Lin Xiaolu kept rolling around, making all kinds of strange noises as if she was crazy.
The Emerald District was located on a floating island independent of Runnore, not only to highlight its special status, but also to use the terrain to naturally screen the tourists who come here - ordinary people who cannot use magic and spells must bring expensive flying magic props or buy expensive airship tickets to get here. Therefore, the tourists who can come to the Emerald District are mainly magical girls, fairies and magicians, and occasionally a few rich people who can afford extravagant consumption.
For the wealthy who cannot use magic, here they can not only enjoy the dreamlike beauty of the sky island, but also take the opportunity to make friends with people on the magic side, and buy some high-end services that cannot be provided in non-magic areas, such as fairy massage and magic hot springs. Therefore, they are happy to spend a lot of money here and make a contribution to the tourism industry of Runore.
Of course, the magical girls are the most numerous here. A large number of magical girls who settled in Runorre would choose to buy their own residences or run some shops in the Emerald District, so in the Emerald District, it can be said that "magical girls are everywhere in the streets and alleys."
Caiyun Wetland is one of the most famous hotels in the Emerald District.
It may not be accurate to call it a hotel, because this place is not a complete building or a complex of buildings like the hotels in the material world.
Caiyun Wetland is really a wetland, but in this wetland, there are scattered viewing rooms of various sizes.
These viewing rooms are far apart and difficult to see each other. Some are built with glass structures, while others have no walls at all and are ventilated on all sides, similar to pavilions. These viewing rooms are the "rooms" for travelers in Caiyun Wetland. These "rooms" are equipped with neat furniture and daily necessities, and even water and electricity supplied by magic. Except for the bathroom facilities that will be blocked by the magic light curtain when in use, the structure of the entire room is visible from the outside and looks particularly transparent. Of course, considering the privacy of travelers, inhabited rooms can also be adjusted to a "privacy state" to block the outside view with magic.
Travelers who come here do not need to wear shoes or socks, because the grass in the wetland is completely planted above the white clouds, and what flows in the wetland is not a swamp, but magical hot spring water. Just walking in the wetland is an extremely healing "foot massage".
When night falls, these dreamy view rooms will emit warm and soft lights in the middle of the grass dotted with wild flowers, lighting up the entire wetland. At this time, when tourists look out from the view rooms, they can see the wet grass and quiet water, accompanied by the clear night sky and bright stars. This warm and romantic atmosphere has conquered countless tourists who come here to live, and also made Caiyun Wetland famous.
At this moment, Lin Xiaolu found a piece of cloud that was not covered by grass, and played on it as if she had degenerated into a child.
"It's a relief that she rushed ahead of everyone else and flew so fast. She still had so much energy after arriving here..."
While packing his luggage, Xia Liang stretched his body, which was feeling uncomfortable due to the long journey, and sighed with envy: "Now I just want to pack my things and go to the hot spring to soak for a while."
“The hot springs here are worth a try.”
The Delphinium beside her raised her head and glanced at her: "When you go, you can transform and soak for a while, and then cancel it."
“Are there any special effects?”
"It is said that the magic power that overflows after transformation can be sent back to the normal body with the help of spring water, which helps beautify the face."
After saying this, Delphinium suddenly paused, and then added: "I heard it from others."
“Eh…”
Xia Liang blinked when he heard this, and first showed an expression of some interest, and then as if he remembered something, he smiled slyly: "Since the function is so good, we should let everyone go, right?"
"Well, I'll tell them when they both come back."
Cuiqiao turned her head to glance at Lin Xiaolu who was not far away, then lowered her head to pack her luggage again: "When you are done, you can go and experience it yourself first."
This time when she booked a room at Caiyun Wetland, Kuiqi had fully learned the lesson from the land cruiser on the way here. In order to prevent strange farces and ensure that everyone was treated equally, she specially chose a large enough landscape room that could accommodate four single beds.
Therefore, there was no problem with room allocation this time. After the group arrived, they checked in directly and everything went smoothly. Cuiqiao and Xia Liang were packing their luggage here, while Lin Xiaolu dropped her things and ran directly to the clouds to play. As for Bai Jingxuan, she was so hungry that she ran to the restaurant alone to find something to eat and has not returned yet.
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was... let's go clubbing together?"
Xia Liang smiled brightly, raised her index finger and spun it around: "It's a rare opportunity to take a hot spring bath. It would be so lonely to go alone."
"It's nothing special. We'll be staying here for nearly a month, which is enough time for you to soak in the hot springs until you get tired of it."
Delphinium said expressionlessly, "Besides, we are not the only tourists staying here, and you are not the only one soaking in the hot spring. It's already lively enough."
"Let's go together."
Xia Liang leaned sideways and made his eyes meet with Cuique's. "Can't you just think of it as accompanying us?"
"…Alas, you know my situation."
Cuique could only sigh and lower her voice. After confirming that Lin Xiaolu didn't notice the conversation here, she looked at Xia Liang helplessly: "It's just a joke, but do you really want me to go with you?"
"What else?"
Xia Liang also knew what Cuique was worried about, so he also lowered his voice: "Although I know that you, young senior, have lived with a different gender for many years and may have become accustomed to your identity over there, but now you can only go to the girls' bathhouse, right?"
"Huh?" Cuiqiao looked at Xia Liang in some surprise.
"Hmm?" Xia Liang responded with a puzzled voice.
"What I'm saying is... Did you misunderstand something?" Delphinium frowned slightly.
"Misunderstanding? But when I came here, I saw male tourists in the wetlands, so the hot springs here must be divided into separate baths, right?"
Xia Liang blinked: "As long as you plan to go to the hot springs, you must go to the women's bathing pool, and you will meet other girls. In that case, it should make no difference whether you go alone or with us, right?"
Delphinium hesitated: "Well... although what you said seems to make some sense, what I want to say is..."
——"What? What hot spring?"
However, when she was halfway through her words, Lin Xiaolu's voice came from not far away, interrupting their conversation. She flipped over and climbed up from the clouds, running towards her in small steps:
"Are you guys planning on going to the hot springs? Take me with you!"
"...We were just discussing the effects of the magic hot spring here."
Cuiqiao was stunned for a moment, and then confirmed that Lin Xiaolu looked normal, and probably didn't hear anything extra, and then she replied calmly: "If you want, you can go with them later."
"Okay, let's go together."
Lin Xiaolu nodded: "So now we have to wait for Bo Xue to come back?"
Delphinium drooped her eyelids: "No, I'm not talking about us, I'm talking about you..."
"Eh? Cui... Longdan, aren't you going?"
Lin Xiaolu's eyes widened immediately: "Why?"
"Because I have things to do." Delphinium looked away.
"What's the matter?" Lin Xiaolu asked.
"I brought a lot of documents, some of which will be used tomorrow."
"Then come back and do it after you finish washing."
Lin Xiaolu insisted: "Or you can teach me how to do it, and I will help you sort it out when I come back."
"This is not a job for kids." Delphinium closed her eyes.
"I'm not a child anymore." Lin Xiaolu was dissatisfied.
Xia Liang, who was standing by, also intervened at this time, and put his hands on Cuique's shoulders from behind: "Bai Mei is right, since we are here anyway, going to the hot spring together is also a way to cultivate our team spirit."
"I think this kind of thing has nothing to do with the soul of the team." Delphinium insisted.
"Then you can come too, right?"
Lin Xiaolu was also unwilling to let go: "Come together!"
"No." Delphinium shook her head.
"Come together." Xia Liang pushed Cuique's shoulder and shook it slightly.
"don't want."
"bring it on!"
"No."
"Come on."
"No."
The dispute between the few people gradually evolved into an endurance competition with only a few words. Rather than persuading each other, it was simply a competition to see who would give in first. Unfortunately, the outcome of this competition was doomed when Xia Liang provoked Lin Xiaolu. After all, few fathers could remain calm under their daughter's naive request.
Thirty minutes later, Delphinium wrapped herself in a towel and sat in the hot spring water, with only her head exposed above the water. Feeling the water temperature around her, she leaned back slightly and leaned on the edge of the bathtub, then took a long breath.
Beside her, Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang, and Bai Jingxuan were all gathered together, soaking in the hot spring water side by side. It was not known whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that they were the only ones in the female hot spring at this time.
The hot springs in Caiyun Wetland are divided into three types of baths: men's, women's, and fairy baths. Each bath is divided into two parts: indoor and outdoor. The indoor part is equipped with dressing rooms, shower rooms, sauna rooms, massage rooms, and some smaller hot spring baths. The outdoor part is a huge magic hot spring located directly among the grass, like a small lake.
A spell was set up here to drive away mosquitoes and birds. A circle of fog covered the area dozens of meters outside the bathing pool. At the same time, a spell to block passage was set up in the fog to ensure that no one could enter from outside the bathing area, so as to prevent tourists from "accidentally walking into the wrong" bathing pool.
After entering the bathhouse and taking a quick shower, everyone entered the hot spring in their transformed state as Delphinium had mentioned before. After feeling a trace of magic power escaping into the spring water, they all undid their transformations and returned to their original appearance.
Of course, a delphinium is still a delphinium.
"Ah, the magic hot spring is really as good as its reputation. This tingling and numb feeling... wow, it's just like the spring water is massaging me."
With a comfortable smile on his face, Xia Liang floated in the water as if he was about to melt: "Great, I feel like a piece of ice cream soaked in water, and I will soon merge with the spring water."
“Is this thing really that comfortable?”
Lin Xiaolu imitated Delphinium and half leaned against the pool, but her expression was a little strange: "I can indeed feel that tingling sensation... but it doesn't feel comfortable at all? It's more like a bit uncomfortable."
"It means your sense of touch is more sensitive than mine."
Xia Liang turned his head to look at her: "Just like a baby's skin is always more delicate than an adult's. Maybe the younger you are, the more obvious this feeling is. So it's comfortable for me, but it's uncomfortable for you, right?"
"I'm older than you." Lin Xiaolu narrowed her eyes: "Don't try to find another way to call me childish."
"Hmm? Does this count as 'swearing'?"
Xia Liang pretended to be lost in thought, then grinned: "Anyway, no matter how old you are, I am older than you from any angle, right?"
"ha?"
Lin Xiaolu suddenly sat up straight and was about to stand up and confront Xia Liang, but then she remembered that she was still taking a bath and it was not appropriate to make a big fuss, so she had to give up in disappointment.
"I also feel that this numb feeling is weird..."
But just when the two were about to quarrel again, Bai Jingxuan spoke up. Unlike Lin Xiaolu who continued to soak in the hot spring even if she felt uncomfortable, she stood up holding the bath towel and said, "It's so uncomfortable to soak in the water."
"You see, Bo Xue also thinks this feeling is strange."
Seeing him do this, Lin Xiaolu seemed to have received help and suddenly gained confidence: "Among us, it's obviously you who is not sociable!"
"What's there to say? After all, they are still elementary school students. They are indeed children."
Xia Liang remained calm and said, "You are two years older than her. Do you want to compare yourself with her on this matter?"
“Hmm…”
Lin Xiaolu wanted to refute Xia Liang's heresy, but she couldn't find any angle to refute it for a while, so she could only look at Cuique for help. Then, she saw Cuique like an old monk in meditation, tightly wrapped in a bath towel, curled up her legs and leaned against the edge, closed her eyes, silent and motionless.
"Gentian?" Lin Xiaolu asked tentatively, suspecting that the other party had fallen asleep.
"What's wrong?" Delphinium asked back.
"Oh, oh, I saw you had your eyes closed and didn't say anything, so I thought you were asleep."
Lin Xiaolu's tone softened a bit, and she even asked gently, "What do you think of this hot spring water?"
"What was the issue you were arguing about just now?"
Delphinium still had her eyes closed, so her head didn't move at all. "From my personal sensory perspective, the feeling of magic flowing through the water and into my skin is indeed not very comfortable, but it's not unbearable either."
She paused and added, "And, for you, this numbing sensation is actually a sign of improved skin quality. If you have such a need, then soaking in water and feeling your skin numb is actually a good thing."
Wow.
Swish.
As soon as she finished speaking, there were two extremely obvious sounds of entering the water. Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan almost simultaneously immersed their entire bodies in the water, even burying half of their faces.
The hot spring suddenly became much quieter. A few of the younger generations still talked and made some noise from time to time, but at least there were no more quarrels.
The people in the bathtub were concentrating on feeling the tingling sensation from the spring water to make sure it really worked on them. After a long while, Lin Xiaolu, who thought the tingling sensation had gone away, spoke again: "That... Gentian."
"Um?"
"Why, have you kept your eyes closed since you entered the bath?"
Lin Xiaolu rolled her fingers on the ends of her hair, trying to drain the moisture out of it: "Is this also a kind of etiquette?"
Delphinium's shoulders, which were immersed in the water, paused slightly, but fortunately, there was the spring water to cover them, and there was still water vapor all around, so no one would notice this tiny change.
She raised her head slightly, her face normal, as if she was just thinking about organizing her words, and then gave an answer: "To stimulate sensory compensation."
"What is that?" Lin Xiaolu was a little confused.
"When a person loses one sense, the brain strengthens other senses to compensate for the missing information."
Delphinium said seriously: "So close your eyes and keep quiet, your vision and hearing will be temporarily disabled. This way you can focus on taking a bath and feel the changes in your body."
"Eh...it turns out that taking a hot spring bath requires so much attention."
Lin Xiaolu believed what Cuiqiao said, but she didn't try it immediately, because for her, today's bath was actually over, and she didn't plan to focus on it anymore: "I learned it, Longdan, you are really amazing."
Delphinium nodded, and had no intention of continuing the topic. She had finally come up with a more reliable reason, and she didn't want to reveal any flaws by talking too much. She couldn't say "I want to avoid suspicion and don't want to see your bodies" as Delphinium, so she naturally had to move on from this topic as soon as possible.
Besides that, she felt as if someone was fiddling with her hair.
Because her hair was too long, after a quick rinse before taking a bath, Delphinium had tied up her long hair at the back of her head. At this moment, she felt that the hair at the back of her head seemed to be pulled twice by someone.
"What's wrong?"
After roughly feeling the direction and strength of the hair being pulled, Kuei-Chrysanthemum basically determined who was pulling her hair, and asked Xia Liang directly: "Is there something wrong with my hair?"
"nothing."
Xia Liang did not deny it at all, and there was no embarrassment in her voice for having her prank exposed. Instead, she sighed slightly and said, "I just want to say, little senior, your hair is really good. Is this also the benefit of being a magical girl?"
"If you think this is a good thing." Delphinium said ambiguously.
In order to stay young forever, many people choose to join the country after the ten-year service period and continue to be magical girls. Although their lifespan will not be increased, the bodies and true appearance of these magical girls will remain young until the end of their lifespan.
This is also the excuse that Kuroko has been using to explain to her juniors why her appearance before and after the transformation is almost the same. Fortunately, this excuse is indeed valid. Aso Yuanxiang, who recently moved to Fangting City, also used her own appearance to prove this for Kuroko. No one can use this excuse to expose her identity.
"That's a benefit, of course."
Xia Liang naturally couldn't guess what Cuique was thinking at this moment, and just continued to play with Cuique's hair: "I always feel that if I separate the hair and look carefully, I can see stars, twinkling."
"Are you saying there is dandruff in my hair?" Delphinium asked in surprise, because as far as she knew, such metabolic products should not appear in the body of a magical girl.
"What are you saying to ruin the view? It's that kind of dark blue with some white dots, and it looks very beautiful and harmonious. It's definitely not dandruff."
Xia Liang said helplessly, but his hands did not stop moving: "Alas, the more I look at it, the more envious I am."
"Really? Well, if you really want nice hair, I remember there's a beauty salon in the Emerald District."
After a brief recollection, Delphinium said, "They can provide many services that combine beauty and practicality, such as nail polish engraved with Favor runes to increase the activity of magic power; and hair dye mixed with small doses of stimulating drugs to help spiritual thinking."
"It sounds interesting." Xia Liang's voice was a little bit moved: "How about giving it a try?"
"Okay, then Gentian, are you going with us?" Lin Xiaolu's voice came into Delphinium's ears from another direction.
"No, I won't go, because I really have something to do tomorrow."
Delphinium exhaled slowly, "You can go around Lunore on your own. You can go to the front desk to make an appointment with a local guide. The guide will recommend places worth visiting to you."
This was not an excuse, but the truth. She did have an appointment for tomorrow's Delphinium, and this appointment was actually quite important to her.
That is, she has to go to the research institute to find emeralds.
The method that the Emerald had promised her, the one that would mend the Heart Stone, was there.
Delphinium started preparing since November last year and underwent several preliminary examinations and pre-treatments for her true appearance, all in order to successfully complete the treatment tomorrow.
She was unwilling to wait any longer, because repairing the heart gem and restoring her true form would mean restoring her combat effectiveness, and the sooner this happened the better.
Emerald seemed to have some demands as well, so she had been lobbying Delphinium to go to the research institute as soon as possible. The two had basically the same ideas, and finally set the date for tomorrow.
As for whether this meeting will be a trap?
Delphinium is still unable to confirm that this is not a trap. Rather, when she first saw Emerald, she thought it was a trap no matter how she looked at it.
In just a few months of cooperation, Emerald's help and attitude showed a strange sincerity. Although the head of the research institute often seemed unreliable and always mixed some personal bad tastes when doing things, at the same time, he would hardly hide any information from the other party. Most of the questions asked by Delphinium could be answered. It can be said that he was too frank.
This kind of honesty is the biggest difference between Emerald and Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye, and it is also the reason why Delphinium is very resistant to having too much contact with Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye, but is willing to come to the country to see Emerald.
Delphinium thought like this and gradually fell into her own thoughts. She didn't care about the hands of several juniors fiddling with her hair, even though the hands behind her head had increased from one pair to two pairs.
The group stayed in the hot spring for a while longer before leaving because a few of the younger generation began to feel dizzy.
After drying her hair and body in the dressing room, Delphinium left the viewing room in a bathrobe. Stepping barefoot on the wetland, the touch of the grass under her feet and the evening breeze blowing in her face made Delphinium squint her eyes, but she regained consciousness when she heard the footsteps of others in front of her.
They were a group of unfamiliar female travelers, most of whom looked very young and had stronger magical fluctuations than ordinary people. There was no doubt that they were also a group of magical girls.
In the Emerald District, passing by unfamiliar magical girls was a very common occurrence, so Delphinium didn't think much about it, but just walked to the side to make way for the group of strange travelers.
The magical girls on the opposite side noticed Delphinium's behavior, so they nodded to her in thanks, then passed by Delphinium and went straight to the magic hot spring not far away.
It was just a group of strangers, Delphinium thought. Her eyes hardly lingered on the group of magical girls. They only appeared in her sight because they happened to pass by.
However, when the last magical girl in the crowd passed by Delphinium's almost unfocused eyes, Delphinium suddenly felt an extremely strong sense of familiarity.
This should be someone I have known before, or even someone I am very familiar with.
After realizing this, Delphinium subconsciously turned her head, wanting to take another look at the other person's figure to confirm his identity. However, what she saw was not the backs of the group of magical girls, but the faces of several juniors.
Several juniors had already changed their clothes and came out of the dressing room.
"Sorry for the long wait, let's go back!" Lin Xiaolu waved to Delphinium.
"Ah...I feel much better after taking a hot spring bath."
Xia Liang raised his hands behind his head and stretched: "While I am relaxing, I have to go back to sleep."
"I feel dizzy..."
Bai Jingxuan, who almost fainted in the hot spring, walked over with a shaky step, then walked to the side of the larkspur very naturally, and reached out to hug the larkspur's arm. Perhaps because the larkspur's body temperature was relatively low, it was cooler to hug at this time, so Bai Jingxuan exhaled with great relaxation: "Ha..."
Forget it, let's take the children back first, Delphinium thought.
Since he is someone I am familiar with, I should not have forgotten his existence. I should first recall if there are any acquaintances returning to Runnore, and then contact him when the time comes.
Having made up her mind, Delphinium looked towards the hot spring again before leaving. However, the group of magical girls had already entered the changing room and could no longer be seen from the outside.
(End of this chapter)
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