Chapter 378 Reflection
"You ask me what's going on? That sounds really strange, young man. I'm much more confused than you are right now. Why do people from your Finance Department have the right to access the files of the Magic Affairs Department?"
"Huh? What do you mean I'm asking a question I already know the answer to? Think about it for a second. You violated the rules, so how would I know how you violated them?"
"No, I can't tell you more, or rather, you don't have the right to question me. This S+ rating file and the follow-up research are classified projects of our institute. Once we have reliable and solid results, we will naturally report to His Majesty. You don't need to worry about that."
"Yes, you can report to His Majesty now, but I need to correct your statement. I have nothing to hide. Also, I must emphasize that the report you are seeing now is an internal version from our research institute, and all the content is pending. Regarding this candidate's magical abilities, we have not yet conducted more refined testing and experiments, so the results at this stage are not reliable enough. If you cite the data and content of this internal report, and we later find that there are errors, please understand the priorities and don't say it's our problem."
"Hmm... I think it's good. I wish you all the best."
Inside the examination hall of the Silver Corridor, Emerald's voice could be heard intermittently coming from the doll, clearly indicating that she was having a conversation with someone.
When the conversation ended and she finally had a chance to manipulate the doll and look towards the door, Celeste asked, "So? What did she say?"
Forty minutes have passed since she stepped into the examination room.
No matter what excuses were made, "Gentian" had already been lingering here for far too long as an examinee. If this continued, it might even hinder the progress of other examinees behind her. Therefore, Cuique had no choice but to shamelessly contact Zhe Helan and go through the procedures of the Demon Academy to temporarily arrange for the examinees behind her to be moved to other examination rooms.
Admittedly, she could pretend she knew nothing and leave, letting Emerald try to negotiate with Purple Diamond. But since the matter concerned Lin Xiaolu, she couldn't rest easy until she knew the outcome immediately.
"She said that our research institute is not qualified to keep such a major discovery to ourselves. Even if we want to study it, we must first inform His Majesty and then study it according to His Majesty's opinion."
Upon hearing the lark's question, the fairy doll spread out its paws: "Logically speaking, what she said is actually correct."
"Logically, there's no problem?" Lark raised an eyebrow. "So where exactly is the problem?"
“There are two points.” The fairy doll raised its round paws and extended its two short toes: “First, regardless of her intentions, theoretically, the gem scepters should not compete for credit among themselves. If each gem scepter tries to curry favor with His Majesty by vying for the most eye-catching tasks, it will undoubtedly be a devastating blow to work efficiency. His Majesty, as well as the secretaries of the royal court, do not want to see this situation.”
"And the second point?"
"Secondly, the most important duty of our jeweled scepter is to relieve His Majesty's burdens and relieve him from having to worry about too many trivial matters."
Emerald took a sip of tea and then said slowly, "Bringing something that's still in the works to His Majesty and making her decide it is a waste of everyone's time."
"I see."
Lark nodded expressionlessly: "That's why you seem so confident."
“This isn’t called being fearless; it’s just that you know what you’re doing,” Emerald corrected.
"It doesn't matter. Since you've made your plans, I don't need to interfere."
Cui Que stood against the wall, arms crossed: "So, what about my child? Is there any way to stop Zi Zuan, or change her mind?"
"No."
"...What did you say?"
“I said no.” The fairy doll sat there calmly: “Since she’s determined to expose this, there’s nothing we can do to stop her.”
"So we're just going to ignore her?" Cui Que asked, somewhat skeptical.
"Never mind her."
"So the Queen will see that child's file?"
"yes."
“She will know that the child is related to me.” Cui Que said seriously, “Even if she can’t immediately tell that she is my child, she will know that she is my junior.”
“I’m sorry, but it seems there’s nothing we can do right now.” Emerald shook her head.
The larkspur fell silent.
She didn't speak, but everyone could sense the turmoil within her from her aura. After a long silence, she let out a long sigh:
"How long do you think it would take from the time this report reaches the Queen until she actually issues any orders about it?"
Emerald paused for a moment, probably not expecting her to ask such a question, and then replied after a while: "We are not qualified to speculate on His Majesty's movements, but based on past experience... since it was Purple Diamond who brought it up personally, then it should be within two days."
"In other words, when the next assessment begins, the entire royal court will know that this year's assessment has produced a candidate with a magic armor rating of 'S+'," Cui Que analyzed, her eyelids drooping.
"Pretty much, but I can do some maneuvering with the exam board to slightly conceal this S+ when the results are announced." Emerald's voice was muffled: "Do you still need it?"
“There’s no point in doing this. We can’t hide it from the royal court. It’s just self-deception.” Cui Que glanced at her.
"At least it will keep the Black Dawn and Clawmarks from paying too much attention to your kid." Emerald remained noncommittal: "If they really knew there was an S+ rated candidate in this year's assessment, do you think they would do something during the assessment?"
The larkspur hesitated for a moment.
She had a strange feeling that her conspiracy with Emerald and the others was destined to be a leaky jar, because with so many people involved, it was bound to expose more and more flaws as time went on. And what she had to do didn't seem to be patching up this leaky jar, but rather racing against it.
—Will they complete the plan before the conspiracy is fully exposed, "redeeming themselves" and appearing before the Queen with a legitimate reason; or will their scheme be exposed before they have finished, leaving them and their group in a disadvantageous position?
If he successfully obtains the Sapphire Scepter, Lin Xiaolu's problem will simply become another bargaining chip; but if things don't go as planned, Lin Xiaolu's file will become yet another shackle on his "exile" status. It's all just a matter of time.
After much internal reflection, the lark gradually came to an answer.
She lifted the handbag she was carrying, took out her phone, opened her contacts, and dialed a number.
That was Lin Xiaolu's phone call.
After waiting quietly for a while, the call was answered.
【…Oh, hello? Lark? What's up?】
"Yes, it's me," Lark replied calmly, as if it were just a casual greeting. "How did the exams go? No surprises, right? Have you got the results yet?"
Don't worry, everything went smoothly, and none of the things you were worried about happened. Also, Xiaoxuan's grades are out—a B-!
“Oh? B-?” Lark pretended to have just found out. “That’s really… great, just as good as I expected.”
[Right? I heard from other test takers that the average rating for a single piece of magic equipment is around C. Xiaoxuan's achievement is, in a way, a record-breaking one.]
"Yes, we should celebrate for her when we get back," Celeste said softly. "And how about you?"
Oh, me? I just finished my exams and came out not long ago...
"So you haven't received your results yet?"
Well... um, hehe, never mind, I was originally planning to surprise you, but I just couldn't resist! My evaluation is really high, you know, what is this lark?
"Extra tall? Taller than Xiaoxuan?"
[It's a bit unfair to say this, but she is indeed much taller.]
"Much higher? Grade A?" Cui Que pretended not to believe it.
No, it needs to be even higher.
"A+?" Lark seemed puzzled.
[You can guess even bolder; it could be much higher.]
“S?”
[Haha, I can't believe it myself, they actually rated my magic equipment as S+!]
"S+? What's that? You didn't read it wrong?"
"How could that be? It's not a handwritten grade; it just shows a plus sign on the screen."
"I've never heard of that before," Celeste said, still sounding surprised. "Did they just tell you this rating? Was there no other notification?"
[Hmm? No other notifications. I guess we'll have to wait until the results are released? I've asked around for ages and there don't seem to be any other S+ grades. Maybe I got the highest score?]
"...I think it's possible."
[I'm still keeping my grades a secret from everyone. Hehehe, I'll give them a real shock when the results are announced.]
"Haven't you told anyone yet?"
No, I've only told you about it with Lark so far.
"Um……"
What's wrong?
"I was thinking, I've never heard of an S+ grade before. While it's certainly excellent and surprised me, to be honest, it's also a little worrying."
Why are you worried?
"You know, there might be some issues with this exam. If those bad guys find out about your score, they might target you... and it could be dangerous."
Ah, right, it seems so. What should we do?
"Why don't you talk to another examiner now, or I can ask my colleagues here to confirm what's going on with this S+ grade? If it's really as unusual as we think, should we... just change it to an S, or an A+ or something, and lay low for a while?"
The lark seemed calm, but spoke with a hint of caution.
【Eh—changing the grades to worse? That's a bit... well, but if you really want me to do that, well, it's not entirely impossible.】
"No, I'm not saying I'm forcing you, I just want to know what you think. After all, I've thought a lot about it, and if I were to deprive you of the honor you deserve simply because of my concerns, wouldn't that be a bit too selfish?"
Lark closed her eyes and focused all her attention on the sound from the other end of the microphone.
Although this statement is still an attempt to cover up a lie, the feelings it expresses are not actually false.
Blocking Lin Xiaolu's academic achievements was her own idea. Now that the plan has failed, she has certainly thought a lot about the future, but she also has more thoughts about her own and her daughter's place in this matter.
Perhaps it was because I harbored this one-sided, even arrogant, "concern" that things went so wrong.
The lark thought to itself with a hint of self-mockery.
Not really, since I understand what you're saying. I'm just worried about me... But if I really had to decide, I'd still prefer that the results be announced.
"Should we publish these results?"
"Yeah, it's good to save face, and besides..." Lin Xiaolu's voice suddenly paused.
"And?" Lark asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Besides, Cui Que, you told me that I would definitely become a very powerful magical girl, right? I don't want to abandon the honor and expectations that I should have just because I'm afraid of enemies and afraid of fighting. I think that to become a powerful magical girl, I should fight on the back of everyone's expectations... right?" Lin Xiaolu explained somewhat awkwardly.
However, the larkspur could understand what she was trying to say.
—I don't want to hide in someone else's protection; I want to be the one who protects others.
【Ah, why is there no sound? Hello? Can you hear me? Was what I said too sentimental?】 Seeing that Cui Que hadn't responded for a while, Lin Xiaolu asked somewhat awkwardly.
"...No, no, I just thought of some things."
Cui Que shook her head: "Bai Mei."
[I'm listening, what's wrong?]
"What you just said makes me even prouder than the S+ rating."
(End of this chapter)
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