Chapter 257 Day Warm-up
In the former magical kingdom, the process of commemorating the dead was very complicated.
The origin of the national funeral is the royal family. It is said that it started because the queen was reluctant to let a certain fairy go, so she held a seven-day and seven-night funeral for it. The speeches and flower offerings were just appetizers, and the performances of the requiem choir and funeral music were just extravagant. Afterwards, there were also many exaggerated procedures such as hand-carving monuments, weaving wreaths together, playing videos, and invoking the stars... It is said that after the funeral lasted for seven days, the queen still cried non-stop and even wanted to extend it for another seven days, which led to many royal court nobles and even the gem scepter to persuade her to stop.
The process of these memorial services was later recorded and became a reference for the citizens of the entire magical kingdom. The degree of complexity of a funeral or memorial service was determined by the status of the deceased, family background, and the degree of attachment of the relatives to the deceased. Some exaggerated ones would even completely replicate the Queen's seven-day and seven-night ceremony to express their own grief.
Later, as the times progressed, the population of the country steadily increased, and the pace of life also gradually improved. The ancient etiquette could not adapt to the lives of modern people, so it was naturally necessary to make improvements. Therefore, after several rounds of simplification and deletion, the memorial service process that is now widely circulated and recognized by the People's Court has only three steps left.
The first step is to sweep the tomb. Regardless of whether the tomb is abandoned or not, the mourners should clean the area around the tomb before the ceremony, using the wind and moistening technique to sweep away the dust around the tomb. This step will be done by fairies in the memorial cemetery, and each tombstone will be carefully taken care of by the fairies in the park, so it can be skipped directly.
The second step is to write a letter. The mourner can write down what he wants to say to the deceased on the prepared letter paper, then seal it in person and print it with wreath-shaped wax. Then press it under the offerings brought with him and place it in the box in front of the tomb. These objects, whether letters or offerings, will be affected by the wind erosion spell engraved in the box, and will gradually be decomposed into the most original magic particles in the next half month, returning to the origin of this world.
The third and final step is to chant a requiem to comfort the soul of the deceased. This step must be performed by someone who can use magic power, and the requiem of a magical girl is the most effective, followed by a fairy, and the last is a magician.
And this is what Delphinium is doing at this moment.
Taking a piece of the Qiyun cake she was carrying with her and putting it into the box in front of her, Cuiqiao recited a requiem in a low voice while glancing at Mo He beside her out of the corner of her eye.
To be honest, compared to the Nina Kregios in her memory, the Mo He in front of her had actually changed quite a lot.
It's not that her appearance has changed much. In fact, apart from her clothes and temperament, the magical girl in front of her is not much different from the Mo He in the memory of the Jade Bird: thin and skinny, with a body that looks like it will break if bent, and the only part of her body that has some flesh, the cheeks that make people want to pinch. Her black hair, which is a little rough due to lack of care, is tied into a single ponytail. Under the black bangs are a pair of amber round eyes with slightly drooping corners, which look a little weak, and her lips are white in the pink, completely unpainted, giving people a sense of infidelity.
Everything is exactly the same as Mo He in Cuiqiao's memory, except that Mo He at that time had long hair, and as a magical girl, her outfit was a black dress with a witch style. But now Mo He no longer has long hair, and her clothes have become a student uniform with black colors and red embellishments.
But the problem is that the Mo He in the memory of the Jade Bird is the Mo He who is only 14 years old and is just a girl. Under normal circumstances, the magical girls of the kingdom will adjust their magic bodies when they reach adulthood, that is, around the age of 18 (for the magical girls of the material world, it is when their term of office is completed for 10 years), so that they are closer to their appearance when they are 17 or 18 years old, and their appearance will be closer to "girls" rather than "girls".
Doing so not only meets the aesthetic needs of most magical girls themselves - they hope to stay young forever, but they also don't want to look like a child all the time. At the same time, it is also to ensure that the physique before and after the transformation is similar to a certain extent, so that the physique of the magical girls in daily life and in combat is consistent. In this way, there is no need for additional adaptation after the transformation, which is more conducive to combat.
It was a complete accident that Delphinium herself looked like a child, and it cannot be explained by the common sense of a magical girl. So what about Mo He? Why did she still look the same as before? Didn't she make any adjustments after growing up?
You know, except for a few magical girls who still have a childlike heart and would rather continue to fight as children, most magical girls will not refuse such an adjustment. After all, it is a matter of 100 benefits and no harm. So why did Mo He do this? Is it just because of her personal preference?
However, Mo He's appearance this time brought much more doubts to Cuique than just these. Apart from her simple appearance, the change in her temperament was even more eye-catching.
Although Mo He used to be a somewhat introverted girl, she was even considered gloomy, but her mental state was still normal and did not make people feel abnormal; but now, Mo He's temperament has evolved to the level of "depressed", and the dark circles under her eyes give people a very melancholy impression. Coupled with the almost unchanged facial expression, she can be said to be a "weird person".
Despite these negative factors, Mo He's appearance can still be described as "cute", and even this fragile and gloomy temperament seems somewhat lovable on her, but one thing that cannot be denied is that her condition is definitely not "good".
Perhaps it was because Delphinium had not moved for too long, or perhaps it was simply because Mo He had a keen perception. In short, while Delphinium was quietly observing the other party and thinking, Mo He had already finished chanting the requiem and looked at Delphinium.
"team leader."
She waited until Delphinium finished chanting before brushing her bangs and saying, "You...seem to be looking at me the whole time?"
It was because of this action that at this moment, Cuiqiao could clearly see the other person's right hand that had been hidden in his sleeve.
Or rather, the right paw.
During the garden defense battle, Mo He was injured by the enemy and his right hand was cut off. This kind of injury to the soul cannot be healed naturally like ordinary damage to the magic body, so Mo He almost lost his hand forever.
At least, that's what Delphinium remembered.
And at this moment, extending from Mo He's right sleeve was a claw covered with black fur, like the claw of some animal, or more like a cat.
Whether it is the short toe joints, the slightly exposed claw tips, or the pads and balls on the palms, they are undoubtedly shaped like cat paws.
"Ah, no... Yeah, that's right."
Didn't expect the other party to expose her actions so directly, or perhaps her attention was attracted by the other party's hand, so after a brief hesitation, Delphinium chose to admit it directly, and then asked: "Your hand...what's wrong?"
“It’s a prosthetic.”
Mo He blinked, then put the cat-paw-like right hand next to his face and grasped it twice: "It's just that because some fairy techniques were used, it looks like a fairy's claw."
Is it a fairy?
To be honest, Delphinium always felt that this was a little different from the fairy's claws, but couldn't tell the difference.
"Captain, you can touch it if you're curious."
Seeing that Cuiqiao didn't say anything, Mo He stretched out his right hand: "For me, it is no different from an ordinary right hand. It is very useful."
"Thank you, but no thanks." Delphinium's eyes twitched twice, but she didn't really reach out to touch it, but chose to refuse.
"Is that so..."
Mo He withdrew her hand expressionlessly, but her eyes were already downcast, making her face look disappointed: "I thought you liked it."
"It's just pure curiosity. I don't mean to offend you."
Delphinium coughed twice and looked away: "To be honest, I feel that you have changed a lot compared to before."
"You're right. I am indeed different now than I was before."
The topic was changed like this, and Mo He stopped staring at Cuique and shifted his gaze to the tombstone in front of him: "On the contrary, the captain seems to be the same as before, there is no change."
“…No, I’ve changed too.”
Delphinium was looking at the gas cloud cake in the box. Although it was very slow, scattered magic particles began to escape from its surface, like sand blown by the wind: "It's been a long time, Mo He."
"I know."
Mo He nodded, but her eyes were still on the tombstone: "Before the captain left, he told me that he wanted to find his own life and happiness. Have you found it?"
Delphinium did not answer immediately.
She no longer remembered whether she had actually said such words at the time, but she remembered what she was thinking at the time. There was no doubt that it was similar to what the other person "said".
As for the answer to this question, if she had asked the Jade Bird a few years ago, she would have answered "yes" without hesitation. After all, Lin Yun at that time had completely left the past behind and no longer planned to become a magical girl. But now, she opened her mouth but could not give a suitable answer.
“…Found it.”
After a long while, she could only say: "I have indeed found what I want, and I have my own happiness."
This sentence is probably only half of the real answer, but Delphinium did not continue to explain, nor did it intend to reveal the other half of the answer.
She could sense that Mo He's mental state was not very good. Instead of describing her situation in too much detail and expressing her negative emotions to affect the other party, it would be better to answer in a general way. Besides, she and Mo He were just old friends who met each other by chance. The other party had no position and no responsibility to listen to her experience.
Although Mo He still called himself "Captain", and somehow was able to see through the disguise that Emerald had made for him, and recognized his identity from the "Dragon Dan" makeup at a glance. However, this did not mean that he could naturally regard himself as the "Captain", really regard himself as a superior, and pour out too many ideas without a sense of boundaries.
It is now 20 years after the Garden Defense War. Neither I nor Mo He are teenagers anymore. The title of "Captain" is probably just a social etiquette to reduce the distance. Just like when I meet old classmates in the material world who I haven't seen for ten years, I still use the old titles of "Class Monitor" and "Student Committee Member". It's just that after a long time, we have forgotten the specific way of getting along with each other. We can only hope that these titles can help everyone find the affection quickly.
It is true that I had a close relationship with Mo He back then. We were not just superiors and subordinates in the army, but we were even close. However, I had been away from the country for 20 years, and the friendship we had back then had become distorted. I could neither treat him as a complete stranger nor brazenly try to build a relationship with him, and immediately treat him as a close friend.
So, just stop at the right time.
The two people stopped talking, and Mo He did not continue to ask about this question. The two people stayed in front of the tombstone in front of them for a while before going to the next one with offerings.
There weren't many people that Cuiqiao was going to pay tribute to, just the teammates who died in the war, and Mo He seemed to agree with her, so the two of them went together. During the memorial service, Cuiqiao found that Mo He was quite skilled, whether writing letters or chanting requiems. Obviously, she had done these a lot over the years.
Considering what happened twenty years ago, this is actually not surprising.
The whole memorial ceremony lasted for more than an hour. When Cuiqiao offered all the Qiyun cakes he had brought and prepared to leave the cemetery, it was already afternoon, almost evening.
After walking out of the cemetery gate with Mo He, Cuiqiao began to think about how to get back to the hotel. This place is not close to Caiyun Wetland. Even if you find a random take-off point to leave the magic-free area, it will take a long time to reach the destination.
Should she call another online taxi? Take the city's flying boat? Or just teleport? Just as she was considering this, Mo He suddenly turned into a small alley. Not long after, a small car slowly appeared from the alley.
It is actually a stretch to call it a car, because this "car" is less than half the size of a car in the material world, and it has no canopy. It is a miniature convertible with only two seats.
The reason why it is difficult to call it a "convertible" is that this car does not have the structure of a mechanical car at all, it has no engine and no ignition. Judging from its appearance alone, it is exactly the kind of go-kart that children play with in an amusement park.
Mo He was driving the children's go-kart and stopped in front of her. Cuiqiao could even see a cartoon cat face painted on the spot where the car logo should have been.
"Captain, where do you live? I'll take you back."
Mo He said this expressionlessly, as if she was not driving a go-kart but a luxury convertible. Kui Ching could actually see a hint of pride on her face, which should have been expressionless.
Take this back? Delphinium couldn't help but fall into thought.
I'm not thinking about whether to sit or not, but what reason I can give to refuse that will not hurt others.
Unfortunately, before she could find an excuse, Mo He had already driven the car next to her and even opened the door, revealing another seat.
Ah, she seems really looking forward to it.
Delphinium realized this fact.
Finally, under the gaze of the other party's eyes that clearly had no emotion but seemed to be glowing, Delphinium silently sat in the "co-pilot" seat of the kart.
She told herself that she was now Magical Girl Rindan, so even if others saw her riding in a toy car, it would have nothing to do with Magical Girl Delphinium...
Mo He, who was standing by, probably didn't notice the resistance of Kuei Ching, or maybe she didn't think there was anything to be resisted about her "convertible". She just held the steering wheel, stepped on the clutch, and started her car, looking as if she thought she was very handsome.
Delphinium could even see the cartoon cat face in front of the car lighting up as it started, and her already expressionless face became even more rigid.
Two expressionless magical girls were speeding on the road of Runnore in a go-kart, but they were thinking about completely different things. In this rather strange atmosphere, Mo He suddenly spoke:
"Um, Captain, are you free tomorrow afternoon?"
"Um?"
Realizing that the other party was asking her a question, Delphinium gradually came to her senses and answered belatedly, "Nothing at the moment. What's the matter?"
"There's a very famous dessert restaurant in the south of the city. I wanted to go there, so I made a reservation a day in advance. I was originally going alone, but I met the captain today."
Mo He looked at the road ahead, his left hand knuckles turning white from squeezing the steering wheel, but he said as usual:
——"So, if possible, would you like to go over there with me and have a meal?"
…
…
In the division of civilization between the magic kingdom and the material world, what shocked the first-timers from the material world the most was naturally the existence of magic. After that, if they had some social experience, they would further realize that this place was fundamentally different from the material world where they lived.
Due to the high popularity of magic tools and basic techniques, the necessary labor time of the entire national society has been compressed to an incredible degree. Every adult citizen only needs to master the use of magic tools, or simply become a magician, to achieve independent production of survival materials through standardized basic techniques - whether it is clothing, food, or even housing and transportation, from food production to building materials, all basic needs can be completed with the assistance of techniques. This decentralized production model is completely different from the social division of labor model in the material world, making more than 70% of the citizens more willing to become individual business operators.
Under this production model, the most valuable thing is naturally the spell itself, followed by the technology of how to package and encapsulate the spell - that is, what people call magic props, and then the ability to produce magic props. And then, it is the second and third industries defined in the material world.
Creating or improving a spell is difficult, and only the most talented magicians can accomplish this. Inventing or integrating magic tools is also not easy, and only a team of extremely experienced and skilled magic craftsmen can accomplish this. As for producing magic tools, this is probably the job with the lowest threshold, and only a magician with a contactor level or above can independently engage in production. Therefore, there is always a shortage of magic tool stores in the streets and alleys of Runnore.
The career choices of the vast majority of citizens tend to be creative or experiential labor, and family workshops are quite popular. This flexible employment model makes time management highly personalized - when a few people are able to complete production with the assistance of techniques, the boundaries between workdays and holidays will naturally disappear.
Therefore, no matter what day it was, there seemed to be people working in the kingdom, and at the same time, no matter what day it was, there seemed to be a festival in the kingdom. This point was infinitely magnified in this Queen's Year.
The reason for coming to this conclusion is that Lin Xiaolu has already made herself dizzy from tasting chocolates along the way.
Since they left the reception of the examination hall and started to wander around the magic-free area, they have hardly stopped eating, drinking and having fun. In addition to stopping at various interesting magic tool stores, pet stores, toy stores, and even fairy specialty service stores, the snack shops of all sizes on the street have also been stuffing food into their hands.
I don't know why, but all these merchants seem to be selling chocolate today.
As mentioned before, in the magic kingdom, the production of food raw materials has become extremely simple because of magic props, and even some relatively rough foods can be made with the help of props. Therefore, it would be extremely difficult to open a snack shop or restaurant in a place like Runnore.
Or, to put it another way, the competition among dim sum restaurants here is actually very fierce and very competitive.
It is not enough to just learn the craft, study the taste, and develop secret recipes. Almost every dim sum shop that can gain a foothold in Lunnore has its own unique skills. In order to make their business more prosperous and stable, the merchants are not stingy in providing customers with the opportunity to try and taste, and at the same time, they try their best to provide meticulous service to make people feel at home.
Therefore, when they were all selling chocolate, a passing "customer" like Lin Xiaolu would naturally eat chocolate until she was numb.
The food in each one is delicious, each one has its own characteristics, and each one makes her want to place an order...but Xia Liang always stops her at this time, and then forcibly takes Lin Xiaolu away like a parent pulling a child.
This behavior pattern was repeated infinitely until, after more than a dozen times, it finally ended in front of a dessert restaurant.
There was no other reason, it was just that this time, even Xia Liang was conquered by the chocolate in this store.
Just the right sweetness, a melt-in-your-mouth experience, a sticky but non-sticky texture, and a perfect balance of various nuts and fruit aromas, creating a complex and regular flavor... It can be said that when the three girls took the first bite of the chocolate, they were destined to buy one.
"How is it? Do you like this flavor? If not, we have five other flavors for you to choose from, two of which are new flavors our chef has introduced this year."
Seeing the girls' interested expressions, the clerk immediately began his sales pitch: "If you want to have a more festive atmosphere and make it yourself, we also have corresponding pre-made magic kits and raw material packages. We guarantee that the taste of your magic will be exactly the same as the ones sold in the store, and you can also make it into the shape you want!"
"What festival?" This was Xia Liang's reaction.
"What magic suit?" This was Lin Xiaolu's reaction.
"What flavor?" This was Bai Jingxuan's reaction.
"Well... the one you are eating now is our fruity mixed flavor. We also have classic royal flavor, fairy secret flavor, and modern classic flavor... The magic set is our customized magic dessert prop. You just need to pour the corresponding raw material package into it, and it can help you make the corresponding dessert according to the preset process. It's like you made it yourself."
Although he was asked three questions at once, the clerk remained calm and answered the three questions in turn very skillfully: "As for the holiday, it's Valentine's Day, of course."
"What is Valentine's Day?"
Now, the three girls' attention was drawn to this term, and Lin Xiaolu even asked a question directly.
"Why, don't you know? Ah, after all, you are still young."
After a brief moment of surprise, the clerk quickly adjusted his expression and demonstrated a very professional business level: "This is a traditional festival in our magical kingdom. There should be one in the material world as well. It will be tomorrow. At that time, girls can give chocolates as gifts to the people they like to express their feelings implicitly. Or friends can give each other chocolates to thank them for their care over the past year. All of these are fine!"
"Send chocolate..." Bai Jingxuan opened her mouth slightly.
"For the person I like..." Xia Liang nodded his lips.
"To express my feelings..." Lin Xiaolu blinked.
They were silent at the same time.
Lin Xiaolu was still young and had never paid attention to the concept of Valentine's Day. Although Bai Jingxuan had heard some information from Lin Yun, she only remembered that "there would be chocolates on Valentine's Day". Xia Liang, although relatively precocious and somewhat aware of the concept, had never been in a relationship herself, and her old friends had never discussed such a topic with her. So surprisingly, she had never really understood what kind of holiday it was.
In this way, the three girls present actually seriously thought about whether this festival had any relevance to themselves.
Then, just when the clerk thought they needed to discuss more and stopped talking and was about to go back to tidy up the samples, he found that he had been surrounded without knowing when.
"Excuse me, could you please explain the Valentine's Day part in detail?"
As the external communicator among the three, Xia Liang stood in front of the clerk and asked with a smile.
Besides her, two other girls were also standing on both sides, nodding their heads in agreement.
(End of this chapter)
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