Chapter 43: The Blue Witch’s Echo

Though Su Muxue frequently visited the High Tower for magical girl training, she was a solitary child. Her only companion was Booboo, a stray dog much like herself.

Due to the aesthetic shifts brought about by the Transcended era, the eyes Su Qingyao had passed down to Su Muxue merely made her appear a little fierce at school. They were no longer seen as an ‘ill omen,’ as they might have been before the apocalypse.

Ah, perhaps someone else once shared these very sentiments.

At any rate, within the High Tower, the quiet and adorable Su Muxue garnered considerable attention from passersby and other instructors.

Consequently, Su Muxue herself harbored little interest in the High Tower. She would arrive alone, diligently attend her classes, then simply embrace her large plush dog and retreat to her apartment.

Today, however, Su Muxue displayed a curiosity akin to other children her age.

She incessantly pestered Su Qingyao to wander around the High Tower with her.

Initially, Su Qingyao, burdened by her work, had intended to decline. However, once Xu Yiyi gave an ‘OK’ sign and nudged her forward, the young woman found herself without a valid reason to refuse.

Leaving behind the troublesome senior, who was currently filling out forms and being guided through the procedures by Xu Yanqing, Su Qingyao took Su Muxue’s hand.

She meticulously confirmed their route, step by step, referencing the map she had drawn from memory.

To some extent, Su Qingyao could discern the construction period of different sections within the High Tower by the degree of magical impregnation.

While it was true that magic naturally dissipated in the air, flowing towards sparser areas, the magic within the High Tower was simply too concentrated.

It was so dense that Su Qingyao harbored a slight suspicion: was there a dedicated individual constantly manipulating the “fragment” at the very top?

As a result, materials that might have once been entirely disparate had been assimilated, taking on an archaic yet dreamlike appearance.

Some areas even showed signs of two or three centuries of aging, with the most aged sections paradoxically glowing with an abnormal brilliance.

At least Su Muxue was thoroughly enjoying herself.

****

Their cheerful exploration continued until they arrived at the plaza of a reception hall. There, they spotted a sculpture whose face was blurred.

It held a magic staff, adorned with green gems, resembling a scepter.

The sculpture depicted a young girl in elaborate attire, wearing a wide witch’s hat. Intricate patterns were carved into her skirt and sleeves, as if she embodied all beauty and fantasy.

It was the culmination of future generations’ imagination and remembrance of the Blue Witch, standing proudly atop the reception hall’s fountain.

Su Qingyao’s breathing quietly hitched for a moment.

Because—

The pose captured by the sculpture was almost identical to her own, differing only in minute details. Even the movements referenced her actions with Lu Zhichuan at the end of the [Night Hunt Expedition], before Hope City was established.

Fortunately, the spiritual attire worn by the sculpture was not the girl’s usual, everyday spiritual garb. Instead, it was the “Blossom” form, a complete self-manifestation achieved only after reaching Tier Six.

If the demarcation between Tier Three and Tier Four was the resonance with all of one’s “individuality,” then the progression from Tier Four to Tier Five, and Tier Five to Tier Six, was entirely determined by the depth of one’s individual characteristic’s excavation.

The distinction from Tier Four to Tier Five lay in the [cancellation] of the magic staff, a crucial casting medium. This allowed magical girls to cast spells without being confined to incantations or staves.

Magic, such as Su Qingyao weaving bracelets or knitting a lounge chair in her apartment, no longer required a transformation. Casting had become as natural as breathing, integrated into every facet of their being.

Tier Six, symbolizing the rank just before the pinnacle of the Transcended system, was characterized by [Self-Manifestation], or also known as [Blossom], for the magical girl branch.

It enabled the spiritual attire to undergo a complete and rapid metamorphosis into an entirely new appearance.

Like a half-open, budding flower, fully blossoming, it showcased captivating and awe-inspiring qualities.

Su Qingyao was precisely such an individual.

However, by the time Hope City was established, she had already been at Tier Six for quite some time.

*Cough, cough*. She had drifted off-topic.

It was a good thing Su Qingyao didn’t have the habit of continuously maintaining her [Blossom Spiritual Attire], unlike some other Tier Six and Tier Seven magical girls.

Otherwise, given how accustomed the magical girls in the High Tower were to that sculpture, Su Qingyao’s plan to conceal her identity would likely have been naturally exposed during the appraisal itself.

“Buzz, buzz buzz.”

Her phone notification rang right on cue.

Su Qingyao picked up her phone; sure enough, it was a message from Lu Zhichuan, confirming that everything was settled.

Just as Su Qingyao was about to gently pull Su Muxue, who was still mesmerized by the sculpture, back to the office, Su Muxue suddenly tugged on her hem.

“Is that Mama’s spiritual attire?” Su Muxue asked.

“Mm,” Su Qingyao nodded softly. “It’s the spiritual attire Mama wears when she’s truly serious, you see.”

“Then, Muxue, will I also have a chance to see it? Mama’s serious look?”

Su Qingyao feigned contemplation for a moment.

Then, she leaned down.

“Alright,” she whispered. “I’ll secretly show you Mama’s serious look then.”

Su Qingyao said, blinking her eyes playfully.

****

‘How truly subtle.’

Even though she knew it was impossible for Lu Zhichuan to have any incredible interaction with Xu Yanqing, whom he had just met. Even though she knew Lu Zhichuan was fond of the Saintess, or at the very least, someone like herself.

Even though Su Qingyao felt no sentiment for Lu Zhichuan that surpassed brotherly affection, still, seeing him with another girl, talking, Su Qingyao couldn’t help but feel a subtle pang of sourness.

‘You mean brothers get jealous too?’

‘Oh, oh, then it’s fine. That must be it.’

‘It seems even after transforming from a male to a female, and even becoming a magical girl mom, I’m still so narrow-minded.’

After such self-mockery, her mood actually improved quite a bit.

While Su Qingyao was lost in thought, Lu Zhichuan had already risen from his seat, carrying a temporary magnetic card and a brand new card holder.

“Qingyao?”

A puzzled Lu Zhichuan waved his hand in front of Su Qingyao.

What greeted him was Su Qingyao’s dismissive humph.

“Hmph.”

Su Qingyao was inexplicably annoyed for a moment.

Only then did she place Su Muxue’s small hand into Lu Zhichuan’s. “Remember this, Senior Lu,” she stated, “you’re only temporary.”

While the girl pouted, she also had to keep her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.

It felt a bit pathetic, actually.

Didn’t he see Lu Zhichuan was trying to suppress his laughter?

“Alright, alright, alright,” he nodded, taking the hand of the beaming girl beside him, clearly in a good mood himself.

The two, one tall and one short, walked along the path, presenting a harmonious picture.

Su Qingyao, on the other hand, puffed out her chest with a huff.

The maternal love she had painstakingly hidden beneath her shirt accidentally strained the fabric again, making the girl bend over in alarm.

“Miss Qingyao?”

Xu Yanqing’s questioning voice came from behind her.

Su Qingyao mimicked Lu Zhichuan’s “ahem ahem,” adjusted her attire, turned around, and feigned nonchalance.

“Miss Xu Yanqing, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing now.”

Xu Yanqing propped up her chin, expertly concealing all her thoughts beneath her ice-cold expression.

Then, unable to completely hold it in, she let out a barely perceptible smile.

‘Is this what being in love looks like?’

****

‘How truly strange.’

‘This is fine too, isn’t it?’

She tried to deceive herself this way.

Disordered memories whispered turbid breaths into her ears, one after another.

Yet, all her emotions were ultimately concealed beneath the smile that graced her lips.

Only when truly confronting everything did she grasp a single truth:

‘In the end, even I don’t know how to face this situation, complex to the point of collapse, do I?’