Get off work and become a magical girl

Chapter 294 Delphinium's Decision

The worst could have come true.

This was Delphinium's first feeling after hearing Emerald's words.

If Tulip has already defected, then the identity of Mo He, who traveled with her and even repeatedly mentioned that she had joined a certain "team", is self-evident.

The team that Mo He was talking about, the one she had joined, was Claw Mark.

Delphinium was not completely unprepared for this answer. In fact, she should have known it a long time ago, but she just didn't want to believe it.

She couldn't believe that Mo He and even Tulip would become "Claw Mark" and join an organization that was no different from terrorists.

As comrades who participated in the war between the two worlds and even served on the front line of the garden defense war, both Mo He and Tulip are more than just "magical girl colleagues" in the eyes of Delphinium.

The Garden Defense War was a life-changing war for many magical girls who participated in it. Most of the magical girls who survived this war had the same characteristics engraved in their hearts.

So, to some extent, both Mohe and Tulip are people who can "empathize" with Delphinium and understand a certain kind of sadness and pain.

Because they can understand the same pain, they naturally have similar attitudes and even emotions towards life; and because they have similar emotions, when their actions deviate from these emotions, it makes Delphinium particularly difficult to believe.

Tulip and Delphinium did not have many opportunities to work together, so it was fine that the two were not very familiar with each other. Mo He, or Nina, the magical girl who was in the same team with Delphinium, was vivid enough in Delphinium's memory. Whether it was Nina in her memories or Mo He who seemed to have changed a lot now, Delphinium could not match their images with the impression of "claw marks".

"What's the matter? Do you find it hard to accept?"

Emerald, who had half stood up, looked at Delphinium's reaction with interest: "Judging from your attitude, you must have seen her, right? And it probably happened in the past few days?"

"...I should be able to accept it, but it's hard to convince myself."

The other party had already guessed the truth, but Delphinium did not answer the second half of Emerald's question. She just said slowly: "Because I can't figure out why she did this."

"It's right that you can't figure it out. If everyone could figure out what Claw Mark was trying to do, the magic kingdom would have been in chaos long ago."

Emerald narrowed her eyes, waved her hand helplessly, and said with a smile: "And in fact, judging from the list we have collected so far, the first batch of Claw Traces who defected, apart from those confidants of the Ministry of Finance who followed Purple Diamond, were mostly from the city defense forces of Runore. I was even investigated by the Royal Court because of this matter. It was so annoying."

From Emerald's perspective, if these things really had nothing to do with her, then it could indeed be called an unprovoked disaster. But rather than sympathizing with the other party, Delphinium was more concerned about the first half of the sentence: "The majority of magical girls come from the city defense army... Doesn't that mean..."

"Yes, this shows that the reason why many people in Claw Mark defected is most likely related to the Garden Defense War, or the subsequent impact of this war."

Emerald calmly concluded Delphinium's hypothesis, but soon, as if she remembered something, she added, "Ah, although I was considered the main combat force at that time, don't count me in."

"…Although it is easy to draw such a conclusion, I cannot agree with it."

After pondering this fact for a while, Kuei-Chi shook her head and said, "I was also an eyewitness of that war. From my perspective, there is no reason for them to take such an extreme path just because of the legacy of that war."

This was not her opinion on Mo He and Tulip, but her defense of the entire Runnore City Defense Force and all the magical girls who survived the war.

"Really? But even if you are like me, didn't you choose to stay away from the country and not want to have anything to do with these things anymore?"

Emerald, who had been half-closed her eyes, had completely opened them without knowing when. Although she still had a smile on her face, it made people feel like they were facing a beast that had awakened from sleep. The atmosphere was extremely solemn. “Should I say it or not, young man? Maybe they have just gone a little further than you.”

"But they are not like me. I am forbidden to enter the magical kingdom..." Delphinium frowned and tried to argue, but was interrupted by Emerald before she could finish her words.

——"Young man, is it really because you were grounded, or exiled, that you became like this?"

Emerald's tone was still lazy, but for some reason, it made people feel that there was a kind of power that could not be disputed: "Or do you want to tell me that in the year after the war, and even during the great beast disaster, you had different ideas than you do now?" Delphinium was silent.

It wasn't because she couldn't answer Emerald's question, nor was it because she had something she didn't want to reveal, but because she once again made it clear in her mind that there must be some hidden story behind this matter.

Just like she once said to Mo He, twenty years have passed, and too many things have happened during this period, enough to change a person, or even a group of people. And now, she still doesn't know these "former comrades-in-arms" very well.

Is the ideal described by Mo He what they are all pursuing? What is the purpose of the so-called base established in the wasteland of the material world? The members of Claw Mark are making trouble everywhere like crazy, what is their intention?
These questions that kept popping up were all confusions that Delphinium could not share with Emerald.

Once she asked and discussed these things, it was equivalent to revealing Mo He's whereabouts. If she was sure that Mo He had already gone astray and became a bad person, Cui Que would naturally tell the information without hesitation. But the problem was that doubts arose in her heart.

She knew that the Claws were definitely not a group of good people, whether it was the magical girl codenamed Sparrow, who showed full malice from beginning to end, or the magical girl codenamed Kite, whose thoughts were a little hard to understand, but who also acted without taboos. These two people came to Fangting with bad intentions.

However, she also knew that she should not generalize based on a limited number of cases. What she knew about the "claw marks" was too little. It was far from enough for her to piece together the truth of the matter based on the few members she had seen and the descriptions she had heard from others.

Delphinium's intuition told her that she shouldn't make a judgment before she had all the facts.

So, she didn't plan to mention Mo He.

The only thing she had to think about was how to tell Emerald the information given by Mo He, that is, "there will be danger at the assessment site", while gaining the other party's trust without revealing the source of her information.

Yes, she had no intention of hiding this.

The national assessment at that time will include not only the younger generations of Fangting City, but also countless magical girls from all over the world. It is impossible for Cuique to joke with the safety of these people.

If the incident might cause too many colleagues to be hurt, then even if her behavior was contrary to Mo He's purpose, even if doing so was nominally a "betrayal" of Mo He's trust, she would choose and must pass on the news.

This was the decision that Kuizi made after careful consideration: she would conceal the fact that she had contact with the magical girl "Mohe", but it was necessary to pass on information that she thought would affect the assessment and safety matters.

However, while she was still thinking about how to modify her words, Emerald spoke again:

"Forget it, we have strayed too far from the topic, and I don't expect you to give me a direct answer, so let's get back to the original question. The magical girl codenamed 'Tulip' has already defected. She is even the first batch of magical girls who followed Purple Diamond to defect and become Claw Scar. It is very likely that she has already become their core member. Whether you accept it or not, this is a fact that has already happened."

"...Well, I understand."

Although his train of thought was interrupted, Delphinium did not show any abnormality. He just nodded calmly, indicating that he accepted the information given by the other party.

"Well, that's it. Let's end this topic here. Is there anything else you want to say?"

Emerald's tone unconsciously became frivolous again: "If you don't have anything to say, then go back. Then prepare some slightly more formal clothes and come back to see me later."

"I...what?"

Delphinium, who was still thinking about how to inform Emerald of the danger, was startled when she heard Emerald's sudden declaration: "Come back later? Why?"

"I have to take you with me because of something important." Emerald said lightly.

"Where to?" Delphinium could only ask.

"Well, if you insist, it's a party? A banquet? It seems to be just a dinner party in terms of scale."

Emerald thought for a moment and replied:
"Let's put that aside for now. The form is not important. Anyway, just follow me. I'll introduce you to some people tonight."

(End of this chapter)