The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

Just after leaving the courtyard, Rin, who had closed the gate to the cottage, turned around and called out to Kiana and Luvia.

"Since we're already planning to collect class cards together, let's start tomorrow. I happen to remember that school is closed tomorrow, so you'll have plenty of time to prepare."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing the word "prepare," Kiana paused, confused. She turned to look at Rin, only to find him staring intently at her.

Clearly, she was speaking to herself.

Judging from her tone, did she... want to do something with him?

"Sister Rin, are you getting ready..."

"I'll train you. Otherwise, collecting class cards is such a dangerous job. Are you planning to start working without any training at all?"

"Um... training, does that mean I have to attend magic tutoring classes?"

"Huh? What's that? I've never heard of it." Rin crossed her arms, completely baffled by the concept of a magic tutoring class.

At that moment, a cool breeze swept by, and she, dressed in thin clothes, felt the cold.

"It's so cold! It was so hot during the day, why is it so cold now?"

"That's not the point, you brat from the Tohsaka family."

Surprisingly, Luvia did not confront Rin this time, but simply tossed her wavy hair.

"I didn't expect you to be so kind as to teach the Tohsaka family magic? How strange. Are you planning to hand over such precious magic circuits to someone else?"

"Stop joking, bread roll."

Rin scoffed at Luvia's surprise.

The magic circuits left behind by the Tohsaka family are incredibly precious treasures, and she won't easily hand them over until a suitable successor is found.

Even if this little girl agreed to help him, it was absolutely impossible.

Of course, imparting some magic tricks and practical experience is more than enough.

It's better than starting the mission without any preparation, right?

After saying everything she wanted to say, Luvia thought for a moment, then bowed and asked Kiana for her opinion:

"Are you willing to undergo training, Kiana?"

"Me? It's okay. I've taken on the toughest and most tiring training."

Kiana patted her chest and assured the two of them, but this little girl's solemn promise was quite unbelievable.

Rin and Luvia exchanged a rare glance, reaching a consensus from each other's eyes.

"This little bit of adolescent delusions has started again, sigh..."

With regret in their eyes, the two of them, each holding Kiana's hand, walked hand in hand with her to the outside of the solemn and grand mansion of Edfeld.

"I won't be staying overnight tonight. I'll come over tomorrow morning, bread roll! Remember, don't make me wait outside like last time!"

"Hmph, how rude. Alright, alright, I know."

After teasing each other for a while, the two rivals finally said goodbye.

The rest is relatively simple.

I went inside, greeted Meiyou, and went back to my room to prepare for bed.

It was done almost in one go.

However, Kiana was unusually happy because she was finally able to get involved in the main storyline.

She lay on her usual bed, rubbing her round little belly and twisting and turning, too excited to fall asleep.

"Ugh, so boring. It'll be a long time before dawn... How about we go into the Dust Song Pot for some fun?"

After thinking it over for a long time, Kiana finally took out the Dust Song Pot she had exchanged last time from the system's inventory.

This pot looks almost identical to the one in Ying's hand, but according to the information provided by the system, Kiana realized that this pot, named [Dust Song Pot (Hyperdimensional Version)], is quite different.

[Dust Song Pot (Hyperdimensional Version): This pot is an enhanced version created by the system through modifications and upgrades to the regular Dust Song Pot. It can ignore the limitations of dimensional space barriers and possess its own private sanctuary. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on the items or creatures it can contain. In addition, this pot can freely enter and leave other people's Dust Song Pots for visits, play, and even theft, but the host must bear the consequences. The host is encouraged to develop more functions independently.]

"It definitely feels like an enhanced version. I wonder what it's like inside. Let's go in and take a look. Hmm... and while I'm at it, I'll check out Ying's house. If she's home, I'll say hello. I wonder how she'll react if she sees me like this..."

With this question in mind, Kiana gently touched the rough outer wall of the Dust Song Pot.

With a burst of smoke effects, she quickly disappeared into the Edfeldt family mansion.

Sentimental Magical Girls (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha): Chapter 25 This is truly a case of "a scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation!"

In the vast darkness, Kiana faintly heard the system's guiding voice.

[Welcome back to the Dust Song Pot, host. As this is your first time entering, you will need to select your initial cave form.]

Is it the initial form of the grotto-heaven?

It should be no different from the regular version; there are three types, right?

"Choose Luofu Cave."

[Congratulations, host, on selecting Luofu Cave as your grotto-heaven landscape. You may adjust the grotto-heaven's appearance at any time. Each adjustment has a cooldown period; you must wait for the cooldown period to complete before making the next adjustment.]

"Is it anytime? That seems really convenient..."

As she muttered this sentence, Kiana opened her eyes.

What comes into view is the magnificent Luofu Cave, with floating islands shrouded in ethereal mist connected by bridges constructed of talismans, and below the islands, clouds that resemble a fairyland.

On the floating island where they were located stood a grand mansion.

It might not be the best way to put it, but honestly, this house...

It's much more magnificent than Luvia's.

"Well, but my eldest sister's mansion is Western-style, the style is different. Let's not make comparisons. By the way... I don't have any Tsubaki-no-Mikoto here?"

Kiana, wearing adorable bear slippers, wiggled her chubby little white-stockinged feet as she wandered around the mansion.

She looked left and right, and found that apart from the mansion, there was nothing else to be seen, let alone the spirit A Yuan who should have been dozing in front of the mansion.

"Um...you said it was an enhanced version, but you forgot about the spirit of the pot? This Dust Song Pot..."

Finally, after several fruitless attempts to find the spirit of the pot, Kiana gave up the search and sat down on the steps of the mansion, somewhat discouraged, rubbing her slightly sore little white-stockinged feet.

Because her figure has not yet returned to what it used to be, her legs became sore after walking for a while.

"Ugh, flying is so tiring, it's really troublesome... Speaking of which, without the spirit pot, wouldn't I even be unable to make furniture..."

Just as Kiana was feeling better and began to slump on the steps, questioning her existence, the system, which usually liked to play dead, unusually spoke up.

The host does not need to worry about being unable to craft furniture.

"Oh why?"

[The host can exchange furniture through the system shop, or collect furniture while traveling through worlds, thereby adding furniture to the Dust Song Pot.]

Hearing this, Kiana felt relieved.

With a sudden thought, she began searching for suitable items in the system's online store.

It's worth mentioning that everyday items like furniture aren't expensive in the system's shop; they're only slightly more expensive than food.

Unless the furniture has special functions, its exchange price will not be too outrageous.

"Let me see... Hmm, a vending machine, I have to get one!"

After saying that, Kiana immediately redeemed a vending machine, choosing the location in front of the mansion's gate, the spot that should have been occupied by the Pot Spirit.

"Phew! Cola, cola... Miyu and Illya are such worrywarts, they won't even let me drink cola because they're afraid I'll gain weight. Now that I'm at the Dust Pot, I can finally be self-sufficient!"

As she spoke, she took out a few coins and put them into the vending machine. With a 'ding!' sound, she got a bottle of Coke from the dispenser and happily drank it.

"Hiccup... Okay, I shouldn't have eaten so much."

Feeling the bloating in her belly, Kiana burned the empty cola can and then began exchanging for furniture.

Since she only occasionally returned to the Dust Song Pot and didn't need to buy too much furniture, and hadn't thought that far ahead, after simply exchanging for a set of antique-style furniture from a scholarly family, she gave up the idea of ​​exchanging any more and lay sprawled on the soft bed in a daze.

"Still so boring... It's only fun when you play with friends! System, can you send me to Ying's Dust Song Pot? By the way, is she in the pot right now?"

[Ding! Reply to host: Yes. Do you wish to teleport now?]

"Teleport now."

As soon as she finished speaking, Kiana felt another cloud of smoke swirling around her, followed by a moment of darkness and then a sudden burst of light.

She arrived inside someone else's Dust Song Pot in almost an instant.

"I wonder how long it's been since I last came. Where is Ying now? She should be resting at the mansion, right?"

After briefly observing the scene inside the Dust Song Pot, Kiana took a step towards the mansion without saying a word.

Unlike her own grotto-heaven, Ying's grotto-heaven was guarded by the spirit of the Sparrow Pot.

However, the spirit of the pot remained curled up in a ball, sleeping in as usual, and showed no reaction even when outsiders arrived.

You could say they took slacking off to the extreme...

"However, the fact that A Yuan can close both eyes completely like this saves me a lot of trouble."

After muttering this thought to herself, Kiana withdrew her gaze and slowly pushed open the gate of the mansion.

What came into her view was a layout almost identical to her last visit.

Everything seemed strange, yet mixed with a hint of familiarity.

"I remember Ying's room... I think it's...?"

Recalling the faint memories still lingering in her mind, Kiana walked up the steps without saying a word and arrived at the room on the second floor.

Pushing open the unlocked door, she saw Ying, dressed in a thin nightgown, sprawled on the bed, fast asleep in a rather unseemly manner, clutching a pillow.

That originally youthful and lovely face, because of her terrible sleeping posture, ultimately created a misleading impression of being simple and honest.

For some reason, looking at Ying's adorable appearance, Kiana felt that much of her fatigue from the past few days had dissipated.

She crept closer to the unsuspecting girl, wanting to give her an unexpected surprise after not seeing her for many days.

However, before she could even climb into bed, a familiar, noisy voice suddenly rang out.