My ex-girlfriend is a magical girl junior?

Chapter 260 Oaths, Agreements, and Contracts

As Ruby's petite figure fully emerged from the dark mirror and stepped into the laboratory, an instinctive sense of disgust instantly overwhelmed her.

Its once fluffy and adorable face now revealed a human-like disgust due to this intense discomfort, and its deep blue eyes were filled with undisguised vigilance.

This disgust was not only due to the presence of the Void Apostle Mirror Lord wearing a smiling mask, or because of the dense Void Energy fluctuations that permeated the surrounding air, making it feel nauseous.

It was also because of the somewhat creepy looks cast at it by those humans in sterile white coats.

The light emanating from them was not simply out of curiosity or amazement, but rather carried an almost twisted fanaticism and greed, as if they were not looking at a special life form with advanced intelligence and supernatural abilities that could communicate with them on an equal footing, but rather examining an extremely rare and perfect "experiment" waiting to be dissected and studied.

—Completely different from the way Xiaoli always looked at her with affection and dependence.

Ruby had no doubt that if these people had the ability and the courage, they would not hesitate to imprison themselves in this laboratory that made her extremely uncomfortable, and then use all sorts of ways, whether she could think of them or not, to explore every corner of her body and satisfy her morbid thirst for knowledge.

"Welcome to my private workshop, Contract Elf." Mirror Lord opened his arms, like an artist showing off his masterpiece to a distinguished guest, and spoke elegantly to Ruby.

"I wonder—what are your thoughts on what's happening before your eyes?"

"It's disgusting everywhere." Ruby's voice was cold, filled with undisguised disgust. "If I could, I wouldn't want to stay in this filthy place for even a second longer."

"Hehe—should I say it's an unsurprising assessment?" Jingjue wasn't annoyed at all by this answer; instead, he chuckled as if he had heard some kind of amusing compliment.

"I don't expect you old-fashioned beings from Esmeralda, whose minds are filled only with so-called justice and protection, to understand even the slightest bit of my aesthetics."

"However," he changed the subject, his tone slightly playful, "as long as you remember to abide by our 'agreement' and not reveal the existence of this laboratory or anything that happened between us today, I won't mind this little bit of verbal rudeness."

"Stop pretending, Mirror Lord," Ruby interrupted him in a deep voice. "Breaking the [agreement] is a taboo for us contracted spirits, one that could shake our very existence."

"Didn't you already know this, which is why you felt comfortable letting me make such a verbal promise instead of forcing me to sign a more binding soul contract with you?"

"Of course, of course I remember." Mirror Lord chuckled, readily admitting it. "I'm just giving you a little reminder, don't forget the entirety of our [agreement]."

"Of course, I will do the same. I will never break the oath I made to the great monarch."

"Since we've already made an oath, the consequences of my breaking it won't be any less severe than your breaking the agreement. So you see—I'm still very sincere, right?"

Agreement —

Ruby pondered the weighty word, her expression becoming somewhat complicated, her thoughts involuntarily drifting back to what had happened not long ago.

Let's go back a few hours.

Ruby was wandering alone in the city sky in the afternoon, deciding where to go and how long to stay based on her own mood.

This behavior has been going on for several days, and to be honest, this unrestrained experience is still quite novel for it.

After all, for a long time, it had stayed by Xiaoli's side without leaving her side.

Every time Xiaoli's irresponsible father returned from a business trip, it would silently stay by the side of the stubborn child, spending one long and cold night after another together.

Whether in a cheap motel where no ID registration is required, or wandering aimlessly in the bustling or remote corners of the city, or in that single room filled with the strong smell of smoke—it has always been with her.

This time, however, things were finally a little different.

On the night that the boy named Lin Che came to her house, Xiao Li received a text message from her father. She immediately mustered up her courage and decided to go to his house to ask if she could stay overnight.

Ruby, of course, had no objection to this; on the contrary, she felt unprecedentedly gratified.

After all, it had always felt sorry for this awkward but kind child, worried that she might make some irreversible choice in this suffocating loneliness.

And it may not always stay by the other's side.

Before, Xiao Li only had her little contracted spirit by her side, but now, there are more people in her world, and she has begun to actively seek help.

Even though she knew that it meant she would inevitably come into contact with Yuqing's family—a good omen.

Yuqing's appearance gave Xiaoli her first true friend.

The boy named Lin Che even made Xiao Li dress up carefully for the first time ever when she met him.

Now, Xiaoli is starting to try to get along with their two shared family members.

The future will definitely get better and better, right? Xiao Li will become more and more cheerful, and more people who truly care about her and accompany her will gather around her.

—She will be like any ordinary girl, noisy and bumpy, but in the end—she will still grow up smoothly and will never fight in a nearly self-destructive way like when she first signed the contract with herself.

It was precisely because of this beautiful expectation that Ruby chose to decisively refuse Xiao Li's invitation to "go to Yu Qing's house with her".

It knew that Xiao Li needed to be braver and needed to interact with more people.

And my presence might cause that sensitive child to subconsciously withdraw when trying to communicate with others, retreating back to that small, safe zone where it's just the two of them.

Therefore, during the few days she stayed at the hotel, it was undoubtedly the best choice for her to wander around outside for a while.

"Sigh... I'm starting to get a little bored without Xiaoli around." Ruby rolled in the air and muttered to herself, "I wonder if she's been having a good time these past few days, if she's... a little more cheerful than before?"

"Hmph, I'm thinking of her so much. After that annoying man leaves, I'll definitely make her buy me the most expensive imported cat food, and I'll make her pet me properly until I'm satisfied!"

"Okay, that's decided!"

Ruby imagined herself being overwhelmed by countless high-quality cat foods, and with a gentle flap of her translucent wings, she flew away into the distance once more.

Just as it was about to pass by a skyscraper with a huge glass curtain wall, a slender figure slowly emerged from the reflection of the curtain wall like a ghost, silently blocking its path.

He was a man wearing a pure white smiling mask and an elegant black suit, exuding an unsettling aura of ethereal energy.

A Void Realm Apostle?!

Ruby sensed the other's presence in an instant, her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately made a swift change of direction, attempting to escape in another direction.

Judging from the newcomer's appearance, he was undoubtedly Jing Jue, the Void Apostle whom Xiao Li had met in the park that night. But why was he here? Was he here for her?

With deliberate restraint, the magical aura surrounding him had become so faint as to be almost nonexistent. It was absolutely impossible to pinpoint his location using that meager amount of magic. What on earth was this—

Ruby hadn't flown very far when she was horrified to see another identical figure standing in mid-air not far in front of her, silently watching her. Her heart sank instantly.

It was now completely certain that Mirror Lord's ability to find him was no accident, but rather a premeditated act, demonstrating his precise tracking of his movements.

"Hehe, my contracted spirit, it's a pleasure to meet you." Mirror Lord removed his top hat and gave Ruby a graceful bow. "As you can see, I am an apostle of the Void Realm."

"Mirror Lord, what is your purpose?" Ruby asked in a deep voice, hovering in mid-air.

"Oh my? The contracted spirit actually knows my name? This is truly—an honor indeed." Mirror Duke feigned surprise and exclaimed.

"Stop talking nonsense and answer my question!" Ruby stared intently at Mirror Lord, her body trembling slightly from the intense tension.

"Should I say you're courageous, or... that you don't know how to assess the situation?" Upon hearing Ruby's reply, Mirror's voice turned slightly cold.

"As a contracted spirit with almost no ability to fight head-on, and without any noisy magical girls protecting you—you are clearly the one in a completely disadvantaged position right now."

"And you—speak to me with this tone and attitude?"

Ruby's heart leaped into her throat. She could clearly sense the undisguised malice emanating from the other person and knew that they were about to attack her.

But it showed no intention of trying to escape; it simply tensed its body and stared at the other with even more vigilant eyes.

Unexpectedly, the malice emanating from Jingjue subtly receded in the next moment, and his attitude returned to that respectful one with a hint of amusement.

He changed his tune, saying, "However, unfortunately, I am now the one who needs your help, and I have no choice but to lower myself a little and ask for your assistance, Contract Spirit."

"Need help?"

Ruby looked at Mirror Lord with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, and mocked him without any politeness: "Are you out of your mind? This filthy being from the Void Realm makes me feel disgusted just looking at him, and you actually want me to—help you?"

"Hehe—" Jingjue let out a meaningful chuckle, "I know you're trying to provoke me, hoping I'll eliminate you here instead of using you as a hostage to blackmail your companions."

"And the fact that you'd rather be killed by me proves that I would never use any coercive means to get you to do anything for me. That courage is truly admirable."

"However, you've misunderstood something, Contract Spirit. This time, I have no intention of imprisoning you or causing you any harm."

"So you're trying to bribe me with conditions to get my help?" Ruby said dismissively. "That's absolutely impossible."

"Don't be so quick to refuse, noble contracted spirit." Mirror Lord chuckled, his voice like a devil's whisper, "Perhaps after hearing my conditions—you'll change your mind?"

Let's go back to the present.

Ruby snapped out of her reverie, staring intently at Mirror Lord before her, and said in a deep voice, "I understand. I will keep this promise, but you—you absolutely cannot break the vow you made before!"

"I must remind you again how serious the consequences of breaking an oath are for someone like me. As a contracted spirit, you probably know better than I do, so there's no need for any more unnecessary words."

Jingjue turned and slowly walked towards the huge culture chamber in the center of the laboratory. He gently placed his right hand on the cold, smooth glass, tilted his head back, and gazed with a slightly intoxicated look at the dark, slowly pulsating light within. He asked, "Speaking of which, what do you think of this 'work of art' that I created?"

Ruby glanced at the ball of light, then immediately turned away in disgust, saying bluntly, "That dense fluctuation of ethereal energy makes me feel nauseous just by its existence. And you call this a work of art?"

"How could that be? You probably didn't appreciate its beauty carefully, did you?" Jingjue's voice suddenly rose a few octaves, and his tone became somewhat urgent. "If you could savor it carefully, you would definitely come to a different conclusion—"

"Enough with the nonsense!" Ruby interrupted him rudely. "I don't have time for your boring chatter; I just want to get out of here as soon as possible!"

"What exactly do you want me to do? Can you tell me now?"

"Tch—" Jingjue clicked his tongue in annoyance at being interrupted.

He withdrew his fervor, his tone returning to its usual indifference: "What else can a contracted spirit do? Of course, it's—"

He turned around again, looking at the mysterious dark ball of light in the incubation chamber, a hopeful smile on his face.

"—Sign a contract with it."

"And this—is also the final step in my artwork, moving from 'excellent' to near perfection."

"Sign a contract with it?"

Ruby's expression froze instantly.

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