After get off work, I become a magical girl

In the magic kingdom, there was once an old saying, which, when translated into the language of Donghuazhou, can be said as follows: It is better to be a research dog for ten lifetimes than to be an investigator for one day.

To put it more clearly, the meaning is: a magical girl would rather do hard labor in the research institute until retirement than work a day's shift in the investigation institute.

The origin of the old saying is no longer traceable, and no one knows who the original author of this saying is, or whether he has been secretly captured by the director of the Investigation Institute who never shows his emotions. But the fact that it was eventually passed down and even spread is enough to show that it is the consensus of quite a number of magical girls.

Among the five major power institutions in the Magic Kingdom, if you ask which one is the most powerful, most magical girls will hesitate between the Finance Institute and the Investigation Institute. But if you ask which one has the best treatment and the most comfortable and secure work, everyone will choose the Research Institute.

You know, if we talk about the leisure and slacking of work, there is a power vacuum zone like the Magic Affairs Court among the five courts. The magical girls working in the Magic Affairs Court are all very leisurely. Every day, you can see twos and threes of girls holding teapots, thermos cups and desserts to have tea parties. If you don't know, you might think this is the back garden of some noble lady, not an important power organ of the country.

Being able to compete directly with such a Magic Institute, and to win in the end and take the title of "the most pleasant job", all of this is related to the director of the institute - Emerald.

Emerald, director and chief researcher of the Institute, chief consultant of the Royal Court Institute, and chief designer of the Garden Project. His old flower name is no longer traceable. Like the director of the Investigation Institute who is considered an antique, no one knows when Emerald started to be the Emerald Scepter. A magical girl slandered the ages of these two and put them together, calling them the "Yellow and Green Elders".

Unlike the low-key and reserved Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye, Emerald's image is much clearer in the magic kingdom, and her popularity is much higher. This is because she likes to show up and often makes some shocking remarks that leave people speechless.

The most famous example is that it is said that decades ago, at a birthday party of the Queen, the ruby ​​scepter, pigeon blood red, was inaugurated. When the Queen spent a lot of money to build an open-air banquet in the garden, and asked Emerald how she felt on her birthday, Emerald's answer was:

"To be honest, Your Majesty. If there is no throne or steps in the center of the open-air, flat venue, the guests may block each other's sight and fail to see the person who is too short."

On the evening of that banquet, it was said that small cakes selected by the Queen herself were placed in front of all the guests' seats, and an empty plate was placed on Emerald's seat.

In addition to this amazing speech, another thing that Emerald is known for is the ideas she promoted in the institute. As the head of the institute, the phrase she often says is:

"Laziness is the ladder of research progress."

Not only did she not care about laziness, she also did not discipline the researchers for being lazy. She even took the lead in being lazy. It was common for her to carry a pillow and sleep around during office hours.

In her words, laziness leads to better inspiration, and the desire to be lazy will prompt people to create more research and inventions.

The hard-to-refute fact is that she did.

Despite such high-intensity sleep and paddling, Emerald still maintained the fastest invention and creation speed in the country. Whether it was magic-driven equipment or complex magic rituals, she was the first person in the relevant research field.

Because of this, even though he is surrounded by many halos and has countless academic achievements and honorary titles, Emerald still likes to show off his status as the director of the research institute. Therefore, most people do not call him "director" but "director".

At this moment, the puppet in front of Lin Yun obviously used a very advanced and superb magic-driven technology. It highly mimicked the appearance of a pure-blooded fairy, so much so that if you ignore the mechanical part of its appearance, it looks like a real fairy.

The only person who could use such technology, possessed extremely powerful magic, and was always called "youngster", was Emerald in Lin Yun's mind.

This answer was affirmed by the other party.

"That's a correct guess, but it's not that I want to be here, but that you need me to be here, young man."

The fairy doll shook its head. Its neck was completely invisible and it looked a little funny. “Of course, as a provider of supplies and equipment, I have to come and see what the product I provide is like.”

"Product?" Lin Yun asked back.

“Yes, the product.”

The doll said slowly: "The magic weapons you asked for from the Investigation Institute, the camouflage surveillance you put in here, and even the treatment of the child named Chao Yan are all inventions of our institute. Otherwise, who can you count on? Can that old woman whose head has been soaked into paste by tea polyphenols help you make these things?"

"I hope you don't forget that you are talking to the Inspector of the Investigation Bureau."

Lin Yun reminded: "The dean may have some opinions on the way you address her."

"No one would care about the opinions of someone who can't even remember how old she is and enjoys backstabbing and buck-passing all day. I sincerely hope that the normal life span limit of mammals can be applied to her, so that she won't become an old witch with endocrine disorders due to the lack of emotional life for many years, young man."

The doll's calm tone revealed a hint of disgust, and he half-closed his eyes and said, "Let's put aside this unlucky topic. How do you feel about the products provided by our research institute now?"

"Magic weapons still need more usage data."

Lin Yun replied calmly, showing no preference: "But the special monitoring system has indeed played a role. It is very concealed and easy to use."

"Hmm... can it be understood as 'satisfied'?"

"Okay." Lin Yun said calmly.

"Then it's easy to talk about it. Let's talk frankly."

Holding the armrest of the chair, the doll, who looked like a plush ball, stood up with difficulty: "Do you need some value-added services?"

“…value-added services?”

Lin Yun raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"

"It means literally."

The doll stretched out its short paws, probably trying to express the body language of "supply": "I can provide more products, and they are all very useful to you. Do you want to learn about them?"

"You want to establish another level of trading relationship with me outside of the Investigation Institute?"

Lin Yun thought for a moment and then pointed out the other party's intention directly: "Why? And I don't think I can pay the corresponding price."

"Of course you can pay, there's only one thing I want."

The doll moved forward slightly, its emerald green eyes looking somewhat deep: "The 'Source of Beasts' left behind by Moss, the former servant of the King of Black Dawn, after her death, is it with you, right?"

"The source of the beast?"

This unfamiliar term made Lin Yun slightly stunned, but he soon realized what the other party was talking about - that was the purple-black crystal that Moss used to cultivate the remaining beasts, which was said to allow them to mutate.

Emerald was right, the crystal was actually in his hands now.

Because she knew that this thing was one of the root causes of man-made beasts, she had always sealed it in an empty room in the secret base with magic, and asked Moko to keep an eye on the status of the crystal. Since it fell into the hands of the magical girl, the crystal has been very stable. If it weren't for the weak fluctuations of magic power in it, people would even think it was a pure dead object.

"I can't trade this kind of thing, Your Excellency the Chief."

Lin Yun narrowed his eyes with a little vigilance: "Especially when I don't know what you will do with it."

The killings that Moss had done with this crystal stone were appalling, and countless people had lost their lives because of her brutal "research". And now, the director of the institute was trying to trade this thing with him, which made him have some bad associations.

He had a strong sense of identity with the group of magical girls, and believed that most of the magical girls in this world had kind hearts. However, he had to remain a little wary of the existence of the Gem Scepter, which had stayed at the pinnacle of power for too long and had long been separated from ordinary magical girls.

If he decisively handed over the crystal just because the other party had the support of the country and belonged to the magical girl camp, he could not guarantee whether the crystal would be used for some evil purposes.

"...It seems that you don't know me well, which makes me feel a little sad."

The doll clearly conveyed Emerald's words, but the calm tone did not convey any sadness at all: "But it doesn't matter. It's you who got the Beast Source, and the decision to trade it is in your hands. Listen to what I can bring to you first, maybe then you will change your mind."

"Please speak." Lin Yun relaxed slightly from his tense state.

"Well, then... where should I start? Where did I put my memo?"

As Lin Yun gave a positive attitude, the doll made a sound of searching for something. Not long after, Emerald's voice came out again: "Ah, by the way, the most important thing to you is probably your current situation, right?"

"Even without me saying anything, you should be able to sense that your heart gem is on the verge of being completely shattered."

"The magic power is constantly overflowing, and the true form is extremely unstable. Even at this distance I can feel that it is overwhelmed."

"Even if you release your magic power with all your strength now, how much combat power do you have left? Leaf level? Bud level? If you continue like this, your strength will only become weaker and weaker, until one day you drop to the low point of seed level, right?"

Emerald's words hit the nail on the head.

The price of the broken magic suit and damaged true form is bound to be high. In addition to the fact that the heart gem always fails, making Lin Yun unable to control the transformation, the degradation of strength is also inevitable.

If before the battle with Moss, Delphinium's full strength in normal state was about Bud level; then now, even if she uses her full strength, she can no longer touch the magic power of Bud level.

In addition, two out of three magic suits were lost, so the complete magic suit "Weaving Life" now only had one third of it, like a leaky wall, so it was naturally difficult for it to function as it should. It would be difficult for the current Delphinium to fight a pupa-level remnant beast alone.

"Because of the overflow of magic power, the boundary between your true form and your original body is gradually being broken, and the magic power of the magical girl begins to flow back into your current body. You should have noticed this. Now you can use some of the power of the magical girl without changing your form."

"...Yes." Lin Yun nodded slightly.

"That's right. Maybe in the short term, this state is fine. It may even allow you to use your power more conveniently. But in the long run, it will only do more harm than good. The male body cannot tolerate and use the magic power of a magical girl. It will eventually shorten your lifespan."

The doll patted the table twice, raised its head, and said with a look of certainty on its funny face:

"If it comes to that, not to mention using your strength, even your life will be almost gone."

Thanks to book friends Hu Yujiu Xiao Yekong and watglthhml for their support, and thanks to all other readers who have given rewards, love you.

and previous

Chapter 151 Trading

2023-05-20

Death is a serious topic for everyone.

Lin Yun is not afraid of death, but he knows how to respect death. If possible, he does not want his life to end early, even if the remaining days are short.

Of course, he would not show such thoughts, so in Emerald's eyes, he still looked calm.

"Aren't you afraid? Young people will die."

The doll showed a puzzled expression on its face: "I have specifically brought out the most extreme consequences. If you still don't react, it will be difficult for our transaction to proceed."

"You didn't say these words to frighten me."

Lin Yun folded his arms and said, "You also said that this is a transaction, so you should state your price first."

"Young people nowadays don't know how to bargain when doing business?"

The doll behind the desk sighed like an elderly person: "Forget it, I'm really not good at this kind of thing. Let's just talk about the help I can provide."

"First of all, I have to tell you clearly that the damage to your true self caused by overdrawing your strength is irreversible. The magic suit and magic power you lost have disappeared forever. Conceptually, they no longer exist, so I can't help you get them back."

"It's like a disabled person who has lost his hands and feet for some reason. The wounds left after losing his limbs will scab over and heal, but the limbs will never grow back. Your true state is like this. Right now you are a disabled person who has been injured, and even your wounds haven't healed yet."

"So?" Lin Yun asked back.

"So, what I can do is allow you to recover from your existing injuries and use your remaining strength safely under such circumstances." Emerald's voice came from the doll.

"…The remaining strength?"

Lin Yun frowned slightly, obviously not satisfied with the answer: "This doesn't seem to meet my needs."

He was very clear about the level of magic power he had left. In his opinion, even if this little power could be used safely, it would not be enough to deal with truly dangerous enemies.

"Why do you think that 'leaf-level magic power' is all the remaining strength you have?" the doll asked suddenly.

"The magic power now... isn't all of it?"

Lin Yun was a little surprised by this, so he loosened his arms and said, "Isn't it? The magic power I felt could not be wrong. The wonderland is no longer usable, and I don't seem to have any more residual power."

"A wonderland is a wonderland, and a magic costume is a magic costume."

Emerald's voice was long and leisurely: "Don't forget the essence of the wonderland, young man. The magic suit was born from magic power, and the wonderland was born from the soul. Magic power and soul correspond to each other, so the magic suit and the wonderland are two sides of the same coin. Although your magic suit is damaged, the silk thread is still retained, which means that your wonderland has not disappeared, but has become silent."

"But I can't feel it at all." Lin Yun retorted softly.

"It's normal. Just like when a person is injured and bleeding, they will subconsciously curl up or cover the wound to block it. Your true self also has its own protection mechanism. Your subconscious mind judges that your true self is incomplete and fragile, so you don't want to expose your wounds."

Emerald explained: "If I'm not mistaken, even before this battle, you were already extremely reluctant to use Wonderland, even very painful, right? That's the reason."