The three girls stayed in the hospital room for over half an hour.
They fussed over Lin Lu as if she were a helpless invalid who couldn’t move a muscle, making her feel quite embarrassed.
“You guys should head back and rest first,” Lin Lu said, turning her head toward Hoshino Hikari.
“I’m not dying or anything. There’s no need to keep such a close watch on me.”
“Pah, pah, pah!” Hoshino Hikari glared at Lin Lu, “Don’t talk about dying!”
“Fine, fine, I won’t say it,” Lin Lu quickly apologized, “But can you all go back and rest? Look at you, the dark circles under your eyes are almost hanging down to your chin.”
Hoshino Hikari subconsciously rubbed her eyes and smiled.
“I’m fine…”
“Oh, please. You’re practically a panda and you don’t even know it,” Minazuki said, standing up and pulling Hoshino Hikari from her chair.
“Let’s go. Let Sister Yuki rest in peace. We’ll come back tomorrow.”
Hoshino Hikari wanted to say more, but Lin Qingqing held her back.
As they slowly made their way to the door, Hoshino Hikari turned back one last time, her eyes rimmed with red.
“Sister Yuki, get some good rest. We’ll handle everything else. I’ll go talk to Sister Qin Lan to get you a leave of absence from the training…”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Lin Qingqing rolled her eyes at Hoshino Hikari, cutting her off.
“Hoshino, do you have any idea how much you sound like a nagging mother right now? You’re so long-winded…”
“I! I’m just worried about Sister Yuki!”
Hoshino Hikari’s face flushed red, and she was finally dragged out the door by Lin Qingqing.
The room fell silent.
The sunlight from outside filtered through the white curtains, painting a warm yellow glow on the floor.
Lin Lu stared at the ceiling, spacing out for a long time.
“Lilith,” Lin Lu called out softly.
There was no response from inside the bracelet.
She called again, but there was still no answer.
Lin Lu felt a pang of worry, ‘Could something have happened to Lilith while I was unconscious?’
“Alright, alright, stop shouting. I’m fine.” Lilith’s impatient voice suddenly echoed in Lin Lu’s mind.
“Honestly, you almost played around and lost your life. Luckily, that person didn’t have any killing intent, otherwise, with your clumsy skills, you’d be a cold corpse by now.”
Hearing Lilith respond, Lin Lu let out a sigh of relief, ‘At least Lilith was okay.’
She leaned back against her pillow.
‘Wait… when did I start caring so much about that stinky bat?’
Lin Lu quickly shook her head.
“Just focus on recovering. Don’t call me unless it’s important. I’m still catching up on my anime… ‘burp’~”
Lin Lu’s lip twitched.
“Lilith! I’m injured this badly, don’t you have any sympathy? Also, if you make a mess of the house again, just wait until I get out of the hospital and see how I deal with you!!”
“Hmph. Anyway, you’ll be fine after a few days of rest, so what is there to worry about? As long as I’m here, it’s not like you can actually die.”
Lilith was merciless with her words, pretending she didn’t care about Lin Lu.
However, in truth, if Changmeng had actually intended to kill her, Lilith would have stepped in to save her without hesitation, even if it meant exposing herself.
Heaven knew how nervous she had been when she saw Changmeng kick Lin Lu away.
The sunlight crept onto the blanket, warming Lin Lu and making her feel drowsy.
She let out a yawn, her eyelids beginning to feel heavy.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Someone was at the door.
Lin Lu opened her eyes, but before she could say “come in,” the door was pushed open.
“Huh? It’s you…”
Hong Huang stood at the entrance.
She wasn’t wearing her red trench coat today.
Instead, she had changed into a deep red hoodie, with her hair tied in a low ponytail, making her look several years younger than she had the night before.
She was carrying a fruit basket filled with apples, oranges, and a few bananas, along with a box of very expensive-looking chocolates.
“Yo. You woke up pretty fast.”
She walked in, placed the fruit basket on the bedside table, and pulled up a chair to sit by the bed.
Lin Lu looked at her, her mind filled with questions.
“About the other day… thank you for saving me. But… who exactly are you? And that person who called herself Changmeng… a Shadow Beast? What was that all about?”
“Whoa, whoa, hold on!” Hong Huang raised a hand, gesturing for Lin Lu to stop.
“Ask your questions one by one. I don’t have any missions right now anyway, so we can chat. As for the thanks, forget it. We’re colleagues.”
“Uh, alright. Then… who are you?”
Lin Lu felt a bit embarrassed; she had bombarded the woman with questions the moment she sat down.
“You can call me Hong Huang. I came from the Capital Magical Girl Headquarters to investigate the movements of the [Hui Yan].” Hong Huang took an apple from the basket and started munching on it.
“Oh, sorry. You probably don’t know what a [Hui Yan] is, right? That person named Changmeng is one of them. It’s a term specifically for those who are indistinguishable from humans and possess self-awareness.”
“I see…” Lin Lu took a moment to digest this information. “Are all [Hui Yan] as powerful as Changmeng?”
“Not necessarily.” Hong Huang shook her head and said, “There are different ranks of strength among the Hui Yan. That Changmeng actually isn’t considered top-tier in terms of combat power. If I’m being honest, she’s not even that good at direct combat. She prefers playing childish tricks with illusions. That Smiling Face monster was just one of her subordinates.”
‘That person’s strength… isn’t even top-tier?’
Lin Lu felt a bit dejected.
Someone who had nearly kicked the life out of her wasn’t even at the top…
Though she hadn’t been in her best state at the time, a loss was a loss.
Not to mention, being sent flying by a single kick was a pretty humiliating way to lose.
“Hahaha… you’re a funny one.” Seeing Lin Lu’s expression, Hong Huang suddenly burst into laughter.
“No matter how you look at it, Changmeng has strength equivalent to our high-level Glorious Sun Rank. For a newcomer at the early Radiant Moon Rank like you to survive her is already a miracle. If you had actually defeated a Radiant Moon level S-Rank Shadow Beast and then beaten Changmeng while exhausted, I’d have to wonder if you were some kind of god in disguise.”
“Oh? Is that so? Haha…”
‘So Changmeng was actually that strong?’ Lin Lu scratched her head awkwardly.
Hong Huang looked Lin Lu up and down, noting how she was wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
Her lips curled slightly as she clicked her tongue.
“Not bad. Really not bad…”
Seeing the way Hong Huang was sizing her up, Lin Lu couldn’t help but shiver.
If one of her arms wasn’t wrapped up, she would have clutched her chest.
‘She isn’t interested in me, is she…?’
“Hmm? What’s with that look, kid? I’m admiring you!” Hong Huang noticed Lin Lu looking at her like she was a creep, so she flicked Lin Lu’s forehead.
“You’re already at the Radiant Moon Rank at such a young age. With your abilities, you could easily serve as one of the Seven Chief Swords.”
“Ow… that hurts…” Lin Lu lightly covered her forehead with one hand.
“The Seven Chief Swords? What’s that?”
“Huh? You don’t even know about the Seven Chief Swords?” Hong Huang was stunned.
Lin Lu was a newcomer, but it felt like she knew absolutely nothing.
She went on to explain, “The Seven Chief Swords, formally known as the ‘Chief Seven Executioners,’ are the seven strongest individuals representing the greatest potential and power among magical girls. I am one of them.”
“Oh… sounds pretty impressive…”
Lin Lu thought about it for a moment and realized something was off.
Why would Hong Huang say that she, an early-stage Radiant Moon Rank, was capable of serving as one of the Seven Chief Swords?
She voiced this doubt to Hong Huang.
“The Seven Chief Swords aren’t judged solely on raw power,” Hong Huang explained patiently, “Potential and specializations are the most important factors. Between an old veteran at the Radiant Moon Rank and a young Radiant Moon Rank magical girl, who would you choose? In terms of potential and unique traits, they aren’t even in the same league. If we were choosing elders or ancestors, those powerful old fogies would fit the bill. But not for the Seven Chief Swords.”
“Oh~ I get it now.”
Lin Lu understood.
The selection criteria for the Seven Chief Swords were similar to the ‘Holy Son’ or ‘Holy Daughter’ tropes in cultivation novels.
Simply put, they wanted geniuses.
“Wait a second? Does that mean you’ve already set your sights on me? I just joined the magical girls, and you’re already watching me?!”
Lin Lu looked at Hong Huang’s mischievous smile and suddenly felt that being one of the Seven Chief Swords might not be a good thing…
‘Could it be… that it’s just a fancy name for a high-level workhorse?’