NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4 Emerald
"'Hello there'—what are you trying to convey? If I'm not mistaken, this should be my office."
With a casual push, he closed the double doors behind him. Lin Yun frowned as he looked toward the fairy doll behind his desk, "By intruding on someone else's territory without permission, shouldn't you first prove to me that you have no ill intent?"
"Don't be hasty, young one. There is no need to waste the remaining trickle of your magic power on this feeble puppet. We share many points of mutual interest, and it would be better to sit down and have a proper discussion."
The expression on the fairy doll's face was incredibly lifelike, and combined with its slow and serene tone of voice and its languid demeanor, it provided a subtle sense of relaxation, "Although it's quite sudden to say so now, I have come here with good intentions."
"Good intentions?"
Lin Yun did not relax his grip on the Heart's Gem in his hand, "I believe the premise of good intentions is honesty and openness with one another, not hiding and only showing part of yourself behind a doll."
He was certain that the puppet before him was not the intruder's real body. Although he was speaking with the doll, the actual communication was with someone else.
"I greatly respect your perspective. But before you continue to show me hostility, can we consider another possibility: that you actually recognize me?"
The doll lounged back in the office chair, "We have met before, young one. And I believe you have no reason to forget my identity."
As she spoke those words, she deliberately elongated the term "young one," obviously intending to underscore that this phrase was a crucial clue to her identity. It undoubtedly also served as a reminder for Lin Yun, who, after a brief moment of thought, quickly narrowed down the possibilities. After all, in his memory, there were not many who would address him with this term.
Taking into account the distinctive features of the doll before him, as well as its behavior, the identity of the person hiding behind the puppet was becoming apparent:
"...Your Excellency, the Chief? Why are you here?"
The so-called "Chief" is a title used within the Magic Kingdom for one of the Gemstone Scepters, the one governing the Research Institute—the Ruby, also known as Molu.
In the Magic Kingdom, there was once an old saying, which, translated into the language of the Donghua Region, goes like this: "Better to be a research hound for ten lifetimes than a survey hand for a single day."
Elaborating further, the saying meant: A magical girl would rather labor in the Research Institute until retirement than spend a single day at the Survey Institute.
No one knows the origin of this old saying, nor who its author was; it's possible they were discreetly captured by the ever-stoic Chief of the Survey Institute. But its survival and spread throughout the years suggest that it resonates with a significant number of magical girls.
When considering the five major power institutions of the Magic Kingdom, if one were to ask which holds the most power, most magical girls would hesitate between the Finance Institute and the Survey Institute. However, if you were to ask which institution offers the best treatment and the most comfortable and secure working environment, everyone would choose the Research Institute.
Regarding the ease and the extent to which one can slack off, among the Five Major Institutes, there also exists the Magical Affairs Institute, which is something of a power vacuum. Magical girls working there are known for their exceptional leisure, often seen gathering in groups with tea pots, thermoses, and desserts to have tea parties. To the uninitiated, it could easily be mistaken as the garden of an aristocratic lady rather than a significant authority within the kingdom.
The capacity of the Research Institute to compete directly with such a leisurely institution as the Magical Affairs Institute and to ultimately claim the title of "most comfortable work" is all thanks to the Head of the Institute—Molu.
Molu, the Head of the Research Institute and Chief Researcher, was also the principal consultant to the Royal Research Association and the main designer of the Garden Project, with an old flower name now untraceable. Like the Chief of the Survey Institute, who could be considered an ancient relic, no one knows exactly when Molu began serving as the Emerald Scepter. Some magical girls will make cheeky remarks about the age of these two, lumping them together as "the Yellow-Green Elders."
Unlike the always low-key Golden Green Cat's Eye, Molu was far more visible within the Magic Kingdom and was better known, simply because she loved public appearances and often made earth-shaking statements that left people at a loss for words.
The most famous example was, reportedly, from several decades ago, during the Queen's birthday celebration, which was also the inauguration ceremony for the Ruby Scepter—the Pigeon Blood Ruby. When the Queen spared no expense to set up an outdoor venue in the garden and asked Molu for her opinion on the day of her birthday, Molu replied:
"To be frank, Your Majesty, an open-air venue with no throne or steps in the center might cause guests to obstruct each other's line of sight, preventing them from seeing someone who is too short."
That evening during the banquet, it was said that in front of every guest seat there was a small cake personally selected by the Queen, while Molu's place had only an empty plate.
Besides this astounding statement, another widely discussed deed of Molu's was her philosophy implemented in the Research Institute. As the head of the institute, the phrase she most often uttered was:
"Laziness is the ladder to research progress."
She didn't just overlook laziness or fail to address the researchers' idling; she even led by example in being idle, sleeping around with a pillow during work hours was a regular occurrence.
In her words, slacking off was for better inspiration, and the desire to slack off would drive people to create more research and inventions.