The Fruit of Advancement

“……”

Bai Ruoruo stared at the darkened livestream, poking the screen with her finger. She then stood on her chair, reaching up to pat the computer.

“Mooooom, the computer’s broken. Big Blockhead’s repair methods are useless!”

Little Ruoruo puffed out her cheeks, utterly displeased.

“I’ll go find Big Blockhead. He must know how to fix it!”

The distance between floors was negligible. Ruoruo, a child of action, flung open her door and bounded down the stairs in a few short hops, arriving at Su Mu’s Room 301 in mere steps.

“Big Blockhead! Big Blockhead!”

“I know you’re home, don’t you dare not open the door!”

Bai Ruoruo knocked for quite some time.

“……”

“Hmm, is he not home?” Bai Ruoruo mumbled, stomping her foot in a tiny fit of pique. “Big Blockhead is so useless!”

Her small hands hung dejectedly as she turned and walked back up the stairs, looking somewhat crestfallen.

‘Sister Lily is so powerful, nothing bad could have happened to her. Besides, this time, there’s also Sister Red Spider Lily, whom I’ve never met but who is also very strong.’

One might think Ruoruo didn’t understand what was happening, but a thirteen-year-old who runs a household is far more mature than one might imagine. Yet, she was still a child. Perhaps, in this moment, all she truly desired was a companion with whom she could confide her worries and alleviate some of her inner fears.

Witnessing Saint Lily’s livestream disconnect felt akin to seeing Ultraman Tiga turn into a stone statue and sink into the ocean. Truly, she wished she could transform into light, travel through time, and fight alongside them.

“……”

Bai Ruoruo reached out and closed the door.

“Meow~”

A small cat watched her.

“Ah!” Bai Ruoruo noticed the little creature before her. “How did you get in?”

She crouched down, extending a hand to stroke the kitten. The cat, equally gentle, offered no resistance, instead rubbing affectionately against her palm.

‘So cute~’

Little Ruoruo scooped the kitten into her arms, then glanced left and right.

She softly called out, “Su Su~”

“Are you there?”

“……”

Bai Ruoruo scratched her cheek. “Not you?”

Feeling a touch disappointed, she looked down at the adorable kitten, then brightened, asking, “Um… are you hungry?”

“Meow~”

****

At ‘Wish Digital Cinema,’

The area had already been cordoned off by official personnel.

Dandelion arrived, observing White Rose and the others trailing behind her. Noticing Dandelion’s gaze, White Rose averted her eyes, adopting a posture that clearly said, ‘Don’t talk to me.’

Dandelion watched calmly, choosing instead to engage in conversation with the officials present.

“……”

“Only that one screening?”

Dandelion mused, ‘To make people ignore regional information and go elsewhere, this sounds somewhat like Saint’s newly created barrier.’

She had offered some advice after the public confusion caused by the last incident.

‘For those overly complacent individuals, if no precautions are taken, they might truly court death, only to later complain about the lack of barriers and disregard for human life. It’s incredibly troublesome.’

‘Therefore, it’s better to simply make them unaware and disperse them.’

‘So then…’

‘If this truly was set up by Saint, then she must have sensed something, at least recognizing the danger here. Her first course of action would be to evacuate the public.’

‘She has always been this way.’

Of course, this was merely speculation, just a line of thought. If it were true, Saint’s source of information would essentially be Dandelion herself. For information Dandelion didn’t possess, it was more likely that the mysterious Red Spider Lily had informed Saint, rather than Saint accidentally discovering it.

‘That being, whose very existence is ominous.’

‘I truly should have prevented Saint’s contact with her from the beginning. Because of her, Saint is gradually drifting away from us. One day, she might even be dragged into the abyss.’

‘I cannot allow it.’

Dandelion thought, glancing at the trio once more. They were the catalyst, the source of everything, and utterly detestable, especially since they were unworthy of Saint’s sacrifice.

****

…………………………….A Rift in Time~…………………….

Saint Lily’s eyes widened, watching her experience bar rocket upwards like a missile.

Practice truly reveals truth. Having determined the approximate experience value of a single Calamity Beast, how many had she defeated in the past?

The experience bar seemed intent on giving her the answer, suggesting she could advance, and immediately at that. However, Saint Lily felt a surge of panic. She didn’t possess the excitement and arrogance of a novel protagonist capable of rapid advancement.

Only one thought echoed in her mind: ‘This is too fast; haste makes waste.’ She felt as though something would go wrong if she advanced this quickly.

Perhaps this thought was so potent that the experience bar’s speed gradually decreased, finally halting at a width equivalent to a one-yuan coin short of completion.

“Hoo~”

Saint Lily patted her chest, exhaling deeply. Her small face, previously flushed from holding her breath, finally returned to its normal color.

“What happened to cause such a look of lingering fear?” Red Spider Lily quipped.

“Nothing, nothing~” Saint Lily brushed it off, awkwardly changing the subject. If she, who yearned to advance, were to admit to fearing it now, Red Spider Lily would surely mock her.

“Right, Red Spider Lily, about that…”

“What?”

“What happens if one can ‘bear fruit’?” she asked cautiously.

“Hmm? There’s hope!” Red Spider Lily’s eyes lit up at the question. She naturally caught the hidden meaning and asked, delighted.

“M-mm.” Her cheeks still faintly flushed, her lowered gaze as she responded unexpectedly conveyed a maiden’s shyness.

‘Knowing I can advance, is Red Spider Lily truly so happy for me?’

‘Red Spider Lily is truly wonderful.’

‘So, the matter of me stopping my advancement, I should probably keep it a secret for now~’

Saint Lily compared her pinky fingers, nodded, and softly said, “So I wanted to ask.”

“Hmm…” Red Spider Lily nodded, feeling a little flustered inside. Who knew what would happen when one ‘bore fruit’? She wasn’t actually a magical girl senior; she was just a novice who’d accidentally gotten a max-level account.

[Host, don’t be afraid, I’m here!]

Su Xiaoqian pulled out her thick, heavy dictionary.

‘So reliable, Little Qian’er!’

Red Spider Lily cleared her throat, looking at Saint Lily. “Blossoming, bearing fruit, hmm… First, Saint Lily, you must understand, what does fruit represent?”

“Many flowers never bear fruit, but ‘bearing fruit’ is the final stage for a Flower Seed Girl. This stage holds special meaning.”

“Hmm…” Saint Lily mused, “Does ‘fruit’ refer to accumulation?”

“Indeed, one could say that. As expected of Saint Lily’s answer.” Red Spider Lily smiled. “This stage is like, well, not a pop quiz for a single subject, but a comprehensive exam covering all subjects, and a critical one at that, roughly equivalent to a college entrance exam.”

“Everything you’ve done, your utmost efforts, will be definitively judged.”

“Ah…” Saint Lily exclaimed, as if she understood, yet didn’t quite.

“Actually, there’s no need to overcomplicate it. The ‘bearing fruit’ stage, aside from granting a skill, doesn’t offer as significant an ability boost as the ‘blossoming’ stage, which grants a ‘Flower Domain’. However, in ‘bearing fruit,’ you will harvest a fruit, or rather, a seed.”

“A seed?” This was the first time Saint Lily had heard this information.

“Yes, excellent seeds cultivate better flowers. Your usual accumulation will raise the rating of this seed.”

“And this seed is another opportunity. If you wish, you can retain certain attributes and abilities based on its rating, and grow again from germination…”

Red Spider Lily pondered, covering her mouth. Saying this, she finally understood why Su Xiaoqian had mentioned the immense potential and strong growth of Flower Seed Girls.

Saint Lily’s mouth slightly agape, she too was greatly astonished.

For a long while, she couldn’t utter a word.

‘Wow~’

[Su Xiaoqian: Host, I’ve found a problem. The database shows zero records of Flower Seed Girls regrowing. Could it be that no one has discovered the use of the ‘fruit-bearing’ stage’s seed yet?]

[Red Spider Lily: Hmm… You know, that’s entirely possible. I’ve only just now sensed the existence of the flower seed; if you don’t specifically look for it, you really wouldn’t find it…]