Vol 2 Chapter 165: Night at the Silver Gallery

Li Jiaoran hunched over her desk, continuously writing and sketching with a black gel pen in the margins of her book, recording her thoughts and reasoning process. She worked tirelessly, hardly pausing except to think, until she neatly penned the final line of notes before finally lifting her head. Still pondering the knowledge she had just gleaned from the book, she closed it.

Before her desk stood an exquisite, classical round window. Beyond it lay a deep violet night sky, the cold moonlight diffusing through the rich purple hues.

It was getting late.

With this thought in mind, she reached for the desk lamp's switch, dimming it to its lowest setting.

In the magic nation, the night sky gradually shifted colors as time passed. At dusk, it displayed a clear blue-purple, but as night deepened, the blue diminished while the purple intensified. Thus, residents could easily gauge how long night had fallen simply by observing the sky.

Now well into the night, Li Jiaoran had been so absorbed in her book that she remained oblivious to the outside world. Only upon closing it did she feel a faint drowsiness creep in.

Covering her mouth with one hand, she let out a small yawn, wiping away the moisture at the corners of her eyes before rising in her slippers. As she surveyed the room, her gaze skimmed over the elegant, refined wall decorations without lingering on the seemingly plush bed, instead settling on another corner—where several fluffy cushions were piled, and a young girl lay on her back among them, holding her phone aloft with both hands.

"I'm going to sleep," Li Jiaoran announced, her voice calm and composed yet carrying an undeniable firmness. "Do you need me to leave the light on?"

"Huh? What?"

The girl addressed was still engrossed in her phone's world, taking a moment to realize Li Jiaoran was speaking to her. Slowly, she set her phone aside and sat up from the cushions. "What time is it? Why are you sleeping so early today?"

"It's already quite late. If I'm not mistaken, it's almost midnight."

Li Jiaoran walked to her bed, retrieving her personal toiletries from the basket beside it and selecting bath products from an array of bottles and jars. "I don't see anything unusual about going to bed at this hour."

"But you're usually still grinding away at your desk at this time."

The girl pointed at Li Jiaoran's desk. "Done with the grind today? Can't possibly have finished, right?"

"Because the exam is tomorrow, I think it's necessary to wake up early."

With a soft sigh, Li Jiaoran looked at the girl somewhat helplessly. "Also, I really don't like the term 'grind freak' you keep using. I've emphasized this many times—please address me by my proper code name."

"Got it, got it, as you wish, Lady Valerian."

The phone-obsessed girl continued tapping away absentmindedly at her screen until an animation flashed across it, causing her eyes to widen. "Holy...what kind of broken damage is this? Did the game designers add an extra zero?"

"...Still playing that weird Magical Girl mobile game?"

Holding her toiletries as she reached the bathroom door, Li Jiaoran—or rather, Valerian—gave her cushion-nestled roommate a puzzled look. "You're really not planning to review at all?"

"You said it yourself—the exam's tomorrow. What's the point of cramming now?"

The girl waved it off nonchalantly. "Rather than stressing myself out with last-minute studying, I'd rather farm a couple more event runs in the game. At least that way I can get your master some extra accessories."

"I need to correct you on that. Even if that Magical Girl character in your game pays homage to my master's magical attire, borrows her abilities, and even alludes to her code name, that character is not my master."

Valerian frowned. "So please stop attaching phrases like 'your master' to some bizarre and distasteful actions. It's incredibly rude."

"But your master herself posted that it's really her."

The girl finally looked up from her screen at Valerian. "And in the game, I've formed the supreme contract between a Magical Girl and her fairy with your master, establishing a one-and-only bond. Can't I call her my wife?"

Valerian stopped responding.

She realized the girl was deliberately teasing her about this topic, so she simply stopped talking, entered the bathroom with her toiletries, and locked the door behind her.

This was inside the student dormitory of the Silver Gallery, in the academy district of Rune Norrey.

As a Magical Girl from Central City here to take the exam, Valerian enjoyed one of the privileges exclusive to Central City Magical Girls—being able to stay at the Silver Gallery during exams in Rune Norrey, receiving the same cleaning services and daily meals as Silver Gallery students. Unlike examinees from smaller cities, who had to find their own lodgings in the city.

Valerian hadn't originally planned to accept this "special treatment" readily. But after leaving Tiandu City alone and embarking on her journey to the magic nation, she received a harsh lesson just on the Kingdom Express train:

Far too many fellow examinees wanted to get close to her.

Before leaving home, she knew she was quite famous among her peers, but she hadn't anticipated how much trouble this fame would bring.

The reason she attracted so much attention was simple—as a "newcomer" in the broadest sense, she carried two distinctive labels.

First: She had previously participated in several joint newcomer competitions hosted by Central Cities and was last year's champion.

Second: Her team leader, or rather, her master, was Blue Star.

Blue Star, acclaimed as the current strongest Magical Girl in the material world—even considered by many as the strongest in the magic nation.

These two identities guaranteed her spotlight position in this year's qualification exams. Moreover, since the practical exams included temporary team formations, it was inevitable that many examinees would seek to "ride her coattails."

This was only natural.

After coming to terms with this reality, Valerian abandoned her plan to find accommodations in Rune Norrey and complied with her elders' arrangements to stay in the Silver Gallery dormitory.

The Silver Gallery dorms were all double rooms, so she was assigned a roommate—the very phone-obsessed girl from earlier.

Before becoming roommates, Valerian wasn't particularly familiar with her, only knowing she was also a newcomer from Central City—Yuewang City. During last year's joint newcomer competition, they had crossed paths, leaving Valerian with an impression of her as "quite skilled."

Once they moved into the same dorm room, getting to know each other became unavoidable.

Through their interactions, Valerian discovered a particularly troublesome trait about her roommate: she was a fan of Blue Star.

Or rather, she wasn't just a fan of Blue Star but self-identified as a "champion fan," harboring an almost pathological admiration for Magical Girls renowned for their great fame or universally acknowledged formidable strength.

At this point, even if Valerian wanted to say "admiring strength is only natural," it became difficult, because the girl would literally pester her daily for personal information about her master.

From abilities and strength to hobbies, habits, and even more private matters, she badgered Valerian like a paparazzo.

Initially, out of politeness, Valerian would selectively answer some questions. But as the inquiries grew increasingly intrusive and their familiarity deepened, she learned to respond with silence.