Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl

Book 2: Chapter 207: The Chatbot Companion Gentian

As the examination progressed into its later stages, Team 277 steadily advanced forward, making Veronica feel increasingly useless. After clearing the first node and securing an initial reward, they efficiently located a second node with remarkable speed. Though another team had already entered this node and initially showed reluctance to cooperate with Team 277, Valerian's astonishing display of power—single-handedly eliminating the Remnant Beast guarding the node—made them reconsider their stance. In the end, out of respect for Valerian, they voluntarily surrendered half the rewards.

Following the second node's conquest, the trio discovered and solved two more puzzles, bringing their total completed puzzles to five. With these five puzzle rewards and two node points, Team 277 firmly secured their position as the "top reward-earning team in the maze."

Throughout this process, Veronica contributed absolutely nothing—or more accurately, never had the opportunity to make any meaningful contribution.

She became a mere spectator, watching from the sidelines as Valerian showcased her abilities. The closest she came to participation was offering perfunctory praise like "That was amazing" after Valerian's battles.

Yes, she'd discovered something: Valerian seemed to genuinely enjoy being complimented.

Though the girl never asked for praise or showed any outward signs of expecting it, there was always this subtle atmosphere of "Shouldn't you say I'm incredible?" after each victory.

For reasons she couldn't explain, Veronica could sense this unspoken expectation and chose to play along. Reasoning that a few kind words cost her nothing, she'd offer empty compliments to satisfy the other's vanity. Even the most banal praise inexplicably lifted Valerian's spirits.

As for how Valerian expressed this happiness—

"Um, Senior Valerian?"

Veronica turned her head slightly in exasperation as they strolled through the maze like schoolgirls on a spring outing. "Your hand."

For some reason, Valerian had started patting her head again.

"Ah, my apologies."

Withdrawing her hand from Veronica's head, Valerian looked faintly embarrassed. "I absentmindedly put it there again."

"I understand. Habits are hard to break." Veronica nodded. "I'm not criticizing, just mentioning it."

"Mhm, I'll be more careful." Valerian nodded, though the slight downturn of her lips betrayed her disappointment.

Noticing this, Veronica sighed imperceptibly, completely baffled by the girl's inexplicable fondness for her. Was it really just because of a few compliments? Was she really that easy to please?

Veronica didn't consider herself so cold-hearted as to reject a child's affection. In more private circumstances, she might have indulged the girl to keep her happy. But in this situation? Absolutely not.

The reason was simple: they were being live-streamed.

Even if Veronica couldn't see the observation platform herself, her understanding of the examination system told her Team 277 was undoubtedly the main focus of the projections right now. Their every move could be broadcast to the distinguished guests at any moment.

The "Gentian" persona might fool outsiders, but the Green Faction of the Magical Affairs Court—not to mention Emerald—knew her true identity. If those people saw her being treated like a child by an actual child, they'd never let her hear the end of it.

Moreover, among the observers would certainly be the Queen herself.

Had Team 277 already appeared before Her Majesty's eyes? Had they drawn her attention? Veronica couldn't know for certain, but the possibility alone made her uneasy.

She'd assumed that maintaining a low profile with this fake identity would keep her off the observation platform's radar. Instead, she'd gotten impossibly "lucky" with team assignments, ending up with a "carry" teammate who could single-handedly propel their team to first place.

Just imagining the Queen potentially watching her right now made Veronica's scalp prickle. Had Her Majesty already seen her? Recognized this "exile"? And if she had... what then? Should Veronica leave? But what about her juniors?

These hidden worries kept Veronica on edge, and her current idleness provided ample room for anxious thoughts. Forcing down her chaotic emotions to maintain composure before her teammates, she redirected the conversation back to Valerian:

"Speaking of which, Senior Valerian mentioned often playing with your sister. What kinds of games do you usually play?"

After their so-called "ice-breaking," the atmosphere within Team 277 had grown considerably more harmonious. Though Veronica couldn't understand why, the group had settled into a peculiar dynamic where both teammates seemed determined to monopolize her conversation.

Valerian had begun sharing snippets of her daily life—her studies, training, work as a Magical Girl, and her family.

Strangely, Dogtail Grass only found the courage to join conversations when family topics arose, remaining completely silent otherwise. This created the odd situation where Valerian and Veronica would chat about various things with occasional input from Veronica, while Dogtail Grass listened quietly.

Of course, the elephant in the room that everyone noticed but no one mentioned was Valerian's mentor—Blue Star.

Regarding Blue Star—that so-called "strongest Magical Girl in the material world"—Valerian never voluntarily brought her up. Veronica could detect numerous unnatural transitions in Valerian's stories, clear signs of deliberate omission.

Veronica wasn't particularly curious about Blue Star, as she knew Anya's story all too well. Beneath the glamorous title of "the strongest," Anya had been nothing more than an ordinary person living an ordinary life. There was no point fantasizing about empty fame—Blue Star was likely just another Magical Girl going about her daily existence.

Perhaps someday she'd meet Blue Star and see what kind of person had inherited Anya's legacy, but she wouldn't waste energy imagining it now.

Meanwhile, Dogtail Grass—equally underoccupied—enthusiastically engaged Veronica in conversations about anime and similar topics. These discussions left Valerian sidelined as a silent listener. Veronica, who didn't watch anime, desperately wanted to admit her ignorance but couldn't without breaking character. Instead, she scraped together half-remembered fragments from times she'd glimpsed Lin Xiaolu watching TV, struggling to keep up appearances.

She felt like some sort of single-user chatbot—when conversing with Valerian, Dogtail Grass had to wait her turn, and vice versa. Wedged between them, Veronica often wanted to suggest "Why don't you two talk to each other more?" only to be thwarted by one girl's overflowing enthusiasm.

When it came down to it... wasn't she here to take an exam? How had she ended up doing absolutely nothing yet coasting to first place, all while playing the role of some chatty toy being fought over by two children?

Veronica couldn't make sense of it.

Was she really that lucky with team assignments, or were the examination pressures just this low? Were other teams experiencing this too?