If Emerald Sparrow wished to provide a deeper education and guidance for Bai Jingxuan, she would inevitably have to invest more time and energy on her, resulting in less time for other affairs.
However, the criterion for this decision wasn't her own "spare capacity."
Whenever Emerald Sparrow recalled the look in Bai Jingxuan's eyes as she gazed at her in a black dress, that expectant look, hungry for a response, craving recognition, all such rational thoughts became trivial details.
Only she could do this, she told herself.
It wasn't a matter of being presumptuous but rather a clear perception that when Bai Jingxuan's magic power revealed its beastly side, its connection with "humanity" had become incredibly fragile.
Having lost her parents, abandoned her ideals, and with the Magical Girl who had saved her dead in an accident, the identity of "Magical Girl" was in jeopardy. Bai Jingxuan's link to her "human" side was almost nonexistent, like a kite with its string cut, ready to drift off to an unknown place at any moment.
At that time, the only thing Emerald Sparrow could do was to become that "kite string." She had conformed to Bai Jingxuan's expectations, accepting the identity of "mother."
While this act could call Bai Jingxuan back for a moment, barely maintaining her connection with "humanity," the side effects were also real: without Emerald Sparrow maintaining the existence of this "kite string," even this last connection would disappear.
In other words, until Bai Jingxuan established a new connection, Emerald Sparrow was the only one who could guide the child. Whether she would embark on the right path or stray was closely related to her.
What she contemplated was no longer "whether to do it" but "how to do it."
But this question was destined to have no standard answer; mere speculation couldn't lead to a meaningful conclusion. Everything had to be grounded in reality first.
After bidding farewell to Molu, Emerald Sparrow left the institute with Bai Jingxuan, lifted her into the car, and drove her on the road home.
The time was already evening, the dimming sunlight filtering in through the front window of the car. Bai Jingxuan, who had been sound asleep, awoke on the red-tinted rear seat, looking around in a daze, then, through the rearview mirror, saw Emerald Sparrow in front.
She first called out in some confusion, then as if remembering something, she said somewhat oddly, "What's going on with me now?"
"You fell asleep, so I drove you home," Emerald Sparrow explained calmly.
Bai Jingxuan instinctively looked at her hands, appearing bewildered: "I remember my hands seemed to have grown claws? I think I defeated the villains and saved everyone at the Abnormal Strategy Bureau? Was all that... a dream?"
"It wasn't a dream. All of that was real."
Emerald Sparrow's voice was cool yet gentle: "You just fainted in the end. You did well, and I'm proud of you."
Bai Jingxuan was briefly stunned, then blinked and suddenly hesitated to say:
"Then I remember, didn't I also call the teacher 'mommy'? And then you, teacher, you... acknowledged it?"
The car fell silent for a moment.
Honking constantly emanated from outside the car windows, but it was all isolated outside of this space, creating two worlds.
"...Yes, it wasn't a dream."
Emerald Sparrow, holding the steering wheel and looking at the flow of cars ahead, finally revealed a somewhat resolute expression after a long silence and seriously said:
"You're right, from now on, I'll be your mother. Bo Xue... no, Xiao Xuan."
This was the first time she had abandoned the codename while in her Magical Girl form, calling Bai Jingxuan by her name directly. After saying this, she instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror to see if Bai Jingxuan would accept this declaration.
But what she hadn't expected to see through the rearview mirror was the girl's smile.
It was a smile that she had never seen on the child's face before.
It wasn't the well-behaved and understanding smile nor the manic grin that unconsciously emerged during battle. Instead, it was a truly joyful smile of a child of her age, as if she truly had something worth rejoicing over.