Emerald Sparrow's "arguments" clearly went beyond the comprehension of both of them.
"Tangled... So, what does this represent?"
Asou Haruka hesitated but then spoke up, "Isn't magic attire made up of magic power? Whether or not it's tangled is just up to you, right? Just disperse it and then make it reappear."
"I have to emphasize that I didn't meddle with the magic attire myself."
Emerald Sparrow's outstretched hands remained still, "You can sense the flow of magic power on the magic attire, there's no external force acting on it, in other words, 'the tangled appearance' has become its original state. The moment I summon my magic attire, it's tangled."
"Then... does that affect your combat in any way?"
Asou Haruka raised an eyebrow, "Like, does it hinder the use of your magic attire or something?"
Emerald Sparrow shook her head, "Apart from a tiny knot on the line, I feel nothing else, I even have to intentionally concentrate to find this small knot."
"So, it doesn't have any effect at all?" Asou Haruka frowned, "Such a thing doesn't constitute a motive to take a risky action, right?"
"But it's tangled, which means it's somewhat out of my control."
Emerald Sparrow stressed, "A Magical Girl not having complete control of her magic attire is an anomaly in itself."
"Isn't that common? With newbies, if the development of their magic attire isn't sufficient, there will be mistakes," Asou Haruka chuckled, "Maybe it's just that you've been fighting less recently, so your control accuracy has slipped."
"I am not a newbie, and mere control accuracy slipping wouldn't lead to this extent."
"Then just treat it as a minor issue, don't dwell on it. As long as it doesn't affect combat, there's no problem."
"I can't just overlook it."
"... So what do you want to do, sister? Earlier you said it was for healing, but now are you suggesting smuggling yourself into the realm for the sake of a knot on a string, even if there's a chance of delivering oneself straight to the enemy?"
Asou Haruka laughed out loud in exasperation, "How do you expect me to answer you? Should I get down on my knees and show you how to untie it? And then beg you not to do something foolish?"
"Calm down, Asou," Emerald Sparrow's face was expressionless, "It's not hard to understand that it actually symbolizes a more serious issue."
"I am calm, if you have any ideas then just spit it out, no need for riddles," Asou Haruka's voice grew steadily stronger.
The atmosphere in the Director's Office suddenly became more intense.
Emerald Sparrow silently lifted her head, looking at Asou Haruka, and Asou Haruka also stared back at her, speechless. Although separated by a layer of sunglasses, their gazes seemed to spark against each other.
For a moment, neither of them said another word.
This might have been a kind of tacit understanding, as they both knew that saying anything more at that moment would only turn into even more vicious words. Once those words were spoken, small disagreements would escalate repeatedly, eventually becoming a situation that neither wanted to witness.
And just as they were in silence, Hong Siyu, who had been observing for a while, reached out and tugged at the magic silk line held out by Emerald Sparrow, then took it into her hands, turning it into a different shape.
"Look, doesn't it look like an Eiffel Tower?" she showed the shape she had pulled into existence to the other two.
Emerald Sparrow and Asou Haruka both turned to look at her.
Their synchronized action made Hong Siyu's shoulders twitch, and cold sweat even began to form on her forehead, but she stood her ground against the silent pressure and continued to explain, "I mean, I saw the senior continuously pulling on the line, and it suddenly reminded me of a game I used to play, I just did it subconsciously..."
While explaining, she kept her hands moving, transforming the Eiffel Tower shape into a more complex polygon, "See, it's fun, isn't it?"
But still, no one spoke.
So Hong Siyu could only continue flipping the string in her hands, this time pulling it into the shape of a parachute, saying in an extremely stiff tone, "Eiffel Tower turns into parachute..."
In the end, it was Asou Haruka who took action first.
With no expression, she walked forward two steps, approached Hong Siyu under her tense gaze, and when Hong Siyu was almost about to close her eyes in fear, took the string from her hands.
— She turned the magic power lines into a suspension bridge shape.
Then, she presented the suspension bridge to Emerald Sparrow.
"...Thanks, but I don't play," said Emerald Sparrow.
The tense atmosphere eased slightly after this brief interlude. Emerald Sparrow sighed, took the string, and allowed the magic silk to return to her hands, letting it dissolve into points of magic power, "Anyway, even if you two don't agree, I still believe this plan is necessary, for this tiny knot is not simply a knot; it also signifies 'new side effects'."
"In other words, given that I am unable to further develop or improve the magic attire, any change in its form must stem from some subtle influence of its true nature."
Looking at the figures the two of them had previously created with their string art, Emerald Sparrow ignored Hong Siyu's somewhat reproachful look, gathered up the string in her hands, and let it dissipate into twinkles of magic, "Which means, if I ignore my current injuries, new side effects will emerge. This time it's just the magic attire knotting itself, what will it be next time? This unknown risk is too high, I must resolve it."
There was one more thing Emerald Sparrow did not mention, because even she couldn't be fully certain that it was correct.
That is, her magic attire, "Weave of Fate," with the "thread" being one of its three components, symbolizes destiny to some extent. And a thread symbolizing destiny becoming tangled is, in many senses, not a good sign.