"Not a lot, but not a little either."
The Magical Girl puffing clouds of smoke with no regard for her image in front of her subordinates is the current City Defense Corps Commander, codenamed Stonegarlic. Rumored to be a strong Flower Card transferred from the front lines, she faced two battles a month ago that could be described as hellish and Death Level. Overburdened, she was then assigned to lead the City Defense Army.
Compared to the areas bordering the Interdimensional Gate directly, the City Defense Army's pressure in combat is undoubtedly much lighter. Although small enemy forces occasionally use Magic Techniques to bypass the frontlines and approach the city, the scale is not large and the traps set up in advance make handling them not too difficult. Besides that, the City Defense Army's duties also include clearing up the Remnant Beasts in the vicinity and maintaining the defensive fortifications outside the city; indeed, it could be referred to as the "rear."
"As you know, too many were lost in the previous second defensive line battle. Even the Magical Girl troops are severely short-staffed, so in this reorganization, the higher-ups have drafted a lot of newbies."
Stonegarlic, with dark circles under her eyes, stared blankly at Cornflower: "I won't hide it from you, the hard target for this personnel arrangement is to incorporate these newcomers into the troops, and each squad needs to have at least one. And well, this batch of 'newcomers'... might have a bit of a quality gap."
"Are you referring to this?"
Following her words, Cornflower quickly spotted a name on the list in front of her, "Nim Kregios," followed by her age written in tiny letters—10 years old.
Ten years old is the minimum age limit to become a Magical Girl in the Magic Kingdom. Children even younger, even if they are identified as potential Magical Girls, must first be sent to the Silver Corridor for the most basic education.
In other words, this child was already skirting the bare minimum age requirement for a Magical Girl, and now her name turns up on my squad's list. This signifies...
"Ah, that's correct. She just became a Magical Girl last month, can't even fly properly yet—in short, a greenhorn."
Stonegarlic shook her smoking pipe: "Our Corps got a total of 3 ten-year-old girls this time around, the kind that knows nothing. Congratulations, your squad has landed one."
"The change request you mentioned earlier is about this?" Cornflower squinted at the list she received, her expression subtle.
"Exactly, but as I said, I can't guarantee that I can get the change for you. Except for a few who overflow with the kindness of a saintly character, no squad wants such a burden."
Stonegarlic shrugged unabashedly: "If no other squad is willing to take in this 10-year-old kid, then she can only go to yours."
"Right now, I kind of feel like cursing you out, Commander."
Cornflower saluted earnestly and then said with utmost seriousness, "Though we haven't known each other for very long, it must not be someone else who decided to thrust her into my team from the start, right?"
"Feel free to curse, I've been cussed at to my face more times than I can count in my life, and my skin's thickest on my face."
Stonegarlic exhaled a puff from her pipe: "I won't pull rank on you. We are currently in a war, after all, and many things that seem cruel at first are ultimately unavoidable. Such a little girl would normally, forget about joining the army, not even be assigned to a Guard Team all the way at the back when dealing with Remnant Beasts. But we truly have no one left—if they don't go to the battlefield, then even weaker civilians will face the enemy."
"But since they are on the battlefield, I suppose I'd still hope they could learn something, grow a bit, and even survive this war, rather than being blindly used as cannon fodder to be thrown out to die. To meet this condition, I must place them in squads I trust."
"That's why I chose you, Cornflower. I've seen your profile: you're a genius and a born leader, and more importantly, your character is good. In just three months in the army, you've saved the lives of more than twenty comrades in over ten battles. Do you know what the Magical Girls who were previously in your squad call you?"
Cornflower seemed somewhat pleased by Stonegarlic's affirmation in her lengthy discourse, which reduced her resistance slightly—a trace of curiosity appeared on her usually impassive face: "I am quite confident about this; I knew people compliment me behind my back. But is it the benefactor or the King of Soldiers or something..."
"No, they call you 'Nanny Wand.'"
At this point, Stonegarlic couldn't help but puff out her cheeks and flare her nostrils, an obvious attempt to hold back laughter: "They said if 'nanny' was a kind of power, you could take that power and become the Gemstone Scepter right away."
The conversation ended there.
Ignoring Cornflower's face as dark as the bottom of a pan, Stonegarlic had other appointments to discuss with squad leaders that day, so she quickly sent Cornflower out of the headquarters to familiarize herself with the members of her squad.
What a meddlesome woman.
Cornflower internally tagged her commander with a rather impolite label and, seizing the moment when no one was watching, made a face at the headquarters.
However, this scene was squarely witnessed by a Military Officer passing around the corner.
"Ah, that, what I just did was..."