dkrc Chapter 72 So I was the sucker all along?
Chapter 72 So I was the sucker all along?
"Well... there are other reasons too, such as funding and research freedom!"
Emerald Scepter scooped out another large spoonful of chocolate parfait and put it in her mouth.
Hearing this answer, Qingluan was speechless. "...You are the 'Supreme Scepter,' wielding the highest power in the magical kingdom! And you're telling me you're short of funds?"
"Commander, you don't understand."
The emerald scepter sighed helplessly, its tone full of resentment.
"There are just too many rules in this country! Even if I want research funding, I need the Finance Ministry's approval! Those guys are always watching my lab. When I want to do some bio-symbiotic experiments combining magical girls and beasts, or research the feasibility of transforming boys into magical girls, they use reasons like 'ethics and morality' and 'the purity of magical girls' to stop me."
"But 'Where the Stars Are' is different! Commander, you're never stingy with funding, giving me as much as I need. Most importantly, you never interfere with my research process, giving me complete academic freedom!"
When the emerald scepter uttered these words, its eyes were already shining.
"..."
Indeed, Cheng Qi is a "hands-off leader." She understands the principle that laymen should not guide experts, so she makes no demands on the research and development process.
In other words, it means not interfering in things one doesn't understand.
"Is your research funding really that tight? You, the supreme ruler, have to fleece me?" Qingluan barely suppressed the urge to flip the table.
"No, no, no, you've misunderstood."
The emerald scepter quickly waved its hand and explained, "Research that complies with ethics and morality can of course apply for funding from the research institute. Only research that poses ethical risks will have its funding blocked. So, the 'Where the Stars Are' project can just make up for these deficits."
"...So I'm just a sucker who pays for your personal hobbies?" Qingluan gritted her teeth.
"No, no, no! How can you say that? You have a keen eye for talent!" The emerald scepter said with a fawning expression.
...I always felt that I was "seeing flies with dirty eyes".
Qingluan no longer wanted to argue. No matter what, Zhang Menglin had indeed produced a lot of scientific research results at "Where the Stars Are," which she couldn't deny, so she could only swallow her anger for now.
"Besides using me as a sucker to swindle funding, what other reason do you have for staying at the Star's Lair?"
"Well... there's also that basil guy, I guess."
The emerald scepter straightened up again. "As you know, Commander, that guy used to work in my research institute."
"Balle is a genius, but she also has a lot of personality problems. She is completely disobedient and only wants to do the research that interests her. But the problem is that her approach doesn't fit our current research topic, so I have to forcefully change her research direction."
"Who would have thought she'd have such a temper, abandoning even the flower cards and defecting from the country? But... her talent is just too rare. Even though she's defected, I still care a lot about her research progress!"
"..."
Qingluan lowered her eyelids and gave her a disdainful look. "Now I understand why Basil was able to detect your true form so quickly. You probably haven't changed a bit of that bossy, meddling attitude you have in front of her."
"No! I just wanted to have an academic exchange with her!" the emerald scepter argued confidently.
"Forget it, I can't interfere in your feud."
Qingluan picked up her cup of red tea and took a sip. "What I'm more concerned about now is the impending crisis in the country. You mentioned before that the veterans were going to riot. Now, how do you plan to resolve the situation with those veterans?"
Upon hearing Qingluan mention this, the expression on the emerald scepter's face immediately relaxed considerably.
"Hmm?...Actually, the issue of the veterans causing trouble has already been resolved."
"Huh?" Qingluan was slightly taken aback. "It's resolved?"
"Yes!" The emerald scepter nodded. "To put it bluntly, there are only two core reasons—forced retirement and the issue of pensions."
"The forced retirement issue is relatively easy to resolve. It only requires slight policy adjustments. Ultimately, our intentions were good, but the lower-level staff misimplemented it—"
"Wait a minute!" Qingluan stretched out her right hand, breaking the emerald scepter in two. "Forced retirement of wounded veterans, and you're telling me your intentions were good?"
"Of course!" The emerald scepter seemed quite self-assured. "The initial motivation for becoming a magical girl is naturally to fight against the beasts and protect the peace of the material world and the nation. However, we don't want to impose this responsibility on every magical girl and make them fight beasts all the time, which is why we have the retirement system."
Qingluan looked disdainful. "That's also what I criticize. Taking a sum of money to become an ordinary person and then return to the material world, versus staying in the kingdom to continue being a magical girl, is inherently an unequal choice."
"Please hear me out, Commander. The reason we designed this rule is simple: 'Retirement' means no longer bearing the responsibility of fighting the remnants of the beasts. If the material world were full of uncontrolled retired magical girls, it would inevitably cause huge turmoil. Therefore, if they want to return to the material world, they must be stripped of their powers."
Qingluan instinctively wanted to retort, "Then why choose not to retire and insist on joining the kingdom?", but the emerald scepter slightly raised its hand, signaling Qingluan to let her finish speaking.
"As a result, a derivative rule emerged from the retirement system. For magical girls who consistently slack off and refuse to perform national missions, the nation will also initiate retirement procedures. At this point, it is generally referred to as 'forced retirement'."
"After all, if you occupy a magical girl's spot and consume the nation's resources, but you can't make any contributions, the nation certainly won't tolerate the existence of such parasites."
"But the problem is, if it's just dealing with the lazy bums, no one will object. But the 'Two Realms War' two years ago... Commander, you were a participant, you should know very well how brutal that war was, right?"
Qingluan frowned slightly, as if she had realized something.
"Many magical girls were severely injured, even to the point of damaging their true forms. This has led to a significant decrease in their strength, making it impossible for them to continue contributing to the nation."
"So here's the question: should these magical girls who were injured in the war to protect the country, resulting in a decline in their strength, also be deemed 'unable to continue contributing' and thus subject to 'forced retirement'? At least, the country's middle and upper echelons generally believe that in order to ensure the overall combat effectiveness and resource utilization of the magical girl team, it is also necessary to subject them to forced retirement."
"..."
Upon hearing this explanation, Qingluan completely lost her composure. She stood up abruptly and slammed her hand heavily on the dining table in front of her.
"Those people were injured while protecting the country! You don't treat them like heroes, and now you're forcibly stripping those magical girls of their powers just because they're injured and useless? Are you trying to discard them after they've served their purpose?"
Despite Qingluan's accusations, the emerald scepter remained unperturbed.
"Yeah, I do feel a little bad for those magical girls."
Although the emerald scepter said that, her expression didn't show any sense of "apology." "So the first step in our negotiations with the veterans was to revise the criteria for 'mandatory retirement'."