[With Diancie itching for a fight, the two of you naturally set out that very day to return to the kingdom.]
[As before, you took the excavated tunnel and made it back the same day.]
[Since it was already late, the Queen told Diancie to return to her room and rest.]
[At that, Diancie could only, disappointed, go back to her room.]
"Elias, what do you think predecessor will test me on?"
In the room, Diancie propped her chin and asked in a small voice.
In the past, because she would always honestly admit her lack of strength and say she needed more guidance, even she herself never knew what kind of assessment tomorrow would bring.
"She'll probably have you battle directly, or… make you create a diamond again?"
Hearing her, Elias hazarded a guess.
After all, a Diancie's strength is, to a large extent, reflected in her ability to create diamonds.
So most of the time there's no need to battle to measure a Diancie's power.
Only, compared to Diancie's question, Elias was thinking of something else—
—the Queen's condition.
Though the reason for summoning Diancie back was perfectly valid this time, Elias still felt something was off.
First of all, the time he and Diancie had spent in the human world hadn't been long.
And they'd had two Carbink with them the whole time.
The timing of the summons was a bit too early.
Not to mention it hadn't been that long since Diancie created a diamond at the festival.
In so little time, obviously her strength wouldn't have changed all that much.
So clearly, the other party didn't just want to test Diancie's power.
After weighing everything, Elias felt it was more likely that something was wrong with the Queen's body.
When they met before, she'd already seemed frail.
Thinking this, Elias couldn't help being curious.
He turned his head—only to find Diancie had, at some point, fallen asleep sprawled over the desk.
The Carbink kingdom's desks are all made of stone; probably only Diancie could sleep soundly on such a cold surface.
Helpless, Elias picked her up and laid her on the bed, pulling the covers over her.
Whatever the reason was, he would have his answer tomorrow.
---
[As Diancie slept soundly, time trickled by.]
[Being a ghostly spirit, you didn't need to sleep.]
[So, around midnight, you left the room and stretched your legs a bit nearby.]
[As expected, by the time you reached the corridor, your head was already going woozy.]
[Even with your power improved, you still couldn't stray too far from Diancie.]
[Worth noting: in the hallway, you even ran into the likewise-awake Queen Diancie.]
[But since you were in a ghost state, she couldn't see you either.]
[Soon, dawn broke, and you returned to Diancie's side.]
"Elias, hurry up."
Diancie had gotten up early and was tugging Elias by the arm toward the door.
It was obvious her enthusiasm hadn't dimmed at all.
After threading their way through the interior of the kingdom, Diancie and Elias arrived at the same clearing as last time.
The Queen seemed to have been waiting there already, holding a massive diamond in her hand.
"Predecessor!"
Diancie waved in greeting.
At her call, the other merely nodded slightly.
But when her gaze swept over Diancie, she couldn't help but knit her brows.
That aura again…
She looked Diancie over a few times, feeling that there was a special aura around her.
And…
…it was exactly the same as the one she'd sensed while out walking last night.
"Diancie, are you raising… something?"
Eyes narrowing, she asked directly.
As she spoke, her gaze never left Diancie's face.
At that, Diancie's body gave a tiny shake.
But remembering that no one except herself could see Elias, she let out a small breath.
"N-no, I'm not."
She answered softly.
As she spoke, she also glanced sideways out of the corner of her eye.
Taking in Diancie's reaction, the Queen nodded lightly and chose not to press the matter for now.
Then she lightly tossed the diamond in her hand to Diancie and said:
"Replicate this diamond exactly."
"If you succeed, this trial counts as passed."
Catching the diamond, Diancie couldn't help feeling nervous.
Compared to the one from the festival, this one was clearly a whole size larger.
It felt heavy in her palms.
She wasn't sure she could make it.
But thinking of Elias at her side, she relaxed a little.
Off to the side, Elias had already confirmed his suspicion.
Compared to their last meeting, the Queen's condition was indeed a notch weaker.
The life force in her body was dissolving bit by bit.
Even if her exterior still shone bright, inside she was crumbling little by little.
Elias couldn't help wondering what had happened to make her like this.
At the same time—if possible—he could try using the [Power of Viridian] on her.
It might at least slow the internal decay.
While Elias pondered, Diancie had already begun.
Same as last time: with Elias nearby, she felt her power surge by a large margin.
On top of that, thanks to training, the size of the diamond forming in her hands really did inch closer and closer to the one predecessor had given her.
Beside them, the Queen watched in silence.
Diancie's growth rate was clearly abnormal, yet for some reason, she didn't feel surprised.
Especially when she looked to Diancie's side—she kept feeling she could see a faint, flickering shadow there.
"Predecessor, I did it!"
Lost in thought, she was jolted back by Diancie's delighted cry.
Staring at the sparkling diamond in her hands, Diancie felt a wash of satisfaction.
Strictly speaking, this was only the second time she'd created a diamond.
All thanks to Elias!
"Not bad."
Soon, predecessor's cool voice drifted into her ears.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Diancie thought she heard a trace of doubt in it.
Praise made her heart go light.
This was the result of her recent effort!
But when she turned her eyes toward predecessor, her expression suddenly froze.
She noticed—her predecessor seemed to be scrutinizing the space at her side.
And that was exactly where Elias was standing.
Was it a coincidence?
Diancie swallowed, uneasy.
---
T/N: "Mm. If you've read this far, I suppose you're at least a little invested."
"If you want to support the translator, there's a Patreon here: patreon.com/wisetl. It's optional—think of it as tossing a few extra coins on the counter. Early chapters are just a bonus side-effect of that support."
"This place also has its own strange currency… Powerstones. For every 100 Powerstones the story gets, you'll receive 1 bonus chapter. 100ps = 1 chp, 200ps = 2 chp, 300ps = 3 chp… you can do the math."
"If you'd rather talk than throw money or stones, there's a Discord: discord.gg/wisetl. Go there if you want to complain, theorize, or poke the translator for more updates. Just don't expect me to mediate your arguments."
Say thank you to Maomao guys