Just You, Then!
"..."
However, the fairy maiden looked as if she'd spotted a hot potato. Her fingers trembled slightly, and she didn't immediately touch the jade slips.
She merely glanced over the seals from various departments on the slips. Then, fighting down some kind of fear, she tried one last hesitant excuse:
"These..."
"Most of these citations weren't issued by the Airspace Administration Office."
"Look, this one's from the City Management Bureau, this one from the Environmental Sanitation Bureau, and this one from the Spirit Beast Protection Garden..."
"Shouldn't you pay them at the corresponding offices?"
As she spoke, she pointed at the different insignias on the jade slips, hoping to pass off the troublesome citations that didn't belong to her office.
"No!"
o(^｀)o
But Annie lifted her little chin, put on a shrewd look that said, "You can't fool me; I've already looked into this," and shook her head emphatically.
"That's not true!"
(||￢▽￢)
"I specifically asked the Heavenly Soldier uncle outside!"
(_)
"They said that, for convenience, any government office within the Divine Capital authorized to collect fines—like your Airspace Administration Office—can collect them on behalf of the others. The departments can settle things among themselves afterward!"
(￣︶￣)
"Trying to send me away is against the rules. You'd better be careful, or I'll file a complaint!"
(˙o˙)
Her argument was clear and her evidence conclusive, mercilessly exposing the fairy maiden's little scheme.
"..."
The fairy maiden was left speechless, a tightness building in her chest.
But all she could do was take another deep breath, as if drawing all her pent-up resentment into her lungs so she could force it back down.
She knew that, against a troublesome little cultivator who'd come prepared, there was no escaping her fate today.
"..."
And so!
With an almost tragic