Journey to Find Heroic Spirits

Yuxian and Mash were strolling leisurely. A few children, however, wouldn't be so slow-paced. They ran around energetically, playfully roughhousing with each other. Yuxian even saw Jack jumping around in a tree, playing some game he couldn't quite figure out.

"Senpai, it looks like something's happening up ahead!" Mash pointed forward. Four little ones were gathered there, and it seemed like there were others too.

Fearing they might stir up more trouble, Yuxian and Mash quickened their pace to go over.

Before they even got close, they could hear Little Jeanne scolding someone from a distance: "This is dangerous! Children shouldn't do such risky things! Even if you don't hit anyone, you could easily get hurt if you fall yourself!"

"Oh..."

"Hey! Don't fall asleep! If you don't sleep well at night, you'll be drowsy during the day. I don't know what to do with you!" Little Jeanne continued, while Illya, Gretel, and Jack stood by, watching.

Yuxian walked over and said, "What's going on? You kids can't bully anyone!"

"We're not bullying her! She accidentally rode her bike and bumped into Jack!" They quickly explained when they saw Yuxian approaching.

After a brief explanation, Yuxian understood what had happened. The blonde little loli in front of him had accidentally run into the running Jack while riding her bicycle, leading to the current situation.

Yuxian looked at Jack's innocent expression and thought to himself, An assassin getting hit by a bike, are you sure you're not faking it for money?

However, he felt a bit comforted. This showed that Jack was becoming more and more like a normal child.

The blonde loli in pajamas and slippers—Yuxian examined her closely and was fairly certain it was Tina Sprinter, the one he was looking for.

He walked over, wiped the dirt off Tina's face, and asked gently, "What's your name? My child seems to have caused you trouble."

Tina shook her head and softly replied, "My name is Tina, Tina Sprinter. It was my fault first; I accidentally bumped into someone."

As she spoke, she started to doze off again, her eyes closing involuntarily. She quickly took a bottle of caffeine from her pocket, poured out a few pills, and took them, barely managing to stay awake.

"Don't you sleep at night?" Yuxian asked.

Tina timidly replied, "I'm a nocturnal creature. I'm usually active at night and sleep during the day."

"Children who don't sleep at night won't grow tall!" Little Jeanne interjected from the side, in a scolding tone.

"Oh..."

Tina's indifferent attitude made Little Jeanne very angry. She puffed out her cheeks, glared at Tina, and was clearly displeased with Tina's refusal to listen to advice.

Yuxian led everyone to a nearby bench and had them sit side-by-side before continuing his questioning, "Tina, are you alone?"

"Yes..."

"Then why don't you play with everyone? We'll take you home later."

Tina tilted her head. "You're not bad people, are you?"

Little Jeanne immediately exploded. She jumped off the bench and accused, "You're the bad one! You're a bad child! Santa Claus won't give gifts to bad children!"

"Ah—Santa Claus is fake! He's a lie to fool children. There's no Santa Claus in the world," Tina said, looking at Little Jeanne with an expression that suggested she had been deceived.

Yuxian saw that things were getting out of hand and quickly pulled Little Jeanne back. Saying Santa Claus was fake right in front of her was something she couldn't tolerate.

Little Jeanne struggled hard, wanting to continue her lecture, muttering constantly about teaching Tina a lesson.

Yuxian realized Tina was indeed a problematic child; this loli was a bit difficult to handle.

After the commotion, it was getting late, and the sun was setting. Tina proposed to leave, politely declining Yuxian's offer to take her home.

As she walked away, she specifically made a face at Little Jeanne before staggering off.

Watching Tina's receding figure, Mash asked worriedly, "Is she going to be alright?"

Yuxian shook his head and thought to himself, What problems could she have? As the 97th-ranked Initiator, her strength is exceptionally high. It would be more likely for her to cause trouble for others than the other way around.

Since he had found Tina, Yuxian felt it wouldn't be right to do nothing.

He pulled the little Jack over and whispered a few words mysteriously into her ear.

Jack blinked, then whoosh—she vanished from her spot, disappearing without a trace.

"Are you having Jack follow her?" Mash asked curiously.

"Yes. Don't worry, I've already instructed Jack not to harm anyone."

Tina walked slowly on her way back, completely unaware that Jack was following her. Today's encounter made her feel very happy.

She found the serious little girl who had scolded her particularly interesting.

The way she pretended to be a mature little adult was amusing to Tina.

"She seems to care about me..." Tina muttered softly.

Just then, her phone rang from her pocket. It was Dr. Arland calling.

She answered the phone and listened carefully to Dr. Arland's instructions, unaware that their entire conversation was being overheard by Jack, word for word.

When Jack heard a familiar name, she instantly drew her dagger, ready to act. At that moment, however, she suddenly remembered Yuxian's words whispered in her ear.

She blinked her big eyes, thought for a moment, then put her dagger back and continued to follow Tina quietly.

Yuxian's instructions had taken effect at this moment. Otherwise, Jack would have attacked with her knife right away.

Jack was an obedient child. She took everything Yuxian said to heart, regardless of whether it was right or wrong. Her sense of morality was very different from that of other children.

Unbeknownst to her, Tina had just brushed shoulders with death.

Chapter 42: Chapter 22 - Found a Little Lazy Cat, Come Feed Her

Jack followed Hina all the way to her apartment.

While Hina was showering, Jack waited patiently in the living room. While Hina was organizing her weapons, Jack watched curiously from the side. When Hina was geared up and ready to depart, Jack quietly followed behind her.

For Jack, it was like a game. She found it to be quite interesting and fun.

Hina arrived at the rooftop of a tall building. The view from here was excellent, making it the best position for sniping a target.

She opened her equipment case and slowly adjusted her weapon, preparing herself.

Jack quietly observed Hina's every move from the side. She didn't understand anything about firearms, but that didn't stop her from watching Hina's operations with great interest, as if watching something fascinating.

With everything prepared, Hina took a deep breath. She possessed the traits of an owl, giving her extremely wide vision, making her a natural sniper.

The target appeared within her field of vision. She adjusted her aim, controlled her heart rate, and waited for the target to enter range before firing.

Just then, an abrupt voice sounded beside her: "You can't!"

"Who!"

Hina quickly rolled away from where the voice had come from, pointing her gun in that direction.

But there was no one in her sight, as if the voice had just been her hallucination.

She knew it wasn't a hallucination. Someone had to be on this rooftop. She vigilantly scanned her surroundings, afraid of a surprise attack.

"I'm here!" Jack's voice sounded from behind Hina again.

Hina turned around rapidly and fired, but her bullet hit nothing. There was no one in front of her.

"Over here!"

Jack stayed behind Hina. She was very fast. As soon as Hina turned, Jack would circle around to her back, playing a game of hide-and-seek.

Hina knew she couldn't do anything about the other party, so she put down her weapon and stood still. She asked, "Who are you?"

"We are Jack!"

Jack realized Hina had no intention of continuing the game, so she revealed herself and appeared before Hina.

"It's you, the little girl I bumped into earlier! Why are you here?"

Hina immediately recognized Jack. She had accidentally bumped into Jack while riding her bike earlier, and they had spent a long time together, leaving a deep impression.

Jack tapped her chin with her finger, her big eyes widening as she said, "Mom told us to follow you and not let you kill anyone."

Hina asked in confusion, "Who is Mom?"

"Mom is Mom."

Not getting the answer she wanted, and not knowing Jack's true intentions, Hina frowned and continued, "When did you start following me?"

"From the beginning!"

From the beginning? Hina's heart skipped a beat. She widened her eyes and quickly confirmed, "You mean you started following me right after we parted ways?"

"Mhm!" Jack nodded.

Learning this truth left Hina feeling powerless. She had been followed for so long without noticing anything unusual. If the other party had malicious intent, she would have been dead by now.

Since the mission had failed, Hina simply sat down and started chatting with Jack. "What do you want? You're not going to get revenge for me bumping into you, are you? That would be too petty!"

Jack thought for a moment and said, "Mom didn't say."

"Then I'm going back."

Hina felt that she couldn't communicate with the little girl in front of her at all. She tidied up her equipment and left the rooftop, returning to her apartment.

Jack no longer concealed herself and followed Hina openly, acting like her little shadow.

When Hina walked, Jack walked. When Hina stopped, Jack stopped.

Hina felt overwhelmed. She turned around and yelled, "Stop following me!"

"Can't!" Jack wasn't angry at all about Hina's attitude and continued to resolutely carry out the task Yuxian had assigned her.

The two walked and stopped, walked and stopped, wearing each other down.

Hina finally couldn't stand it anymore. She turned around and walked quickly to Jack. "Take me to your Mom!"

Faced with Hina's sudden proposal, Jack tilted her head and thought for a moment. She realized it didn't conflict with Yuxian's instructions, so she nodded in agreement.

Knock, knock, knock!

There was a knock at the door. Yuxian was a bit surprised as to who would be looking for him at this hour.

He opened the door and found Jack and Hina standing side-by-side outside. He blinked his eyes in confusion.

He had instructed Jack to follow Hina, so why had Jack brought her to his home?

Hina was not polite at all. As soon as the door opened, she casually threw her equipment case by the entrance, took off her shoes, and walked directly into the living room as if she were home. Yuxian was stunned, not knowing what had happened.

Yuxian had no choice but to pick up her equipment case and put it away. It contained heavy weaponry, so it couldn't just be left lying around.

He then asked Jack for an explanation of what had happened. After roughly understanding the situation, he walked over and sat down next to Hina.

Hina was curled up on the fabric sofa in the living room, like a docile kitten, her eyes half-closed as she lazily sprawled there.

Yuxian sat beside her and asked softly, "Why did you come?"

Hina glanced up at Yuxian without speaking. She really didn't want to deal with him right now; his question was too infuriatingly obvious.

Yuxian knew she was on the verge of a breakdown thanks to Little Jack and was still angry, so he didn't say anything further, just shrugged and remained silent.

Upon hearing that Hina had arrived, Little Jeanne stormed out of her room.

Judging by her demeanor, it was clear Hina was in for a long lecture.

Yuxian quickly got up and left, giving his seat to Little Jeanne.

Before leaving, he quietly told Hina, "Just stay here and relax for now. Friendly reminder: don't offend Santa Claus, or you'll really get no presents."

Hina looked confused, completely failing to understand what Santa Claus had to do with anything. She realized this whole family was a bit strange.

The living room now belonged to Little Jeanne and Hina. One earnestly lectured with serious reasoning, while the other feebly responded with the attitude of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

It was a true clash of equals, with neither able to gain the upper hand.

Hina was no longer a threat. The blonde loli was more like a lazy little cat, unwilling to even exert the energy to move.

Yuxian praised Little Jack handsomely, which made Jack very happy. She couldn't stop smiling, overjoyed that she could finally help her Mom.

Gretel, fearing Hina would go completely silly if things continued like this, quickly pulled her away from Yuxian.

Chapter 43: Chapter 23 - I'm Not a Loli-Con!!!

Little Jeanne's lecturing mode was so powerful that even Yuxian found it a bit overwhelming.