Arknights, Suika's Journey as a Messenger

For her, taking a few drinks when she couldn't sleep and using the alcohol to fall asleep again was perfectly normal.

Her movements naturally didn't escape Hoshiguma's notice, but Hoshiguma didn't interfere.

Compared to sneaking out of Lungmen, taking out an Ursus spy along the way, then capturing a deserter with Swire, having a drink was practically the most normal thing in the world.

But when she opened her eyes and saw Suika hugging the Ibuki Gourd, it drew Suika's attention.

"Hmm... You want a drink too?"

The instant Suika spoke, her ability activated instinctively. Hoshiguma, lying in bed, sat up and nodded.

Suika took out two cups, poured a bowl for Hoshiguma, then poured one for herself.

"Cheers!"

After saying that, Suika downed the wine in front of her in one gulp, then returned to bed and fell soundly asleep with the help of the alcohol.

As for Hoshiguma, she hadn't slept for two days and was already exhausted. After that drink, her head hit the pillow, and she lost consciousness the next second.

It wasn't until late the next morning that Hoshiguma woke up.

When she got up and saw that Suika wasn't there, cold sweat immediately crept down her back.

She walked out of the bedroom and saw a note on the table.

"I'm off to deliver the letter! I didn't know how long you'd be sleeping, so I didn't wake you up!"

"Fuu..." After letting out a long breath, Hoshiguma sat up and called Jiu.

"You've stayed up for two days straight, so take the morning off. Suika's matter isn't urgent either. Once she's finished, just bring her to the Guard Department to make a statement."

Jiu was quite understanding, because she knew Hoshiguma had been busy with the Wang family's case from the day before yesterday until yesterday and hadn't slept a wink.

Now that the case had been closed and the Guard Department wasn't short on manpower, letting her rest for one more morning wouldn't have much impact.

"Thank you!"

After hanging up, Hoshiguma sat on the sofa and began thinking about Suika.

As things stood, Suika's situation seemed straightforward, yet it was actually quite troublesome.

Her origins were unknown to begin with. She had only remained in Lungmen because Hoshiguma had wanted to keep her here. Yet not long after arriving in Lungmen, she had seriously violated Lungmen law by leaving the city without authorization late at night and deliberately killing someone. An ordinary Lungmen citizen could potentially receive the death penalty for those two crimes, much less someone like her, who already belonged to a specially monitored group.

Even though there were understandable reasons behind all her actions, and she had rendered great service to Lungmen and Great Yan by capturing a deserter officer.

Wei Yenwu had always been strict about rewarding merits and punishing wrongdoing, so Hoshiguma was deeply worried about Suika's future.

At noon, after delivering the letter and returning to Household, Suika paused when she saw Hoshiguma sitting on the sofa with a worried expression.

"Why the long face? Life's already hard enough. We've got to take things easy, or we'll get depressed."

"About yesterday's incident, the Guard Department wants you to go over and give a statement. Get ready. We'll leave after lunch."

Hoshiguma looked up at Suika, who walked over and patted her shoulder comfortingly, and couldn't help feeling speechless.

She was so conflicted and miserable because of Suika, yet Suika herself was completely carefree and didn't seem worried at all.

"You should prepare yourself... This questioning may determine whether you can stay in Lungmen."

Strictly speaking, Hoshiguma shouldn't have revealed such things to Suika. But she truly felt something toward the girl before her—whether it was some special bond between members of the Oni Clan, or simply because living together these past days had made her feel that Suika wasn't a bad person.

That was why she deliberately brought it up.

"Ah!" Suika froze when she heard Hoshiguma's words.

She had taken out a spy, then left Lungmen without authorization after its entrances and exits had been closed, but hadn't that been to capture the spy?

Still, since she had indeed broken the rules, she couldn't exactly say Lungmen was being unreasonable.

During lunch, Hoshiguma said,

"Swire's report yesterday said you punched a large tree into pieces?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm actually pretty strong.

I just don't usually like settling things with brute force. But if I really went all out, I might even be able to push Lungmen!"

Remembering that Suika had said she could push Monster Mountain, perhaps pushing Lungmen really was possible for her.

"..." Hoshiguma looked at Suika as though she were an idiot. Even if she wanted to brag, couldn't she come up with a better excuse?

We Transmigrators Have Always Been Soft but Not Hard

What Suika was saying now was like those children outside who competed with each other by saying things like,

"My brother can do a hundred somersaults without touching the ground."

Anyone could tell it was fake without even thinking.

"Forget it. Just be careful."

Seeing that Suika still looked so carefree, Hoshiguma sighed.

After lunch, the two of them arrived at the Guard Department.

After Hoshiguma led Suika inside, she saw Chen and Swire standing by the entrance.

"The people inside aren't ours."

When Swire saw them, her lips moved soundlessly.

But Hoshiguma understood what she meant, and her heart immediately tensed.

Just as she prepared to enter with Suika, she was stopped.

"Officer Hoshiguma, you don't need to go in. Just leave this child to us."

The person at the door looked coldly at Hoshiguma, and his words sent a chill through her entire body.

"You go to work first. Don't worry about me!" Suika was the one who remained perfectly calm. She patted Hoshiguma's waist, then followed the group inside.

After entering, the person who had brought her in pointed at the chains around her waist and said,

"Take off those three chains, and hand over that wine gourd as well."

Hearing him, Suika handed over the Ibuki Gourd, then spread her hands.

"These chains are bound to me. I can't take them off. Why don't you try it yourself if you don't believe me?"

"Let me remind you that every word and action of yours right now will affect your final evaluation. Take off the chains!" The man was equally uncompromising.

"What, do you have the guts to kill me?"

Suika wasn't known for having a good temper. Besides, the man had worn a cold face ever since she entered, acting as though someone owed him a fortune. That had already irritated her.

She could hand over the Ibuki Gourd, but those three chains were her lifeline. This man wanted to confiscate them without a word. She didn't know him, nor did she trust him, so naturally she wouldn't agree.

Suika refused to hand them over, and the man didn't move. The atmosphere immediately froze.

Perhaps because he saw that Suika was young, the man reached out to grab her.

Seeing his movement, Suika didn't dodge. She stretched out her slender hand and grabbed the hand reaching toward her. The next second, accompanied by the sound of knees hitting the floor, the man dropped to his knees.

Suika had simply pressed downward after grabbing his hand.

The man hadn't expected the girl before him to be so strong. The pain shooting through his hand made him bend involuntarily, until he finally knelt directly before Suika.

Only then did the people inside, who had been sitting there looking entertained, suddenly rise with drastically changed expressions.

That was because this man was one of Great Yan's military elites, someone who had always been unstoppable on the battlefield. Yet today, he had been caught off guard by a girl.

"Let him go!"

The leader barked.

Suika let go with disgust, then unceremoniously retrieved her Ibuki Gourd from the side. Without even looking at the man's embarrassed state, she sat down in the seat before the group.

"Ask away. Didn't you bring me here specifically to question me?"

Seeing the people in front of her fall silent, Suika spoke first.

"Do you know that based on your behavior just now, we can give you the worst possible evaluation?"

After the interrogator sat down, the person seated furthest to the left spoke.

"How bad can the worst evaluation be? It can't be worse than you people failing to discover a rat hidden in the military for all these years, then losing an entire army because of it."

By now, Suika had more or less figured out the identities of the people before her.

After all, whether it was the guy at the door or the interrogators, the aura they gave off was far too easy to identify.

Other than the military, Great Yan couldn't possibly let outsiders possess such an iron-blooded bearing.

"Hmm, you've guessed who we are?" Rather than becoming angry because Suika had embarrassed them, the leader asked curiously.

"You're all in plain clothes, but I can't think of anywhere outside the military that would have this kind of presence.

That guy at the door too. His hands were rough, and he looked murderous even toward a little kid like me. That's not the behavior of a good person. He's the very image of an arrogant, battle-hardened general."

Suika was very relaxed. In her view, the worst that could happen was offending Wei Yenwu and having to leave Lungmen.

As for whether Wei Yenwu would take things further, such as having her killed, she wasn't worried.

When she first entered, she had assumed these were Wei Yenwu's people.

But after she had made the man who brought her in lose face, she realized something was wrong.

When the people in the room saw what she did, they all stood up, but none of them looked nervous. Instead, they seemed to be looking at him as though to say, How can an adult like you not even handle a child?

After sensing the bloody aura emanating from them, Suika had more or less understood where they came from.

"All right, let's begin... What's your name?"

"Ibuki Suika."

"Where are you from? Don't tell me where you're living now. I'm asking where you came from."

"Mount Oe."

"Where is Mount Oe?"

"Eastern Country."

"And how did you get here?"

"I don't know. I got drunk, went to sleep, and woke up here."

"What was your purpose in coming to Lungmen?"

"Purpose? Why would I need a purpose? I just don't know where Household is. I only know its name, but I can't find my way home.

Lungmen happened to have members of the Oni Clan, so I settled down here for the time being."

"How did you leave Lungmen at night?"

"I jumped down!"

"Hmm?"

"I went to the outermost edge, then jumped down from up there. Didn't that get me out?"

The questioning proceeded quickly, and Suika answered quickly as well. A few times, they suddenly asked questions they had already asked before. Fortunately, Suika hadn't lied in the first place, so none of her answers contradicted each other.

More than ten minutes later, the leader finally stopped questioning her.

"All right, you may leave this room for now, but you can't leave the Guard Department or go home.

The specific judgment regarding you will be delivered to you within a day."

Hearing him, Suika didn't linger or exchange pleasantries. She stood up and walked out through the door.

After opening the door, she saw Hoshiguma standing some distance away. Though she appeared to be reading the newspaper in her hands, her eyes had been glancing this way the entire time.

The moment she saw Suika come out, she hurried over.

"Are you all right?"

"What could happen? It's not like a bunch of grown men could eat me."

Suika, looking utterly open-minded, gave her a reassuring gesture.

Of course, if Hoshiguma knew that Suika had nearly started fighting with the man who led her in the moment she entered, she would probably be even more worried.

"Don't worry, Hoshiguma.

Since the people inside let her out without taking any coercive measures, that proves that, at least for this stage, she's passed."

Chen also consoled her partner from the side.