We Otherworlders Always Give In to Softness, Never Force

For her, having a couple of drinks when she couldn't sleep and letting the alcohol help her drift off was perfectly normal.

Her movements hadn't escaped Hoshiguma's notice, but Hoshiguma didn't stop her.

Compared to Suika sneaking out of Lungmen, taking out an Ursus spy, and then catching a deserter alongside Swire, having a drink was nothing at all.

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

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

The instant Suika spoke, her ability activated without her meaning to. Hoshiguma, lying in bed, sat up and nodded.

Suika picked up two cups and poured Hoshiguma a bowl, then poured herself one too.

"Cheers!"

After saying that, Suika downed her drink in one go. The alcohol soon took effect, and she returned to bed, falling into a deep sleep.

As for Hoshiguma, she was already exhausted after going two days without sleep. After that one drink, her head hit the pillow, and she passed out the next second.

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

When she got up and saw that Suika wasn't there, a cold sweat broke out across her back.

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

"I went to deliver a letter! I didn't know how much longer you'd sleep, so I didn't wake you (＾Ｕ＾)ノ~~"

"Phew..." Hoshiguma let out a long breath, then sat down and called Jiu.

"You've been up for two days straight. Take the morning off and get some rest. There's no rush about Suika either. Once she's done with her errands, just bring her to the Guard Department to give a statement."

Jiu was being very understanding. She knew Hoshiguma had been working on the Wang Family case from the day before yesterday through yesterday without closing her eyes once.

The case was already closed, and the Guard Department wasn't short-handed, so letting Hoshiguma rest for the morning wouldn't have much impact.

"Thank you!"

After ending the call, Hoshiguma sat on the sofa, thinking about Suika.

Given the current situation, Suika seemed like no trouble at all, but she was actually a real headache.

Her origins were unknown, and she was only in Lungmen because Hoshiguma had chosen to let her stay. Yet, in the short time since arriving, she'd seriously violated Lungmen's laws by leaving the city on her own in the middle of the night and committing murder. An ordinary Lungmen resident who committed those two crimes might even be sentenced to death, let alone someone who was already under special observation.

Even if there were reasons behind everything she'd done, and she'd rendered a great service to Lungmen and Great Yan by capturing a deserter, Wei Yenwu had always been fair in rewarding and punishing people. Hoshiguma was deeply worried about what would happen to Suika.

At noon, Suika returned home after delivering the letter. Seeing Hoshiguma sitting on the sofa with a worried look, she paused.

"Why the long face? Life's hard enough as it is. We've got to take things in stride, or we'll get depressed."

"The Guard Department wants you to come in and give a statement about what happened yesterday. Get ready. We'll go after lunch."

Hoshiguma looked up at Suika, who had come over and patted her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Hoshiguma couldn't help feeling a little exasperated.

She was so worried and miserable for Suika's sake, but Suika was completely carefree and didn't seem worried at all.

"Get ready, then... This questioning may determine whether you can stay in Lungmen."

Technically, Hoshiguma shouldn't have told Suika about this. But she felt a special connection to the girl in front of her—whether it came from their shared Oni heritage or from living together these past few days and realizing Suika wasn't a bad person.

That was why she'd brought it up.

"Ah!" Suika froze when she heard Hoshiguma.

She'd killed a spy, then gone out on her own after Lungmen's entry and exit points were closed. But hadn't she done it to catch that spy?

Still, she had indeed broken the rules, so she couldn't exactly accuse Lungmen of being unreasonable.

Over lunch, Hoshiguma said, "Swire's report yesterday said you punched a big tree and smashed it to pieces?"

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

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

Suika had said she could push Monster Mountain, so maybe she really could push Lungmen too.

"..." Hoshiguma looked at Suika as if she were an idiot. Even if she was going to brag, she could at least come up with a better excuse.

Chapter 37: We Otherworlders Always Give In to Softness, Never Force

What Suika was saying now sounded just like kids bragging to each other, saying things like,

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

Anyone could tell it was made up without even thinking about it.

"Forget it. Just be careful, okay?"

Seeing that Suika still looked completely carefree, Hoshiguma sighed.

After lunch, the two of them went to the Guard Department.

Hoshiguma led Suika inside and saw Chen and Swire standing at the entrance.

"They're not our people."

Swire's lips moved, but she didn't make a sound.

Hoshiguma understood what she meant, and her heart tightened.

Just as she was about to take Suika inside, someone stopped her.

"Officer Hoshiguma, you don't need to go in. Just leave the girl with us."

The person at the entrance looked at Hoshiguma coldly. His words sent a chill through her.

"You go on to work. Don't worry about me!" Suika, on the other hand, calmly patted Hoshiguma's waist, then followed the others inside.

As soon as they entered, the person who'd brought her in pointed to the chains at her waist.

"Take off those three chains, and give me that gourd too."

Hearing this, Suika handed over the Ibuki Gourd, then held out both hands.

"These chains are attached to me. I can't take them off. Don't believe me? Try it yourself."

"I'll warn you: everything you say and do from now on will affect your final assessment. Take the chains off!" The man was just as confrontational.

"What, you got what it takes to kill me?"

Suika wasn't exactly good-tempered, and the man had been scowling from the moment they'd entered, acting like she owed him a fortune. That was starting to get on her nerves.

She could hand over the Ibuki Gourd, but those three chains were her lifeline. He'd demanded them without so much as an explanation. She didn't know him or trust him, so naturally she wouldn't hand them over.

Suika refused, and the man didn't budge. The atmosphere froze in place.

Perhaps because Suika looked young, the man reached out to grab her.

Suika didn't dodge. She reached out her slender hand and grabbed his outstretched one. The next moment, as his knees struck the floor, he dropped to his knees.

Suika had simply pressed down on his hand after grabbing it.

The man hadn't expected the girl in front of him to be so strong. The pain in his hand made him bend forward involuntarily, until he ended up kneeling right in front of Suika.

The several men sitting inside and watching the show suddenly stood up, their expressions changing.

The man was a skilled fighter in the Great Yan army, someone who was usually unstoppable on the battlefield. Yet he'd been caught off guard by a girl.

"Let him go!"

The man in charge barked.

Suika released him in disgust, then casually retrieved her Ibuki Gourd from the side. Without sparing the man an embarrassed glance, she took a seat in front of them.

"Go on, ask me. Didn't you bring me here to question me?"

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

"You know, your behavior just now could earn you the worst possible assessment."

After sitting down, the interrogator seated at the far left spoke up.

"How bad can the worst be? Still better than spending all these years failing to find the rat in your army and losing an entire force because of it."

By then, Suika had mostly figured out who they were.

After all, the people at the entrance and those questioning her gave off a very distinctive air.

Other than the military, no one in Great Yan could have such an iron-blooded presence.

"Hmm, you've figured out who we are?" The man in charge didn't get angry at Suika for embarrassing them. He simply asked out of curiosity.

"You're all wearing civilian clothes, but I can't think of anywhere outside the military that would give off this kind of presence.

"And that guy at the door, too. His hands are rough, and he looked murderous even toward a little girl like me. That's not how decent people act. He's a textbook case of a cocky, battle-hardened soldier."

Suika seemed perfectly at ease. As far as she was concerned, the worst that could happen was that she'd anger Wei Yenwu and have to leave Lungmen.

She wasn't worried that Wei Yenwu might go further and, say, have her killed.

When she'd first entered, she'd thought these people worked for Wei Yenwu.

But after she'd made the man who brought her in lose face, she'd noticed something was off.

When the people in the room had seen what she did, they'd all stood up, but they hadn't looked tense. Instead, they'd looked as if they were thinking, "How can an adult fail to handle a child?"

After sensing the bloody air around them, Suika had more or less figured out where they were from.

"Fine, then. Let's begin. What's your name?"

"Ibuki Suika."

"Where are you from? Don't tell me where you live now. I'm asking where you come from."

"Mount Oe."

"Where is Mount Oe?"

"Eastern Country."

"How did you get here?"

"I don't know. I got drunk, fell asleep, and woke up here."

"What's your purpose in coming to Lungmen?"

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

"There happen to be Oni in Lungmen, so I settled down here for a while."

"How did you leave Lungmen at night?"

"I jumped down!"

"Hmm?"

"I went to the outer edge and jumped down. Isn't that how you get out?"

The questioning went quickly, and Suika answered just as quickly. A few times, the other side suddenly asked questions they'd already asked, but Suika hadn't been lying, so she never contradicted herself.

More than ten minutes later, the man in charge finally stopped questioning her.

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

"We'll deliver the decision on your case tomorrow."

Suika didn't linger or exchange pleasantries. She stood up and walked out.

When she opened the door, she saw Hoshiguma standing not far away. She seemed to be reading a newspaper, but her eyes kept darting toward the room.

As soon as she saw Suika come out, she hurried over.

"Are you okay?"

"What could happen? It's not like a few grown men are going to eat me."

Suika gave her a reassuring gesture, looking completely untroubled.

Of course, if Hoshiguma knew Suika had nearly gotten into a fight with the man who'd brought her in, she'd probably be even more worried.

"Don't worry, Hoshiguma.

"Since they let her out and didn't take any coercive measures, that means she's passed this stage, at least."

Chen also tried to reassure her partner.