Hospitality

Lin Yun saw the "magical girl" the employee had mentioned in the interrogation room's surveillance footage.

Inside a small room made of special glass, a girl dressed in tattered clothes and handcuffed on her wrists sat with her back against the wall. Despite being imprisoned, she showed no sign of tension.

"She really does look like a magical girl," Lin Yun thought to himself.

He believed this claim, thinking the other party was indeed a magical girl, because he saw not only a girl, but also a Fairy.

"What are you doing! Are you an idiot?! How could you even bring the wrong cash?!"

The Fairy made no attempt to hide anything, and was now shouting excitedly at the girl, "We're all doomed! We have nowhere to stay! We have nowhere to shower! We're going to be in a shelter soon!"

"As I've said, time knows no bounds in cultivation; the world will inevitably change after one emerges from seclusion," the girl in the tattered Daoist robe said leisurely. "Times change, and life is unpredictable; it's certainly broadened my horizons."

"What kind of wisdom is this! The wisdom of being locked up in jail? I shouldn't have agreed to come out with you in the first place; I should have refused from the very beginning!"

The Fairy, its tail held high, was clearly agitated. It angrily exclaimed, "Did you turn your brain into muscle from martial arts training?! Why didn't you put up any resistance against a group of ordinary people and just surrendered like that?! What if someone cast Anti-Magic Technique on us?! We'd all be fish on a chopping block!"

"The weak's Anti-Magic Technique can't restrain the strong, so don't worry. Besides, we only ate a free meal and didn't hurt anyone, why make such a fuss?"

The girl leaned against the wall, her eyes slightly narrowed. "As for surrendering... I hate bullying the weak. These officials are just following orders; they don't mean us any harm, so there's no need to take action. If we're polite and explain the situation clearly, they probably won't make things difficult for us."

"Have you forgotten that we came to Fangting City to cause trouble? We're actually bad guys?" The Fairy suddenly fell silent and said quietly.

"We haven't done anything wrong yet, have we?"

The young woman replied calmly, "What crime is there in something that hasn't happened yet?"

"What if they ask you for the Certification Card number later?"

"Report my old code name."

The girl remained calm. "Anyway, this code name is definitely real, and they won't be able to tell the difference right away."

"What if they contact the Kingdom and find out that your codename actually indicates you're a traitor?!"

The Fairy, tail held high, said angrily, "Hasn't this given us all away!"

Lin Yun watched their conversation, which resembled a stand-up comedy routine, through the monitor. His previously relatively calm expression became somewhat subtle, and he was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

The conversation between the human and the Fairy was so rich in information that, after hearing just this short segment, he could already determine its origin—it must be Claw Mark.

However, their conversation was so unguarded, as if they were completely unaware that there were surveillance cameras in the interrogation room. They chatted as if no one else was around, which made Lin Yun somewhat doubt the authenticity of the conversation.

Putting everything else aside, her background is strange enough. Not only did this magical girl dine and dash, but she also surrendered and was arrested after her attempt to cause trouble failed. Even after being arrested, she still acted completely unconcerned, which is truly unbelievable.

Are they telling the truth? If so, and this magical girl comes from Claw Mark, what is her purpose in coming here? Why would she willingly allow herself to be captured by the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau? Could this be a trap?

If this is fake, then it's even more thought-provoking. What's the point of a magical girl and a Fairy coming to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to fake Claw Mark? Is there a deeper scheme behind it?

After thinking it over for a moment, Lin Yun decided that he should try to get to know them in person.

The other party has already come knocking on my door, so whether it's a scheme or a coincidence, I have no reason to ignore it. I can't avoid the former, and I don't need to avoid the latter, so I might as well try to get some information out of them.

After leaving the monitoring room, Lin Yun was guided by an employee to the corresponding interrogation room. After instructing the employee to wait at the door, he went in alone.

What came into view was exactly the same scene as the surveillance footage—the raggedly dressed magical girl and the Black Cat -like Fairy both turned their heads to look at him as he walked in from outside the door.

"Greetings, gentlemen. I am Lin, the director of the local Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau."

He maintained basic courtesy by introducing himself, then began his question, "I heard from the staff about a disturbance involving what appears to be a magical girl, presumably the lady accompanied by Fairy. We are very grateful that you two did not use force against our staff. If our staff has handled anything improperly before, please let me know, and I will try my best to give you a satisfactory response."

He didn't pretend to be an ordinary person and ignore the Black Cat Fairy's existence as usual. Because his current identity was the director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, he should theoretically have been exposed to magic and the supernatural, and at least have some experience in training as Mage. It would be more normal for him to be able to see Fairy.

"However, to be honest, it seems you are not magical girls and Fairy registered locally. Are you from another city?"

Lin Yun feigned ignorance and asked, "I wonder what brings you two to Fangting City? If it's not Kingdom secret, perhaps you could tell us. It would help the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to provide some assistance and clear up any misunderstandings."

He deliberately acted as if he hadn't recognized the other person as "Claw Mark," speaking as if he were an ordinary government official completely unaware of the inside story. An ordinary official would obviously only regard the other person as a real magical girl, and a polite attitude with a touch of respect would be the most appropriate.

The authenticity of their conversations on the surveillance footage was hard to discern; he didn't know if they were also feigning or deceiving him. In that case, the best strategy was to play along, conceal his true thoughts, and slowly probe their intentions.

After hearing what he said, the girl and the Fairy in front of him paused for a few seconds before speaking.

"Ah, yes, yes, we come from the Magic Kingdom. Your Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau has no authority to detain us. Release us immediately!"

The Black Cat Fairy stammered, bluffing, "Be careful, or I'll go back to the Royal Court and complain about you!"

"That's right, that's right, I am an arbitrator from the Finance Institute."

The girl in the Daoist robe echoed this, raising her hands to reveal the handcuffs on her wrists. "I came to Fangting City on urgent business, so I didn't bring any money. I request more lenient treatment."

The two characters' Fairy acting and wooden delivery made Lin Yun's expression strange, as if she had thrown a powerful punch but hit cotton.

Did they really not realize that they had already confessed everything on the surveillance footage?

He couldn't help but feel suspicious. If what the surveillance footage said was just a scheme and bait, then what about their clumsy acting? Were they deliberately trying to arouse his suspicion? But what was the point?

"This person is actually Kingdom official? That's incredibly disrespectful. Our staff acted impulsively and gave you both such a bad experience. I will definitely reprimand them properly later and apologize to you. Please don't hold it against them."

Unable to discern the thoughts of the person before him, he maintained his composure and politely said, "I will have someone release you both from your confinement immediately. Please move to the reception room so we can have a proper talk."

He turned around and beckoned the employees outside to come in, instructing them to remove the special handcuffs from the girl in the Daoist robe—these things, while having the effect of suppressing magic, were only effective against Mage and were practically useless on magical girls.

He actually wanted to take advantage of the chaos to unleash his Magic Armament and get a closer look at the magical girl's power level, but considering that she might be quite strong, he decided against it, fearing that acting rashly might give him away.

Leading the girl out of the interrogation room, the two walked towards the meeting room, followed by several employees. During this time, Lin Yun did not give up trying to extract information from the other party.

"So, what important business brings you to Fangting?"

He looked intently at the girl, as if he truly regarded her as an official. "Our city has recently suffered greatly from the ravages of the Gray Magic Organization, Black Ash Dawn. Many of our employees have sacrificed their lives in the process of eliminating these evil cultists, resulting in heavy casualties. Are you two here to handle this matter?"

After uttering the words "Black Ash Dawn," he kept a close eye on the other person's facial expression to avoid missing any possible clues.

Unfortunately, the other party didn't react in any particular way.

"Important matters are important matters; they cannot be spoken of or discussed."

The Daoist-robed magical girl shook her head. "It's not a good thing for ordinary people like you to know too much. I'm here to find the magical girl from Fangting City."

"The Magical Girl of Fangting City?"

Lin Yun subtly squeezed the Heart Gem in her pocket. "May I ask who you're looking for? The Magical Girl Squad in Fangting City has undergone frequent personnel changes in the past two years, so the person you're looking for may not be there."

"I'm looking for Cornflower. Have you ever heard of this name?"

The girl blurted out, "I remember she's a famous magical girl here?"

Looking for yourself?

Lin Yun suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow and said calmly, "'Cornflower' is the captain of the Fangting City Magical Girl Squad, she is indeed very famous."

"Ah, that's right." The girl in the Daoist robe nodded. "Could you help me contact her?"

"That's no problem, but I might need you to provide your code name, is that alright?" Lin Yun pressed on subtly.

"My codename? Kite... Ah, just call me Gladiolus."

The Daoist-robed magical girl said calmly, "She may not have heard of me. If she doesn't want to come, just tell her I can solve her problem."

"... What does this mean?" Lin Yun's heart skipped a beat.

"It means it has nothing to do with you ordinary people."

The girl seemed to have no intention of explaining, "Just relay her exactly what you said, she'll understand."

Lin Yun understood, but couldn't believe what the other person was saying.

The so-called "problem on my body" could only be an increasingly serious injury, which only Emerald has promised to resolve. Now, even someone with suspected Claw Mark has come forward?

Considering that the Claw Mark are linked to the former Purple Diamond, could the girl's words be interpreted as the former Purple Diamond using this incident to express its stance to her?

But can we really trust what Claw Mark said?

Many guesses arose in Lin Yun's mind, but he remained calm and led the other party to the reception room of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. The group opened the door to the reception room and saw that a square table was already set with various dishes and drinks.

This was prepared by the cafeteria at Lin Yun's prior instruction, to entertain these two uninvited guests in the meeting room. They had been detained in the interrogation room all morning and must be hungry now; a lunch would effectively bridge the gap between them.

"We are very sorry for the previous misunderstanding. Our staff failed to understand your identities and intentions, causing you to waste a whole morning."

He gestured for a table not far away to be served. "We have prepared lunch and drinks, and we hope you will enjoy them."

"Oh! Wine!"

The girl in the Daoist robe at the door immediately brightened up, almost whistling. "Great! After all these days of eating and sleeping outdoors, relying on breathing to abstain from food, my mouth must be so lacking in flavor!"

"You're not really planning to drink it, are you?"

The Black Cat Fairy beside him quickly tried to dissuade him. "Don't forget why we're here. What if you really get drunk?"

"I won't get drunk, I won't get drunk. What's wrong with having a couple of drinks?"

The girl waved her hand, ignoring the Fairy's advice, and went straight to her seat. "Besides, we martial arts cultivators have complete Control Stage over our blood circulation. A little bit of alcohol can be dissipated with a breath."

"You... you should be more careful..."

The Fairy was clearly still unwilling, but knowing she couldn't persuade her otherwise, she had no choice but to sit down.

Lin Yun followed closely behind, instructing the employees not to follow, and then entered the reception room with the two of them. He sat down at one side of the square table and continued chatting with the girl.

Seemingly because there was food and drink, the girl's spirits were noticeably higher, and the parts that had been vague and ambiguous before became clearer and more organized.

Of course, from Lin Yun's perspective, most of it was nonsense and idle gossip.

For example, after drinking, the other party kept boasting, "Cornflower and I are as close as sisters, and I'm here to bring her an opportunity." In reality, Lin Yun had no memory of anyone named "Gladiolus."

No matter how skillfully someone boasts, a lie is a lie and can never become the truth.

However, there was also some useful information mixed in. For example, the other party would occasionally utter some secrets that ordinary magical girls would not know, and some of them clearly pointed to Claw Mark, which made Lin Yun more and more certain of their origin.

He continued to urge him to drink while trying to extract more information, but just as the conversation reached a climax, his expression suddenly turned serious. A magical power uncontrollably surged from the Heart Gem and quickly spread throughout his body.

--This is not an enemy attack; without a doubt, it is a harbinger of transformation.

My frustrating aftereffects have flared up again.

Although he had made the necessary preparations, he hadn't expected the aftereffects to flare up at such a crucial moment. If the magical girl beside him were to discover this now, who knows what kind of trouble it would cause.

Realizing this, Lin Yun quickly stood up, informed the other two people at the table, and then hurried towards the door.

He needed to find a secluded spot to wait for the uncontrollable transformation to end.

After Lin Yun left, the girl in the Daoist robe, who was still somewhat drunk from drinking, suddenly raised her head and stared straight in a certain direction outside the door.

"... Semi, can you feel it?" she asked slowly.

"What?" The Black Cat Fairy looked at her in confusion.

"It's a magical fluctuation, a very strong magical fluctuation."

She raised the glass, drank the wine in one gulp, and then wiped her mouth.

"Magical Girl."

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