Lin Xiaolu's Suspicions

"Suspicious."

Several days later, in the evening, after finishing her patrol and returning home, Lin Xiaolu sat alone on the sofa, her face grave, and sighed in a deep voice, "It's really too suspicious."

Because no Aberrant Beast have been seen in Fangting City in recent days, and because the girls have gained a certain understanding of the area under their jurisdiction, their patrol work has inevitably been somewhat reduced. The patrol work, which used to take nearly two hours after school, has now been compressed to one hour.

After completing their assigned tasks, the girls, who had nothing to do and no desire to study, naturally gathered in the living room and occupied their favorite spots on the sofa.

Beside her, Xia Liang, who had been intently watching TV, turned her head to glance at Lin Xiaolu after hearing her murmur, then looked back at the TV screen expressionlessly.

"This is too suspicious."

Lin Xiaolu repeated the sentence, and for some reason raised her voice. "I feel like something is happening in the dark, and I'm being kept in the dark."

Xia Liang remained unmoved, watching television with a calm expression.

Lin Xiaolu glanced at Xia Liang, and seeing that she didn't seem inclined to respond, she narrowed her eyes slightly. She stood up from her seat, walked behind Xia Liang, bent down, and whispered in her ear, "Too suspicious."

"... What are you trying to say?"

Reluctantly shifting her gaze from the television, Xia Liang gave a somewhat perfunctory smile, "Suspicious? Have you discovered any suspicious individuals recently?"

"Suspicious person? Hmm... maybe?" Lin Xiaolu straightened up, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Who?"

"That woman."

"Who is 'that woman'? How am I supposed to understand what you're saying?"

Xia Liang forced a dry laugh, "Don't you have a more distinctive name?"

Lin Xiaolu's breath caught in her throat. She pursed her lips and hesitated for a long time before reluctantly uttering a sentence: "It's... that woman named Hong Siyu."

"... ha."

Xia Liang sighed softly, a "I knew it" look flashing across her face. "You mean Hong... Sister, what happened to her?"

"Don't you find it strange?"

Lin Xiaolu gripped the back of the sofa with both hands, revealing half her face from behind. "Why did that woman disappear for so long before, and then suddenly return as a magical girl? Why is it that a retired magical girl can regain her powers? She was vague about that, but... but why has her cooking become so much better these past few days? It's outrageous!"

"Isn't this a good thing...?"

Xia Liang lowered her eyebrows, looking slightly troubled. "Look, Sister Hong has become a magical girl again, and she's overcome her cooking obstacles. It's good for everyone."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. The key question is why? There have been too many strange things happening lately, and it always feels like they're happening without my knowledge. For example, the gas pipeline Explosion in that residential area two weeks ago—the extent of the damage was absolutely Aberrant Beast, right? And just a few days ago, the newly completed Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau building collapsed, Larkspur even notified us in advance that we had a powerful enemy. It seems like an enemy has reached the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, doesn't it?"

Lin Xiaolu clearly wasn't buying this answer, and started listing various unusual things on her fingers. "As for Hong Siyu, there's no such thing as a free lunch. What happened to her during all these days she's been gone? I have a feeling she's hiding something from us! And it's definitely related to these strange things!"

"Ha ha..."

Since she really didn't know what to say, Xia Liang could only continue with a dry laugh, "So?"

"I need to know the truth!" Lin Xiaolu slammed her hand on the back of the sofa, her voice righteous and firm, "Even if it means resorting to some means!"

Just as she said this, Bai Jingxuan came up from the training area in the basement. She held Moko in one arm and wiped the sweat from her face with a towel, looking at Lin Xiaolu in the living room with some confusion. "The truth? What are you talking about, sister?"

"Speaking of the strange things happening in Fangting City lately, the most suspicious are Hong Siyu and that woman."

Lin Xiaolu turned her head to look at Bai Jingxuan: "First a gas Explosion in the residential area, then the collapse of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau building. Aren't you curious about what happened behind the scenes?"

"A gas Explosion in the residential area...?" Slowing down her speech, Bai Jingxuan gently chewed on the word, her mouth slightly open, but then suddenly remembering something, she covered her mouth.

"Why are you covering your mouth?" Lin Xiaolu looked at her suspiciously, then suddenly realized what she meant and stood up from behind the sofa. "Wait, isn't Dawnstar District your patrol area?"

"Ah!"

Bai Jingxuan gasped in surprise, then waved her hands frantically, "I don't know anything! I didn't see anything while I was on patrol!"

"What do you mean you didn't see anything? You really do know something, kid?"

Lin Xiaolu strode towards Bai Jingxuan: "Quick! Confess!"

"Mom won't let me... no, I can't say!" Bai Jingxuan took two steps back while holding onto the stair railing.

"Mom? Larkspur? Huh?"

Lin Xiaolu's eyes widened slightly. "So this matter is related to Larkspur? I'm the only one who didn't know?"

Even Xia Liang, who had been keeping a low profile, looked up in surprise and headed in the direction where Bai Jingxuan was.

"Bai Jingxuan, I'm your senior, and in principle, your future older sister. So, don't lie to your older sister."

Lin Xiaolu reached out and placed her hands on Bai Jingxuan's shoulders, her dark eyes seeming to swirl with eddies. "Come on, tell me, what exactly did Larkspur secretly lead you to do?"

"Um... I..." Bai Jingxuan clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands, clearly in a dilemma. She stammered for a long time without being able to say a word, and could only look at Xia Liang for help.

Seeing her plead for help, Xia Liang, though equally curious herself, could only try to defuse the situation. "Relax, relax, Xiao Lu, don't push a child so hard. If you scare her, she won't be able to say anything, right?"

"Yes, yes!" Bai Jingxuan nodded repeatedly.

"Am I scary?"

Lin Xiaolu blinked, then released her hands from Bai Jingxuan's shoulders and turned to look at Xia Liang: "Let's not interrogate the elementary school student for now. Xia Liang, I suddenly remembered, don't you have some issues too?"

"At the beginning of this semester, you and Larkspur were always inexplicably spending time alone together, right? Even at the parent-teacher conferences, something seemed to happen, and you always seemed to know things that I don't even know Larkspur said or not. Could you explain your situation first?"

Glug.

Xia Liang subconsciously swallowed.

"How could that be? We're together every day, whether at school or at the Secret Base!"

She glanced up, her voice slightly off-key. "As for what the junior said, I just have a better memory, you just didn't remember it, right?"

"... suspicious."

Squinting, Lin Xiaolu glanced at Xia Liang, then at Bai Jingxuan behind her. She'd repeated this phrase for what felt like the umpteenth time today, "It's all so suspicious. I suspect everyone now. Could it be that all of you are hiding something from me, and I'm the only one who knows nothing?"

Oh dear, you're overthinking it!

"Uh-huh!"

Xia Liang, accompanied by Bai Jingxuan, quickly responded, interrupting Lin Xiaolu: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Weren't you just talking about Sister Hong? Where did the topic go? Let's get down to business. Tell me how you plan to get the truth out of her?"

"Hmm? Oh... you mean this?"

Xia Liang brought Lin Xiaolu immediately switched to another line of thought, pondering, "My initial idea is to find a time to confront her, but I always feel that I might not get the result I want."

"A standoff is definitely not a good idea."

Xia Liang, who had initially seemed uninterested, suddenly changed her tune and proactively suggested, "I think we should try to subtly probe her and elicit contradictory statements."

"Mmm!" Bai Jingxuan also eagerly confirmed her presence.

"Indirectly inquiring? That's what you're good at, isn't it?"

Lin Xiaolu raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, pretending to be well-behaved and asking sarcastic questions is your forte, isn't it?"

"I will not accept baseless slander."

Xia Liang's warm smile remained unchanged, "There's no need for such dark and subjective descriptions as 'pretentious' and 'insidious'."

"It's just a deliberate trap, isn't it?" Lin Xiaolu rolled her eyes. "It's only good for fooling those kind-hearted people who are completely unsuspecting."

What does it mean to "deceive a nice old man"?

Xia Liang immediately retorted with some dissatisfaction, "I was clearly trying to help you find a solution!"

"Too slow! Too unstable! By the time there's a result, she'll probably have already completed some scheme!"

Lin Xiaolu shook her head. "Rejected! Change it!"

"I think we could find an opportunity to secretly follow her and see what she's up to," a voice suddenly said.

"Following, um..."

Lin Xiaolu frowned. "It's easy to say, but very difficult to do. The last time we tried to follow them, it was a complete failure."

"Although I don't know what happened last time we followed them, it must have been due to insufficient preparation, inadequate equipment, and improper procedures."

The voice that had suddenly appeared continued, "If these problems can be solved, surveillance is actually a very efficient method. After all, that's how private detectives used to solve cases in the early years."

"What you say is indeed true."

Lin Xiaolu was somewhat persuaded, but still hesitated. "However, solving problems isn't something that's easy to do, is it? Props, actions, and so on..."

"It's alright, if you really have that intention, I can help."

"Really? I didn't expect that someone among us could help... wait, who are you?!"

Halfway through her conversation, Lin Xiaolu realized something was amiss. She discovered that the voice didn't belong to either Xia Liang or Bai Jingxuan, nor even to Moko. Instead, it came from a very strange direction—the living room's French windows.

The girls gathered in the living room all turned to look and saw a strangely shaped, spherical creature standing there. Judging from the pair of small, flapping wings on its back, it was likely a Fairy.

Of course, calling it a living being might be a stretch: because it has obvious artificial joint structures, it looks more like a doll than a living being. And this Fairy Doll is standing outside the floor-to-ceiling window, its large face pressed against the glass, speaking in a muffled voice.

"... What's this?"

Lin Xiaolu was stunned for a long time by this strange, sudden appearance before hesitantly offering a guess. "Aberrant Beast?"

"What an impolite child! I am not like those pathetic monsters. Even just by my appearance and this intellectual conversation, you should be able to tell that I am a Fairy."

The doll stood outside the window and tapped on the glass with its short paws. "So, could you open the window first? Let me in so we can talk. It's so windy and cold outside."

"At a time like this, someone showing up outside a house to trick a minor into opening a window, even if they're not Aberrant Beast, they're probably no good, right?"

Lin Xiaolu cautiously took out her Heart Gem: "Xia Liang, let's transform into it directly."

"What does 'do it' mean? Young people these days are too vicious!"

The Fairy Doll outside the window trembled. "I showed no hostility when I appeared here, and came with concern for my juniors, yet I'm being treated like this without any reason?"

"Suddenly peeking out someone's window and whispering suspiciously is enough to arouse suspicion, isn't it? Just what are you?"

Lin Xiaolu looked suspicious. "You actually encouraged others to follow them? You wouldn't happen to be sent by someone like Black Ash Dawn to sow discord, would you?"

"Ahem, to actually use those barbarians from the Black Ash Dawn to describe me... If I weren't someone of high moral character like myself, I'd probably be furious by now. No, even I would be a little angry."

The Fairy Doll cleared its throat in a muffled voice and said in a pretentious tone, "As for asking me what I am? Do you mean I should introduce myself in this cold snap and chilly wind?"

"Moko, this guy looks like a Fairy. Have you seen it before?"

"Never seen it before."

Moko examined the doll outside the window. "And the magical energy fluctuations on this thing are completely unlike those of a normal Fairy; it must be a fake."

Lin Xiaolu nodded. "Okay, Xia Liang, let's make it."

"Oppose violence! How can you, as magical girls, harm a defenseless Fairy? Don't you have any conscience?"

The Fairy Doll outside the window waved its claws repeatedly. "Besides, our elders have traveled a long way to help you, only to be treated with disrespect and subjected to violent abuse. Do you think this is appropriate?"

"I don't have any elders who look like round balls!"

Lin Xiaolu pointed at the doll and said, "So you'd better explain yourself clearly, who exactly are you!"

"Sigh, these young people nowadays..."

The Fairy Doll outside the window sighed dramatically, then puffed out its round belly. "Fine, since you're in such a hurry, then listen carefully. I'm just a Fairy happens to be passing by and loves gossip. You can call me... 'Fairy Immortal'."