Tea Rose

That happened on the day of Anya's funeral.

Dark clouds filled the sky, cold winds gusted, and a misty drizzle fell in a steady patter.

Lin Yun held a black umbrella, staring straight ahead, unaware even as he stepped into puddles. The lone umbrella drifted in the wind like a black mandrake flower.

Water splashed beneath his leather shoes, scattering across the ground. Looking ahead, he saw a woman waiting for him.

She stood in the rain without an umbrella, the fine rain and slanting wind beating against her, streaming down her hair.

The woman was probably in her twenties. Since this was a funeral, she wore a black women's suit. Her facial features were somewhat sharp, giving her a rather heroic air.

When she saw Lin Yun approaching, she raised her head. Several streaks of water remained on her pale face.

"I'm sorry."

She mumbled in a hoarse voice, "We got there too late."

Lin Yun said nothing.

He did not know what to say. Or rather, "I'm sorry" was not what he wanted to hear.

The first thing everyone who knew Anya said upon meeting him was that they were sorry. It was as though they had all taken the blame for Anya's death upon themselves. More importantly, their grief was genuine.

But if Anya's death was their fault, then what, exactly, was the murderer who had killed her? And what was he, apologizing helplessly in the face of emptiness?

When people apologized the moment they met him, who was he supposed to confide his nowhere-to-go emotions to?

At sixteen, he might have wailed. At twenty-six, he might have shed tears. But now, past thirty and the only master left in this household, there was no room left for tears before his daughter or the gathered guests.

All that remained was silence. It could only be silence. After all, even one more word might make his voice catch. How could he possibly speak?

But his silence did not mean the woman before him would stop talking.

"We trusted and relied on Senior Cherry Blossom too much... or perhaps we underestimated the enemy too much, and let our guard down."

The woman clenched her fists, her face full of regret. "As usual, she said, 'I can handle it alone,' and told us not to get involved. We all thought a Magical Girl as strong as her couldn't possibly have an accident, but in the end..."

Stop talking.

Lin Yun wanted to tell her that. He had no desire whatsoever to hear how Anya had died, but he understood that it was impossible.

"By the time we arrived, Senior Cherry Blossom had already been... and the enemy escaped right in front of us."

Her voice grew lower and lower, her spirits sinking. "I'm sorry. We couldn't do anything. We were completely useless. As her companion, I'm a sinner."

The rain continued to fall.

Lin Yun took a step toward the woman.

The woman remained where she was, but clenched her hands even tighter and closed her eyes.

As a comrade-in-arms, she had allowed her companion—and a senior who had always looked after her—to die alone. Such despicable conduct made it perfectly normal for the family to respond with violence. She was prepared for it.

But Lin Yun did not do that.

He merely held the umbrella over her head, gave her a light hug, and patted her shoulder.

"Don't blame yourselves. You did your best, Tea Rose."

He spoke with a dry voice and an indifferent expression, yet there was gentleness in his words. "From now on, just do what you need to do."

Standing beneath the umbrella, the woman called Tea Rose first widened her eyes and stood stunned for a moment. Then tears spilled from her eyes. "Cornflower..."

"Don't."

Lin Yun shook his head, cutting her off. "I don't like that codename."

"...Then, Senior Larkspur."

Tea Rose tried her best to hold back her sobs, covering her mouth as she fell silent for a while. After a long time, she took a deep breath, looked at Lin Yun, and kept her voice steady. "No, Mr. Lin Yun."

"We are planning to leave Fangting City."

Clearly, that was what she had truly come to tell him.

Lin Yun's fingers twitched, but his expression remained unchanged. He merely nodded. "When?"

"Probably sometime this week."

Tears still ran down Tea Rose's face, so she reached up and wiped them away. "Although we let the enemy escape, we determined from its appearance and behavior that the one who killed Senior Cherry Blossom was not an Aberrant Beast. Or rather, at least, not only an Aberrant Beast."

Not only an Aberrant Beast.

Those words caught Lin Yun's attention.

"This should be connected to some mysterious organization that the Kingdom has been tracking down. They seem to have some means of cooperating with Aberrant Beasts."

Tea Rose sniffed, and determination gradually appeared in her reddened eyes. "So we will join the Special Investigation Team organized by the Investigation Institute, follow the murderer's trail, and drag them out."

"...Is it dangerous?" Hearing a hidden implication in her words, Lin Yun lowered his eyes and asked.

"It seems so. It appears to be the Investigation Institute's team with the highest casualty rate."

Tea Rose forced a somewhat ugly smile. "But if we don't do this, I'm afraid we'll never be able to face ourselves again."

"After we leave, a new Seeder will come to Fangting City. It will choose new Magical Girls, and newcomers will protect this city. It is time for us old hands, whose terms are nearly over, to make way."

"And Senior Morning Glory... she retired many years ago. Her real name is Hong Siyu, and as an employee of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, she will also be transferred to Fangting City."

She rambled on, listing each matter one by one, doing her best to tell him everything she knew.

Lin Yun listened to her for a long time without expressing an opinion or interrupting her.

"I wish you all the best."

Only after she had finished did Lin Yun nod and offer Tea Rose the umbrella in his hand. "Take it with you."

Tea Rose did not accept it.

She looked at Lin Yun, gave a bitter smile, and shook her head.

After they looked at each other for a long while, Lin Yun understood what she meant. He silently put away the umbrella, gave Tea Rose a deep look, then turned to leave.

"...Mr. Lin Yun, you don't need to respond to what I'm about to say."

But after he had taken two steps, Tea Rose's voice came from behind him again.

This time, there was a trace of hesitation in her voice. "After I applied to join the Special Investigation Team, someone came to find me. She claimed to be an officer under Lady Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye."

At the name Tea Rose spoke, Lin Yun's pupils contracted slightly.

But Tea Rose had said he need not respond, so he did not turn around. With his back to her, he simply listened in silence.

"She told me that this matter now ran extremely deep. In fact, just this week, a Flower Card-certified lady had already disappeared during an investigation. So she asked me to convey a message from Lady Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye to you:"

—"'Think carefully about what you are carrying now. Do not do anything impulsive.'"

After those words, there was no longer any voice behind him.

Realizing that this signified the end, Lin Yun paused where he stood for a long time. In the end, following Tea Rose's wishes, he still gave no response and simply walked away.

After he left, pale yellow magical power erupted from an empty corner, and a faint rainbow shot into the sky beneath the cover of the rain.

A year later, Tea Rose joined an external investigation squad of the Investigation Institute and encountered an unknown enemy during an operation.

After a brutal battle, she voluntarily stayed behind to ensure the safe delivery of intelligence and died in Binhai City.

After her death, a teammate who was also from Fangting City took her place and began a new round of investigation.

Lin Yun, however, did not yet know any of this.