An Answer for Ink Lotus

The call that Larkspur received was addressed to Lin Yun. Fortunately, the person on the other end of the line was not another employee, but Hong Siyu.

The reason I called her at this particular time was because the Municipal Construction Bureau had discovered traces of Aberrant Beast at a project near the city's suburbs, but had not found the Aberrant Beast. Therefore, they requested that the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau send someone to guard the site.

This kind of garrison work would be a waste of a magical girl's talents. Although Hong Siyu herself is a magical girl, she has been extremely busy at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau lately, and she certainly cannot waste her time on an Aberrant Beast that has not yet appeared. As for Asō Madoka, she has recently taken on the defense of almost the entire city by herself, Hong Siyu also feels that she should not add any more burden to her.

After some analysis, the best solution to complete this stationing mission seems to be to send a team of employees from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau armed with Magic Armament. After all, such a team is capable of fighting against low-level Aberrant Beast, and they have a lot more manpower than magical girls.

Since the matter involves dispatching Special Operations Department, the opinion of Director Lin Yun is required.

"I think it's fine, I can agree."

The Larkspur said, "However, the Special Operations Department's combat resources are also very valuable, so you need to make it clear to them: if the Aberrant Beast still haven't appeared after seven days, tell them to stop working. We also need to change our work type from garrisoning to observation, only ensuring that we can deploy combat forces as soon as the Aberrant Beast appear. We are not their babysitters; let them learn to avoid these completely unnecessary risks themselves, instead of always dumping everything on us."

"Okay... I agree to their request now, but if no Aberrant Beast appears in seven days, have them stop work. I understand."

Hong Siyu muttered to herself, "So, should we send one or two more capable employees into the team? I haven't noticed that Xiaotian has been that busy lately."

The "Xiaotian" she mentioned refers to Tian Sheng from the Special Operations Department. Since the cleanup operation against the Black Ash Dawn, he has consistently demonstrated outstanding combat skills. As an elite equipped with Magic Armament, he has already achieved several solo kills of Egg Rank Aberrant Beast, making him a prominent figure within the department.

"If he's not that busy, let him go, so the construction bureau won't accuse us of not putting in the work."

Larkspur leaned against the bathroom wall, her voice calm. "However, the deployment of elite combat personnel needs to be more cautious. This kind of garrison work should ideally only take up half a day of their time, ensuring they have time to deal with those low-level Aberrant Beast attacks... You know, we can't even dump Egg Rank Aberrant Beast on Asō; don't let her bear too much burden."

"Yes, I know, senior," Hong Siyu replied softly.

"That's all for now... I only made this call in the middle of my meal, it's not appropriate to talk for too long."

Larkspur glanced at the time on her phone and realized that her call had lasted for ten minutes, so she ended the conversation herself. "If you have any other questions, just contact me again."

"Ah, oh, um, senior, just a moment." Hong Siyu's voice interrupted Larkspur's attempt to hang up.

"Um, is there anything else?" Larkspur asked, puzzled.

"So, uh... Happy Birthday! And Valentine’s Day!"

Hong Siyu's voice first inexplicably rose a little, then gradually softened. "Although I can't say these things to you in person, I hope you won't forget this even back in the Kingdom..."

She paused here, seemingly taking a deep breath:

"--I'm on this side of the Material Realm, but my heart is filled with you."

She said it very quickly.

Before Larkspur could even react to what she had just heard, her phone was already filled with a series of busy tones.

By the time she figured out what Hong Siyu was saying, she had no chance to reply and could only stare wide-eyed at her phone.

"This guy, lately he's really..."

After a long while, Larkspur sighed softly and gave up on pursuing the matter further, because she still had to dine with others and couldn't keep them waiting too long.

So she put away her phone, quickly washed up at the sink, and returned to the restaurant.

Her heart was indeed beating a little faster, but she quickly recovered and her expression returned to normal before she even sat back down at the table.

After this incident, she finally adjusted her mindset and felt confident that she could continue her conversation with Ink Lotus.

Thinking this, Larkspur glanced at the chocolate fondue that was placed in the center of the table, and the metal Refrigeration Orb that looked completely untouched to the side.

Was the other person waiting for me the whole time?

Realizing this, Larkspur felt a little guilty for leaving for ten minutes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's continue."

Trying to keep her expression calm, Larkspur put on a perfect smile and reached out to touch the metal ball beside her. She first pinched the lid and pulled it up and down a couple of times. When the gap in the middle of the lid widened a little, she stretched out her finger and ran it around the gap, then gently separated it.

This Refrigeration Orb contains chopped banana pieces.

Larkspur briefly recalled how to eat chocolate fondue, and then, following her memory, used the long-handled tongs to pick up a piece of banana and dip it into the melted chocolate. After waiting for about ten seconds, she scooped the banana out, sprinkled some sugar on it, and handed it to Ink Lotus's plate.

"There shouldn't be any problems with the preparation method, so you can rest assured and try it first."

As she said this, she reached out to open the other Refrigeration Orb, but soon she noticed that Ink Lotus was staring intently at her movements as she handled the Refrigeration Orb, muttering something under his breath.

"What's wrong?" she could only ask in return.

"... nothing."

For some reason, Ink Lotus lowered her head somewhat guiltily and slowly began to nibble on the banana that Larkspur had given her. "The captain made it, it's delicious."

"I just tossed it into the pot and swished it around a bit; it shouldn't count as me making it."

Larkspur corrected the other person's statement, but didn't dwell on the topic. "If you like the taste, that's good. Let's cook some more other ingredients; we also have cookies and apples here."

The two then began to seriously eat the hot pot.

Larkspur was still pondering the question Ink Lotus had asked her before she left the table, constantly questioning herself whether she should give an answer, or what kind of answer she should give.

Ink Lotus, on the other hand, had already made a mistake without Larkspur's knowledge; it was just that her destructive behavior hadn't been exposed by the bill yet. So, she was desperately trying to find a solution.

"...Yes, right, if it were a time machine!" After a brainstorming session, her soft murmur was still heard by the Larkspur, who cast a questioning glance at her.

However, Ink Lotus realized that she had let something slip, so she immediately stuffed the hot chocolate cookies from the plate into her mouth and began to pretend that nothing had happened.

Compared to the first half of the meal, the two were undoubtedly much quieter now, returning to their initial taciturnity. Only the occasional sound of Larkspur pointing out the use of the cutlery could be heard, allowing them to properly enjoy their meal.

A meal consisting entirely of desserts was undoubtedly too sweet in Lin Yun's eyes. However, at this moment, she was in the form of a magical girl, and her magical girl palate allowed her to enjoy this combination of food that should have been cloyingly sweet without any aversion. Moreover, no matter how much sugar she consumed in this meal, her magical girl body would not have any adverse reaction—it would simply be broken down into magical energy.

With a slight clench of her teeth, Larkspur tore off a piece of the dry bread coated in chocolate from her mouth. She chewed silently, savoring the rich sweetness spreading through her mouth. She closed her eyes slightly and made a decision in her heart.

"Ink Lotus," she began.

"...Hmm?" Ink Lotus looked at her.

"Regarding the question you asked me before, 'Are you happy?' I feel that perhaps I should tell you my answer."

Larkspur swallowed the rest of the bread in her mouth, took a sip of the black tea she picked up from the table, and simply cleansed her mouth. "If it's a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer, then my answer is the same as before. I have found my own life and happiness, and I still believe that I am happy."

Ink Lotus's expression remained unchanged. "Is... it really so?"

"I don't know why you're confused or even dissatisfied with my answer, but there's no doubt that what I said is the truth."

Larkspur put down her teacup. "But I didn't tell you the complete answer. It's that I failed to cherish and hold onto my own happiness, so I let a part of it slip away."

"I feel regret, remorse, and even grief for the lost part of my happiness, but it is precisely because of this regret and grief that I absolutely cannot say I am unhappy."

"Because if I wallow in sadness simply because I've lost a part of it, believing I've become unhappy, and ignore the happiness that remains."

She paused, then looked up at the other person. "In that case, I'm a fool who doesn't even deserve the rest of happiness."

These words caused Ink Lotus to pause slightly in the hand holding the fork.

"I don't understand." She looked up. "If happiness slips away, can it still really be called happiness?"