Coupon

Larkspur did not immediately respond to Ink Lotus's somewhat sudden declaration.

She simply took her own napkin from the side and helped Ink Lotus wipe her clothes and hair. Only after the water stains were dried did she speak:

Why?

Ink Lotus buried her face in the napkin for a while, wiping away the jelly and cream stuck to her face before lifting her head:

"Because, Captain, you are a hero who has saved so many people, you shouldn't be treated like this."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with how I am right now," Larkspur said calmly.

"But..." Ink Lotus clearly could not accept Larkspur's answer, but just as she was about to continue, she was interrupted by the arriving waiter.

Even though it didn't cause much of a disturbance, the restaurant staff noticed that Ink Lotus seemed to be in trouble, so they rushed over with a set of cleaning supplies.

She could only stand there, surrounded by the waiters, wanting to say something but unable to, and she looked at Larkspur with some reluctance until the waiters completely cleaned the stains off her body and even gave her a new Parfait, before she was finally freed from their embrace.

Ink Lotus didn't touch the Parfait in front of her.

Her hands were placed on either side of the cup, her gaze still fixed directly on the Larkspur.

"Let's talk about it on the way back."

However, this time the Larkspur refused her.

Cui Que tapped her spoon on the rim of her glass, then gestured with her chin toward the Parfait in front of Ink Lotus Larkspur, saying meaningfully, "While I'm not entirely sure what you're going to say next, I don't think it's appropriate to say it in a restaurant."

Ink Lotus's empty hands clenched slightly, but quickly relaxed again. Her expression remained unchanged throughout, except that her wide-open eyes returned to their listless state.

"I see."

She said that.

For the remaining short time, although both seemed to be focused on their desserts, they were actually quite distracted. Larkspur only ate the part other than the shaved ice before gently putting down her spoon; Ink Lotus, on the other hand, calmly drank all the liquid in her glass in one gulp, then shoveled the remaining jelly, fruit, and ice cream into her mouth like she was eating rice...

Then, when it came time to pay the bill after the meal, and the waiter announced the number "1740 francs," his face turned pale instantly, and he even had the urge to vomit up the food he had wasted and eat it all again.

"Why is it so expensive?" Larkspur was standing nearby, also found the price unbelievable and asked.

"Well... the original cost of the meal was 1170 francs. The rest was for the purchase of the Refrigeration Orb and the Flame Page Knife. You can check it out; it's actually a bit cheaper than the market price."

The waiter carefully explained, "We're not blaming anyone, but the restaurant has its own regulations. If it's not a malfunction of the equipment itself, but rather a problem intentionally caused by a customer during their meal, then the equipment cost will need to be added... Of course, since this customer's clothes were also soiled due to our negligence, I can consult with the manager and offer you some additional compensation."

The waiter's words did not improve Ink Lotus's expression, but she didn't just sit and wait. Instead, she reached into her handbag and rummaged around for a while. After a while, she finally found a few crumpled, dirty pieces of paper among the pile of cream-filled bread she had stuffed into her bag before her meal. Perhaps because some of the bread had been torn, the papers were covered in cream...

"... What's this?"

Not only were the waiters speechless from the shocking scene, but even Larkspur was puzzled as to what Ink Lotus had taken out.

"Great, Coupon."

Ink Lotus's voice also changed slightly. "A friend gave it to me, saying I could use it if I came here to eat."

"Huh? But our restaurant hasn't been issuing Coupon recently."

The waiter was somewhat puzzled, but he could only force a smile and take the slips of paper from Ink Lotus's hand. After carefully examining them, he bowed and said, "I'm sorry, these are indeed our restaurant Coupon, but they were issued seven years ago and have expired three years ago..."

Ink Lotus's complexion visibly paled further, and her already pale face turned somewhat bluish.

Seeing this, the Larkspur asked, "Isn't there enough money?"

"I bought too much stuff before... I didn't expect that eating out would cost so much."

Ink Lotus lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Captain."

"... Would a thousand spells be enough for you?" Larkspur closed her eyes helplessly.

"I don't need that many, I have a thousand left myself." Ink Lotus quickly shook her head.

"Consider the rest as travel expenses for the next two days," Larkspur said calmly, standing up and paying the money to the waiter beside her.

These words made Ink Lotus's shoulders tremble, and she opened her mouth slightly, but then fell completely speechless.

Ultimately, the cost of the meal was reduced to 1590 francs after the restaurant offered "compensation." Larkspur and Ink Lotus left the restaurant amidst repeated apologies from the manager.

After leaving the restaurant, the two walked along the road. Ink Lotus kept her head down, while Larkspur, seeing that Ink Lotus wasn't speaking, simply took out her phone to check if there were any messages for her.

When they reached the vicinity of the parking lot, seeing that Ink Lotus still showed no intention of speaking, Larkspur took the initiative to speak:

"You can say what you wanted to say in the restaurant now."

Ink Lotus didn't react.

Larkspur could only look away from her phone screen, looking at Ink Lotus with some confusion. "What's wrong? Did you forget?"

"... No, I haven't forgotten."

Ink Lotus denied it, saying, "I... I just suddenly don't know how to say it."

"Suddenly?" Larkspur locked her phone screen.

"Because what I originally wanted to say was that it's wrong for the Kingdom to treat its captain like this."

Ink Lotus stood in front of the parking lot entrance, her bangs obscuring her eyes. "To be banished to the Material Realm forever, never to enter the Magic Kingdom again, simply for refusing the appointment of the Gem Scepter and affecting the Royal Court's reputation... This is so unfair to you."

"...So you knew." Larkspur opened her mouth slightly, revealing a slightly surprised, but not overly surprised, expression. "This information is still considered confidential for now."

"Yes... although it's only being spread among the higher-ups and the Seeder, I've had people inquire about it."

Ink Lotus He gripped the shoulder strap of her bag tightly. "I... I even went to find the captain's teammates in the Material Realm to confirm this."

"Who?" Larkspur was now genuinely curious.

"It's Miss Sakura."

Ink Lotus honestly replied, "She told me that's true, but since you don't want to see anyone related to the Magic Kingdom anymore, she didn't let me see you."

When did this happen?

"Fifteen years... or sixteen years ago?" Ink Lotus was also somewhat uncertain.

"Hmm... I see."

The Larkspur's voice betrayed little emotion. "Then why do you seem completely unsurprised by my presence here?"

"... Because the captain did nothing wrong; the Kingdom is at fault." Ink Lotus reiterated her point of view.

"Perhaps I made a mistake without your knowledge," Larkspur reminded me.

"No, it won't."

On this one question alone, Ink Lotus's response was exceptionally firm. "Captain, you would never do that."

During their conversation, the two had unknowingly walked to Ink Lotus's car.

Looking at the stroller in front of her, Larkspur hesitated for a few seconds. Her emotions made her reluctant to get in, but in the end, the thought that "now is an opportunity to get information out of the other person" prevailed along with her rationality.

"So? Why did you say something like 'suddenly don't know how to express myself' just now?" Larkspur opened the car door, sat down, and turned to look at Ink Lotus.

Ink Lotus pursed her lips, staring at the simple dashboard in front of her, and pressed her finger on the fingerprint scanner next to it to start her car.

"Team leader."

Instead of answering the Larkspur's question immediately, she first asked a question in return:

In your heart, are we still considered companions now?

Thank you all for your donations and monthly tickets, especially thank you to the generous donor "Walking Stone" for being a patron. I am very grateful.