Tulip

Tulip was once a well-known figure in the City Defense Army of Luen Nore.

It wasn't just because the other person's mother was the legion commander; in fact, only a very small number of people in the legion knew Tulip's real name and her kinship with the legion commander.

The reason why the other party was able to become a celebrity in the City Defense Army, and even once had the reputation of being the "angel of the command", was mainly due to his work and dedication in the army.

The term "angel" not only describes the person's beautiful blonde hair, but also refers to their kind and gentle personality, as well as the life-saving nature of their work as a medical support staff member.

She was the most skilled officer in the entire logistics medical department, and also the most adept at emergency management and resource allocation. She not only personally treated many severely wounded patients, bringing those on the verge of death back to life, and ensuring that wounded soldiers who might have been left with disabilities were able to recover, but she also successfully organized several post-battle mass medical care operations. She maintained the medical unit's operation even when it was almost overloaded, allowing more wounded soldiers to receive timely treatment.

Such achievements naturally earned her the deep respect and affection of the soldiers in the legion. In addition, Tulip was always kind to others, and her gentle words when treating the sick were known as "the best spiritual healing." Many soldiers wounded on the front lines claimed that they had "received the comfort of an angel" after being treated by her. This reputation made many people yearn for Tulip, and the nickname "angel" spread far and wide.

However, due to their different work environments, Cornflower and Tulip were only nodding acquaintances at that time, and could not be considered familiar with each other. Most of their meetings took place at the legion commander's headquarters and the logistics and medical department. In addition, Larkspur himself rarely got injured on the front lines and had not received treatment from Tulip, so they were even less familiar with each other.

Now, Larkspur is thankful for the unfamiliarity between the two.

Although she recognized the other person at first glance thanks to her excellent eyesight and memory, the other person did not seem to recognize Larkspur because of the disguise of "Gentian".

"Is this someone looking for you so late?"

The blonde magical girl, who should have been known by the code name "Tulip" in my memory, glanced at Larkspur before looking away and turning to the curly-haired girl beside her. "Do you know her?"

No, I don't know him.

With tears welling in her eyes from a yawn, the curly-haired girl covered her mouth and shook her head. "They said they came to find 'Ink Lotus,' but they probably went to the wrong place?"

"Ink Lotus..."

The blonde girl was taken aback by her words, then her expression gradually turned serious as she looked at the Larkspur again, but this time her expression was no longer casual. "Who are you?"

Larkspur noticed that although the other party did not make any obvious physical movements, one of their hands was already behind their back. If nothing unexpected happened, this was probably a prelude to transforming.

Coupled with the other party's rather wary reaction, Larkspur couldn't help but wonder: Had she said something wrong?

Furthermore, in her memory, Tulip was supposed to be a rather gentle and kind magical girl, so why was she behaving so aggressively?

"I'm Ink Lotus's teammate; I'm asking her to borrow the car."

Although she didn't know the source of the other party's inexplicable hostility, Larkspur didn't want to start a conflict at this time. So she pretended not to notice the other party's wariness and simply said concisely, "But the lady over there said she doesn't know 'Ink Lotus.' Am I in the wrong place?"

"Borrowing a car?"

The blonde girl narrowed her eyes, her golden pupils fixed on the Larkspur's face as if determined to find something. "Then why did you find your way here?"

"Because I came here with her the day before yesterday."

A cold wind swept across Larkspur's back, and the sudden chill made her legs shiver slightly, but she still maintained a clueless, passerby-like demeanor. "She told me she lives here now, so the location should be correct. Did she move?"

The blonde girl remained silent for a moment, but her gaze never left Larkspur's face. She seemed to be considering something, but the hand that had been behind her back had unconsciously fallen back down, clearly indicating that she had abandoned the most dangerous plan.

"Your memory is correct, Ink Lotus does indeed live here."

She closed her eyes, and the sharp gaze that had been fixed on the Larkspur disappeared. Then she said, "But she's dealing with work right now. I'll go get her."

"Huh? There really is Ink Lotus?"

This time, the most surprised person was the curly-haired girl standing to the side. "Ah, could it be that the 'Ink Lotus' that the child mentioned is actually Hei...?"

She only got halfway through her sentence; before she could finish, the blonde girl reached out from inside the house and pulled her inside, and her voice disappeared.

Left outside by someone, Larkspur gazed thoughtfully at the small house, now enveloped again by the Partition Spell Formula.

Although the reason is still unknown, it seems that he did indeed defuse a potential conflict with his concise expression.

Judging from Tulip's reaction, if he hadn't explained his purpose and identity within three sentences, Tulip would probably have started a fight with him right there in the Rainbow Cloud Wetlands.

Although even if a fight broke out, Larkspur was confident she wouldn't lose, she hadn't forgotten her purpose for coming here. Getting into a conflict with the other party would waste more time and be completely counterproductive.

She didn't want to fight, so she tried her best to avoid escalating the conflict. But even though she successfully reduced the other party's hostility, new questions arose:

--Is this magical girl, who looks like a young girl, really Tulip? Why is she with Ink Lotus, and why has she turned into this?

Judging from her appearance, the other party was undoubtedly the magical girl codenamed Tulip from Larkspur's memories. However, her cold and hostile demeanor was completely different from the Tulip he knew.

Larkspur already knew that Ink Lotus and her "team" were doing something that could be considered "poaching" from the Kingdom. Given their fear of being Kingdom, it's not surprising that the team members were wary of outsiders. However, even if it was out of caution, would someone once known for their "gentleness and mildness" really display this level of hostility?

Larkspur didn't understand, and she didn't have time to think about such a question.

For her, the most urgent task at hand was to borrow a car and then resolve the identity conflict crisis when facing Lin Xiaolu. She had already wasted five minutes at the door of the cottage and needed to get going quickly.

Therefore, when Ink Lotus actually came out of the cottage, Larkspur didn't ask about the Tulip. She thought she would ask Lin Xiaolu about it later, and then she said:

"Excuse me, Ink Lotus, for bothering you so late, but I need to go to the Mana-Free District to take care of some business. Could you lend me your car for a moment?"

Ink Lotus, still dressed in her black school uniform and knitted cardigan, stood at the door, clearly not resting. Once she confirmed the visitor was Larkspur, she stepped out and approached Larkspur.

"Go to the Mana-Free District? I'll take you."

"Thank you, but no need."

Larkspur shook her head. "Because I'm not sure of the location either, I need to drive to find my way, which is why I thought of borrowing your car. If you were to give me a ride, it would take up a lot of your time."

Ink Lotus He glanced back at the room and noticed that the curly-haired girl had somehow poked half her head out from the doorway, seemingly trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. So, she snapped her fingers, and the Partition Spell Formula that had risen around the room again reversed, trapping the girl inside.

"I have plenty of time," she said to Larkspur. "Let's just treat it as a drive tonight."

"Your colleague told me that you still have work to do."

Larkspur, however, did not believe her. "Besides, I think I need to think more about what we talked about this afternoon. Perhaps we both need a cooling-off period."

"A cooling-off period... I understand."

Ink Lotus He nodded expressionlessly. "If you need it."

She asked no more questions, said no more, but took two steps closer to the Larkspur, then slowly raised her hand and took off her knitted cardigan. She unfolded the cardigan, smoothed out the wrinkles with one hand, then held the cardigan in her hand, slowly walked around behind the Larkspur, and draped it over the lark's shoulders.

"It's very cold at night, so I'm lending you this too, otherwise you'll feel very uncomfortable."

Her hand lingered on Larkspur's shoulder for a moment, then fell to her side, and she turned away expressionlessly.

"Let's go, I'll take you to get the car."

To achieve the desired effect, this chapter took a while to adjust and revise, hence the late posting. My apologies, meow.