After Staying Overnight

Awakening in bed at dawn, Larkspur instinctively reached out toward her pillow, only to stop her movement as realization hit her.

Because she remembered that this wasn't her own room, and there was someone beside her—Xia Liang.

Bathed in the morning light, Xia Liang lay in bed breathing evenly, clearly still fast asleep.

Memories of the previous night resurfaced, and recalling her experiences, Larkspur couldn't help letting out a long sigh of relief.

She was never willing to sleep with Xia Liang again.

Not to mention that she had been held tightly in a firm embrace before falling asleep, even after Xia Liang drifted off, it had taken a huge effort just to wriggle out of her arms. Trying not to wake the sleeping Xia Liang, Larkspur had attempted to peel the other girl's arms away bit by bit, only to have a half-asleep Xia Liang suddenly pull her in tight again, ruining all her progress in the end.

It wasn't until close to dawn that she had finally managed to break free, escaping that suffocating sense of confinement and finally getting a proper sleep.

Morning arrived just like that, and a waking Larkspur leaped lightly out of bed. Stripping off her pajamas, streams of blue magic surged from beneath her feet, and as these threads wound around her body in tight circles, the light faded, reforming into the dark blue dress she usually wore.

Tucking the duvet back in neatly, Larkspur glanced once more at the sleeping Xia Liang to ensure her movements hadn't disturbed her, then walked with peace of mind toward the balcony.

...It wasn't that she was choosing to slip away without a proper goodbye, but rather that she had to go to work soon.

For a middle schooler like Xia Liang, it was currently summer vacation, and with the holidays underway, she could sleep in to her heart's content without needing to worry about being late. But Larkspur couldn't, because adults didn't get summer vacation.

If anything, because she had stayed out overnight, she even needed to sneak back home before work today to grab her briefcase and other office supplies.

Locating Xia Liang's balcony, Larkspur steadied herself against the railing and gave a light leap, springing straight into the air before flying up on rising magic, plunging into the high altitudes out of ordinary sight.

To keep her flight from being noticed by anyone, Larkspur always kept her magical momentum under control and chose high-altitude routes whenever possible, allowing her to avoid prying eyes to the maximum extent.

Choosing such a route was fine in other seasons, but it was currently summer. The sun rose earlier and the daylight hours were longer, so much so that as she flew into the high altitudes in the morning, she was forced to face the harsh, scorching sun.

Along the way, she narrowed her eyes to adapt to the blinding summer morning sunlight, lowering her gaze to the ground from time to time to confirm her flight path. A moment later, Larkspur found her home and quickly made a rapid descent. The windows of the high-rise apartment had limited opening angles, so she intended to use her old trick and sneak in through her own balcony.

Only, this plan hit a snag.

When she tried to pull open the glass balcony door, she found that the sliding door wouldn't budge at all. Enduring the sunlight reflected off the glass, she looked inside through the door and saw that the interior latch was bolted shut.

It was great anti-theft awareness, except it was now blocking a member of the household.

Larkspur mentally evaluated it as such.

After all, with her father away on a business trip, locking the doors and windows tightly when a minor was home alone was always the right move.

Of course, such simple measures could only stop burglars or thieves, and were useless against a magical girl. Larkspur reached out and released her magic, letting the power in her hand seep through the gap in the balcony door, then used her magic armament to hook a magic thread from inside to lift the security bolt and finally unlock it.

Standing in place and hesitating for a moment over whether to transform back into her original self, Larkspur quickly reached a conclusion: go inside and check the situation first.

Stowing her magic armament, she pushed open the balcony door and made her footsteps as light as possible, walking toward her bedroom. Yet before she even stepped out of the living room, she heard a sound that made her heart skip a beat.

--"Inspector?"

Turning her head, she saw Moko lying prone on the sofa, raising its head and looking at her in shock.

Its wings were pressed flat against its back, its expression hazy and its eyes heavy with sleep, clearly just waking from a deep slumber.

Because Moko usually slept in Lin Xiaolu's room, and the spell previously cast on it could only roughly show its location within the house, Larkspur had never considered that it might be in the living room at this hour, leading to her entire entry process being witnessed.

A lingering sense of fear welled up in her heart. Calming a heartbeat that was racing far faster than usual, Larkspur felt somewhat glad that she hadn't chosen to transform back out on the balcony.

Given the current situation, she didn't have much time to react, so she suppressed the tension in her heart and asked as if nothing were amiss:

"You're out here?"

"Huh? Oh?" Just waking up from a dream, Moko clearly hadn't figured out the situation yet.

"That works out, then. I actually came looking for you."

Nodding, Larkspur said with a straight face: "I should have mentioned last night that I'm giving White Rose and Little Brocade some holiday special training."

"Special training... Oh, for the certification test, right?" Realizing what Larkspur was talking about, Moko flapped its wings and sat up. "I understand. What are the Inspector's orders?"

Moko was usually a very mischievous and self-centered fairy, but solely in front of Larkspur—or rather, when faced with the title of "Inspector"—it displayed an extraordinary level of obedience and respect.

This was actually something that quite puzzled Larkspur, but now was not the time to ask.

"I want you to be in charge of supervising their training during the day."

Crossing her arms, she looked calmly at Moko: "Can you do that?"

Actually, in her original plan, she hadn't planned to give Moko this task; no matter how she thought about it, this foolish seeder would find it hard to keep two rookie magical girls in line.

She had originally intended to edit her training plan directly into text and send it to Lin Xiaolu via message, having her and Xia Liang follow it while she herself only checked the results every evening.

Right now, however, she had to come up with an excuse to fool Moko, so she had no choice but to say it this way.

"Eh? Supervise Xiaolu and Xia Liang's training?"

Hearing this, Moko's ears immediately perked up, its expression clearly showing interest, though it still shirked verbally: "If you're having them take the test next year, wouldn't it be safer for you to handle it yourself? Is it really appropriate to hand such an important task over to me now?"

"I have my own work during the day, so I can't come in person."

Larkspur explained casually: "Besides, is there a problem with that? You're their seeder to begin with, so handling things like this is your job, isn't it?"

"But..." Moko still wanted to demur.

"I believe in your ability." Larkspur stared at it earnestly. "No one is born perfect. Although you became a seeder by accident, since you were chosen, I believe you have potential entirely your own."

"Inspector!"

Moko wore a look of being flattered beyond expectations: "You actually think this highly of me!"

"I certainly think highly of you, but whether that potential can turn into strength depends on your performance." Larkspur pressed her advantage, speaking as if hinting at something.

"Since you've put it that way..."

With an excited expression, Moko fluttered its wings and leaped off the sofa, shouting, "Yes, leave it to me! I'll definitely complete the mission!"

The conversation ended amidst Moko's passionate pledge.

Next, Larkspur told Moko the training items she had already prepared, using about ten minutes to make it understand its duties.

A plausible reason and thorough evidence made Moko completely believe Larkspur's story, and it began to take the mission seriously.

Even though she had successfully muddled through and desperately wanted to use this momentum to head to her bedroom, looking at Moko's expression of utter reverence, she knew that doing so would only make the other party develop new suspicions.

If Moko grew suspicious, Lin Xiaolu would inevitably become suspicious too, which was something she wanted to avoid.

In the end, unable to think of any other excuses, Larkspur could only maintain a cold, superior attitude, leaving her home under Moko's respectful gaze with a haughty expression, while inwardly letting out a sigh.

On this day, Lin Yun, who had gone to work without her bag, made three extra apology phone calls on its account.