After Staying Over

In the early morning, Larkspur woke in bed and instinctively reached toward the pillow beside her. Then she remembered something and stopped herself.

She recalled that this was not her own room. Someone was beside her—Xia Liang.

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

The memories of last night resurfaced. Thinking back on what had happened, Larkspur could not help but let out a long breath.

She never wanted to sleep with Xia Liang again.

Not to mention that Xia Liang had kept her tightly hugged before they went to sleep, even after Xia Liang had fallen asleep, getting out of her arms had taken considerable effort. To avoid waking the sleeping Xia Liang, Larkspur tried little by little to pry her arms away, but several times, Xia Liang suddenly tightened her hold while half-asleep, rendering all her efforts futile.

It was not until close to dawn that she finally managed to break free. At last rid of that stifling feeling of being trapped, she was able to get some proper sleep.

And so morning came. Upon waking, Larkspur lightly jumped out of bed. She took off her pajamas, and strands of blue magical power rose from beneath her feet. The threads wound around her body in circles; when the glow faded, they reformed into the dark navy dress she usually wore.

After pulling the blanket back over the bed, Larkspur glanced once more at the sleeping Xia Liang. Once she confirmed that her movements had not disturbed her, she headed toward the balcony.

—It was not that she was leaving without saying goodbye. She still had to go to work.

For a middle schooler like Xia Liang, it was already summer vacation. She could sleep in as much as she liked without worrying about being late. But Larkspur could not, because adults did not get summer vacation.

In fact, because she had stayed out last night, she needed to secretly go home before work to pick up her briefcase and other office supplies.

Finding the balcony of Xia Liang's home, Larkspur braced herself on the railing and lightly leaped over it, launching directly into the air. As magical power surged through her, she began to fly, shooting into heights beyond the reach of ordinary people's sight.

To keep the sounds of her flight from being noticed, Larkspur had always controlled the presence of her magical power and chosen high-altitude routes whenever possible. That way, she could avoid attention to the greatest extent.

Such a route was fine in other seasons, but it was summer now. The sun rose earlier and shone longer, so as she flew into the sky that morning, she had no choice but to face the somewhat scorching sunlight.

She squinted along the way to adjust to the dazzling summer morning sun, occasionally looking down at the ground to confirm her flight path. Before long, Larkspur found her home and quickly descended. The windows of the high-rise apartment could only open a limited amount, so she intended to use the same trick as before and slip in through her own balcony.

But that plan ran into an obstacle.

When she tried to pull open the balcony's glass door, she found that the sliding door would not budge. Enduring the sunlight reflected by the glass, she peered inside and saw that the inner latch had been fastened.

Good security awareness. Too bad it was keeping out one of their own.

That was Larkspur's assessment.

After all, with her father away on a business trip, it was only right for a minor living alone to lock the doors and windows.

Of course, such simple measures could stop robbers and thieves, but they were useless against magical girls. Larkspur extended her magical power, allowing it to seep through the gap in the balcony door. Then she used her Magic Armament to manipulate magical threads from inside the door, moving the security latch and finally unlocking it.

She hesitated for a moment over whether to change back to her original form, but quickly reached a conclusion: first, she would go inside and see what was happening.

Putting away her Magic Armament, she pushed open the balcony door and walked as quietly as possible toward her bedroom. But before she could even leave the living room, she heard a voice that made her heart leap.

"Inspector?"

Turning around, she found Moko lying on the sofa with his head raised, staring at her in surprise.

His wings lay flat against his back, and his expression was bleary, his eyes heavy with sleep. Clearly, he had only just awakened.

Moko usually slept in Lin Xiaolu's room, and the Spell Formula cast on him earlier could only roughly show that he was somewhere inside the home. So Larkspur had never considered the possibility that he would be in the living room at this hour, resulting in him witnessing her entire entry into the house.

A wave of lingering fear rose in her heart. As she calmed her racing pulse, Larkspur felt fortunate that she had not chosen to transform back on the balcony.

But she had little time to react, so she suppressed her nervousness and casually asked in return:

"You're here?"

"Mm, yes?" Having only just woken up, Moko clearly had not yet grasped the situation.

"Then that works out. I came here to find you."

Larkspur nodded and said solemnly, "I believe I mentioned last night that White Rose and Little Brocade would be undergoing special vacation training."

"Special training... Oh, for the certification test?" Understanding what Larkspur meant, Moko flapped his wings and sat upright. "I understand. What are your orders, Inspector?"

Moko was usually a mischievous and self-centered Fairy, but when facing Larkspur—or rather, the title of "Inspector"—he displayed an extraordinary degree of obedience and respect.

That had always puzzled Larkspur, but now was not the time to ask about it.

"I want you to supervise their training during the day."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked calmly at Moko. "Can you do that?"

In truth, she had not originally intended to assign Moko this task. No matter how she looked at it, this silly Seeder would have a hard time keeping two novice magical girls in line.

She had planned to compile her training plan into a document and send it to Lin Xiaolu as a message, having her and Xia Liang follow it while she herself only checked their results each evening.

But now, she needed an excuse to fool Moko, so this was all she could say.

"Huh? Supervising Xiao Lu and Xiao Liang's training?"

At this, Moko's ears immediately perked up. His expression clearly showed interest, though he still demurred. "If they're going to take the test next year, wouldn't it be more reliable for you to handle it yourself? Is it really appropriate to entrust such an important task to me now?"

"I have my own work during the day, so I cannot come personally."

Larkspur explained matter-of-factly, "Besides, what is the problem? You are their Seeder to begin with. Handling this sort of thing is your job, isn't it?"

"But..." Moko still wanted to refuse modestly.

"I believe in your abilities." Larkspur stared at him seriously. "No one is born perfect. Although you became a Seeder by accident, you were chosen. I believe you possess potential that belongs to you alone."

"Inspector!"

Moko looked overwhelmed by the favor. "You think so highly of me!"

"I do think highly of you, but whether that potential can become real strength depends on your performance." Larkspur pressed the advantage, speaking as though implying something more.

"Since you put it that way..."

With an excited expression, Moko flapped his wings and sprang from the sofa, shouting, "Yes, leave it to me! I will definitely complete the mission!"

Their conversation ended with Moko's excited declaration.

After that, Larkspur told Moko about the training arrangements she had already prepared, spending roughly ten minutes making sure he understood his responsibilities.

A reasonable explanation and thorough evidence made Moko completely believe Larkspur's story, and he began treating the assignment with full seriousness.

Although she had successfully talked her way through it, Larkspur wanted to take advantage of that momentum and head to her room. But seeing the reverent expression covering Moko's face, she knew doing so would only make him suspicious again.

If Moko became suspicious, Lin Xiaolu would inevitably become suspicious too. That was something she did not want to see.

In the end, unable to come up with any other excuse, Larkspur could only maintain the aloof attitude of a superior. Under Moko's respectful gaze, she left her own home with a haughty face, though inwardly she sighed.

That day, Lin Yun went to work without her bag and had to make three additional apology calls because of it.