By the time they left the arcade, it was already close to noon.
The rain had weakened considerably, but it still had not stopped.
The sky was shrouded beneath gloomy clouds, like a gray veil draped over it. There were few pedestrians on the shopping street, with only a handful of umbrellas moving through the curtain of rain. Moisture filled the air, mingling with the scent of dust and carrying a faint chill.
The roadside trees continuously shed droplets of rain, their leaves swaying gently in the breeze. Their rustling sounded like whispers. Streaks of rain covered the shop signs, while the lights cast the rain curtain in a hazy, gentle glow.
One tall umbrella and one short umbrella moved side by side down the street. Larkspur and Xia Liang walked beneath them, silent for a time.
In the end, Larkspur spoke first. "Is this really okay?"
"How so?" Xia Liang asked with a soft laugh.
"You know."
"I don't."
"...Why did you plead for them?"
Larkspur sighed. "You kept winking at me back then. Wasn't that what you meant? You wanted me not to go too far."
Honestly, when she had first seen Xia Liang being harassed by delinquents—and when those people had even been the "friends" who had nearly harmed Xia Liang before—her first thought had been to call the police.
Magical girls were not police officers, nor did they have any duty or need to punish ordinary people. But anyone could call the police.
Even if they were only minors, Fangting City had a dedicated Youth Guidance Squad responsible for punishing and monitoring young people who had committed violations.
It was just that Xia Liang apparently had not wanted that, which was why she had repeatedly hinted at it to Larkspur at the time.
Larkspur had chosen