Picnic

(Ceruno)

In the quiet afternoon forest, we found a sunny patch of grass, spread out our picnic blanket, and Yezi even took out two cushions...

Miluno's Star Crystal is practically a treasure trove of odds and ends. What situation would she need to keep picnic blankets and cushions on hand?

However, sitting quietly in this man-made forest does indeed feel like a picnic or a date; the tranquility alone is enough to relax the mind.

Is this why Miluno brought me here?

"Hmph~ Hmph~"

In a good mood, I couldn't help but hum the winning song from the Idol Festival.

This wasn't the first time I'd gone on a trip with Miluno. We'd been to Longmoon Lake Scenic Area before, which was also a kind of outing, but the experience wasn't great. It was unbearably hot, and it ended up turning into a fight against invaders and a wildfire...

"Ceruno, deploy the soundproofing bubbles."

"Huh? Oh."

Although I don't know why soundproofing is necessary for a picnic, I will still do as Miluno requests.

Summon the magic wand and lift up the semi-circular bubble covering us.

Miluno then explained, "Your father has an informant within the 'Zodiacal,' so we need to maintain this level of vigilance. Although Dad said not to consider the other party's magical girl identity, magic is a factor that cannot be ignored. For example, Mom's 'Memory Tracking' is practically impossible to defend against when used for intelligence gathering."

"... Um!"

It's a bit difficult to talk about.

I've been busy helping Miss SpiCa launch drones these past two days, and I completely forgot about finding an inside contact at the City School.

"Let's eat first, and then we can discuss today's operations."

So that was her real reason for calling me out. It was a secret mission of Aunt Lin Xi, and it couldn't be revealed to outsiders, so she could only discuss it with me.

Opening the bento box, you see red and green peppers and appetizing slices of meat soaked in sauce, covering the white rice, with half a braised egg on the side. It's a very substantial bento box, filled to the brim with ingredients as if they were free.

Oh, these ingredients really are free.

"It looks delicious with rice, but isn't it a bit strange to eat a farmhouse-style stir-fried pork bento box on a picnic?"

Miluno, who complained like this, obviously forgot who decided to buy the Sichuan-flavored bento...

She was holding a Mapo Tofu rice bowl, its bright red color equally appetizing.

"Yezi, let me taste yours."

"It got a little cold on the way here; it's lukewarm now and has lost its Mapo Tofu flavor."

As she said this, she scooped up a spoonful of tofu and brought it towards me. She had originally wanted to use her own spoon, but doing so seemed a bit pretentious.

Despite noticing the cunning in her expression, I trusted her enough to open my mouth and take the spoonful.

"Ah... um... ugh, so spicy!"

He was unexpectedly punched in the mouth, and what was shattered was his trust.

"That girl is a genuine Sichuan magical girl, so this level of skill is to be expected."

Unlike Yezi, my tongue isn't very good at handling spicy food, but I can tolerate the spiciness of a typical restaurant. However, this bento box was clearly unusual. The burning pain on my tongue brought tears to my eyes. I suspected that the magical girl's intention was to torture me with this bento box.

"Here, water."

I gulped down the bottle Miluno handed me in one go.

"Ha, it's so spicy, you should have reminded me!"

"It's fun to tease you sometimes, but the stir-fried pork you're holding must be this spicy too, can you handle it?"

"If it were this spicy..."

Obviously, that's unacceptable.

"Do you want to go back and buy something else?"

"No need. I bought this myself, so I'll finish it even if it makes me cry."

If you remove the extremely spicy chili peppers and only eat the meat slices, you can still manage to eat it if you can bear with it.

"Really, is it really necessary to force yourself in a place like this?"

Miluno sighed and took two bottles of mineral water from the Star Crystal, placing them beside me.

"Then you can torture yourself slowly, and listen to my plan."

She had finished eating her Mapo Tofu rice and was packing up the lunchbox when she said, "Based on Dad's previous suggestion, we should leave some clues for 'the Other Side' so that your dad can mobilize his informants to investigate us and lure them out."

"That's too general a direction," I retorted, sticking out my tongue.

"Hmm, hiss... but how exactly do I do it?"

"You have follow-up reconnaissance plans, right? Next time, don't use the Wormhole Device to send out micro-drones. If you use my teleportation channel ' on the Other Side, ' there will be no advance warning. With your magic, you can spread the drones without anyone noticing. Although they will be discovered after the Bubble Membrane fails, if you think about it from the Other Side's perspective, aren't you curious about how these drones were sent Past?"

Miluno's plan ruled out her mother, and she even suspected that her mother might be an informant left behind by her father.

Wiping away the tears and sweat from the spiciness with a tissue, I asked, "But how are you going to connect this to us? Without leaving our information, the mole won't risk being exposed by actively approaching us; if we leave it too deliberately, it will be seen as a trap."

"No, not with us."

Miluno shook her head, then pointed at me and said, "All I need to do is connect with you, Ceruno. You're easier to approach than I am, and given your recent changes, it's less likely you'll arouse suspicion if you rashly approach a suspect."

This refers to my proactive approach to social activities.

Miluno continued, "And you want to get their attention? We don't even need to do anything special. 'The Other Side' knows your magic better than we do. They definitely know your magic can evade their surveillance systems. To find out where those drones came from, your father's inside man will definitely take action."

In other words, we don't need to do anything?

After removing all the chili peppers from the lunchbox, I rummaged through the remaining rice and meat slices and asked, "Miluno, how many people know about your teleportation magic that can take you directly to the Other Side?"

"SpiCa issued a gag order immediately, so only you, Sirius, Hephaestus, and Metal know."

So you're saying the 'The Other Side' definitely doesn't know about this yet?

Miluno shrugged and said, "If they knew, then Metal would be your father's mole, but that's impossible. A busy person like her wouldn't have time to be a traitor."

Miss Metal's carefree demeanor certainly didn't seem like that of a mole.

I put away the lunchbox, which now only contained chili peppers, and finished the rest of my bottled water.

"I understand. Then we'll have to ask Miss SpiCa and Metal for assistance for this operation. I'll go find SpiCa now."

"You go alone, I'm going to find the 'mysterious magical girl' in the Garden District."

The one Xiao Yi mentioned?

I'm also a little curious about what kind of person a magical girl who lives in seclusion in a place like this is.

After finishing her sentence, Miluno added, "Remember, when you meet SpiCa, just talk about the reconnaissance plan. Don't mention that the City School also has an inside source."

"Huh? Do we have to keep this a secret from Miss SpiCa too?"

"Um."

She nodded helplessly and gave a wry smile.

"After all, this is Mom's task, so let's do as she asks."