A few hours later, they reached the edge of the sea of flowers.
"There are Black Demon Tigers around the edges," Ling Ling reported through her binoculars.
"Are we flying straight out? The Black Demon Tigers won't let us off," Asharuiya said.
The Heavenly Star White Dragon carried the four of them back the way they had come, the Other Shore Flowers on the ground swaying gently.
"It's fine. As long as she's here, there won't be any danger," Lu Ling said softly, looking at Netherworld in his arms.
"She?"
Asharuiya was intensely curious about this.
A mysterious woman sealed in the deepest reaches of the Dark Baleful Forest, whose very location was a forbidden zone countless Demon Beasts dared not approach... could she be what the Demon Beasts here feared?
The Heavenly Star White Dragon was fast and had already entered the Black Demon Tigers' attack range, but the Black Demon Tigers seemed to sense something terrifying and fled in panic.
"Wow... is this woman that scary?" Asharuiya's little mouth fell open in surprise.
After the Heavenly Star White Dragon flew past, countless specks of red actually began appearing amid the gray-green landscape beneath its flight path. They were Manjusaka!
Everyone took it all in, suddenly realizing just how terrifying an existence the girl in Lu Ling's arms was.
"She can affect the environment just by passing through? She's still unconscious right now!" Asharuiya couldn't help exclaiming.
"Other Shore Flowers... so this pure land came into being because of her," Ling Ling murmured.
"You really are amazing."
Lu Ling smiled and gently stroked Netherworld's peaceful cheek, but she gave no response.
This way of traveling, with "lotuses blooming at every step," really was quite the flex!
Seemingly because Netherworld was beside them, the suppression on the Heavenly Star White Dragon also eased considerably, allowing it to reach its maximum flying speed. Barely an hour had passed before they covered over two hundred kilometers and left the Dark Baleful Forest's territory entirely.
"We're flying all the way back east. Shall we drop you off on the way?"
"No need. Just let me down up ahead. We're not going the same way."
"All right."
"Goodbye, big sister. Thank you for saving me," Ling Ling said.
"Goodbye, Little Ling Ling." Asharuiya gently stroked Ling Ling's little head.
"Lu Ling, my real name is Asharuiya."
"That's a lovely name. Perhaps we'll meet again." Lu Ling raised his head and gave her a long, searching look.
Asharuiya was looking at Lu Ling too. She radiated confidence and composure, every smile and frown so beautiful they made one forget to breathe.
"I hope so."
Magic City.
Azure Sky Hunter Agency.
After running away from home for half a year, Ling Ling finally returned.
"Finally here! This trip was so much fun!" Ling Ling casually tossed her backpack onto the table, about to go enjoy a nice, comfortable bath.
"Ling-Ling-?"
A chill ran down Ling Ling's spine. Trembling, she looked toward the person at the bar.
"Sis... hehe."
"So you still remembered to come back?" Leng Qing's face was frosty, as though she would subject Ling Ling to family discipline at any moment.
"Lu Ling took me away. Go after him!"
Ling Ling dragged Lu Ling in front of Leng Qing, then took to her heels. The groggy Netherworld had come along too.
"Senior Sister Leng Qing," Lu Ling greeted her.
"As long as you're both all right. Grandpa would be angry if anything happened." The frost vanished from Leng Qing's face, and she poured Lu Ling a glass of juice.
"Thank you." Lu Ling took a small sip and said, "I'd die before I let Ling Ling get hurt."
"Nice resolve!" Leng Qing smiled slightly and gave Lu Ling a thumbs-up.
I'm stating a fact! Lu Ling couldn't help cursing inwardly.
"This little girl looks unfamiliar. A friend of yours?"
"Yes, her name is Netherworld. She hasn't woken up yet, so she might not speak."
"Strange. Quite an unusual name, too." She's sitting right here looking blank, and he calls that not awake? Still, she did look as though she didn't want to speak.
Even so, Leng Qing poured Netherworld a glass of juice.
"Senior Sister Leng Qing, have you been investigating the Black Vatican lately?" Lu Ling asked.
"Yes. That's the Magic Association's Enforcement Union's job."
"They might show themselves in the Magic City within the next six months."
"What makes you say that?" Leng Qing's gaze sharpened.
"About a year ago, I killed a lot of Black Vatican members in Bo City. And the media widely publicized my achievements, so they might come looking for revenge."
As a member of the Magic Association's Enforcement Union, Leng Qing naturally knew about Lu Ling's glorious deeds.
"But it's been so long, and nothing's happened to you, has it?" Leng Qing said.
"The Black Vatican's methods are strange and unpredictable. Sometimes they don't seek revenge immediately, but wait until their target lets their guard down."
"You have a point."
"One more thing. The truth behind the attack on Bo City was that they wanted to seize its treasure, the Earth Sacred Spring. Now the Earth Sacred Spring is in the hands of someone named Mo Fan, and Mo Fan is in the Magic City."
"...You certainly know quite a lot."
Hearing this, Leng Qing couldn't help chuckling.
She took a commission out of a drawer behind the bar, one that had already been ongoing for four months.
Protection target: Mo Fan.
Client: Tang Yue.
"You've made preparations?" Lu Ling asked.
"The Magic Association's Enforcement Union is always prepared, of course."
"Hopefully we can hook a big fish."
"...We have no intention of using Mo Fan as bait." Leng Qing was speechless.
The Magic Association's Enforcement Union existed to protect humanity. How could it put the cart before the horse and place someone in danger?
Lu Ling smiled without replying.
As long as the Earth Sacred Spring and Mo Fan remained out in the open, he would always be bait! Once Mo Fan truly began making a name for himself at Pearl Academy, the Black Vatican would start moving.
As for himself?
On the surface, he was at most an Advanced Level mage who had merely killed a few of the Black Vatican's gray-cloaked members. The Black Vatican had no need to target him yet.
Of course, all of this rested on Wu Ku's death remaining undiscovered.
"Gulp, gulp~~~~ urp."
"Hm?"
Netherworld, with her long gray-green hair, held the little glass in both hands, devouring its juice as though wolfing down a meal.
"Tasty. Thank you." Wearing a cold expression, Netherworld stared fixedly at the now-empty glass in front of her.
She had finished it in just a few seconds.
"You don't need to drink so fast. You won't be able to appreciate the flavor of food that way." At the sight, Leng Qing couldn't help laughing. As she spoke, she refilled Netherworld's glass with orange juice.
This dazed little girl was rather cute, at least cuter than her actual little sister, who wanted to drink alcohol all day.
Ling Ling: ?
"Sorry for the expense," Lu Ling said.
"It's only cheap juice. The bounty money you've earned the Hunter Station could keep her drinking for centuries." Leng Qing casually mixed herself a drink whose name was unknown.
After one glass, a faint flush appeared on Leng Qing's cool, alluring face.
"Senior Sister Leng Qing, you look quite beautiful in a qipao."
"Flatterer." Leng Qing didn't fall for it at all and casually slapped another commission down in front of Lu Ling.
"There happens to be a commission to work as a bodyguard at a magic high school. Go take care of it!"
"I only just got back!"
"Well, haven't you gone half a year without working?"
"..."