The day after they scrubbed the floor, Makarov slapped a job request down in front of Lin Yuan and Mira.
"Deliver thirty magic glass lamps from the workshop on South Street to the station. The reward is 15,000 J, with 500 deducted for each lamp damaged."
Mira quickly did the math. "If they all break, we'll have to pay out of pocket?"
"That's why I'm giving the job to you two."
"This is obviously revenge!"
Makarov turned his face away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Lisanna leaned over the table to look at the request. "Lin Yuan, are you taking the cup of water along this time too?"
"No," Lin Yuan said.
"Take it!" Makarov immediately changed his mind. "Make sure they remember yesterday's lesson!"
Half an hour later, Lin Yuan and Mira stood outside the South Street workshop, looking at two large wooden crates of glass lamps and a cup filled to the brim with water sitting on top.
The old craftsman pointed toward the station. "Get them there before noon. The Magic Crystals in the lamps have already been adjusted. They mustn't be shaken hard or stored in a spatial container, or the colors of the light will be thrown off."
Mira started pushing the cart. "As long as no one causes trouble on the way, I could do this job with my eyes closed."
No sooner had she spoken than a group of children chasing a bread cart came rushing out of an alley ahead. Lin Yuan grabbed the handle in time, and Mira protected the crates, but a ripple spread across the water in the cup.
She fell silent for two seconds. "I take that back."
South Street was much more crowded than usual. Vendors had set up stalls along the road, a delivery wagon blocked half the street, and a man holding six dogs on leashes was arguing with a fishmonger in the middle of the road.
Lin Yuan tried shortening the distance ahead, but soon stopped.
The change in space itself wouldn't damage the glass, but the wheels, the crates, and the Magic Crystals in the lamps would not experience quite the same change. If he sent the whole cart straight to the station, they would probably arrive with a crate full of fragments in all sorts of colors.
"Can't we go straight there?" Mira asked.
"We can."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"The wooden crates might be all we get paid."
Mira immediately tightened her grip on the handle. "Then we'll walk."
The two made their way through the crowd, one in front of the other. Lin Yuan made obstacles approaching the wheels shift half a step aside, while Mira used her demon arm to steady the crates. After several close calls, they worked together faster and faster, until they knew which side to move aside without even speaking.
The station clock tower had just come into view at the end of the street when a startled whinny suddenly rang out behind them.
A wagon loaded with barrels had gone out of control and was hurtling down the slope. The driver pulled desperately on the reins as people in the middle of the road screamed and scattered to either side.
The cart of glass lamps was right in its path at the bottom of the slope.
"Move it!" Mira shouted.
But Lin Yuan saw a little girl who had fallen. She was caught between the runaway wagon and the stone wall by the road, with a red ball rolling beside her.
If he moved the lamps first, the girl wouldn't have time to get away. If he saved her first, all thirty lamps would surely be smashed.
Lin Yuan let go of the handle and stepped forward.
The distance between him and the girl vanished in an instant. As he scooped her up, the heavy wagon was already bearing down overhead, and dust kicked up by its wheels struck his face.
Jet-black wings slammed in from the side.
Mira hadn't taken the glass lamps away. She had performed a partial Take Over, shielding the crates with one hand while digging the claws of her other, demon hand into the ground. With her outspread wings braced against the side of the cart, she dragged herself and the cart toward the side of the street.
Holding the girl, Lin Yuan crossed over the wagon shafts, then turned and aimed his palm at the runaway wagon.
He couldn't make it disappear, nor could he send it into the crowded street.
He folded a short stretch of road in front of the wagon.
The downhill slope became a steep climb in front of the wheels. The galloping horses entered the folded space and slowed sharply, but the barrels behind them flew off one after another from the momentum.
Mira pushed the glass lamps into a safe corner, then beat her wings and shot into the air, kicking the first barrel back. Lin Yuan raised a hand and changed the direction of the remaining barrels, sending them one by one into an empty fodder shop by the roadside.
The last barrel flew past the rim of the cup, grazing it.
The cup flew into the air.
Lin Yuan was holding the girl, and Mira was still hovering in midair. They both reached out at the same time, only to realize neither could reach it.
Mira's tail whipped out and curled around the base of the cup.
A drop of water leaped over the rim.
Lin Yuan erased the distance between the drop and the mouth of the cup. The droplet reversed course in midair and landed back in the cup with a plop.
The street fell quiet for a moment, then erupted in cheers.
The driver finally calmed the horses and thanked them both again and again. The girl they had saved retrieved her ball and carefully checked Lin Yuan and Mira for injuries. Then she took two candies from her pocket and gave one to each of them.
Mira held the candy between her fingers, the fierce expression she'd worn moments ago freezing on her face.
"I don't like sweets."
"But you love strawberry cake, sis!" the girl's older brother shouted from the crowd.
Mira turned and glared at him. "I'm not your sister!"
By the time they reached the station, less than a minute remained before noon.
The worker sent by the old craftsman inspected the glass lamps one by one. All thirty were undamaged, and the colors they emitted were exactly right. Even the cup of water on top of the crates was still full.
"Job complete," Lin Yuan said.
But Mira didn't argue over who had done more work, as she usually did. She glanced at the little girl, who was holding Lin Yuan's hand as she waited for her family to come get her, then looked at the two intact crates of glass lamps.
"You went to save her first back there."
"And you didn't abandon the cart."
"I saved that cup of water too."
"I caught the last drop."
Mira raised an eyebrow, looking ready to start another argument, but then she suddenly tossed the candy to Lin Yuan.
"Forget it." She started pushing the empty cart, the corners of her mouth quietly lifting. "This time, we both won."