Chapter 260: Tulip

The former Tulip was once a well-known figure within Luenore's city garrison.

That was not only because her mother was the Legion Commander—in fact, only a very few people in the Legion knew Tulip's real name or her blood relation to the Commander.

The reason she had been able to become a celebrity in the city garrison, and had even for a time earned the flattering nickname "the Angel of the Command Post," was mainly thanks to her work and dedication in the military.

The so-called "Angel" described not only her striking looks with that head of golden hair, but also referred to her understanding, gentle temperament, and the nature of her work as a medical logistics officer who saved lives and helped the wounded.

She was the most skilled medical officer in the entire Logistics Medical Department, and at the same time, the one who best understood emergency management and resource allocation. She had personally healed many gravely wounded patients, pulled those on the brink of death back from the jaws of death, and preserved the bodies of soldiers who might otherwise have been left disabled, while also successfully organizing several collective treatment efforts after major battles. She kept things running under conditions that pushed the medical corps almost past its limits, allowing more wounded to be treated in time.

Such achievements naturally earned her the deep respect and affection of the soldiers in the Legion. On top of that, Tulip was always gentle with everyone, and the soft, soothing words she spoke while treating patients were called "the best spiritual healing." Many soldiers wounded on the front lines, after being treated by her, claimed they had "received the comfort of an angel." This reputation made even more people look up to Tulip, and the nickname "Angel" thus came to spread.

However, because their workplaces were different, the Cornflower of those days and Tulip could only be called nodding acquaintances, not really familiar with each other; the few times they met were mostly at the Legion Commander's command post and the Logistics Medical Department. And since Senior Cuique herself rarely got hurt on the front lines and had never been treated by Tulip, they were even less acquainted with one another.

Now, Senior Cuique was feeling grateful that the two of them were not well acquainted.

Although she herself, thanks to her sharp eyes and good memory, had confirmed the other's identity at first glance, relying on the disguise belonging to "Gentian," the other party did not seem to have recognized Senior Cuique.

"It's this late—are you here to see you?"

The golden-haired magical girl who, in her memory, should have borne the codename "Tulip" merely glanced at Senior Cuique once before looking away, turning to the curly-haired girl beside her: "Do you know her?"

"No, I don't."

With tears from a yawn still clinging to the corners of her eyes, the curly-haired girl covered her mouth and shook her head: "She said she's here to see 'Ink Lotus,' maybe she came to the wrong place?"

"Ink Lotus…"

The golden-haired girl started at those words, and then her expression gradually grew serious. She looked at Senior Cuique again, but this time her face no longer held that casual air: "Who are you?"

Senior Cuique noticed that, although the other girl made no obvious movement with her body, one of her hands had already been placed behind her back—short of any surprises, this was most likely the preparatory motion for transforming.

Coupled with the other's reaction, which could only be called wary, Senior Cuique could not help feeling puzzled: had she somehow said something wrong?

And besides, in her memory, Tulip should have been a rather mild and gentle magical girl—so why was she acting so aggressive?

"I'm Ink Lotus's teammate. I came to borrow her car."

Although she did not know where this inexplicable hostility of the other's came from, Senior Cuique did not want a conflict at this moment, so she pretended not to have noticed the other's wariness, and merely trimmed her words, keeping them as concise as possible: "But that Young Lady over there said she doesn't know 'Ink Lotus.' Did I come to the wrong place?"

"Borrow a car?"

The golden-haired girl narrowed her eyes slightly, her golden irises fixed on Senior Cuique's face as though determined to read something out of it: "Then why did you end up coming here?"

"Because the day before yesterday I came here together with her."

A cold wind blew across Senior Cuique's back, and the sudden chill made her legs twitch involuntarily twice, but she still maintained the air of a passerby who knew nothing: "She told me she lives here now, so the place should be right. Has she moved?"

The golden-haired girl was silent for a moment, but her gaze still did not leave Senior Cuique's face. She seemed to be considering something, but the hand that had been held behind her back had unconsciously dropped to her side again—clearly, she had given up on her most dangerous plan.

"Your memory isn't wrong. Ink Lotus does live here."

She closed her eyes, and the sharp gaze that had been fixed on Senior Cuique vanished along with it. Then she spoke: "But she's handling some work matters right now. I'll go call her."

—"Eh? There really is an Ink Lotus?"

Now, the most surprised one had become the curly-haired girl beside them: "Ah, could it be that the 'Ink Lotus' that kid keeps talking about is the Black—…"

She only got halfway through her sentence; before the remaining few words could leave her mouth, the golden-haired girl reached a hand out from inside the house and dragged her inside, and her voice disappeared along with her.

Left alone outside the door, Senior Cuique gazed at the little cabin that had once again been enveloped by the barrier spell, lost in thought.

Although she did not yet know the reason, it seemed she had indeed defused a potential conflict by keeping her words concise.

Judging from Tulip's reaction, if she herself had failed to make her purpose and identity clear within three sentences, Tulip would probably have fought her right there in the Colorful Cloud Wetlands.

Even if a fight really did break out, the present Senior Cuique was confident she would not lose; but she had not forgotten the purpose of her coming here, and getting into a conflict with the other would only waste more time—a complete loss.

She did not want to fight, which was why she tried her best to avoid escalating the situation. But even though she had successfully softened the other's hostility, a new question had arisen:

—Is this girl-shaped magical girl really Tulip? Why is she together with Ink Lotus, and why has she become like this?

Judging by her appearance, the other was undoubtedly the magical girl codenamed Tulip in Senior Cuique's memory; however, this cold and deeply hostile manner was utterly unlike the Tulip she knew from her memories.

Senior Cuique already knew that Ink Lotus and her "team" were doing things that, for the Nation, amounted to "poaching," and it would not be strange for members of this team to be wary of outsiders for fear of being discovered by the Nation. But even out of wariness, would someone once famous for being "gentle and mild" really display this level of hostility?

Senior Cuique did not understand, and she had no time to think about such questions either.

For her, the immediate priority was to borrow the car, and then resolve the identity-conflict crisis she faced with Lin Xiaolu. She had already wasted five minutes at the cabin door; she had to get moving.

So, when Ink Lotus really did walk out of the cabin, Senior Cuique did not ask any questions about Tulip, intending to inquire properly after resolving the matter on Lin Xiaolu's side, and instead spoke:

"Sorry, Ink Lotus, for disturbing you so late at night, but I need to run an errand in the No-Magic Zone right now. Could I borrow your car?"

The Ink Lotus at the door was still wearing that pitch-black student uniform and knit cardigan, and indeed did not look like she had been resting. Once she confirmed the visitor was Senior Cuique, she walked straight out of the door and took two steps toward her:

"Going to the No-Magic Zone? I'll drive you."

"…Thank you, but that's not necessary."

Senior Cuique shook her head: "Because I'm not sure of the exact location, I need to drive myself to find the way, which is why I wanted to borrow your car. If I made you drive me, it would take up a lot of your time."

Ink Lotus glanced back at the house and noticed that at some point the curly-haired girl had poked half her head out from beside the door, apparently trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. So she raised a hand and snapped her fingers, and the barrier spell that had risen again around the house promptly reversed and shut the girl back inside.

"I have plenty of time." Then she said to Senior Cuique: "Think of it as a nighttime drive."

"Your companion told me you still have work to handle."

Senior Cuique, however, did not believe her: "And besides, I think the things we talked about this afternoon—I still need to think them over more. Perhaps we both need a cooling-off period."

"A cooling-off period… Understood."

Ink Lotus nodded expressionlessly: "If that's what you need."

She asked no more questions and said no more, only taking two more steps toward Senior Cuique, then slowly raising her hand and taking off the knit cardigan she was wearing. She spread the cardigan out, smoothed the creases on it with one hand, then, holding it that way, walked slowly around behind Senior Cuique and draped it over her shoulders.

"It's very cold at night, so I'm lending you this too. Otherwise, it'll be miserable."

Her hand lingered on Senior Cuique's shoulder for a moment, then dropped to her side, and she turned around expressionlessly:

"Let's go. I'll take you to get the car."