But clearly, they didn't even wait half an hour. Chen Huijie had already had enough of Beatrice Swire. She was seen dragging the other woman to the backyard, returning five minutes later looking refreshed.
"Alright, we're going with my plan. Tomorrow, Little Flandre will wear that blue and pink princess dress."
Flandre nodded, indicating there was no problem. Although the colors of this outfit seemed to clash a bit with Patchy's, Flandre thought it looked quite nice. So tomorrow, she would be Patchouli Knowledge!
Holding the dress, Flandre went inside to try it on and see the effect. It was only then that a certain Little Tiger, who had failed her duel, came in from outside rubbing her waist. She was constantly muttering things like "tyrant," "dictator," "terrorist," and "muscle-head" under her breath.
After entering the room, Beatrice sat down on the sofa in a huff, then glared fixedly at the calm Chen Huijie nearby. Chen Huijie gave a light chuckle, as if to say she enjoyed how Beatrice couldn't stand her but was powerless to do anything about it. This naturally made Beatrice even angrier. But the frustrating part was that she couldn't beat this female dragon in a fight, so she could only stew in her anger. In her opinion, Chen Huijie's taste in clothes was as worthless as her brain. With Flandre being such a cute child and Chen Huijie having such a rigid personality, she didn't believe the outfit the other woman chose could be any good.
Before long, Flandre walked out wearing the clothes.
"Wow!" the three of them exclaimed in unison.
Flandre decided that since she was going to emulate Patchy, she had to go all the way. So, she found a pair of glasses, a small satchel, and a nightcap similar to the one she usually wore but in a color matching the dress from a pile of accessories. In an instant, she looked much more intellectual and sickly. Flandre was also very satisfied with everyone's praise, raising her arms in a bodybuilding pose.
"Patchouli GO!"
"...While Flandre is very cute, that kind of pose is really unnecessary..." Chen Huijie looked at Beatrice with an expression that said "what on earth are you letting the child watch"... Beatrice indicated she was also bewildered, as she had never seen Flandre watch such things. How was she so practiced in that pose?
However, both of them agreed that there was no problem with Flandre's outfit. Although the way she styled the princess dress made it look like pajamas, it only made her look even cuter.
The next day arrived, and Flandre and Beatrice were picked up early by a car sent by Lady Fumizuki.
"You look so beautiful, Little Flandre!" Seeing Flandre's outfit, Fumizuki showed a kind smile and reached out to pick her up. "Come, I'll take you to the press conference venue."
The press conference was held in a large reception hall within the Governor's Mansion. By this time, many news reporters and high-ranking officials had already arrived. Everyone was chatting while adjusting their equipment. Just then, everyone watched in shock as Lady Fumizuki actually walked in holding a small child. And on that child's back, the pair of somewhat exaggerated bat wings hanging with "colored diamonds" undoubtedly told everyone her identity—a Blood Demon.
Yet, she was currently being held in Lady Fumizuki's arms. She leaned against Fumizuki, her teeth less than ten centimeters away from Fumizuki's neck. Carrying Flandre, she walked along while introducing her to the people who had come. In that moment, everyone understood that the young girl before them was the protagonist of this event. Furthermore, Fumizuki was making a statement: she and the Governor's Mansion were definitely standing on the side of this Blood Demon girl.
Those who originally had slight doubts about the matter immediately shut their mouths. After all, with Lady Fumizuki herself showing such support, if you still recklessly went up to object, it wouldn't be an objection against a Blood Demon, but an objection against the Governor and his wife. And as for Lungmen citizens who had objections against Wei Yenwu and his wife... well, at least on the surface, there were no such people.
Facing Lady Fumizuki's introductions, those people all stood up to return the gesture. Even if, in their eyes, the little Blood Demon girl didn't understand Great Yan etiquette at all.
The press conference soon began. Flandre was arranged to sit next to Lady Fumizuki. When the video appeared on the streets and alleys of Lungmen, the citizens who saw the footage all cried out in surprise. Because in the footage, Lady Fumizuki was feeding Flandre a pastry that looked like a cream puff. Many people couldn't help but get nervous when they saw Fumizuki's fingers lightly brush past Flandre's mouth. But the Blood Demon girl sitting there just puffed out her cheeks and chewed the food she was being fed. She didn't care at all that Fumizuki's fingers were near her mouth.
"Ahem, let us begin the conference. Today is to inform everyone in Lungmen about a recent extremely vile, extremely cruel, and extremely reputation-damaging case involving a large organized crime syndicate linked by village ties, engaging in robbery, murder, and smuggling..."
It was Wei Yenwu who spoke. As soon as he started, everyone present sat up straight. The three "extremes" he used at the beginning directly defined the nature of this case. After he finished speaking, the spokesperson for the Lungmen Guard Department began to recount the details of the case. Everyone's hearts tightened when they heard that the officers who went to investigate were violently surrounded by armed suspects. They only breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the officers returned safely.
"Here, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to a colleague, Miss Flandre, a specially invited expert from the Guard Department's Major Crimes Unit who accompanied that officer deep into the enemy's den to obtain intelligence. Although she is a Blood Demon, she is a good Blood Demon, one who has transcended base instincts. Miss Flandre has repeatedly used her professional knowledge and exquisite skills to help us quickly solve several major cases, and this time, she successfully protected the safety of our Operator..."
The spokesperson looked at Flandre and spoke with great emotion, making Flandre feel incredibly embarrassed. After his speech, the Q&A session began. The initial questions were all from the prepared list. Flandre had already memorized them, so she answered fluently.
However, just when she thought it was over, someone suddenly asked, "So, there is one thing I think everyone, including myself, is curious about. How did you successfully protect the safety of the other officer from fully armed enemies and hold out until the Guard Department's reinforcements arrived?"
This was a question not on the answer sheet. Flandre looked at the person, then blinked.
"With mist!"
"Mist?" Everyone looked at Flandre in disbelief.
"Flandre's arts can create a large area of thick mist. You basically can't see anything around you in the mist. We were inside the mist at the time, so the bad guys couldn't find us." Flandre adjusted her glasses and answered.
Her words made those who knew the true process of the entire event struggle to hold back their laughter. Because Flandre hadn't told a single lie. But a huge amount of content had been omitted. Yet, looking at what she said alone, there wasn't a single thing wrong with it.
The person wanted to follow up by asking what kind of mist could prevent people from seeing those inside. But before he could speak, the spokesperson called on another person to ask a question. He could only sit down helplessly.
The case press conference didn't fully end until nearly noon. Flandre, who had already fallen asleep in Fumizuki's arms, was carried out the door by her. This scene was also faithfully recorded by the cameras. From then on, no one in all of Lungmen was afraid of Flandre anymore. After all, if someone Lady Fumizuki dares to hold makes you think she'll hurt you, then you should just go somewhere else; Lungmen doesn't need people who don't trust the authorities.
And after this incident, Flandre could officially walk around outside. After waking up in the afternoon, Beatrice said she would take Flandre to the commercial street.
"This time you go openly, without covering your wings. Let's see how it goes!"
After Beatrice finished speaking, Chen Huijie, who was not far away, also looked over with curiosity. She also wanted to see how the people of Lungmen would view Flandre with the dual endorsement of the Governor's Mansion and the Guard Department.
The result was naturally quite good. Because her wings were so recognizable, she was recognized as soon as she hit the street. There was surprise and curiosity in many people's eyes, and some children even ran over to ask if she got tired from hanging so many things on her wings.
"I don't get tired! They aren't heavy and don't affect Flandre's movements at all!" Flandre answered in a friendly manner.
Upon arriving at the commercial street, even more people recognized Flandre. People cheered for her one after another, wishing her success in becoming a member of Lungmen.
"Yo, if it isn't the wealthy boss!" Suddenly, Flandre heard Exusiai's voice. She looked over and saw the other girl waving at her. Beatrice, who was nearby, also followed Flandre's gaze and saw the two of them.
"Are you guys out shopping?"
"How could we be? We just finished a delivery. Cars can't come into the pedestrian street, so we have to carry things. It's exhausted me!" Exusiai shook her hands, looking like work was truly tiring.
"Meeting is fate. There's a tea restaurant over here. How about I treat you two to a cup of tea to rest for a bit? I'm sure you wouldn't mind resting for a while!" Beatrice said, pointing to a tea house not far away.
"That would be much appreciated!" Exusiai happily reached out and pinched Flandre's cheek. "Speaking of which, the knowledge I studied in Laterano had many introductions to the Sarkaz, but it's my first time seeing such a cute Blood Demon with my own eyes."
Flandre looked at the familiar-acting girl before her, feeling that her personality was very similar to the person her sister called the "black and white mouse" (Nazrin).
"Hello! My name is Flandre Scarlet, nice to meet you!" Flandre held out her hand.
"Ah, so formal... Me? I'm from Laterano, my real name is Lemuel, but you can just call me Exusiai, since that's what everyone calls me!" Exusiai scratched her head and then took Flandre's small hand.