The office fell silent for a moment, only the faint sound of a training bugle drifted in from outside the window.
"It is permitted," Tsuru finally nodded, picking up her pen to make a notation on the document.
"The leave is effective from February 1st to the 10th. Be safe, and return to the unit on time. Remember your identity, Major Seraphilia."
"Yes! Thank you, Teacher Tsuru!" A flash of relief and sincere gratitude shone in Seraphilia's eyes as she snapped to attention and saluted.
Tsuru waved her hand, signaling she could leave.
Just as Seraphilia turned toward the door, Tsuru's voice sounded again, flat but carrying a barely perceptible warmth: "Since it is an important friend's birthday, prepare a decent gift.
If you need to request an advance on your salary, you may file a report."
Seraphilia paused, turned back, and saw Tsuru already bowing her head to handle documents again.
She pursed her lips and replied softly: "...Yes."
Returning to her room, Seraphilia locked the door and immediately sank her consciousness into the connection with the little skylark far away.
For over a year, the little skylark had always been the lifeline connecting her to Robin.
It not only transmitted simple whispers of longing and emotional fragments through kaomoji and vague emotional resonance, but it was also a continuous positioning beacon.
Seraphilia could vaguely sense the general direction and distance of the little skylark, as well as whether its surrounding environment was'safe and stable.'
However, about half a year ago, she clearly sensed the little skylark beginning to move.
It wasn't short-distance circling, but a sustained, clearly directed long-distance migration.
It left Black Iron Town and moved toward a more remote sea area in the West Blue, finally stopping at a new location where it stabilized and had not moved long distances since.
Robin had moved.
This conclusion made Seraphilia both worried and relieved.
Worried because moving often meant the original hiding spot might be exposed or no longer safe, and Robin had to endure bumps and risks alone.
Relieved because the new location seemed temporarily stable; although the emotional tone transmitted by the little skylark was still lonely and vigilant, there was no intense panic or danger warning.
She could not know the exact address, but the general direction and distance were already etched into her heart.
One of the core goals in developing the kintoun 'Little White' was to prepare for this very day—to cross the boundless sea and personally retrieve her bird.
Seraphilia spread out the sea chart of the West Blue, and based on the vague direction sensed, combined with geographical records from memory and sparse records of uninhabited islands and small fishing villages in Marine intelligence reports, she circled several highly probable areas with a pencil.
"I need to be more precise..." she murmured to herself.
The little skylark's sense was vague after all; searching for a specific small island in the vast ocean was like finding a needle in a haystack.
She needed more specific guidance.
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