Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
After handing the money over to Furina, Shao Yun hurriedly left the Palais Mermonia at once.
There was only one thought on his mind: to get back to Clorinde's apartment as quickly as possible.
After all, he had been gone for far too long this time, and he wasn't sure whether that might cause some unnecessary trouble.
When Shao Yun arrived at Clorinde's apartment, he barely had time to catch his breath before the building manager informed him that Lumine and the others had already gone to Chioriya Boutique to wait for him.
Hearing this, Shao Yun's heart sank with a thump. This was bad—he really had taken too long.
Without stopping to rest, he immediately set off again, rushing toward Chioriya Boutique.
…
Under the sunshade outside Chioriya Boutique.
Lumine and Paimon were sitting leisurely on their chairs, each holding a bottle of Fonta. Navia was elegantly sipping a cup of hot tea, savoring it slowly, while Clorinde quietly held a cup of coffee, occasionally gazing into the distance, deep in thought.
They drank their beverages while patiently waiting for Shao Yun to arrive.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from afar.
Everyone looked up at once, only to see Shao Yun jogging into view.
When he reached them, Shao Yun stopped, bent forward slightly with his hands braced on his knees, and gasped for air. After a while, he finally straightened up and said, "I'm here."
Seeing that Shao Yun had finally arrived, Lumine's relaxed expression instantly turned serious.
She set down her drink, stood up, frowned, and asked in displeasure, "Where did you even go? We waited for you at the apartment all morning, and you never came back!"
Shao Yun explained guiltily, "Sorry—something urgent came up, so I got delayed."
As he spoke, he sneakily glanced at Lumine's reaction.
Seeing that Shao Yun had no intention of explaining further, Lumine felt somewhat dissatisfied, but she didn't press the issue.
At least this time, he wasn't being cryptic on purpose.
"Fine. If you don't want to say it, I won't ask what you were doing," she said.
"But you wasted our precious vacation time—shouldn't you make it up to us somehow?"
Even if Lumine didn't ask what he had been busy with all morning, that didn't mean his keeping everyone waiting would just be let go.
Shao Yun knew he was in the wrong, so he nodded repeatedly, signaling his willingness to accept punishment.
"Alright then—what do you want me to do?" he asked sincerely.
Lumine's eyes spun thoughtfully before she replied, "Hmm… I haven't decided yet. I'll put it on your tab for now and settle it with you later."
"Oh right—Navia, Clorinde, do you two have any ideas?"
Navia was taken aback. She hadn't expected herself and Clorinde to be dragged into this—were they really allowed to make requests too?
"Huh? This involves us as well?"
Seeing Navia's surprised expression, Lumine couldn't help but laugh. She nodded and explained, "Of course—it's only fair. Shao Yun wasted all of our precious time, after all."
Realizing this was a rare opportunity, Navia quickly voiced her wish.
"Then, Mr. Shao Yun, would you be willing to join the Spina di Rosula?"
However, before Shao Yun could respond, Clorinde immediately started complaining.
"Navia, don't you think that request is a bit much?" Clorinde said, frowning.
Shao Yun echoed Clorinde's sentiment. "Agreed. But if you need help with something, feel free to submit a commission."
With Navia's request settled, it was Clorinde's turn.
She sat in her chair with her arms crossed, carefully considering something in her mind.
After a moment, she looked up and spoke solemnly, "Please teach me gun techniques. That is my only wish."
Hearing this, Shao Yun felt a headache coming on.
Clorinde had brought up learning gun techniques countless times—it was practically an old refrain by now.
He subconsciously scratched his chin, thinking about how to deal with it.
But faced with Clorinde's expectant gaze, along with Lumine's not-so-subtle hinting, Shao Yun ultimately sighed and nodded, agreeing somewhat perfunctorily.
"Alright, I can teach you a few things. But it'll have to wait until after this vacation ends. And it'll need to be on a weekend when you're off duty. I don't want to be teaching gun techniques late at night."
Though his tone sounded casual, it was still a clear yes.
For Clorinde, this was unquestionably wonderful news.
She had put in no small amount of effort and persuasion to get this far, and now her wish had finally been fulfilled.
"Thank you. I'll study diligently," she said.
Seeing that everything had been settled, Navia—having finished her tea—stood up and announced loudly, "In that case, I'll be in charge of planning today's itinerary! Everyone, follow me!"
…
Time flew by, and before they knew it, the vacation was nearing its end. Under Navia's guidance, the group's holiday was full and satisfying.
Notably, while vacationing in the Court of Fontaine's Belleau Region, they encountered several Melusines playing on the beach with some Blubberbeasts basking in the sun.
Paimon personally experienced just how springy a Blubberbeast's belly really was.
…
Before they realized it, a wonderful week had passed. The vacation came to an end, and life returned to its usual routine.
Clorinde resumed her duties as the Hydro Archon's bodyguard, while Navia continued leading the Spina di Rosula.
On a bright, sunny noon, outside the Café Lutece in the Court of Fontaine, Shao Yun was leisurely enjoying his free time.
For him, every day could be a holiday if he wanted—just a difference between dull idleness and fulfilling vacations.
This time, however, he wasn't alone. Lumine and Paimon were with him.
The reason was simple: today's commission was exceptionally easy. After finishing it, Lumine and Paimon had nothing else to do, so they could only pass the time with Shao Yun at the café.
Paimon lay lazily on the table, stirring the coffee in front of her with a spoon and grumbling, "This is soooo boring! Nothing fun is happening at all—I feel like I'm about to grow mold!"
Beside her, Lumine propped her chin on one hand and looked equally listless. "Yeah… Clorinde's back at work, Navia's busy with affairs lately, so she can't get away."
"Charlotte's busy writing articles for The Steambird, Lyney and Lynette are nowhere to be seen… sigh, it's really boring…"
Compared to the restless Lumine and Paimon, Shao Yun looked completely at ease.
He lifted his cup of rich coffee, took a sip, and smiled in satisfaction.
"A day with nothing to do is the best kind of day."
Lumine idly fiddled with her spoon, trying to find a topic to break the silence.
She asked casually, "Ugh, this is so boring… oh right—Shao Yun, when are you planning to teach Clorinde?"
After thinking for a moment, Shao Yun replied, "A couple of days ago, I ran into Clorinde on the street. She told me to wait for her this Saturday morning at the reception hall of the Court district's waterway hub."
"Then we'll take a boat to her hometown, and I'll teach her there. Speaking of which, Lumine, do you want to come along? You could also review the gun techniques I taught you before."
Since there was nothing else to do anyway, Lumine agreed. "Sure. It's not like I've got anything going on lately…"
Just then, Eula appeared in the distance, dressed in a uniform of the Fontaine Security Patrol, carrying out her patrol duties.
Thanks to the enhanced miraculous supplement, Eula had recovered much faster than Clorinde.
When her gaze landed on Shao Yun, Lumine, and Paimon sitting outside the café, she paused slightly.
She glanced around to make sure no colleagues were nearby before walking over to the table.
Stopping beside them, Eula greeted everyone naturally and casually.
"Hi there."
Seeing Eula, Paimon—who had been listless—instantly perked up.
"Eula! I can't believe I forgot about you. Are you officially a garde officer now?"
Eula looked down at the crisp uniform she was wearing and said with emotion, "Yes. Thanks to your help, Mr. Neuvillette has approved my promotion to a full member of the Gardes."
Although she said so, sharp-eyed Paimon quickly noticed something odd—the insignia at Eula's collar looked different from those of other full officers.
Paimon pointed at Eula's collar and asked curiously, "But… why does the badge on your collar still look different from everyone else's?"
Eula subconsciously touched her collar insignia and smiled helplessly. "Oh, that's because my official badge hasn't been issued yet. I'll probably have to wait a few more days."
She sighed lightly and couldn't help complaining, "You have no idea—the procedures at the Palais Mermonia are insanely complicated. The paperwork alone is enough to drive someone mad."
Hearing the words "Palais Mermonia procedures," Shao Yun recalled the time he had kicked down the interrogation room door—and Chevreuse's shocked cry.
"Yeah, I've heard about that from Chevreuse," Shao Yun said with mixed feelings.
Then he sized up Eula, dressed in her patrol uniform and full of vitality, and joked, "So now that you're an official officer, you don't have to be used like a brick anymore—plugged in wherever needed?"
Hearing this, Eula recalled her days as a trainee garde officer.
Every day was either standing guard or being sent wherever extra hands were needed to do miscellaneous work.
But now… wasn't she basically still doing the same things?
"Not really. I just went from standing guard all the time to sometimes standing guard and sometimes patrolling. I still go wherever I'm needed—just don't have to work as reception staff anymore."
After hearing this, Shao Yun nodded helplessly.
"Alright then…"
===BREAK===
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