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Black Robes: ???
Subordinates: ???
Lauren: ???

An overwhelmingly awkward silence descended over the scene. Everyone stared at Lauren, opening and closing their mouths without knowing what to say.

A long while passed. At last, one of the subordinates snapped back to his senses. He swallowed hard and said blankly, “Chief Inspector Lauren… your outfit is… really cute.”

“……”

Lauren’s lovely face instantly flushed scarlet. The composure she had maintained even when facing the Moon Demon shattered as though a meteor had crashed into a tranquil lake, sending colossal waves surging skyward.

“W… What the hell is this?!” With tears welling at the corners of her eyes, she clutched her chest and crouched down.

‘Where did these clothes even come from?! Why do they expose so much skin? It’s completely shameless! Especially this skirt. Does it even cover anything at all? And those poses and catchphrases just now… I never wanted to do any of that!’

Lauren had already cursed Jasmine¹ a million times in her heart. ‘It’s one thing if you wanted me dead, but now you’re trying to make me die of embarrassment too? Jasmine, you’re absolutely inhuman!’

As the seconds ticked by, the figures in black robes finally recovered from their shock as well. The leader of the black robes rubbed his nose and said bashfully while looking at Lauren, “Don’t think becoming this cute means we won’t eat you.”

“…Cute my a̲s̲s̲! And why are you blushing?!” Lauren shot back tearfully. She was already contemplating silencing everyone present forever. If what had just happened got out, who knew what kind of lasting impact it would have on the rest of her life?

From now on, whenever people mentioned her, they wouldn’t remember the capable and decisive Chief Inspector. Instead…

——Mommy, look! That’s the weird big sister walking around the streets in funny clothes!
——Don’t look, sweetie. You’ll get styes.

It would definitely end up like that!

The moment murderous intent surged within her, the strange star-shaped wand in her hand (a magic wand) grew scorching hot. Power rapidly gathered within it. Lauren’s eyes lit up. This power…

“Purin Purin Sparkling Attack!”

A wave of pink light burst from the magic wand, instantly reducing one of the black-robed figures to charred ash. So powerful! With this kind of strength, these black-robed people weren’t a threat at all.

“But why do I keep shouting such embarrassingly cringe catchphrases on my own?!” Lauren hurled the magic wand to the ground. “Could you be serious for once?!”

After shouting that, Lauren glanced at the black-robed figures before silently bending over and picking the wand back up. When you’re at someone else’s mercy, you have no choice but to bow your head.

‘I, Lauren, will endure this humiliation!’

“What are you all standing around for?! Kill her!” The leader of the black robes finally snapped out of his daze after watching his companion get obliterated in an instant and immediately ordered his subordinates to attack.

Seeing this, two crystal-clear tears streamed down Lauren’s cheeks. They represented her innocence… and her reputation.

“Purin Purin Sparkling Attack!”
“Purin Purin Sparkling Attack!”
“Take this! Super Purin Purin Sparkling Ten-Hit Barrage!”
“In the name of justice, I’ll wipe you all out! Hyaah…”

The agonized screams of the black-robed figures echoed throughout the night sky.

***

A quarter of an hour later, Lauren braced herself against her knees, breathing heavily. She had never expected using this thing to be so exhausting. Although the power itself wasn’t hers, merely serving as its vessel seemed to consume an enormous amount of stamina.

Fortunately, the enemies had all been dealt with. Lauren swept her gaze across the surroundings. Aside from piles of charred remains, nothing else had been left behind. Miss Jasmine’s identity became even more mysterious in Lauren’s eyes. To casually leave behind something this powerful… Though it really was unbearably embarrassing.

“Take a moment to regroup, then continue advancing,” Lauren turned around and ordered her subordinates.

“Y… Yes, Chief Inspector!” For some reason, the subordinates answered hesitantly, several of them blushing as well.

‘What the hell are you blushing for?!’ Lauren grumbled inwardly, feeling more and more convinced that her career was about to come to an end because of this. Fortunately, only her own subordinates had witnessed it. If she issued a gag order afterward, she might still be able to keep everything under wraps.

As long as no influential figure beyond the reach of a gag order had seen it.

“Deputy Chief Inspector Lauren?” A familiar voice emerged from the darkness.

Lauren stiffly turned toward the source of the voice. A slightly plump figure stepped out of the shadows. The head of the Gongsun family, Gavin. Lauren’s vision went black, and for a moment she had the overwhelming urge to draw her sword and end herself on the spot.

‘Just my luck. The one person I didn’t want to show up had shown up.’

“I heard the commotion and hurried over immediately. I never expected…” Gavin looked Lauren up and down for a moment before pausing. “I never expected Deputy Chief Inspector Lauren to have such… refined tastes. You’ve truly broadened this old man’s horizons.”

“That’s enough. Don’t say another word, and don’t ask why.” Lauren raised a hand, stopping Gavin before he could continue. “More importantly, why is the Gongsun family here in the middle of the night? What are you plotting?”

Lauren’s expression grew wary as she quietly tightened her grip on the magic wand. With the Ye family’s betrayal as a lesson, she couldn’t be certain whether the Gongsun family had a hand in this incident as well.

“As for me, I’m simply following our ancestor’s orders to install Stabilizing Stones throughout the city.” Gavin smiled as he pointed toward the sky.

“Your ancestor?” Lauren looked up. Upon seeing the Saint realm expert dressed as a Daoist hovering in the heavens, her pupils contracted. “He’s your ancestor?”

“Hehe, although the Gongsun family has always kept a low profile, he is indeed our ancestor.”

“Then your family…”

“Rest assured, Deputy Chief Inspector Lauren. Our ancestor is now a member of the Immortal Cloud Pavilion. He’s here to protect the people of this city and has little interest in struggles for political power.”

“Protect the people?” Lauren’s expression remained unconvinced. She gestured at the devastation around them. “This is what you call protection?”

During the brief time just now, the two figures in the sky had already exchanged another round of attacks. The aftershocks had spread all the way into other districts of the city, and who knew how many innocent lives had been lost because of it.

“There was nothing our ancestor could have done.” Gavin let out a quiet sigh. “A battle between Saint realm experts is perilous beyond imagination. Under those circumstances, our ancestor simply couldn’t spare the strength to protect ordinary people. Besides…”

He looked toward the sky, narrowing his eyes. “Our ancestor seems to be at a disadvantage.”

“…That’s true.” There was only so much a person could do. She couldn’t demand the impossible. Lauren steadied her emotions before asking, “Then tell me, what exactly are these Stabilizing Stones for?”

“That brings us to the Ye family’s objective.” Gavin’s gaze swept across the surroundings before settling on the piles of charred remains. A trace of shock flashed through his eyes. “I believe Deputy Chief Inspector Lauren has already discovered that the Ye family has been colluding with the Demons.”

“That’s right. And I don’t think it’s merely collusion.” Lauren recalled the Ye family’s steward. She had seen him several times before and was certain that he had once been human. Yet when she encountered him tonight… He had become a demon.

“That is the Blood Demons’ method.”

“Blood Demons?” Lauren frowned. “What kind of monsters are they? Why have I never heard of them?”

“It’s only natural that you haven’t. That race went extinct five hundred years ago. Had our ancestor not informed me through voice transmission, even I wouldn’t have known the truth.

“According to our ancestor, the Blood Demon race possessed a secret art that allowed humans and demons to transform into one another. During the great war between the demons and humanity, that secret art supplied the Demons with countless expendable soldiers and contributed greatly to their war effort.

“Because of that, the ancestor of the Immortal Cloud Pavilion ventured alone into the Northern Domain back then and slaughtered every last Blood Demon. But who could have imagined that remnants of the Blood Demon race had still survived?”