Beatrice spoke with great excitement.
"Wait, Beatrice, aren't you a patrol officer?"
Flandre Scarlet knew that although Beatrice was a police officer like Chen Huijie and the others, she was actually a patrol officer. Her duties usually involved trivial neighborhood disputes, petty scams, and the like. Even if a smuggling case didn't fall under the Major Crimes Unit's jurisdiction, it shouldn't have been her turn to handle it.
Beatrice proudly explained the reason.
She had been working diligently and conscientiously every day lately, and by chance, she discovered a warehouse where people were constantly coming and going. She had checked it out; it was a cold storage warehouse that sold various frozen goods. Normally, an ordinary person would stop investigating there. After all, there's a frozen goods warehouse every two blocks in Lungmen, and most shops buy frozen products shipped from afar from these places.
But Beatrice was clearly no ordinary person. After observing for a few days, she noticed that no supplies were being delivered to this warehouse, yet their stock never ran out. She even went so far as to buy some items in disguise and found they were products from several surrounding cities, but her sharp eyes noticed they lacked the official Lungmen import-export customs stamps.
Beatrice didn't make a scene. Instead, she quietly took notes, continued her observations for several more days to secure evidence, and then reported it to her superior. Logically, her task should have ended there. As a patrol officer, she had already fulfilled her duty.
However, her surname was Swire.
A certain hidden hand pulled some strings behind the scenes, and the case landed back on her head. After a period of tracking, she discovered that the suspects had frequent contact with a nearby tourist town, so she planned to head over and take a look. It just so happened she realized Flandre had spent most of her time indoors lately, unlike other kids her age who loved running around, so she specifically planned to take her along.
"Besides, Flandre, you're so strong. If we run into bad guys, you can protect me, right?" Beatrice hugged Flandre, blinking her eyes with an imploring look.
"Alright then!"
"Yay!" The moment Flandre agreed, she was immediately scooped up and bounced around in a hug.
Early the next morning, Flandre woke up to see Beatrice surrounded by a mountain of bottles and jars.
"The sun is very strong these days, need to apply sunscreen... and moisturizer..." As Flandre walked over, she heard the other girl muttering to herself.
"Beatrice, what are you doing?" Flandre rubbed her eyes and asked curiously.
"Oh, little Flandre, do you need some sunscreen? We don't want your skin getting tanned," Beatrice asked, turning around as she heard Flandre's voice.
Flandre shook her head. "No thanks. This level of sun won't tan me." Flandre felt that smearing a bunch of stuff on her body would feel weird.
"I'm so jealous. Do all Blood Demons have skin as good as yours?" Beatrice looked at Flandre's delicate, supple skin and felt an urge to give it a pinch. As if sensing her intentions, Flandre took several quick steps back, retreating out of "grabbing" range while Beatrice looked on with regret.
"Alright, little Flandre, go play outside for a bit. We'll head out as soon as I'm finished here!"
After saying that, Beatrice went back to tinkering with her bottles and jars. Half an hour later, Flandre looked into the room. Beatrice had just stood up and announced she was going to change her clothes. Another half hour passed before Beatrice walked out holding two outfits.
"Little Flandre, which one do you think looks better on me?"
???
???
Flandre couldn't understand. Beatrice had gone to change half an hour ago; how could she still not be dressed after thirty minutes? She had never noticed that Beatrice was so high-maintenance when it came to changing clothes.
"Well, of course! We're going undercover this time to gather information. Naturally, we must completely disguise ourselves as real tourists! That way, we won't alert the suspects." Beatrice spoke with perfect conviction.
"Really?" Flandre, somewhat stunned by Beatrice's reasoning, pointed to the red dress.
"Why that one? Clearly, this blue set is prettier, right?" Beatrice asked.
"Because Sister likes red..." Flandre answered.
"Sister... the one you called Remilia?" Beatrice asked.
"Mm-hmm. Flandre even dreamed about Sister last night. She seems to be getting closer to Flandre!" Flandre said, raising her hands happily.
A flash of curiosity crossed Beatrice's eyes. She had heard Flandre mention this sister and the events inside that place called the Scarlet Devil Mansion more than once. But she couldn't understand why anyone would lock such a cute and sensible little thing in a basement for so many years. If they ever actually met, she would definitely give the woman a piece of her mind.
"Alright, then wait just a few more minutes." She took the clothes and went back into the room. A moment later, she emerged wearing the red one-piece dress and a white dress hat.
"Let's go, little Flandre. It's time to head out."
Checking the time, it was already 9:30 AM when the two finally stepped out of Flandre's room. A brown sedan was already parked at the door, sporting a golden-haired cat decal. It looked playful and cute.
"Off we go!" Beatrice stepped on the gas, and amidst laughter, the two arrived at the harbor area.
"Oh? Isn't this Officer Chen? Shouldn't you be at the Major Crimes Unit investigating those big cases? Why are you personally patrolling the harbor?" Swire, wearing sunglasses, rolled down the car window and drove up to Chen Huijie, who was conducting spot checks on vehicles entering and exiting. Swire asked with a smug tone.
"Are you two leaving the city?" Chen Huijie looked at Flandre, who was poking her small head out from the other side to wave hello; her tone was somewhat grave. "Did something happen?"
"A gang of bandits has appeared outside the city recently. They've robbed several logistics trucks traveling between Lungmen and other regions, causing heavy losses. We're not sure if they'll target civilians, so you two must be extremely careful while you're out there."
Even as Chen Huijie said this, she felt that if anyone actually dared to rob them, the real concern would be whether the bandits' bodies would remain intact. After all, based on Flandre's performance back at the cemetery, it was clear this child had absolutely no fear or hesitation about killing. Her strength was immense; if she weren't so well-behaved, Lungmen would have been thrown into chaos by her long ago.
"Don't worry, this car is modified. If things look bad and I need to run, no one can catch me." Beatrice didn't mind at all mentioning to another police officer that her car had undergone illegal modifications...
"If you find any relevant leads, don't be impulsive. Report back to us." Chen Huijie was worried Beatrice would take Flandre and act recklessly. Of these two, one was bold and daring, and the other didn't even know what fear was. If they really found a lead, given their personalities, they truly might act on their own.
"I know, I know. I'm just out for a trip this time. I can't let your business spoil the mood!" Beatrice waved her hand dismissively, then stepped on the gas, driving out of Lungmen under Chen Huijie's uneasy gaze.
By afternoon, they arrived at the tourist city built not far from the Lungmen shipping route.
"Wow!" Flandre leaned out to look, letting out cries of wonder. What met their eyes were hillsides covered in wildflowers and colorful butterflies fluttering among the blossoms. Combined with today's clear skies and bright sunshine, even Beatrice, who had been thinking about work earlier, was now smiling as she parked the car in front of the sea of flowers.
Flandre simply flew straight out of the window. She reached out to catch the butterflies, which scattered and flew away. Undeterred, she chased after them, sending clouds of butterflies dancing through the floral expanse. Beatrice leaned against the car, smiling and clapping for Flandre.
When Flandre finally returned, tired from playing, Beatrice gently brushed off the pollen and dust she had picked up while chasing the butterflies. "Are you happy?"
"Super happy!" Flandre raised both hands high.
"Then let's find an inn to stay at, shall we? We're going to be playing here for several days!" Beatrice reached out and ruffled Flandre's hair.
"Okay! (^o^)/~"
With high spirits, the two arrived at the place Beatrice had booked in advance.
"This is the best inn in the area, and I booked the best suite. Look, it's nestled by the mountains and water, and it's on the top floor with a balcony. You can see the entire sea of flowers from here!"
After entering the room, Beatrice took Flandre to the balcony. An even larger sea of flowers appeared before them.
"Wow!" Flandre's eyes widened in surprise again. It wasn't that Gensokyo didn't have flower fields, but those were usually sun-flowers—sunflowers. It wasn't like here, where everything grew together in a riot of colors with butterflies dancing everywhere. Flandre was completely dazzled.
"Is there anything you want to drink?" Knowing Flandre wouldn't refuse a beverage, Beatrice asked while using the nearby service phone to contact the inn staff for some food.
"Flowers, so many flowers!" Flandre's eyes and attention were entirely fixed on the sea of flowers; she hadn't heard a word.
"Alright, and a pot of flower tea." Seeing Flandre so absorbed in the flowers, Beatrice didn't bother pulling her attention back and simply ordered a pot of flower tea for her to enjoy.
By the time Beatrice had eaten her fill and finally relaxed, Flandre reluctantly pulled her attention away from the floral view.
"Why do I smell flowers?" Flandre looked around and finally noticed the steaming pot of flower tea.
"I ordered it for you. Want to try some?" Beatrice handed Flandre a cup.
"For me? Thank you, Sister Beatrice!"