After carefully packing the newly customized clothing, Flandre dialed Swire's number.
Upon hearing that Flandre had specifically bought a brand-new set of clothes for Rope, Swire couldn't help but let out a small, dramatic huff over the receiver, expressing a tiny bit of playful jealousy. She then mentioned that she was currently stationed at the main Lungmen Guard Department building and told Flandre to bring the package right over. She promised to personally guide them through the intake complex to the detention center so Flandre could visit Rope.
"Alright, Sister Swire! We'll be there super fast!"
Flandre firmly believed that once a task was set, it ought to be executed immediately—only then did life feel organized.
After bouncing over to say a quick goodbye to Patchouli and the Twin Maids, she grabbed a thoroughly groggy, sleep-deprived Hong Meiling by the wrist and dashed all the way toward the LGD headquarters.
Standing at the grand front gates of the Lungmen Guard Department, Hong Meiling turned around, squinted at the long avenue they had just traversed, and asked a question that had been puzzling her the entire way.
"Why in the world did you just drag me all the way here in such a rush? Did you forget to actually bring the package?!"
"Oh no!" Flandre slapped a small palm against her forehead. Her mind had been so utterly consumed with what she was going to say when she met Rope that she had completely forgotten to carry the bag out the front door!
Just as Meiling opened her mouth to suggest that they sit on a bench while she called the estate to have one of the maids deliver it by car, Flandre grabbed her wrist again and, without a single word of warning, bolted back in the direction they came.
"Yada yo~! Why do I have to sprint back and forth across the city with you..."
Meiling gave her a complete dead-fish stare, entirely helpless as she was dragged along in another high-speed sprint all the way back to the villa.
Upon arriving home, the shopping bag was indeed sitting neatly on the entryway side table where they had left it. Flandre snatched it up and, without taking even a single breather, turned on her heel and sprinted right back out...
By the time they reached the LGD gates for the second time, Meiling collapsed onto the curb, sitting down with a dramatic, exhausted sigh.
"I say, Second Young Miss... why on earth couldn't we just fly?"
Clearly, taking to the sky would have taken a fraction of the time and consumed almost zero stamina, yet Flandre had insisted on running on foot. Meiling felt a deep wave of regret—her earlier reminder had accomplished nothing except adding an extra three-kilometer lap to her morning routine.
"Because everyone else on the street is walking!" Flandre declared, her cheeks flushed pink as she smoothed down her red dress. "It wouldn't be very social if only the two of us were flying through the air! Besides, I've thoroughly read the municipal laws of Lungmen. It clearly states that the entire airspace of Lungmen is a restricted zone, and utilizing personal flight gear within city limits without prior authorization is strictly forbidden!"
Her answer was delivered with absolute, unwavering self-righteousness.
"Uh... you're actually quite a law-abiding citizen, aren't you?" Meiling stared at her, temporarily robbed of any rebuttal.
"Anyway, we've already run all the way back here, so there's no point in complaining!" Flandre declared, puffing out her chest like a model citizen. "If it really becomes a problem, how about we visit the Governor's Mansion later and apply for a free-flight permit?"
"A free-flight permit? What in the world is that?"
Swire's crisp voice broke in as she strolled down the front steps of the building, catching only the tail end of their conversation.
Flandre dutifully repeated what she had just said to Meiling. After listening to the explanation, Swire looked at the little vampire as though she were suddenly inspecting a rare medical condition.
"The public regulation you're referring to certainly exists, but it only restricts commercial and civilian equipment, not individuals with natural abilities," Swire explained patiently, tapping her leather crop against her boot. "And even when it comes to equipment... as the primary law enforcement agency of Lungmen, the Guard Department inherently holds unrestricted airspace jurisdiction within city boundaries. We have specialized drone divisions operating around the clock to support ground Operators. None of us have ever applied for a 'flight permit'!"
Swire elaborated on the exact legal framework: the restriction was meant to prevent untrained civilians from operating private drones or dangerous flight rigs in crowded public sectors. However, as the official public combat force, the LGD naturally operated outside those civilian restrictions. In fact, the regulation existed precisely to draw a clear line between law enforcement assets and civilian traffic.
Since Flandre was an officially registered member of the Guard Department, she enjoyed the exact same operational privileges as any other LGD Operator—meaning she needed zero special filings to fly around town.
As for Meiling... Flandre could easily submit a formal recommendation to register her as an auxiliary martial arts instructor for the precinct, granting her the same operational status. And even if Meiling preferred not to join officially, accompanying Flandre on duty meant she fell directly under Flandre's tactical command, easily clearing any regulatory hurdles.
Listening to Swire's thorough breakdown, Flandre scratched her mess of hair. "The power of judicial interpretation truly is a formidable thing."
Swire stepped closer and vigorously ruffled the little girl's hair until it was a fluffy mess. "Speaking of which, what took you two so long to get here?!"
She mentioned that she had been waiting in the main foyer for quite a while, and when no one showed up, she walked outside to check—only to catch them collapsing at the front gate.
"Oh! I forgot to bring the clothes when I ran out the first time, so I had to sprint back home to get them!" Flandre announced proudly, making it sound as if her high-speed return trip was a massive achievement.
"Uh... why didn't you just call the villa and have one of the estate drivers bring the bag over?" Swire asked—the exact same logical question Meiling had wanted to ask earlier.
"The drivers travel too slowly! It's way faster if I just run back myself!" Flandre answered as though it were the most obvious fact in the universe.
"That makes so much sense that I am genuinely speechless," Swire muttered with a wry smirk.
Turning on her heel, Swire gestured for the pair to follow. "The detention wing of the Guard Department is located in the rear complex, right behind the main training grounds. Follow me."
As they walked through the secure corridors, Swire casually pointed out the various facility sectors to Meiling.
"Are all the criminals in Lungmen locked up in this building?" Meiling asked curiously, peering through the reinforced glass panels of the holding cells.
"Not at all," Swire replied, shaking her head. "This facility only houses minor offenders—individuals serving sentences under thirty days, or temporary detainees awaiting preliminary hearings. Anyone facing a sentence longer than a month is transferred to the main penitentiary out in the Outer Ring. So, the folks held here are mostly petty pickpockets, minor brawlers, and public nuisances."
Swire led them down a quieter hallway, pulling a heavy brass keycard from her belt that she had just requisitioned from the duty guard.
Reaching a solid steel door, Swire swiped her keycard and pushed it open, allowing Flandre and Meiling to step inside.
Sitting on the narrow cot within the room was Rope.
At that exact moment, the Cautus girl had just polished off a steaming bowl of LGD pork cutlet rice. She was lounging back against the thin pillow, humming a lazy tune with her hands folded behind her head, looking every bit as relaxed as an old retiree strolling through a park with a caged songbird.
The sudden clatter of the heavy door unlocking startled her badly. Rope sat up with a jump, instantly assuming the Guard Department was being uncharacteristically cruel and throwing her out into the freezing cold ahead of schedule.
But as she blinked against the hallway light, she found Swire and Flandre standing in the doorway, with Flandre holding a crisp shopping bag.
The moment her eyes landed on Flandre, Rope felt a wave of incredibly complex emotions wash over her.
The last time they had seen each other was in that dimly lit Slums alleyway. Rope had been stuck on the sidelines, watching in absolute, paralyzed horror as Flandre single-handedly dismantled a group of armed ambushers with terrifying, blood-soaked ease. That horrific scene had left a massive, lingering impression on her small heart.
Afterward, whenever she looked back on how she had tried to "save" the little girl from those thugs, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her own ignorance. With the kind of overwhelming power Flandre possessed, how could a few Slums thugs ever pose a threat to her?
If Rope hadn't stepped in with her self-righteous interference back then, those ambushers would have probably been turned into red mist on the spot.