Seeing Flandre standing right in front of her, Rope felt a tangled knot of complicated emotions rise in her chest.
Flandre, however, seemed completely oblivious to the faint, lingering hesitation in Rope's posture. With a radiant, effortless smile, the little vampire stepped right up and pulled her into a warm, enthusiastic hug.
"Long time no see, Rope! How have you been lately?"
Feeling the genuine warmth in Flandre's hug, the tight anxiety in Rope's chest melted away, and a soft, helpless smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"Not bad at all... The Guard Department provides decent food and hot water. Honestly, I feel like I've gained a bit of weight." Rope lightly pinched her own waist to emphasize her point.
Flandre looked over Rope's thin, threadbare outfit—which, while layered, offered little protection against the harsh winter chill outside—and felt a quiet wave of satisfaction. Her choice had been absolute perfection.
"Sister Meiling, give me the bag!"
Flandre turned, took the neatly wrapped package from Hong Meiling's hands, and held it out to Rope with both arms. "Take a look! I picked this out especially for you!"
Curious, Rope untied the top and pulled open the lining, uncovering a set of muted, brownish-black tactical camouflage gear.
An ordinary young girl her age would almost certainly turn her nose up at such a design. After all, most teenage girls favored bright, vibrant, and stylish clothing. This drab, heavy-duty material looked closer to the workwear worn by daily laborers on a heavy industrial site.
But Rope was hardly an ordinary girl.
As a seasoned pickpocket surviving on her wits, her top priority had never been standing out, but rather blending seamlessly into crowds and fading into the background. Bright, eye-catching fashion accomplished the exact opposite. Furthermore, wearing flashy, expensive clothes into the Slums was no different than marching down the alleys with a loudspeaker shouting, 'I'm loaded, please come rob me!'
Conversely, while the suit before her looked remarkably understated and low-profile, Rope's practiced eye could tell at a single glance that the fabric and construction were extraordinarily high-grade.
"Don't just stare at it—take it out and try it on!" Flandre urged, impatiently helping her unpack the trousers and jacket when she saw Rope hesitate.
As she took the jacket, Rope's eyes subconsciously caught the brand placement on the interior collar. Instead of a commercial logo, she found a subtle, beautifully embroidered emblem shaped precisely like Flandre's iconic wings.
Rope looked up in surprise, comparing the embroidered wing pattern on the collar to the crimson wings resting behind Flandre's back.
"Is something wrong?" Flandre asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"No... nothing at all! I'll go try it on right now!"
Under Flandre's eager encouragement, Rope stepped behind the privacy screen and quickly changed into the tactical suit.
The moment she zipped up the jacket, a look of utter astonishment crossed her face. The outfit fit her with unbelievable precision—it felt as though a master tailor had taken her exact measurements and custom-built it specifically for her body structure.
Subconsciously, Rope glanced over at Swire, who was leaning against the doorframe. She remembered that Swire had handled her intake processing and physical assessment when the patrol car brought her in earlier that morning.
Did Senior Officer Swire pass my exact sizing parameters over to Flandre?
Naturally, Rope felt zero resentment about her measurements being shared. For someone drifting through the Slums, "privacy" was an unfathomable luxury they had never possessed in the first place, so there was no fear of exposure. What truly touched her was the realization that Flandre had gone through so much quiet effort just to prepare a gift for her.
The sizing, the practical color palette, the durable material—everything had been calculated for her actual survival needs, unlike fancy boutique gifts that couldn't be worn in the Slums and would inevitably end up sold for cheap at a pawnshop.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Rope finished fastening the boots and took a few tentative steps, bending her knees and rotating her shoulders. To her delight, the suit was not only immensely warm, but it also offered incredible flexibility, devoid of the stiff, scratchy discomfort typical of brand-new heavy outerwear.
"How is it? How does it feel?!" Flandre asked, peering up at her with bright, expectant eyes.
Rope nodded repeatedly, her eyes shining. "It fits perfectly! It doesn't restrict my movements or slow me down even a little bit!"
"Then... do you like it?"
"Of course I do..." Rope looked down at the immaculate stitching, her voice dropping into a soft, deeply sincere tone. "This might genuinely be the best gift I've received in years."
"Yay! Clap, clap, clap!" Flandre clapped her hands together in delight.
A few seconds later, she leaned in slightly and lowered her voice to a playful whisper. "I actually added a tiny secret to these clothes so you'll stay extra comfy while wearing them!"
"A secret?" Rope blinked, thoroughly intrigued.
"Hehe! Let me tell you a secret: I'm actually a professional Magical Girl!" Flandre declared proudly, puffing out her chest. "I know lots of magic! I wove some special magic into this outfit—it makes you almost completely immune to hot and cold weather outside, while also letting you run faster and jump higher!"
Flandre proceeded to list the various Enchantments embedded within the suit. After all, if you were giving a friend a magical gift, you had to explain how to use its functions properly!
By the time Flandre finished explaining, Rope's jaw had dropped, and her ears twitched in sheer disbelief. "Clothes can... can actually do all that?!"
"Of course they can! If you don't believe me, just try hopping on the spot!"
Flandre had barely finished her sentence when Rope gave a light, casual hop.
As a Cautus, her natural leg strength and physical agility were already fairly impressive, but the moment she pushed off the floor in these enchanted boots, she shot upward like an arrow, her ears nearly brushing against the high ceiling!
Mind you, that was merely a casual, low-effort hop—she hadn't used anywhere near her full strength! She quickly estimated that if she launched herself with full power, she would slam head-first straight through the ceiling tiles.
The enhancement to her mobility was absurdly pronounced. On top of that, with the self-regulating temperature function, she could wear this exact same suit through the freezing winter and the scorching summer without ever needing to worry about the elements.
Realizing the mind-boggling, priceless value of the gear she was wearing, a wave of panic hit Rope. She instinctively reached for the zipper to take it off and return it. "Flandre... this is way too valuable, I can't possibly—"
Before she could unzip the jacket, Flandre reached out and firmly held her hand down.
"It's useless to give it back to me!" Flandre insisted, shaking her head. "This suit was custom-enchanted specifically to match your exact body structure and physical measurements. Neither Sister Meiling nor I could wear it anyway!"
Flandre flashed a bright, radiant smile. "Besides, aren't we friends? It's just a friend giving you a little gift—there's no need to be so formal with me!"
Flandre's warm, earnest words made it impossible for Rope to refuse any further. Of course, deep down, she couldn't bring herself to part with an outfit that protected her from extreme weather while massively boosting her physical capabilities.
Seeing Rope accept the gift, Flandre happily circled around her like a joyful little bird.
"Alright, girls, visitation time is almost up!" Swire tapped her wrist watch from the doorway, breaking up the moment with a gentle reminder.
While she held the authority to grant private visitation privileges, the detention block remained an official law enforcement facility governed by strict operational protocols. Even as a senior officer, she couldn't allow them to hang around inside the holding area indefinitely.
Flandre turned back to Rope with a look of genuine reluctance. "Remember to come find me so we can play together as soon as you get out!"
Rope nodded vigorously. Under Flandre's boundless enthusiasm—and the overwhelming "friendship bonus" of a masterwork tactical suit—the awkward distance and fear she had harbored since their previous encounter completely evaporated.
As for Flandre being a terrifying, cold-blooded killer? Well, that terrifying side was reserved exclusively for enemies who tried to hurt her people, wasn't it? Since Rope was her friend and fell under her protection, she had absolute zero reason to fear her.
Rope was neither a self-righteous moralist nor a delicate saint. Having grown up in the brutal, unforgiving environment of the Slums, violence and death were part of daily life. Her previous fear had stemmed purely from the sheer, incomprehensible shock of watching Flandre instantly crush an armed squad into a bloody pulp before her eyes.
Now, knowing that they were true friends, she trusted Flandre implicitly.
This trust had nothing to do with receiving an expensive set of enchanted armor—it was simply the fundamental, unwavering faith she held for a true friend.