After finishing the phone call, Hoshiguma looked down at Flandre. "Do you have any other plans for later?"
Flandre nodded her head earnestly. "Mm-hmm, I have to go back and read! Sister Patchy is going to test me later."
"A test?" Hoshiguma was taken aback. After all, given Flandre's vast knowledge and incredible combat power, she could easily teach half the people in the Guard Department; it was rather shocking to hear that someone at her level still had to study and take exams!
"Yeah, Sister Patchy is super strict. If I don't do well on the test, I'll get spanked." As Flandre said this, she subconsciously reached back and patted her bottom, a little gesture that made Hoshiguma let out a hearty laugh.
"Then you really have to do well! After you finish the test, I'll treat you to something delicious." Hoshiguma set Flandre gently on a nearby stool and reached out to rub her soft hair.
"Really?!" Hearing about delicious food, Flandre's eyes lit up instantly, her crimson wings fluttering with excitement.
"Of course! How about we pinky swear on it?" Hoshiguma matched Flandre's enthusiasm with a delightfully serious expression.
"Alright! Let's pinky swear! After the test is over, you have to treat me to the best food!" Flandre held out her little finger, locking it firmly with Hoshiguma's much larger one.
After happily making the agreement, Flandre left the Major Crimes Unit accompanied by Hong Meiling.
Strolling along the bustling street on their way home, Meiling asked in genuine confusion, "With all the pocket money you have right now, is there anything in Lungmen you can't buy and eat whenever you want? Why are you so excited about a free meal?"
Flandre skipped ahead, her wing crystals clinking softly. "Having the money to buy something and actually finding where to buy it are two completely different things, Sister Meiling! Often, it's not that we don't want to buy good food, but Lungmen is just too huge, and we don't know about all the hidden local shops. But Sister Hoshiguma is a true 'local' who has lived in Lungmen for years—she definitely knows all the hidden gems! When she treats us, she can take us directly to those amazing little places!"
Hong Meiling shook her head helplessly, a fond smile gracing her lips that clearly said, 'So you're really just a clever little glutton after all.'
Upon returning to the villa, Flandre immediately buried herself back into her four complex volumes on Incantation and Arts theory. Meanwhile, Meiling skillfully pulled down her eye mask, threw her body onto the soft living room sofa, and drifted off into a peaceful, instant nap.
Far across the veil inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Sakuya Izayoi, observing this lazy scene through a scrying lens, calmly snapped the wooden handle of her broom in half. Then, without skipping a beat, she pulled out a fresh broom from thin air and continued cleaning the spotless corridors.
Time flew by in a blur, and a week later, Flandre's dreaded exam day finally arrived.
In the center of the study room, four identical Flandres sat in a row before four identical examination papers, working diligently with ink pens.
For once, Hong Meiling sat up completely straight on a stool, watching Flandre's clones with bated breath before leaning over to whisper to Patchouli, "Lady Patchouli, do you think there's any chance Flandre might fail this exam?"
Patchouli gave Meiling a flat, speechless look. Did Meiling truly not grasp the sheer processing power Flandre possessed? Besides, Flandre had only gone out for a single short stroll over the past week; the rest of her time had been spent locked in this room studying non-stop. How could there possibly be a risk of failing?
One had to remember that when Patchouli originally assigned those four heavy volumes, the seven-day timeframe was calculated based on a single reader finishing four books sequentially. But in reality, once Flandre deployed her "Fourfold Existence" technique, she had effectively spent seven full days studying each book in parallel! Her depth of comprehension was naturally far higher than Patchouli had initially benchmarked.
Even though Patchouli had customized this special examination paper by adding a substantial amount of advanced, deceptive material, it still wasn't enough to stump the little vampire.
An hour later, the study timer chimed, signaling the end of the exam.
Patchouli hooked her finger, and the four completed examination papers floated up from the desks, landing neatly in a stack before her. Without even flipping through them manually, she flicked her wrist, and a quill levitated above the parchment, automatically marking the answers at high speed.
Setting the floating quill aside, Patchouli looked over at Flandre, her violet eyes turning serious. "According to our prior arrangements, your sister will likely arrive on this side within the next few days at the very latest. This time, it is highly probable that several truly powerful youkai will choose to cross over as well. Do you have any objections to this, Flandre?"
Flandre tilted her head and scratched her messy hair. "Why would I have objections? This world called Terra is huge—much bigger than Gensokyo! Even if everyone came over, there would still be plenty of room for all of them. So as long as they aren't coming here specifically to do bad things, Flandre thinks it's completely fine!"
Hearing her response, Patchouli nodded slightly. Her question had sounded like a test, but in truth, she was simply confirming her own stance through Flandre's voice.
As for the concern of youkai causing senseless destruction, Patchouli felt there was little cause for alarm. The youkai who had qualified to reside within Gensokyo in the first place had already undergone a thorough screening by the sages. At the very least, those bloodthirsty, uncontrollable monsters who preyed recklessly on humans and devoured children had long been purged or sealed away—the Human Village could never have survived otherwise. Even the Scarlet Sisters, who required fresh blood to sustain themselves, consumed remarkably modest amounts in practice.
Thus, the vast majority of youkai in Gensokyo were relatively peace-loving or bound by established rules.
The low-tier youkai who had crossed over during the initial rift were essentially small fry and scouts. Those lesser spirits had already been organized and integrated into Ibuki Suika's newly established force out in the East. Although Suika was a notorious drunkard, she was fiercely dependable when it mattered. With her in charge and the Tengu monitoring from the shadows, those small fry wouldn't dare cause any real chaos.
This time, however, if Patchouli's calculations were correct, several truly formidable entities were preparing to cross the boundary. Therefore, she needed to reiterate the rules to those high-tier visitors to firmly assert their sovereignty.
Terra was a world first discovered and anchored by Flandre. Furthermore, opening a stable, long-distance spatial portal required leveraging the innate blood-kinship link between Flandre and Remilia Scarlet. Consequently, according to the pact established between the factions, Terra fell under the primary jurisdiction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Any youkai wishing to step onto this planet had to abide by the rules set forth by the Mansion.
Those rules were far from overly restrictive: essentially, once youkai arrived on Terra, they were strictly forbidden from using their overwhelming, godlike power to oppress, butcher, or enslave the native mortals of this realm for mere sport. Of course, using personal force to secure a comfortable living environment or retaliating against hostile attacks was entirely permitted—the pact merely outlawed indiscriminate slaughter driven by malice or bored venting.
Far across the planar boundary, the powerful figures gathered on the other side understood Patchouli's terms clearly. Most of those preparing to cross were fully prepared, patiently awaiting Remilia to unfold the grand crimson magic circle that would bridge the two worlds.
Among the entities preparing to make the passage, many were legendary figures whose names echoed across mythologies.
"This scholar friend of yours, Patchouli, is truly an interesting one," a melodious, commanding voice echoed across the velvet-draped hall. "Does she honestly believe existences like us would go back on our word?"
The speaker was an ethereal beauty adorned in long, flowing golden hair, dressed in an exquisite fusion of classic cheongsam and Hanfu garments. Behind her, seven radiant, tail-like purple spiritual energy formations hummed with terrifying divine power.
"Of course not, Lady Junko," Remilia Scarlet replied smoothly, sitting atop her gilded velvet throne with her scarlet wings unfurled. Her tone was neither humble nor overly assertive. "The boundaries Patchy lays down are never aimed at legendary existences like yourself. After all, at our level of strength, none of us would resort to recklessly slaughtering a new mortal world simply to farm mindless karma."
Hearing Remilia's refined, diplomatic response, Junko offered a satisfied nod.
Truth be told, Junko held little personal interest in this new world called Terra. Based on the intelligence gathered so far, Terra possessed nothing that could directly aid her in her eternal, vengeful assault against the Lunar Capital.
However, her dear friend—Hecatia Lapislazuli, the Goddess of Hell—had expressed an immense, inquisitive interest in the newly opened realm. Hecatia wished to test whether she could expand her divine authority into Terra's untamed planar structure, elevating her domain from a deity who governed the Hells of three realms into one who held sway over four distinct worlds. Should she succeed, her overall divine strength would reach an entirely unprecedented tier.