Warmth Beneath the Dusky Skies

10, Fate's Endeavor

Their conversation went on for nearly an hour until Suzy arrived to fetch them. And upon reaching the police station, they met up with Liza and Sina inside a meeting hall. A spread of lunch boxes were on the digital strategy table, filling the room with a delightful peppery scent.

"Just in time!" Liza said. "Don't be shy. There's enough for everybody."

Marice glanced at Katherine looking over at the largest box brimming with chicken biryani. "There's never enough for everybody when this woman's around."

"Don't you worry! I'm saving most of my tank space for dinner!"

"Ah, right," Liza looked at Marice, "your mom invited me for dinner too. Looks like she's about to cook up a storm later, huh?"

"I frankly don't know where she suddenly got that boost in confidence, but I'm looking forward to it."

"Well, you should be! She's been working hard to improve over the last few months!"

The smile on her face vanished as she turned her attention to the pink-haired witch beside her. "Why are you here?"

Vivianne was about to take a bite out of a rolled-up naan, curry sauce dripping out of its bottom end. "You speak like I'm not welcome here. I'll have you know I'm the guest of honor in this particular assembly."

And as if on cue, Colonel Belmonte and another police officer entered the room. "What's the meaning of this?!" the latter shouted. "Who gave you permission to eat here?"

"Our guests haven't taken their lunch, sir," Liza replied, setting down her melon shake.

The brigadier general fumed even more. "Then they can eat after the meeting! Is this your idea, Captain Belmonte?"

She averted her eyes. "Um... assuming that I sorta kinda did that...?"

"Have you got no shame? How will you be able to command respect to anyone with your ridiculous antics? And to think that you were chosen to be their field supervising officer is just—"

"R-Relax, sir. You'll keep growing white hair if you keep up that temper all the time."

"Y-You insolent little—if I had it my way, I would've relieved you from your unit and relegated you to desk work for an entire year!"

"That... doesn't sound too bad, to be honest. I could use a break from the action."

The colonel let out a hearty laugh. "You know that's not gonna happen, right?"

"Hey, a girl can dream, you know?" She clasped her hands. "Ah, I've been wanting to go to the beach for a while now too. Clear blue skies, the glistening waves, the cool sea breeze—ah, it's simply divine!"

"Do you have any specific place in mind?" Vivianne asked, wagging a fork at her. "Preferably somewhere a bit more isolated than the usual spots."

"Somewhere with less people, huh? That might be tricky since it's the holiday season, but maybe you can try checking out the islands of Mindoro and—"

"Enough of this nonsense!" The general faced Marice. "And you, why did you bring that girl's familiar with you?"

Startled, the spider familiar hid behind Marice. "I can't let my mother do all the babysitting," Marice replied, "so I had her come along."

He leered at the cowering familiar. "I trust that you know what you're doing. After all, her presence here may jeopardize our operations here."

"She won't."

After a brief standstill, the general shook his head and walked towards the opposite end of the table. "Have a seat. I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."