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ArabicArknights: The Holy Son's Leisurely Life — Chapter 28
Chapter 28: The Very Knowledgeable Angelina
“Team B, Team C, lock down the perimeter and block the other exits! Team A, on me. The suspect uses highly volatile Originium Arts, so hold your ground and stay sharp!”
The sharp, commanding voice of a Lungmen Guard Department officer echoed through the damp alleyway, instantly followed by the unmistakable, authoritative tone of Swire.
‘Oh dear,’Lucian thought.’As expected of the ever-reliable Madam Swire. Impeccable timing.’
The young Volpo messenger heard the approaching boots of the police force. The color drained from her face, leaving her pale and trembling as fresh tears welled in her eyes.
Lucian made a split-second decision. He grabbed a discarded, oversized cardboard box from the shadows. “Cover yourself with this and press flat against the wall,” he ordered in a hushed, urgent tone. “Curl up tight, and tuck your tail in!”
“Eeek! (>_<)"
Without standing on ceremony, Lucian grabbed her thick, plush tail and unceremoniously shoved it under the cardboard rim, earning a muffled, thoroughly scandalized squeak from the young fox girl.
The rhythmic clatter of boots grew louder. “I definitely heard a woman’s voice! In here… Hmm?”
Rounding the corner with her baton at the ready, Swire blinked in sheer surprise, her feline ears twitching.
“Lucian? What on earth are you doing here?”
“It’s a rather long story.” Lucian smoothly took two strides forward, effectively shielding the cardboard box from her line of sight. He offered a polite cough. “Madam Swire, working hard as always, I see. Still chasing down Infected fugitives? I’m afraid there’s no one matching your description down this dead end. You might want to check the next street over.”
“What are you talking about?” Swire’s eyes narrowed with instant suspicion.
She rose on her tiptoes, leaning to the side to peer over his shoulder. Lucian casually stepped to the left. She darted to the right; he mirrored her movement, completely stonewalling her view.
Swire bared her canines in frustration and stamped her polished boot against the pavement. “Lucian, what exactly are you playing at?! I am in the middle of an active investigation! Move out of my way!”
“I really can’t do that, Miss Swire. I have a perfectly legitimate reason for needing privacy right now, and you’re just going to have to listen to me.”
Lucian stepped into her personal space, placing his hands gently but firmly on Swire’s shoulders. Under the bewildered gazes of the heavily armed Lungmen Guard Department operatives stacked up behind her, he took a deep, dramatic breath.
“Exusiai is right behind me,” he whispered, his tone laced with heavy implication.
“…Huh?” Swire raised a delicate eyebrow, completely failing to process the statement.
Exusiai being in a dirty alleyway had absolutely nothing to do with whether the LGD could conduct a search. On the surface, it was a nonsensical excuse.
So, Lucian leaned down, his lips brushing dangerously close to her ear, and murmured a few highly explicit, entirely fabricated details about exactly what he and the Sankta were supposedly doing in the dark.
Swire’s expression underwent a spectacular metamorphosis. Suspicion shattered into deep confusion, rapidly spiraling into absolute shock, and finally settling on sheer, unadulterated panic.
A furious crimson flush exploded across her cheeks, traveling all the way to the tips of her ears. She looked wildly between her stoic subordinates and Lucian’s calm face, her eyes actually welling with humiliated tears.
“You… you absolute pervert!” she stammered, her voice cracking. “In this… this kind of filthy place?! Eeek!”
Swire’s sudden, high-pitched lioness roar forced the operatives behind her to instinctively wince and cover their ears.
She stamped her foot again, a few stray tears of embarrassment flying from the corners of her eyes. “You—Lucian, just you wait! I’ll make you pay for this later! I absolutely will not forgive you for making me hear that!”
Bristling like a startled cat, Swire spun on her heel and marched her bewildered team out of the alley, ultimately giving Lucian the face he needed to escape scrutiny.
Lucian watched her retreating figure, shaking his head with a faint, appreciative sigh. ‘She still assumes she’ll forgive me eventually. Swire… truly a good woman.’
He knew perfectly well that with Swire’s sharp intellect, it wouldn’t take long for her to cool down and realize the sheer absurdity of his excuse.
Only when the heavy footsteps faded completely into the ambient noise of Lungmen did Lucian step back and lift the cardboard box. “The coast is clear. You can come out now.”
The Volpo girl didn’t reply.
She remained curled into a tight little ball, her face burning with a blush so intense it rivaled the color of a ripe tomato.
Lucian had to crouch down to meet her gaze before she finally averted her eyes, her voice trembling into a barely audible mumble. “I… I’ve never… done anything like that… I haven’t even ever had a boyfriend… I haven’t… Really, I haven’t…”
Lucian let out a low, humorous chuckle. “I know. I never doubted your innocence for a second. That was just a convenient lie to force the Guard Department to back off. I apologize if it made you uncomfortable, alright?”
‘Kids these days just know too much,’ he mused inwardly.
Yet, calling her a ‘kid’ was merely a reflection of her innocent demeanor and youthful aura. Physically, there was nothing small about her. Her curves were remarkably pronounced—arguably more generous than Exusiai’s or Texas’s, and perhaps even giving Croissant a run for her money. Lungmen’s students were certainly developing well.
Lucian quickly reined in his wandering thoughts as he looked down at the shivering girl. He cleared his throat with two polite coughs and formally extended his hand.
“My name is Lucian. I know you’re an Infected, but you don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t do anything to hurt you. Just come with me for now; I’ll take you somewhere safe to lay low.”
“…Mm.” The obedient little fox gave a tiny nod.
She hesitated for a fleeting second before reaching out. Instead of taking his whole hand, her small fingers nervously wrapped around just one of his, her grip surprisingly tight.
“My name is Angelina…” she whispered softly. “Thank you, Mr. Lucian.”
Lucian quickly fired off a text message to Exusiai, vaguely mentioning a slight accident, before leading Angelina toward his apartment.
Given her disheveled state and the lingering LGD patrols, Lucian actively avoided the bustling main streets. They handled through a labyrinth of damp, shadowed back alleys, which easily doubled their travel time.
Along the way, Lucian gently coaxed a bit more information out of her. He learned she was only seventeen years old—a genuine, proper high school student whose life had been upended by Oripathy.
The obedient girl was clearly still deeply shaken. She clung to the fabric of Lucian’s coat the entire journey, following his every instruction without a single word of protest.
It struck Lucian as slightly concerning. Even after being deceived and nearly arrested, she was placing blind, absolute trust in a total stranger. He couldn’t help but worry about her ability to protect herself in a city as unforgiving as Lungmen.
Then again, considering the circumstances, he was the only lifeline she had. He had driven away the Guard Department. If he were truly a malicious predator, he could have sold her to the black market right now, and she would probably help him count the LMD.
A naive, incredibly cute, and remarkably well-endowed high school girl…
Lucian’s thoughts uncontrollably veered off into dangerous territory for a brief moment. Why did the specific phrase ‘high school girl’ carry such a strange, magnetic appeal?
By the time Lucian finally guided Angelina through the front door of his apartment, he found Exusiai already waiting in the living room.
“You are so incredibly slow!”
The moment the Sankta laid eyes on him, her halo practically flared. Her eyebrows shot up in pure indignation as she marched over. “What exactly have you been doing, you absolute idiot?! I ran into that snooty feline officer on my way back! She told me everything!”
“And what, exactly, did she tell you?” Lucian asked, preemptively bracing himself.
An entirely overloaded Exusiai grabbed a plush throw pillow from the sofa and hurled it with terrifying precision, smacking Lucian squarely in the face.
Her face was flushed, her anger boiling over into a frantic, energetic rant. “Don’t you dare spread those kinds of rumors about me so casually! How am I supposed to look the neighbors in the eye now?!…I mean, sure, everyone around here already suspects I’m your girlfriend, and it’s not like I actually dislike people thinking that… But couldn’t you have done it in a normal way?! I want to have a proper, romantic date with you and let Swire see that! Not… not whatever dirty alleyway nonsense you told her!”
Lucian blinked, brushing the pillow aside. “Wait, that’s what you’re mad about?”
He was genuinely speechless. His incredulity only caused Exusiai’s internal circuits to fry further, prompting her to grab the remaining cushions and launch a relentless, rapid-fire pillow artillery barrage at his head.
Behind him, Angelina shrank back, trembling like a leaf in a storm. “I… I’m so sorry…” she stammered, her fox ears drooping flat against her hair. “It’s all my fault that the police lady misunderstood… But, to be perfectly honest, I think I’m a victim in this too…”
Explaining the nuances of this disaster was going to be far too troublesome. Lucian let out a long, heavy sigh.
He gently pulled the shivering Angelina out from behind his back and looked at the panting Sankta. “We can argue about my methods later. For now, can you find some clean clothes for this girl and help her get cleaned up?”