Hearing Celestial Master Bai's words, Flandre waved her small hand casually, indicating that they had merely happened upon the situation while out for a walk and had handled it simply because it was right in front of them.
"Those two men over there are trying to figure out a way to clear themselves of the blame."
Just then, Komeiji Koishi, who had been standing quietly beside them, suddenly spoke up.
Everyone turned their heads to follow her gaze toward the curb a short distance away. Sure enough, after taking a thorough thrashing from Hong Meiling earlier, the two young men sprawled on the ground had pressed their heads together, whispering in a frantic, low-voiced conspiracy.
"What are they muttering about?" Flandre asked curiously.
"They were saying that they aren't even related to Zhao Ya by blood, so there's zero reason for them to take the fall for her stupidity," Koishi reported brightly. "The two of them decided to pin the entire blame for snapping those plum branches squarely onto her head. They're even willing to step forward as state witnesses to testify that she clearly knew the Plum Garden flora was off-limits yet deliberately broke them anyway."
"Ha~ Koishi, you didn't secretly open your third eye just now, did you?!"
Hearing Koishi's precise breakdown, Flandre wore a look of genuine astonishment, quickly leaning over to inspect her friend's side; the third eye remained tightly shut, showing not the slightest sign of having been opened. After all, Koishi had described their conversation in far too much detail. Given her innate nature as a satori, if she had genuinely chosen to open that eye once more, the very first person to celebrate would be Satori—for it would mean Koishi had finally let go of her deep-seated fear toward a satori's mind-reading abilities.
Koishi shook her head cheerfully. "Nope! When you guys were chatting just now, I saw them whispering together over there, so I strolled over and eavesdropped for a bit."
The moment Koishi offered that simple explanation, both Flandre and Hong Meiling had to fight hard to keep straight faces.
Koishi's true power lay in the manipulation of the subconscious; even when standing directly in front of someone's nose, she could completely erase her presence from their perception. When those two men were huddled together plotting their betrayal, they must have been keeping an anxious eye out for nearby guards or bystanders. They simply never could have imagined that a being like Koishi existed—someone capable of walking right up to their shoulders and listening to every syllable without ever being registered by their brains.
While it felt a little pitiful for the pair, thinking about the sheer absurdity of the scene was undeniably hilarious.
Turning their gazes back toward the two men, the trio couldn't help but show a flicker of distaste.
Although cutting off an arm to survive and decisively stopping one's losses was pragmatic—and the old proverb "husband and wife are birds of the same forest, flying separately when disaster strikes" had existed for centuries, especially since these two men were merely pursuing the woman rather than being bound by marriage vows—choosing to distance themselves after she triggered a massive legal disaster was understandable human behavior.
However, severing ties was one thing; actively kicking someone while they were down and throwing their former crush under the carriage to save their own skins made them look utterly devoid of spine or grace.
Still, while those two could only be labeled petty opportunists, their legal strategy wasn't actually wrong. Whether it was the initial confrontation or the subsequent felony escalation, every ounce of trouble had been sparked by that arrogant father-and-daughter duo. If the two men ended up with permanent criminal stains on their personal records over someone else's tantrum, it truly would have been a raw deal.
"What do you plan to do about them?" Having learned of the two men's little scheme, Flandre looked toward Bai with open curiosity.
Bai gave a light, indifferent shrug. "If they can provide reasonable corroboration confirming that the vandalism was committed solely at the instigation of that father and daughter, then shifting the primary financial liability onto those two is completely acceptable. After all, requesting a fair division of responsibility is their legal right."
Her dark eyes glinted sharply as she glanced toward the security pole. "However, I certainly won't take one side's testimony at face value. We have full high-definition surveillance covering this sector, remember? Even without an audio track, an investigator can easily reconstruct the truth of the incident by cross-referencing their statements against the video timestamps. If those two attempt to deceive us with fabricated lies, that automatically constitutes obstructing an investigation and deceiving the Guard Department—which falls directly under the statutory clauses for aggravated sentencing."
Celestial Master Bai had clearly studied the legal codes of Great Yan in thorough detail. She had no intention of showing partiality to any of the four suspects, intending only to verify their respective degrees of culpability based on hard video evidence and recorded depositions before handing her technical assessment over to the Guard Department. Ultimately, the final sentencing would rest with the magistrates.
At this point, the LGD Operators had finished securing the suspects and were preparing to escort the quartet back to the outpost. As the chief specialist and complaining party, Bai naturally needed to accompany them to sign off on the preliminary paperwork.
"Eh? Aren't the three of you coming along to record your formal statements?" After taking a few steps down the path, Bai noticed that Flandre and her companions were remaining where they stood, prompting a look of mild puzzlement.
"No need! We already gave our complete eyewitness accounts to that first officer right when he arrived," Flandre replied breezily. "Besides, we're staying right here in Flower Village for the next few days. It's not like we're going anywhere, so there's no reason to make a special trip down to the station."
"That still doesn't quite add up, though," Bai frowned slightly, raising both hands in a light boxing gesture. "Based on what the officer summarized earlier, didn't both sides engage in a physical brawl?"
True to her word, Bai refused to bend rules out of personal bias. Even though she held a very favorable impression of Flandre and her group, she remained remarkably strict regarding proper legal procedure.
"Oh, that wasn't a mutual brawl. If you really want to use precise terminology, it was strictly a one-sided beating..."
After answering with deadpan seriousness, Flandre pointed a thumb proudly at her own chest.
"However! I am a certified criminal investigation consultant for the Major Crimes Unit of the Lungmen Guard Department, and Sister Meiling restrained those four suspects purely under my direct field authorization. Even though it caused them a bit of temporary physical discomfort, as you saw when you arrived, all four of them are breathing fine and full of energy. Therefore, the Guard Department classifies this not as street brawling, but as law-abiding citizens assisting active personnel in halting an ongoing crime."
The moment Flandre laid out her credentials and the legal framing, Bai dropped the line of questioning immediately.
With a single shift in perspective, Flandre had smoothly transformed what looked like a messy park scuffle into a textbook case of heroic citizens intervening to protect private property. The most impressive part was that there wasn't a single legal flaw in her argument.
Because Flandre was a recognized, accredited consultant for the LGD, as long as the local outpost verified her badge status, any defensive intervention she authorized against an active crime—provided it did not result in permanent bodily harm—was entirely lawful and protected under municipal statutes.
As for why Hong Meiling had stepped in physically rather than Flandre acting herself, the logic was even more airtight. Among the three of them, Meiling was the only adult; you couldn't possibly expect a young girl to step forward and physically wrestle four grown adults into submission, could you? Naturally, an accompanying adult stepping in to execute a lawful citizen's arrest under a consultant's directive wasn't going to be thrown into a holding cell for her trouble!
Celestial Master Bai looked at Flandre with eyes brimming with sudden astonishment and genuine approval. While she despised corrupt officials who abused public authority to bully ordinary folk, Flandre's conduct couldn't be considered an abuse of power in the slightest. Coupled with the fact that they were the ones who had stopped the vandals in the first place, Bai had zero intention of losing sight of the bigger picture by nitpicking the people who had just saved her prize trees.
Bidding a warm farewell to the trio, Bai turned and walked off down the avenue alongside the LGD escort team.
"That Celestial Master Bai is quite an interesting character," Hong Meiling remarked once the group had rounded the bend out of earshot.
"More importantly, it's easy to tell she genuinely loves these flowers, plants, and trees," Flandre smiled, nodding toward the snowy grove. "That means Sister Yuuka and she should have plenty of common ground to talk about tomorrow morning, don't you think, Koishi?"
As she finished speaking, Flandre turned her head to look at Koishi standing beside her—suddenly realizing with a faint blink that Koishi had quietly slipped away from her side, walked a complete circle around the suspects, and returned without Flandre noticing her absence for even a single second.