Under Flandre Scarlet's strange gaze, the two argued from the doorway into the house, and then from the sofa to the front of the game console. The way they bickered while playing "Happy Kitchen" together was incredibly amusing.
Flandre Scarlet did not interrupt their interaction; instead, she curiously asked Alina why the way these two got along was so strange. Upon hearing this, Alina sent a burst of "Hahahaha" representing her laughter. Through their blood connection, she could feel that Alina on the other side was laughing so hard she could barely stand up straight.
"They don't like each other, so why can they still play together?" Flandre Scarlet expressed that she didn't quite understand their dynamic; they clearly found each other unpleasant, yet they could sit together and play. When she encountered someone she didn't like, she would just choose to squeeze them until they popped; she would never play with them.
"So, they don't actually hate each other. In fact, in my opinion, they are likely very good friends. It's just that they find issues with certain aspects of each other's personalities or habits, so they voice their opinions."
Flandre Scarlet looked doubtfully at Beatrice and Ch'en Huijie, who were playing the game while accusing each other not far away, their faces almost touching. She couldn't help but make a strange expression. Can friends have such an awkward relationship? Flandre Scarlet's small face was filled with immense confusion.
After all, in her view, even if friends weren't like the relationship between her sister and Patchy, they should at least be like her sister and that Hakurei Shrine Maiden, or Alina with Talulah and Frostnova. The way these two looked, calling them mortal enemies seemed more accurate... however, their faces were so close and they weren't scratching each other. Could this be the 'Tsundere' mentioned in her other memories?
So weird! Flandre didn't dare to look! Flandre Scarlet covered her eyes with both hands, then peeked through her fingers, secretly observing the interacting pair.
The two stayed until nearly dawn. After a cycle of game failures, mutual accusations, catfights, and continuing the game, Ch'en Huijie—who had won N consecutive brawls—stared with a pair of panda eyes and walked out of Flandre Scarlet's house with her head held high and a dignified air.
Swire also had two large dark circles under her eyes. Rubbing her waist, she complained about how ruthless Ch'en Huijie's strikes were, telling Flandre Scarlet not to learn from her.
"Forget it, I'm not going out looking like this! Flandre-chan, I can sleep here tonight, right?" Looking at her two pitch-black eyes that resembled a species of Ursus unique to the Yan, Swire decided to stay at Flandre's house tonight.
"Of course. The house is very big; Beatrice, you can sleep wherever you want!"
As soon as Flandre Scarlet finished speaking, she was picked up by Beatrice. "Then tonight I'm going to sleep while hugging Flandre!"
"Hahaha, Beatrice, don't nuzzle me, it tickles~~" Flandre Scarlet giggled for a long time as Beatrice nuzzled her head against the back of her neck.
The next morning, when Flandre Scarlet woke up, she saw Beatrice lying on the bed nearby, hugging a doll. To avoid the fate of being a human pillow for the whole night, she had secretly replaced herself with a doll after falling asleep. Because she had played until very late, Beatrice was exhausted and didn't notice that the thing in her arms had changed. By the time she woke up, Flandre had already finished a set of morning exercises outside.
"Ah~ Flandre-chan, sleeping here is much more comfortable than at my house... maybe I should just come here to sleep from now on!" Beatrice's bright green eyes stared at Flandre Scarlet as she spoke with mischievous intent.
"Dame~~~" Knowing the other girl just wanted to use her as a body pillow, Flandre Scarlet made a big X with her arms in front of her chest.
"Flandre-chan, you're so heartless!" Beatrice feigned grief and hugged Flandre Scarlet's waist, looking as if she wouldn't let go unless she agreed.
"But you can't always sleep while hugging Flandre... because Flandre isn't sure if she might lose control at night!" Flandre Scarlet replied.
"Lose control?" Beatrice asked in surprise.
Flandre Scarlet nodded. "Flandre's ability is very special. Although it hasn't been out of control for a long time, if it does, there will be serious destruction. That's why I usually live alone."
"Didn't you say it hasn't happened in a long time? I believe you can control yourself." Beatrice reached out to touch Flandre Scarlet's cheek, her tone gentle.
"But..."
"No 'buts'. Starting tonight, I'm moving in. How about that bedroom right next to yours? I'll arrange for people to come and tidy it up in a bit."
Before Flandre Scarlet could refuse, the Little Tiger declared it settled and then walked out humming a little tune. Flandre Scarlet scratched her head. What should she do when Little Tiger was so enthusiastic? Forget it, it didn't really matter to her; it was just one more person sleeping there at night.
That afternoon, unexpectedly, Ch'en Huijie, Hoshiguma, and Swire all came over together. Flandre Scarlet, who was watching cartoons in the house, heard the commotion outside and opened the door to come out.
"Why are they arguing again!" Looking at the dark-faced Ch'en Huijie and the glaring Beatrice nearby, Flandre Scarlet helplessly asked the most stable one, Hoshiguma.
Hoshiguma also sighed, then looked at Flandre Scarlet. "Do you remember the mother and son you had a conflict with at the amusement park yesterday morning?"
Flandre Scarlet shook her head; she couldn't be bothered to remember such unimportant people. "Don't remember."
..."Well, their whole family is dead. The cause of death was having all the blood in their bodies drained. Because many people saw you having a conflict with them yesterday morning, quite a few people suspect you were the one who did it. But Old Ch'en and Missy both deny this. Because according to the Forensic Doctor's estimation of the family's time of death, you were with them at that time."
Hoshiguma continued to explain to Flandre Scarlet.
"Then why are they arguing again?" Flandre Scarlet didn't pay any attention to the issue of the family's death at all. In her view, it really wasn't as important as why Beatrice and Ch'en Huijie were fighting.
"It's simple. Old Ch'en feels that although the two of them can prove you have no problem, she should still follow procedure and take you to the Guard Department to assist in the investigation. But Missy disagrees. She believes that since there are two clear Superintendents who can confirm your whereabouts, and there are numerous surveillance cameras in the villa area to corroborate that you didn't leave, then you shouldn't be taken to the Guard Department as a suspect. The two of them have been arguing about this the whole way here."
Hoshiguma expressed that she was also helpless, but this time an entire family was gone. In Lungmen, this was a major case and belonged to the Major Crimes Unit. That's why she brought the two of them to Flandre Scarlet's side before the official arrest warrant from the Guard Department was issued.
"So, you suspect there are other Blood Demons in Lungmen?" Flandre Scarlet asked.
"It's very likely. Moreover, the news of your appearance at the amusement park yesterday was widely circulated. The other party might have heard this news, found the mother and son who had a conflict with you, and then 'helped' you kill them. This is the situation we think is most likely."
Hoshiguma, truly the calmest of the three, quickly stated the possibility they had argued about on the way.
"Then should we go to the crime scene to take a look first? I'm curious what my 'kin' actually wants to do!" Flandre Scarlet suggested, looking at the three of them. Although she didn't care who died, she wanted to try her best to keep everyone from arguing, because arguing was bad.
Hearing her words, all three looked over.
"That's right. If it really was a vampire who committed the crime in Lungmen, then naturally it would be easier for Flandre to find them." It was Beatrice who spoke; having been with Flandre Scarlet all day yesterday, she was the one who believed in her innocence the most.
"Could it be too dangerous? After all, the opponent might be an unknown vampire?" Hoshiguma asked with a frown.
"Aren't we here?" Ch'en Huijie patted the long sword in her hand.
Since both Ch'en Huijie and Beatrice agreed with Flandre Scarlet's suggestion, Hoshiguma naturally wouldn't refuse. Hoshiguma drove the other three toward the crime scene. Meanwhile, Ch'en Huijie took out her phone and pulled up the materials she had photographed from the crime scene before leaving the Guard Department.
With just one look at the wounds on the people, Flandre Scarlet stated that this definitely had nothing to do with her. The reason was simple: the fatal wounds on the three people could be said to be all over their bodies. Rather than saying they were sucked to death, it was more like they had bled out until they died.
Flandre stated that she was a vampire with taste; sucking blood was only to get full, and she wouldn't make such a mess of a person. Regarding this, Ch'en asked her if other vampires would do this. Flandre Scarlet shook her head and said, "I'm not sure what others are like, but one thing is certain: if you viewed that family as food, would you let your food end up in such a messy state?"
Hearing these words from Flandre, the three of them were momentarily speechless. Although what Flandre Scarlet said was very logical, when it entered the ears of these listeners, it always felt a bit strange. What does she mean by 'viewing people as food'?
"So, this wasn't for sucking blood, but just a cruel slaughter?" After shaking off the messy thoughts in her mind, Ch'en Huijie distilled the meaning from Flandre Scarlet's words.
"Very likely. And with the blood drained so thoroughly, it means the other party might indeed have a way to make the target's wounds bleed incessantly, or a method to control the blood inside the target's body to flow out from the wounds." Flandre Scarlet said after studying the appearance of the corpses in the photos with the eyes of both a vampire and a magical girl.
"There's another thing. If the whole family died, and the blood was sucked dry so there was no scent of blood to attract insects, how were they discovered the very next day?" Flandre Scarlet pulled out a pair of plain glasses from nowhere and put them on, starting to cosplay as a great detective.
"It was their parents. They came to their house at noon today because Beatrice's words had caused their family to suffer severe losses..."