Thus, this question was glossed over.
The last person to raise her hand was Lin Xiaolu.
To say she raised her hand might be a bit of a stretch because her small arm was spread out on the table, with only the palm sticking up; clearly, she herself was dubious about making the gesture.
When Emerald Sparrow's gaze turned to her, Lin Xiaolu's half-raised hand even collapsed back down, and she averted her gaze, pretending that nothing had happened.
"Do you have any questions?" However, Emerald Sparrow did not miss her small movement and keenly detected Lin Xiaolu's intention to speak at the very first moment.
Being called out by name, Lin Xiaolu was startled, opened her mouth, and after a long moment, squeezed out a voice fine as a mosquito's whine, "...Is it because…"
"Sorry, I didn't catch that." Emerald Sparrow frowned, having only understood a few words.
Lin Xiaolu's voice hesitated, and she ultimately shook her head, "It's just some unimportant stuff, I have no other questions."
As she said this, she bowed her head down to watch the table, apparently lost in thought.
Emerald Sparrow was left sitting across from her, wanting to speak but not knowing where to begin. Seeing that no one else was raising their hands, and assuming that all questions had been asked, she didn't want to drag out the meeting and reluctantly sighed:
"Let's adjourn then."
The night deepened, and the moon hung high.
The time was already 10 pm; the magical girls at the base had gradually ended their activities for the day, washed up, headed to their rooms, and succumbed to slumber.
For most magical girls, going to bed on time was a good habit because Remnant Beasts often roamed at night, sometimes even after midnight. If one stayed up too late and then slept, they had often not completed a full sleep cycle when the Remnant Beasts appeared and would be forced to go into battle in a groggy state, which was not conducive to fighting.
Among these magical girls lying in their beds, although many were preoccupied and gloomy until the moment of sleep, they inevitably succumbed to fatigue and eventually closed their eyes amid the covers.
Only two rooms still had their lights on at this hour.
One of them was Emerald Sparrow's room; she had not gone to sleep, simply because her work was not yet finished.
Managing the vast Abnormal Strategy Bureau, even though Lin Yun had delegated as much as possible, handing most trivial matters to relatively trustworthy staff, there was still a large amount of coordination, approval, and decision-making to be done.
Many of these tasks could not be completed during the day, and Lin Yun dared not work overtime at the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, so she had to bring the work back to the base, waiting until the dead of night to do it alone.
The good news was, since Hong Siyu's return, the workload had already decreased significantly because the documents passed to him had already gone through an initial screening.
And now, Emerald Sparrow was reviewing the last document of the day.
This document was submitted by the logistics department, concerning the usage and wear of magical weaponry. As the direct provider of the magical weaponry, she needed to verify this report before applying to the Investigation Institute for repairs and replenishments.
Being able to grant magicians the power to face egg-tier Remnant Beasts on their own, magical weaponry was of great significance to the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, so Emerald Sparrow had to thoroughly audit each data figure, making sure there were no oversights.
Perhaps because she was so engrossed in reading the document, she utterly failed to notice that another person had appeared beside her desk.
Without sensing hostility or fluctuations in magic power, Emerald Sparrow subconsciously ignored the existence of this person, until the presence in her peripheral vision grew stronger, and she belatedly shifted her attention away from the document and looked to the side.
Standing there was someone unexpected—Xia Liang.
Since the night of the Full Moon Festival and starting her role as the head of the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, Lin Yun—or rather, Emerald Sparrow—had been so preoccupied with troublesome matters that her time spent with the girls inevitably decreased.
And Xia Liang, though it wasn't intentional, had indeed spent the least one-on-one time with her lately.
The reason was simple: she was low-maintenance.
Compared to Lin Xiaolu, who always made various noisy gestures to draw attention, and Bai Jingxuan, whose silence was more worrying, Xia Liang had been quite low-maintenance lately.
Although there were occasional, harmless pranks, compared to the other two members, these pranks really weren't much.
Furthermore, whether in studies, mode unfolding, or Magical Girl training, Xia Liang had shown considerable talent and insight, and even the teaching did not require Emerald Sparrow to spend much time. Unwittingly, the time spent together between Emerald Sparrow and her had become much rarer.
At this moment, Xia Liang's sudden visit felt somewhat nostalgic to Emerald Sparrow.
"Is there something you need?" Therefore, she put down the document and asked with a more serious attitude, "And next time, please say something when you come."
"Here." Xia Liang said this as she suddenly pushed her hands forward, offering a cup of tea, "I just brewed it with boiling water. It'll probably be a while before you can drink it."
It was only then that Emerald Sparrow noticed that the other party had brewed a cup of tea upon arriving.
Emerald Sparrow took the tea cup and lightly wiped the rim, confirming that the water in the cup was indeed very hot, "Are you having trouble with your studies?"
"Not at all," Xia Liang replied.