Chapter 132: The Weeping Little Ai (Additional Chapter for League Leader Clear River Moon)

Returning home, Fina immediately saw Vernon sitting on the sofa, his face pale and gasping for breath. Frank was already on high alert, ready for battle.

“Don’t be too worried; I’m just tired,” Vernon waved his hand, signaling that there was no enemy in their home.

Fina scanned the room several times with her senses, and Frank repeatedly checked the prescription on his glasses. Only then did they both relax.

“What have you been up to?” Fina asked as she approached Vernon. She hoped he wouldn’t say he was exhausted just from taking care of Shiho Miyano. Given Vernon’s physical condition, he wouldn’t even break a sweat caring for an unconscious patient without using any magic.

“I took a peek at the timeline,” Vernon said, rubbing his temple as he placed Kieran’s time stopwatch on the table.

The stopwatch’s cover opened naturally, but inside, the hands moved erratically, like a malfunctioning motor, spinning relentlessly without any sign of stopping.

“What... exactly happened?” Fina asked incredulously.

Though not a priceless artifact, the time stopwatch was a legendary item crafted by the mage Kieran. How could it have been messed up like this? Wasn’t this just an ordinary, technology-centered planet?

Vernon frowned, gathering his thoughts. “Can you imagine a tangled ball of yarn that’s been played with by dozens of cats for a whole month?”

“The timeline here is even more chaotic and disordered. I was overestimating myself trying to sort out a timeline of this magnitude. The stopwatch overloaded trying to protect me. It just needs some time to recover.”

“Are you okay, though?” Fina handed him a glass of water.

“It’s nothing serious. But this adventure wasn’t without its gains,” Vernon said, accepting the water. “The little girl you found is indeed a key figure. I saw her multiple times within the chaotic timeline, but her name isn’t Shiho Miyano—it’s Ai Haibara.”

“Ai Haibara...” Fina whispered just as a slight noise came from the room, indicating that Ai Haibara had awakened.

Hurrying over with clothes in hand, Fina confirmed that Vernon’s natural energy was indeed the best remedy—it hadn’t been long before Ai Haibara had regained consciousness.

Inside the room, Ai Haibara looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and recalled the last scene she saw before collapsing. She struggled to stand.

She could not simply stay quietly in a stranger’s home; that would only bring trouble to these kind-hearted people.

“You just woke up; you can’t get up like that. Lie down properly,” Fina said as she entered, setting the clothes aside and gently pressing Ai Haibara back onto the bed.

Having never experienced such care except from her own sister, Ai Haibara was somewhat confused, simply watching Fina as she tended to her.

When Fina pulled clothes from her bag, Ai Haibara suddenly shivered.

The underwear was fairly normal, but the outer garments—weren’t they meant for cuteness? Little bears and rabbits were one thing, but why did every pair of pants have a fuzzy tail attached at the back?

“I don’t want this. I want to go home...” Ai Haibara struggled.

“Don’t be difficult. There’s a big group of people looking for you outside. It’s safer for you to stay here,” Fina said, holding up the clothes and gesturing for Ai Haibara to wear them.

Slap! Ai Haibara reacted strongly, swatting Fina’s hand away and curling up against the wall.

“Who exactly are you?!” Ai Haibara demanded, her mind flashing back to the moments before she lost consciousness.

These people knew her as Shiho Miyano, knew there was someone searching for her outside. Even if they weren’t from the organization, they must be connected to it.

Could it be that the organization had abandoned violence and shifted to a softer approach?

“We’re not bad people...” Fina stepped closer.

Ai Haibara stared daggers at her, clearly unwilling to cooperate.

“Ah,” Fina sighed, “Captain! Does she meet the criteria?”

“She does, but remember not to break any other rules!” Vernon’s voice came from the living room.

Fina put the clothes aside and extended her right hand toward Ai Haibara.

Dazzling points of light flew from the palm of Fina’s hand, seeming almost alive as they danced under her command, forming beautiful patterns before Ai Haibara’s eyes.

Seeing Ai Haibara’s attention waver, Fina raised her hand, and the lights quickly gathered into a small galaxy, the sun and Earth orbiting at a reduced scale.

“This is the galaxy we currently inhabit.”

As she spoke, Fina waved her hand again, and a double helix of DNA spun in the air.

“This is the model of ordinary human deoxyribonucleic acid, an essential genetic material.”

Ai Haibara’s expression darkened. She was no longer a child, and since they already knew her real name was Shiho Miyano, she didn’t need this middle school-level explanation.

“As for me, my name is Fina. I am a mage.” Fina extended her hand again, and the lights around her dissolved back into her body.

“A mage?” Ai Haibara tilted her head. “Is that magic? A trick?”

“Yes, indeed magic. Let me show you again—don’t be too surprised.” Fina gently tapped Ai Haibara’s clothes.

“Ah!” Ai Haibara screamed as if her clothes had come alive, slipping off her body on their own while the clothes in Fina’s hand seamlessly merged onto her.

After a silence of several seconds, Ai Haibara touched the now calm garment and looked up at Fina. “How do you know me?”

“Do you mean Shiho Miyano or Ai Haibara?” Fina activated the computer on her arm, projecting an image before Ai Haibara.

“Shiho Miyano was the result of the system’s automatic comparison; she matches you the closest. As for Ai Haibara, that’s the name the captain heard by peering into the timeline.”

“Peering into the timeline?” Ai Haibara pondered deeply.

“That’s right.” Fina gently smoothed Ai Haibara’s hair.

Suddenly, Ai Haibara knelt down, startling Fina.

When she looked up, tears filled her eyes. “Please, please save my sister.”

“Get up first,” Fina helped Ai Haibara to her feet. “Don’t cry. Tell me what happened to your sister.”

“She was killed by Gin! Please, if she can come back to life, I’m willing to do anything.” Tears streamed down Ai Haibara’s face as she spoke in Fina’s embrace.

“Gin?” Fina patted her back.

“Yes, Gin!” Ai Haibara began recounting the story from the beginning, comforted by Fina.

Her parents died in a so-called “accidental” fire when she was very young. Her sister was her only remaining concern.