Chapter 34: Light Punishment.

Fresh off her quip, Pepas didn’t get a chance to scold Suna further before a magical fluctuation swept through the meeting room, carrying a stern voice that echoed in everyone’s minds.

[Pepas Forde, Chief, report to my office now. Special Investigations Division, stand by in the meeting room.]

“Understood, Station Chief.”

Facing the summons, Pepas shot Suna a glare mixed with frustration and resignation, letting out a long sigh as if venting all her pent-up irritation.

As she reached to open the meeting room door, she composed herself, stepping out with a calm expression.

But not before pointing at Suna and issuing a final warning.

“Suna, stay put and don’t cause more trouble! If you stir up anything before I’m back, I’ll use you to practice my origami skills.”

With a humorless face, Pepas slammed the door shut without waiting for Suna’s reply.

“Miss Suna, it’s been great meeting you. I’ll miss you in the days to come,” Kerol said in a solemn, funeral-like tone, barely hiding her grin.

Suna, feeling doomed, snapped off a flowering branch from her head.

“I’m done for. I’m dead. I’m so dead…”

Holding the radiant Corona Flowers, Suna began plucking petals, muttering to herself.

Seeing her state, Stone offered some kind words.

“Miss Suna, you’ll be fine. Chief Pepas will explain your situation to the Station Chief. She’s your friend—she’ll back you up.”

“I know that. I’m scared of her settling the score later.”

Stone was momentarily speechless. He’d thought Suna feared the Station Chief’s punishment, not Pepas.

Her priorities seemed… off.

Kerol, floating over on her water orb, scooped up some of Suna’s discarded petals.

“Say, Miss Suna, can I have some of these petals?”

“Sure…” Suna replied weakly.

Kerol tossed the petals into her newly conjured water orb, which began glowing faintly.

“Wow, it’s turning into holy water,” she remarked, poking the orb with amusement.

While Kerol played with the petals and holy water, Stone stayed silent, unsure what to say. Darkness glanced at Suna curiously but didn’t speak.

The room fell into a heavy silence as Suna wallowed in her gloom.

By the time Pepas returned, a pile of Corona petals littered the floor around Suna, and half her flowering branches were snapped off.

Facing Suna’s death-row expression, Pepas sighed before addressing the group.

“First, Suna, your punishment stands. Next, for everyone, our meeting location is changing. The Station Chief is assigning us a dedicated [Dream Gap Island].”

Suna’s mood sank further.

She realized this was because of her—the fact that she’d drawn the goddess’s gaze.

For a covert intelligence operation, that was a disaster, even if the goddess didn’t care about their secrets. For operational safety, the entire division was essentially being isolated.

While support and intel-sharing wouldn’t be cut, the sense of being ostracized stung.

“Sorry, Chief Pepas, Darkness, Stone, Kerol. It’s my fault you’re being forced out of the outpost.”

“Huh? I think working solo is awesome—no one watching us… Ow, Chief Pepas, that hurts!” Kerol, excited, was cut off by another air-knock to her head, clutching the spot.

“We’re directly under [Web Beneath the Grove], so this just aligns us better for our work,” Darkness said. “Honestly, the stares at the outpost were annoying.”

Suna wanted to retort that people stared because Darkness, an agent, wore city-siege-grade armor and a greatsword, impossible to ignore.

Swallowing her quip, Suna watched as Pepas produced a diagram of a complex magical array.

“Our division was meant to operate independently, so this just accelerates the plan. Here’s the new key magic—memorize it. From now on, meetings will be on the Dream Gap Island.”

Pepas paused before continuing.

“Given today’s events, let’s wrap up early. Meeting adjourned.”

Suna’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“What, it’s over?”

“What, you want to stay and get a beating?” Pepas tilted her head, smirking.

“No, no, no! I’m leaving to write my critique!” Suna shook her head frantically.

As Pepas ended the meeting, Kerol waved first.

“See you all next time, bye-bye!”

Darkness and Stone followed, bidding Pepas farewell politely.

“Chief Pepas, until next meeting. I’ll complete your assigned tasks.”

“I’ll focus on your tasks and gather intel. See you, Chief.”

As they spoke, their forms grew translucent and vanished.

Suna’s figure, already fading, solidified again.

“Pepas, anything else?”

“Watch your actions. Being watched by the goddess isn’t just a casual thing.”