Xingtie: My mission master joins the chat group.

Chapter 1038 Columbia: Rosalind and I are very good friends...

"That should be fine."

Lin Mao turned to look at the girl, "You don't need to go to that place. I still have some influence with the Fools. You've done everything they needed you to do, so I don't think they'll continue to investigate your whereabouts."

"Do not."

The young girl, Columbia, gently shook her head; her calm voice echoed through the cave, sounding somewhat ethereal.

"Knowing her as I do, once she hears this news, she'll personally come to find me, and also see who has such a big influence."

"If she dares to come, I'll make sure she never leaves!"

Lin Mao said confidently, "There's no way around it; my strength doesn't allow me to lack confidence."

"Try what I brought. I wasted some time being distracted by those guys, but thankfully it's not cold yet."

Columbia did not refuse, but after sitting down, she still said that she did not currently have the power to fulfill Lin Mao's wish.

Lin Mao said helplessly, "It's just a friend treating each other to a meal. If you really care, you can just treat him next time."

It was somewhat understandable that Columbia acted this way when she was the Frostmoon Child on the Isle of Hise.

After all, back then, the Frostmoon Child treated the Moon Goddess as a machine to grant wishes.

Offering tribute in exchange for the fulfillment of one's wishes.

However, even after several years of the Fools' rebellion, the other side still did not change this idea.

Arecino, as the 'father' of the Hearth House, should be very good at educating children, so why doesn't he teach Columbia these things?

"Friends?" Columbia paused for a moment, hesitated, and asked, "Are we friends?"

Lin Mao's face darkened. "Don't ask such questions."

Lin Mao tried the new soda soy juice he had bought. The seller guaranteed it would taste good, but after one sip, he knew he had been tricked.

Silently, he poured out the new soda and soy milk in front of himself and Columbia.

Although waste is bad, this stuff is really hard to swallow. But compared to wasting food himself, Lin Mao thinks that the people who make soda soy milk are wasting food.

After switching to Fairy Happy Tea, Lin Mao's furrowed brows immediately relaxed as he felt the sugar filling his mouth, bringing him immense pleasure.

Columbia followed suit and took a bite. Whether it was a trick of his imagination or not, Lin Mao saw her closed eyes open a crack, and a glint of light flashed within them.

Looking again, Columbia's eyes were still closed under the veil, and her spiritual voice once more emanated from her mouth.

"Sorry for asking that question, I just didn't know what 'friend' meant."

"Did you have no friends when you were among the fools?"

Columbia didn't speak, as she had said, she didn't know what 'friend' was.

Lin Mao rephrased the question, "When you were with the Fools, who did you have the most contact with?"

“Sandogne, Alegino, Rosalyn… and the doctor often asks me to help him study lunar distance force.”

"Doctor, needless to say, he is definitely not your friend."

Upon hearing the title "Doctor" uttered by Columbia, Lin Mao immediately dismissed it without a second thought.

That leaves the first three, all of whom are female executives, making it easy for them to get together.

Columbia nodded gently. "Sandoni, Alegino, Rosalyn, and I used to have tea parties together when we were in the Fools. Later, Rosalyn had an accident in Inazuma and Alegino went to Fontaine, leaving only Sandoni and me. The tea parties became quiet."

Rosalyn...

Lin Mao's expression was somewhat strained; he knew perfectly well how the other party had encountered such an accident.

To be honest, her death was largely due to Lin Mao, but considering the woman's personality, Lin Mao became indifferent.

With her personality, she would have been killed by the gods one day; she just happened to run into Inazuma.

Besides, she didn't die unjustly. The Fools in Inazuma were almost turning Inazuma into a second Winter Kingdom. When Lei Movie realized this, it was unlikely that they wouldn't kill a Fool envoy.

As Lin Mao pressed her for answers, Columbia revealed that she had been kicked out of Sandoni's house in the middle of the night for singing.

Lin Mao's lips twitched upon hearing this, "Did Sandoni's attitude towards you change afterward?"

Columbia paused for a moment to recall, then gently shook her head. "No, Sandone treated me the same as always after that."

"Then they must be friends."

Hearing Lin Mao's confident voice, Columbia hesitated, "But she usually acts like she really dislikes me."

When you approached her, did she refuse you or turn you away?

"No."

"That's it."

Lin Maoyun took a sip of the Immortal's Joy Tea and said in a muffled voice:

“Arrogance ruins a life. The Sandone you mentioned must be an arrogance. A typical arrogance is someone who is verbally confrontational, as if they have a grudge. But when you ask her for help, she will be rude to you while trying to find a way to help you.”

Listening to Lin Mao's description of 'tsundere', which perfectly matched Sandone, Columbia couldn't help but speak up:

"So Sandone is 'tsundere,' not that she dislikes me?"

No, I just hate you.

Click, click, click!

The girl, sitting on the shoulder of a large mecha, entered the cave, glanced around briefly, and then her gaze fell on Lin Mao and Columbia.

"Why can't we talk things out properly? Leaving without a word only causes trouble for others. Do you know how much research time I wasted searching for you?"

"You expect me to like someone like this?"

Columbia was not surprised by the other party's appearance and tilted her head slightly.

So, are you a 'tsundere'?

When questioned, the other party simply chuckled and offered no explanation.

Her gaze fell on Lin Mao, her tone utterly unfriendly, "So this is the Columbia you took away? And you're here teaching her all sorts of nonsense... Do you want to make enemies of the Fools?"

“I admit you have some ability to take care of my incompetent subordinates in one go, but you can only run away with your tail between your legs when facing me, Sandonne.”

Lin Mao looked at her and said seriously, "I don't have a tail, so I can't run away with my tail between my legs."

Sandoni: "..."

She reached up and touched her forehead.

"No wonder you're all from the same family as Columbia, you're all idiots cut from the same cloth. Don't you people have any brains? Or is your language module malfunctioning, making it impossible for you to understand what others are saying?"

Lin Mao withdrew his gaze and looked at Columbia, saying seriously, "To add one more thing, this guy is not only arrogant, but also has a bit of a sharp tongue."

They have a whole repertoire of insults.

Lin Mao has a good mindset, so he rarely breaks down.

If it were Xing and Ying present, they would have already broken down and started arguing with Sandone.

"It's no use talking more."

Sandonne raised his voice.

“Hand over Columbia, and I can let bygones be bygones for your actions against my subordinates. Otherwise, your actions against the Fools alone are enough to land you on their wanted list, not to mention that you prevented my subordinates from carrying out their mission.”

"Sandogne".

Columbia spoke, drawing Sandoni's attention. She said calmly:

"He mentioned it when Arecino came back..."

"..."