  In Chen et al., 2023 (C23; arXiv:2304.09898), we introduced a new method to
directly measure temperature fluctuations and applied it to a nearby dwarf
galaxy, Mrk 71, finding a temperature fluctuation parameter $t^2 = 0.008\pm
0.043$. This result is lower by $\sim 2\sigma$ than the value required to
explain the abundance discrepancy (AD) in this object. In the Matters Arising
article submitted by Mendez-Delgado et al. (arXiv:2310.01197), the authors
claim that using the same data presented in C23 in a different way, it is
possible to conclude that the measurements are consistent with a larger $t^2
\simeq 0.1$ inferred indirectly from recombination lines (RLs). However, this
requires a higher density such that the infrared [O III] 52 $\mu$m and [O III]
88 $\mu$m lines -- which form the basis of the direct measurement method -- are
mutually inconsistent. Moreover, to reach agreement between the direct $t^2$
measurement and the larger $t^2$ value inferred from RLs requires
systematically varying four parameters by $\sim 1\sigma$ from their
best-determined values, which collectively amount to a $\sim2\sigma$
difference, consistent with the significance ($\sim 2 \sigma$) originally
reported in C23. Therefore, we conclude that the results of C23 hold, and that
the combined optical and infrared [O III] data disfavour $t^2 \simeq 0.1$ at
the $\approx2\sigma$ level in Mrk 71. Future work is nonetheless warranted to
better understand the AD associated with both optical and infrared emission
line analysis.
