The next day, Talulah woke up in her room with an expression that could only be described as "transcendental," flanked by a Sankta and a certain damnable woman who was still clutching her tail.
That terrifying woman named Jeanne had spent a long time last night "creating" on her tail. The pattern had gradually evolved from a simple rainbow into the current "My Little Pony" design... it was so embarrassing that Talulah wanted to use her tail to dig a hole and crawl into it.
Talulah carefully extracted her tail from Jeanne's grasp. Upon seeing the "My Little Pony" painted over a pink base, Talulah's brow couldn't help but twitch several times. Feeling the weight of her tail—which felt nearly two pounds heavier than yesterday—Talulah had a sudden urge to treat Jeanne the way she used to treat her sister: by grabbing the leftover paint and drawing turtles all over Jeanne's face.
However, remembering her opponent's combat prowess and her ability to suppress her... Talulah put away those thoughts of criminal retaliation. She planned to first return to the village to unite FrostNova and Alina, and then launch a combined assault on this Demon King.
But what to wear was also a problem! She couldn't exactly walk down the street flaunting such a shameful tail, could she? At this thought, Talulah could only pick up the only piece of clothing she had that could cover her tail: that dress Jeanne had sneakily forced onto her previously.
"Mmm~ why are you awake so early today? Usually, at this hour, it takes Alina and me a massive amount of effort just to wake you up."
Jeanne woke up to see Talulah fussing with the dress, determined to hide her tail inside it so no one would see. Due to the discomfort of being covered, the tail could only wriggle inside the skirt like a snake.
"Cut the crap! If I go out dragging that tail, I'll be on the front page of the Chernobog newspaper tomorrow! You're coming with me to buy clothes today, and you're paying!"
Talulah gritted her teeth at Jeanne, who looked perfectly fine. Jeanne, realizing she had gone a bit too far last night, decided to play along with this about-to-explode fire dragon.
"I'll pay, I'll pay! Don't be so angry so early in the morning. Careful, or the scales on your tail might fall off, and the pattern won't look good if it's blurred."
Fortunately, the Pope had given her a card yesterday with a significant amount of money on it. The old man said it was a down payment for future Holy Water trades and insisted Jeanne accept it. Currently, Jeanne had gone from being the poorest of the three to the richest. A few sets of clothes were no trouble for her, so she agreed readily.
"I'm angry... With the frequency you irritate me, plus that guy living in my head who's recently come down with a 'major illness' (Kashchey), if I stay angry at the two of you, I don't know how many years I'll lose from my lifespan!"
Talulah desperately missed the gentle and kind Alina. In this cold Terra, only Alina could give her a sense of warmth. As for Jeanne—unless she turned back into a child, Talulah refused to acknowledge her! Ever since meeting Jeanne, even a hot-blooded dragon like herself had been rendered completely defenseless.
The only upside was that when facing anyone other than Kashchey, she could maintain a calm demeanor. Because no one could make her lose her cool more than Jeanne.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door. Jeanne and Talulah glanced at each other, unable to guess who it could be. Was it Lyudmila? That girl said she wouldn't be back until the day after tomorrow at the earliest.
Jeanne suddenly felt a "whoosh" beside her. A fire dragon with a pink tail dove into the blankets at lightning speed, giving Jeanne no time to react. Talulah then poked her head out, gesturing for her to open the door and not keep the guest waiting. Her mission: protect her dignity as the leader of Reunion.
"I've never seen you move that fast. No wonder they say you don't know what you're capable of until you're pushed. It seems a pink tail actually increases movement speed."
Jeanne muttered to herself as she walked toward the door. Looking at Talulah, who had curled herself into a ball and left Lemuen outside the covers, she felt this kind of activity should happen more often.
"Good morning, Miss Jeanne. Mr. Hellagur says if you have time today, he hopes you could visit his office. He says he has some important matters to discuss with you."
Standing outside was the same nurse who had taken them to see Hellagur last time. Didn't you say you were just an ordinary nurse who happened to pass a message for him? How did Hellagur find you to help again this time?
"Alright, we'll find time to go this morning. Thank you for making the trip to pass the message."
"Very well, I will inform Mr. Hellagur. If you are busy, it's fine to reschedule. Mr. Hellagur says he is free all day today."
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before Jeanne returned to the room. Inside, Lemuen had been woken up by the commotion, though she wasn't fully conscious yet. Lemuen's halo had been taken off by Jeanne last night and hung in the hallway to serve as a nightlight.
Seeing that Lemuen couldn't even open her eyes, Jeanne grabbed the halo that had been acting as a lighting fixture and placed it back on Lemuen's head. Like a robot being fully charged, Lemuen was instantly energized, possessing about a third of the energy of an Exusiai.
Jeanne recounted the message to Talulah. Talulah was somewhat curious about Hellagur's sudden invitation at this time.
"Why do you think they invited us to meet today? Yesterday, when everyone's attention was distracted, would have been the best time. I remember we saw him yesterday, and he didn't show any intention of talking to us."
Curled on the bed, Talulah's IQ reclaimed the high ground as she suspected Hellagur's sudden invitation. Recalling his past as a general and a long-time mole in Azazel, a plotline involving him pledging loyalty to them under the Emperor's secret orders was already forming in her mind... she could write a 200,000-word book on that alone.
"Maybe he got some news from Laterano? Don't forget this is Azazel! The possibility of Laterano angels passing messages is even greater than Ursus!"
Even as a Sankta, Lemuen didn't understand the connection between Azazel and Laterano, let alone Talulah, who knew nothing of religious history. The two could only sit there listening to Jeanne.
"But isn't it just a matter of time? We were going to meet Hellagur once before we left anyway, weren't we? Alright, let's get moving. We can figure out the rest after we're done!"
Jeanne clapped her hands, urging the two to get ready. Having finally secured a few days of leisure, Jeanne didn't want to waste it all on one meeting.
"Easy for you to say! How am I supposed to go to a meeting dressed like this? It's very uncomfortable hiding my tail in my clothes! It's all your fault for buying such stubborn paint—I can't even get it off!"
"Ehe~"