Inside Azazel, Hellagur and Talulah walked side by side down the clinic's corridor, discussing the matters ahead.
"Then I shall take my leave first, Mr. Hellagur. As for what comes next, I will return when I require your assistance. I hope for a pleasant cooperation in the future."
Reaching the entrance, Talulah walked over to a truck loaded with necessary supplies and turned to bid farewell to Hellagur, who had come to see her off. Originally, she had intended to just give him a quick word before leaving, but once Hellagur found out, he insisted on escorting her out of the clinic personally.
"Then I shall await the good news. Give my regards to Patriot; I hope life in the Northern Border hasn't erased me from his memory."
After saying his goodbyes, Hellagur watched Talulah drive away before walking back into Azazel alone.
"Are they leaving Chernobog now?"
In a room by the window, Neon saw that only Hellagur had returned and asked about Talulah and the others.
"Yes, they should be heading back to the snowfields. With those supplies, their winter this year should be significantly better than previous ones."
As he spoke, Hellagur looked toward the direction where Talulah had disappeared. The truck was hauling the very supplies Talulah had purchased—the scarcest necessities in the snowfields. Having them meant a complete upgrade in logistical security. Surely, Talulah's future operations would be much easier now?
Hearing Hellagur's words, Neon nodded slightly in agreement. However, after a moment of thought, she felt as if something was off. Neon couldn't quite put her finger on what the problem was, but her intuition told her something was strange.
Feeling she had forgotten something regarding Talulah's group, Neon mentally reviewed their meetings over the past few days. After a while, a realization struck her, and she turned to Hellagur.
"Father, I remember Talulah's group was supposed to be four people, right? But today, I saw only three of them leaving! That red-haired Lupo seems to have never shown up. Did something happen?"
After thinking for a bit, Neon suddenly remembered Crownslayer, who had been "divinely hidden" for quite some time. She felt like she hadn't seen the girl once in the past few days.
Hellagur thought for a good while before he also remembered the Lupo who had been with Jeanne when she first arrived. It truly had been a while since she was last seen.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but there must be some secret involved, right? That Lupo is likely waiting for them somewhere."
At this moment, Talulah had absolutely no recollection of the fact that she hadn't notified her newly joined Reunion comrade.
It was likely because Crownslayer had disappeared so thoroughly over the last few days, and Talulah's mind was so clogged with various other affairs, that she completely forgot she had a companion who hadn't even boarded the vehicle yet.
Talulah was currently in a particularly good mood, humming a little tune as she sat in the driver's seat, her tail even swishing happily. Just then, she spotted a very familiar figure at an intersection up ahead. It was a Lupo wearing a hood with what looked like rabbit ears, and she could faintly see red hair.
Talulah froze the moment she saw her, suddenly remembering that she had left a whole living person behind. But when she tried to brake, she slammed the gas pedal instead.
Crownslayer watched with wide eyes as the vehicle sped right past her. She couldn't understand what Talulah was doing. Why did she suddenly accelerate upon seeing her?
"Wait for me! I hit the wrong pedal! Let me circle back to pick you up!"
Seeing that she had already driven quite a distance, Talulah hurriedly rolled down the window and shouted to the Crownslayer behind her.
Standing by the roadside, Lyudmila watched the disappearing Talulah and remained silent for a long time. If she can mix up the brake and the gas that easily, is it actually safe for me to get in that car?
Not long after, Talulah drove back to Crownslayer's side. Seeing Lyudmila standing there, not knowing what to say, Talulah smiled sheepishly.
"I really didn't expect to bump into you here. But speaking of which, how did you know I'd be taking this route?"
Talulah looked at the boarding Crownslayer, curious how she had guessed they were leaving Chernobog today and how she knew she'd pass this specific road. It was clear Crownslayer hadn't been here long; she was specifically waiting to be picked up. It was as if she were certain Talulah would pass through this exact point.
Talulah's first thought was: Did Jeanne do this? Finding Crownslayer to give her the info, but intentionally not telling Talulah just to see her reaction? But in the next second, she dismissed the thought. She shouldn't suspect her friend like that.
"Jeanne told me! She somehow found me yesterday and told me to just wait for you here today. Did she not tell you about this?"
Hearing Lyudmila's words, Talulah didn't know how to respond. Was she supposed to admit she had forgotten the girl existed?
Furthermore, if Jeanne hadn't remembered that there was such a person among them, there's no telling when Talulah would have finally remembered Crownslayer.
"That... well, maybe because there were too many things to do today. I thought you were waiting for me at the next intersection."
Talulah could only pick an excuse to muddle through. However, Crownslayer had a sneaking suspicion that Talulah had, in fact, genuinely forgotten her.
"Can Talulah really pick up Crownslayer? I seem to remember you forgot to tell Talulah about this today? And looking at Talulah, did she forget Crownslayer as a person entirely?"
At this point, Jeanne and Lemuen had already bid farewell to the old folks from Laterano. They were just waiting to say goodbye to Talulah's group before driving to Lungmen to complete the Emperor's commission.
"Don't worry, I already told Crownslayer where to wait for Talulah. The two of them will definitely meet today. What I'm more curious about is Talulah's expression when she sees her."
A brilliant smile radiated from Jeanne's face—a smile so bright it could practically purify people's souls. If Lemuen didn't know what she had done, she wouldn't have been able to guess what the Saint was smiling about even if she sacrificed her own sister.
Right now, Lemuen was actually very much looking forward to the day her sister met Jeanne. She really wanted to see if her sister would become the next victim in Jeanne's hands.
Just then, the roar of an engine caught Lemuen's attention. It was the truck they had left with the Laterano group, which had been specially driven here for them. With her superior vision, Lemuen could clearly see Talulah and Crownslayer in the vehicle. Everything had happened just as Jeanne predicted; Talulah had run into Crownslayer halfway.
However, looking at their expressions, Lemuen could guess exactly what had happened between them. The scene Jeanne hoped for had likely already occurred—it was just a pity Jeanne hadn't seen it herself.