Looking at Exusiai, who was prepared to sacrifice herself to save her companions, Jeanne suddenly wondered if her acting had gone a bit too far.
After all, this was Lemuen's "little" sister! If she left the girl with some psychological trauma because of this, would it ruin the relationship between the sisters once everything came to light?
After serious consideration, Jeanne decided that since she had started the performance, it was better to follow her heart and play it to the end. It definitely wasn't because she couldn't help but bully them a "little" more after seeing them like this—definitely not!
"That won't do. My mission is to take all three of you. How could I possibly let two of them go just for you?"
Jeanne's villainous declaration made them quite nervous. Combined with her aura, she truly felt like a Great Demon King. Inside, however, Jeanne felt incredibly awkward. She felt as embarrassed as if Talulah were dragging a My Little Pony tail through the streets; if anyone else saw this, it would be an instant social death.
"Stop overthinking it, Exusiai. I can't just stand here and watch her take you away. we're going with you."
Texas, still under Jeanne's control, spoke up. Her words were immediately validated by Croissant, who was also whispering something to the Exusiai, who still wanted them to escape.
Jeanne, appearing satisfied with their cooperation, pushed Texas back toward the other two.
"Furthermore, I'm quite curious as to who exactly wants to move against us. All the more reason to follow you and see this mastermind behind the scenes."
As she spoke, Texas stared intently into Jeanne's eyes. Her sharp, lone-wolf gaze scrutinized Jeanne, as if trying to read something within those eyes. Even Croissant and Exusiai, who had worked with Texas for so long, had never seen her like this.
Texas seemed like a different person. She was completely different from the Texas they knew—the one who was cold on the surface but occasionally revealed a hidden tenderness.
"Then follow me quietly! If it weren't for this commission, I wouldn't want to fight you to the death either. There's no profit in it; it's just a waste of a fight."
As she spoke, Jeanne shook the halo in her hand, subtly hinting that if they dared to cause trouble again, they shouldn't blame her for destroying this "fluorescent tube" and killing Exusiai.
Seeing Exusiai's life in Jeanne's hands, the three of them had no choice but to follow her out. Right now, they could only hope the LGD hadn't noticed anything wrong, or if a conflict did arise, they would wait until they had snatched back the halo.
"Texas, maybe you should find a way to run! With your speed and the two of us to distract her, your chances of a successful escape are high. Then you can find the Emperor or the LGD to come save us."
Exusiai still hadn't given up. Although her halo was in Jeanne's hands—meaning her life was forfeit according to the stranger—she still didn't want her friends in danger because of her.
Among the three of them, only Texas, the fastest and most agile, had a real chance. As for Croissant? That cow's speed was too slow; she might waste the opportunity.
Exusiai looked at Jeanne ahead. Despite this person holding her life in her hands, she found she couldn't bring herself to loathe her, let alone feel hatred. Exusiai suspected Jeanne had some strange Originium Art that could silently alter others' perceptions. Otherwise, she couldn't explain why she lacked any negative emotions toward her.
That made it all the more important to get the other two out. Otherwise, if all three went missing, even the Emperor would be hard-pressed to save them.
"Stay put. Even with my speed, escaping would be a struggle. Don't wait until she's forced to be truly ruthless. We'll find a way once we leave the LGD."
Texas immediately blocked Exusiai's near-suicidal plan with an annoyed tone. Although Jeanne's behavior was bizarre—so bizarre that Texas wondered if this was one of the Emperor's pranks—it was better to remain vigilant until they were certain. If she was wrong, Exusiai's idea could really get someone killed.
Another problem was: where were the LGD officers? Had this person really walked in and neutralized all the senior inspectors, including "Officer Ch'en"? Then why bother deceiving that one police officer?
If she had used a fake identity to trick the others, the LGD surveillance cameras weren't broken. Had the officers all taken a leave of absence? Was there not a single soul inside?
The more Texas thought about it, the more irrational Jeanne's actions seemed. This caused Jeanne to appear shrouded in mist in her eyes—utterly strange and mysterious.
"Ugh! If we stall any longer, will we even have a chance to run? I'm telling you, that woman's strength is immense! Even if I charged her with everything I had, it would be useless. As long as she holds my head still, my neck would definitely snap!"
Croissant recalled the previous scene with lingering fear. The strength required to control her full-force charge with a single hand wasn't something just anyone possessed. Besides, if Jeanne hadn't caught her by the neck to control her but had instead met her head-on, Croissant's neck would have been the one to give out.
"But wouldn't it be easier to control you if your neck was injured? Why did she pass up a 'better' method and instead use the safest move for you?"
Exusiai didn't understand. Facing three people, wouldn't it be better to incapacitate one as early as possible? If there was an injured person, the other two would have to divert energy to take care of them. Wouldn't that make her job easier?
"Now that you mention it, that does make sense! If I couldn't move, you two wouldn't abandon me to run for it."
Reminded by Exusiai, Croissant broke out of her confused thoughts, also finding Jeanne's behavior odd. However, at the second half of her sentence, Texas and Exusiai both turned their heads away at the same time, as if refuting the idea that they "wouldn't abandon her."
"What's with you two! I have complete faith in you! What does that head-turning mean? Give me back all the friendship of these past years!"
Seeing them turn away as if in denial, Croissant seemed to forget their situation and started acting like a clown. This, in turn, caught Jeanne's attention. She looked back at the three "treasures" and felt like she was the extra one here.
The three of them together could put on a comedy routine. Was their vigilance really this low? How much were they ignoring her as a "dangerous person"?
Jeanne couldn't help but cover her forehead and sigh, her hands momentarily shielding her eyes. At that moment, they had already walked through the first gate; the second gate led straight back into the main LGD area.
"Now!"
Croissant saw the opportunity and charged at Jeanne again, leaving behind only a shout and a figure in a fearless charge. She had been secretly observing Jeanne and was certain Jeanne wasn't paying attention, sighing because of her previous antics.
Wasn't this the perfect chance? Croissant didn't plan to subdue Jeanne; she wanted to tackle her and pin her down to stop any further movement.
"Texas, Exusiai, you have to find a way to come back and save me! I haven't even finished spending my savings!"
While Croissant was thinking this, the other two weren't idle either. Texas was just about to retreat with Exusiai when a figure suddenly lunged out and grabbed Exusiai from behind.
"Damn it! This woman really has at least one teammate!"
Texas felt a wave of despair as she looked at her two restrained companions. Was she really going to abandon them this time and return to Penguin Logistics alone in disgrace?
But over there, Jeanne had already used her freakish strength to reverse the situation and pin Croissant down. The escape time her friend had fought for was already gone.