Jeanne watched the fist flying toward her but didn't dodge. Instead, she reached out and caught Talulah's wrist. The flames coating the dragon's skin failed to leave even a singe on her palm.
"Hm?"
The moment Talulah felt her wrist captured, she didn't hesitate. Leveraging the leverage of her trapped arm, she swung her other hand to stabilize her balance and slammed her forehead directly into her opponent's brow in a fierce headbutt.
Clang!
The sound that followed wasn't the dull thud of bone on flesh, nor the cry of pain she expected from her enemy. It was the sharp, ringing resonance of metal striking metal.
A jolt of sharp pain radiated through Talulah's forehead. She immediately deduced that her opponent was wearing some sort of head protection. What a cautious individual, she thought, to be guarded so thoroughly even under that hair.
"I have to say, your welcoming ceremony is quite the surprise. But have I really changed that much? You didn't recognize me at all?"
Just as Talulah was preparing to get serious and unleash a true explosion, she heard the voice. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instantly relaxed her posture.
How could she not recognize that voice? Let alone a sentence—she could recognize this person's breathing patterns even in her sleep. The reason she had failed to identify her earlier was partly due to the new outfit Jeanne was wearing, which was a complete departure from her usual style, and partly because the heat distortion from her own flames had blurred her vision.
Plus, in the heat of the moment, she had chosen to strike first. Who knew that Jeanne's headpiece would be the one to give her a "lesson"?
Talulah clutched her forehead, staring at the smiling Jeanne in front of her, and couldn't help but snap:
"Are you looking for trouble? Is it so hard to just walk up and say hello? Did you really have to skulk around in my shadow just to scare me?"
And she had wasted a headbutt for nothing. It was a "Cody-style" trick she had learned from Jeanne herself, only to end up suffering a loss the very first time she used it against her teacher.
Indeed, the headbutt was Jeanne's signature move. Since she didn't rely on Originium Arts in close combat, she preferred using her physical strength. In situations where she didn't want to accidentally kill someone with her monstrous power, Jeanne often used her forehead—protected by her specialized headgear—to end a fight.
During their past sparring sessions, Talulah had been on the receiving end of that headbutt more times than she could count. No wonder the sensation of hitting that metal felt so hauntingly familiar.
"Well, I saw you walking so mysteriously through the streets and thought the timing wasn't right to interrupt. I wanted to give you a surprise! Who knew it would turn out like this?"
Jeanne shrugged and spread her hands. Who knew the "Fire Dragon" was so high-strung that she'd start swinging before a word was even spoken?
But then again, considering Talulah was in an unfamiliar city where she was technically a fugitive, that level of paranoia was probably a survival trait. Wait, so does that mean this whole mess is actually my fault? Jeanne mused, looking at Talulah standing there rubbing her brow with a "pitiful" expression (Talulah would argue it was "annoyed").
"I really don't know what to do with you. Though, if I had been thinking clearly, I should have guessed it was you following me."
Looking at Jeanne's apologetic yet bright smile, Talulah could only sigh. she wasn't one to dwell on an honest mistake. Recalling the feeling of being followed, she realized there were clues she had missed. That sense of familiarity hadn't been an illusion after all.
And from the start, she hadn't felt any true "malice" or life-threatening danger. She had only acted out of an abundance of caution.
"You're back earlier than I expected. I thought you'd have a mountain of business to handle over there. And in those clothes... I really didn't recognize you."
Now that she was certain it was Jeanne, Talulah's mood noticeably brightened. Looking at her, it seemed Jeanne's time in Laterano had been quite eventful. Though, Talulah wondered what kind of trouble she had stirred up this time.
She was well-aware of Jeanne's talent for attracting incidents. The girl seemed to possess a magical aura that pulled strange events toward her like a magnet. Simply put, if you stayed by her side, your life was guaranteed to be interesting.
Talulah was also genuinely curious about the mysterious Laterano. What was that place—the one the world called "Paradise"—actually like?
Even though she had been curious about the city in the past, as an Infected, she knew she would never have the chance to see it for herself. While it was said to be better than most cities, it was not a place that permitted the existence of the Infected.
Still, compared to the extreme discrimination found in other nations, Laterano was considered a rare "conscience" on this land.
Thinking of this, Talulah asked:
"How was life in that Paradise? Is it really like the rumors say—a city flowing with milk and honey?"
"A land of milk and honey"—that was how the common folk described it. In their eyes, only such a city deserved the title of Paradise. Talulah remembered an old monk telling her that when she lived in Kashchey's city. At the time, she had naturally scoffed at the description.
Jeanne, hearing this, felt that people really would believe any rumor. Who comes up with this stuff?
"How is that possible? A city flowing with milk and honey? It would be swarming with bees! How would anyone even live there?"
Jeanne knew the phrase was a religious metaphor for heaven. Its spread was likely due to some unprofessional missionary getting their wires crossed during a sermon.
"Let's just say... the people there really love sweets. I've eaten so much sugar these past few days that my teeth feel soft. But overall, it is a very livable city."
Jeanne glanced around at the crumbling, desolate buildings of the slum they were standing in and had to admit the metaphor held some weight. Compared to this, Laterano truly was a paradise.
"But more importantly, what are you doing here? Is something big about to happen in this city?"
As they walked together, Jeanne shared stories of her sightings in Laterano, then voiced her own confusion. Why was her "dragon" here? Had she received word that this city was facing some impending doom? If so, Talulah's presence made sense—if she knew a disaster was coming, she would do everything in her power to save the people.
Hearing the question, Talulah's expression became a complex mix: 3% helplessness, 2% embarrassment, and 95% "it's complicated."
It seemed something had happened in the village after Jeanne left.
"Did something happen at the village?" Jeanne asked with concern.
She worried they had suffered serious losses, but seeing that Talulah was still in the mood to joke around, it suggested that while the outcome wasn't great, the damage wasn't catastrophic.
Talulah let out a long, heavy sigh.
"It wasn't a 'big' disaster, exactly. Do you remember those Ursus officers we captured? I was trying to see if I could convince them to join our cause, but..."
Talulah hadn't expected the Ursus military officers to be so resistant to their recruitment! And they had even managed to play her for a fool.
"They said they needed time to discuss it, so we gave them space. But in the end, they chose to commit suicide! And they managed to sabotage a critical component of the landship on their way out!"
Regret was etched into Talulah's face. She remembered Patriot had specifically warned her to be wary of Ursus soldiers—that in his eyes, you couldn't trust a single word that came out of their mouths. But Talulah had chosen to believe in them, just this once.