Listening to FrostNova, Talulah glanced back at the Victorian refugees who had already regained their composure and were steadily filing into Chernobog with the help of the locals. A soft, satisfied nod escaped her.
"You're not wrong," Talulah murmured. "Before we set out, I honestly couldn't have imagined getting tangled up in something of this scale. If it weren't for Jeanne, I doubt I could've pulled any of this off."
She shrugged, knowing full well that this was one of those rare moments where she had to genuinely appreciate Jeanne's knack for prophecies.
While she usually complained about the unpredictability of those visions—and spent half her time worrying that Jeanne's offhand remarks might accidentally manifest into reality—there was no denying how practical the gift was when things went sideways.
To put it simply, back in the frozen wastes, any squad led by Jeanne practically had no need for terrain surveys. By trusting those prophetic insights completely, they could plan near-flawless deployments without breaking a sweat.
What an absolutely enviable talent! Yet, whenever that same ability dragged them headfirst into massive international messes she never intended to touch, Talulah couldn't help the mental fatigue.
"Regardless, it's good to be back," Talulah said, gazing out over the sprawling mobile city that belonged to them. The persistent knot in her chest finally uncoiled, letting her truly relax.
Roaming out in the wider world always kept her on edge. Perhaps it was the lingering awareness that foreign soil would never truly feel like home.
"Are the two of you planning to hug all day? There are actual people watching, you know. Have some shame!"
With the shift in perspective, Talulah spotted Jeanne and Alina still locked in an embrace as they surveyed the port.
She understood that the two friends hadn't seen each other in ages, but clinging to one another like lost ducklings in the middle of a public dock was getting a bit ridiculous. Didn't they realize how long they'd been at it?
"I just got a little carried away. I honestly hadn't seen Jeanne in so long," Alina murmured, pulling back with a slightly flushed face as she rubbed her cheek.
Although she might have gotten a bit overexcited, knowing that Jeanne had finally returned safely and sound made the burst of emotion entirely justified.
Nobody else spared the reunion a second thought, assuming Alina simply missed her companion fiercely after months of separation. It was natural, after all.
Who in Reunion didn't adore Jeanne? With her warm disposition, easygoing temper, and uncanny competence, she was practically beloved by everyone on the roster.
Pity that not everyone possessed the casual boldness to rush in for a hug. FrostNova certainly harbored similar impulses, but her thin skin immediately shut down the thought the moment she noticed the surrounding crowd.
"Given how long you've been gone, it's only natural everyone missed you," FrostNova said, stepping up to Jeanne and giving her a once-over. "Though you don't look like you've wasted away from the travel. You look well. Welcome back."
A rare, fleeting smile softened the Cautus's expression before she stepped forward, briefly wrapping her arms around Jeanne in a quiet show of affection. She released her just as quickly, sliding right back to her default post.
"Oh~?"
Behind them, a cluster of Yeti Squadron fighters immediately crowded together, their faces plastered with matching expressions of salacious gossip as they watched their leader's rare display of warmth.
The open amusement on their faces instantly brought a fiery blush to FrostNova's cheeks.
"What are you idiots staring at? Get back to work! People are already pouring off the ship, and you're standing around slacking off?!"
FrostNova snapped back into captain mode, her voice dropping to a frosty command. The operators shot her a chorus of sickeningly sweet, knowing grins that made her skin crawl, lingering for a few more seconds before reluctantly dispersing.
"I keep telling you the boss and Jeanne are a thing, and you wouldn't believe me! When did you ever see the boss treat anyone else like that? This has got to be—"
"Shut your trap!"
Just as FrostNova prepared to unleash a blizzard on the lot of them, another voice cut the gossiping soldier off. Eavesdropping from the sidelines, FrostNova agreed in grim satisfaction. At least a few functional intellects remained in her squad.
"Everybody already knows the boss and Jeanne are a couple! I was saying that back in the tundra, and everyone agreed with me. What kind of groundbreaking discovery do you think you made?"
...
FrostNova stared into the middle distance in absolute speechlessness. If everyone wasn't so swamped right now, and if she didn't want to preserve what little dignity her squad had left in front of outsiders, she would have strung every single one of those idiots upside down by their ankles. Is this really how you guys defend my pristine reputation?!
"Seeing you all in such high spirits puts my mind at ease," Talulah remarked, casually delivering another psychic blow to FrostNova's composure.
FrostNova caught the sincere look in Talulah's golden eyes and decided to assume it wasn't sarcasm, purely for her own sanity.
"Things have been quiet. No major disasters during your absence," FrostNova answered smoothly, pivoting straight to the matters that had been keeping Talulah awake at night. "Besides, Ursus hasn't had the spare bandwidth to look our way lately."
Talulah understood the implication instantly. While the summit hosted by Laterano had not resolved every geopolitical tension on the continent, it had certainly rattled the major nations, forcing them into a state of high alert.
Ursus, in particular, had firsthand experience with Jeanne's terrifying warnings. Since the Saintess had flagged the Seaborn threat as an extinction-level catastrophe, the northern empire had begun preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Under those grim projections, whether someone was infected or not suddenly ceased to matter. If you had the capacity to contribute, Ursus would gladly take you in—even an infected Sarkaz was suddenly looking like a viable subject.
In fact, Ursus officials had even attempted to reach out to Patriot, figuring that the ancient warrior might possess historical records of the deep-sea threat. While Patriot did indeed hold fragments of ancient lore, the details were sparse.
"Iberia, too..." FrostNova muttered, shaking her head. Her long, white ears twitched with the motion, creating an adorable sight that made Jeanne's fingers itch to reach out and pull them.
Remembering how painfully shy FrostNova got whenever someone touched her ears, Jeanne reluctantly suppressed the urge, shifting closer to chat about the unfolding crisis instead.
"Don't wear such a doomed expression," Jeanne said softly, leaning against FrostNova's side. The Cautus's body temperature was naturally chilly, but feeling Jeanne lean in close brought a pleasant wave of warmth—and instantly reminded FrostNova of the absurd rumors the Yeti Squadron had just been wondering about.
Her ears flushed a delicate pink, although she didn't pull away from Jeanne's warmth, secretly enjoying the comfort.
"Hearing you say that makes me feel better. I suppose you're this relaxed because you've already found a way to handle this catastrophe, right?"
When it came to matters like this, FrostNova placed absolute trust in Jeanne's judgment. The woman wasn't one to toss out empty platitudes; if she said things would be fine, she undoubtedly carried a 100 percent foolproof countermeasure up her sleeve.
"All immigrants arriving, please form an orderly line and proceed through the registration checkpoint according to the broadcast instructions..."
Nearby, the automated public address system began guiding the Victorian refugees deeper into the core sectors of the city. As the newcomers stepped past the gates, low murmurs of astonishment rippled through the crowd. Their preconceptions of the settlement were instantly shattered.
In their minds, an infected-run sanctuary should have looked like a war-torn slum or, at best, a desperate shanty town scraped by in the dirt. What greeted them instead was a marvel of modern engineering.
Compared to the deteriorating mobile cities they had fled in Victoria, Chernobog looked pristine, orderly, and shockingly advanced—making their previous homes look like the neglected countryside by comparison.
"I honestly never imagined you'd manage to escort tens of thousands of people out of Victoria," FrostNova remarked, watching the endless stream of migrants filter past. "Even the old man found it hard to believe when the news first reached us."
"Don't feel bad about doubting it," Talulah said, pride swelling in her chest as she watched the new arrivals settle in. "If you told me before we left for Victoria that we'd pull this off, even I wouldn't have believed it."