After Jeanne and FrostNova discussed the heavy realities of Kazdel's political landscape for a while, they finally realized that Patriot, who was sitting across from them, hadn't spoken for a long time and was sitting there alone as if deep in thought.
At that moment, the two of them looked at Patriot, seemingly having forgotten that a member of the Sarkaz Royal Court was sitting right in front of them while discussing this matter, even though this veteran no longer considered himself part of the Royal Court.
Would this old gentleman take to heart the remarks they had just made evaluating the Sarkaz Royal Court? They felt he shouldn't mind them.
Patriot still didn't speak, except that the sound of his breathing was somewhat heavy. Recognizing that the old Wendigo simply needed time in solitude to process the monumental decision he had just made, Jeanne and FrostNova quietly took their leave from the encampment.
Later that afternoon, Jeanne decided to take a walk through Chernobog's bustling commercial district, only to stumble upon a rather lively scene at a local café. Rhodes Island had set up a small tea break area, and sitting right in the middle of it was none other than the Doctor, Amiya, and Kal'tsit.
The moment the Doctor spotted Jeanne walking by, the hooded strategist practically abandoned all personal space, lunging over and chatting with Jeanne with utter, uninhibited familiarity. Looking at that interaction, how could anyone guess this was someone who had only been awake for barely half a year and still possessed no memories? Instead, they looked like intimate friends who had known each other for years.
Even Jeanne was somewhat curious about how the two of them had become familiar to this extent. Sure, She and the Pre-amnesia Doctor were pretty close and the Doctor would occasionally cling to her like this from time to time. However, Jeanne rarely had any time to socialize with Post-amnesia Doctor.
"You need to act a bit more normally!"
Looking at the Doctor in this state, Kal'tsit couldn't help it anymore. Why did it feel like the Doctor's relationship with Jeanne was so much better than the one between the two of them? Could it be that something happened while she wasn't looking?
Seeing Kal'tsit reach out to grab her, the Doctor hurriedly returned to normal, sitting alone there exceptionally well-behaved, completely looking like an unfathomable scholar.
It was completely impossible to tell that this was the same person from just moments ago who was like a koala, practically about to tie herself onto Jeanne.
"I don't intend to stop you from communicating with others, but no matter what, you should mind the occasion. This is a public place after all, and you still need to mind your influence in some matters."
Kal'tsit took a sip of the coffee in her hand and said unhurriedly, then glanced sideways at the well-behaved Doctor, feeling somewhat nostalgic for the person she used to be.
"Sorry, I got a little too excited." The Doctor scratched her head somewhat sheepishly through her hood, also realizing the fact that she had lost her composure after seeing Jeanne.
"But for some reason, when I saw her, I had an inexplicable feeling. It seemed that Jeanne held a great attraction for me—someone I had rarely seen before prior to this. Do you guys know what's going on?"
The Doctor voiced the small doubt in her heart. After waking up, she was likewise very curious about these abnormal reactions of hers, so she urgently needed Kal'tsit to solve this difficult problem for her.
From her perspective, Kal'tsit could basically be said to be the most reliable person to solve this doubt for her. If she wanted to look for someone else, perhaps only Jeanne by her side would remain.
"Don't look at me like that, I don't know why either." Catching the Doctor's little pleading gaze towards her, Kal'tsit picked up her teacup, took a sip, and continued explaining, "I'm also not clear on what exactly Jeanne has that could make you lose your composure. After all, I'm not you. But perhaps... it's just mutual attraction between people of the same race."
Even though she said with her mouth that she knew nothing and seemed to refuse to answer the Doctor's puzzle, Kal'tsit ultimately still thoughtfully proposed a possibility for the Doctor.
"I see. No wonder after getting close to Jeanne, I felt my whole self improve quite a bit. I feel like I can sleep well today and won't need to have nightmares."
After understanding what Kal'tsit's words meant, the Doctor scratched her helmet with a sense of emotion. Even if she wanted to scratch her head, she couldn't touch it!
She truly didn't know why Kal'tsit demanded that she wear this helmet all the time, saying it was for her own safety, but she noticed Jeanne didn't need this thing either.
Another point was that she couldn't figure out what Kal'tsit was worrying about. Could it be that there was some existence in this world that could harm her without her knowing? Thinking of this, the Doctor felt a little scared.
"You've been having nightmares?!" Hearing the Doctor say she had nightmares, Kal'tsit suddenly couldn't sit still anymore. Her sharp eyes locked onto the figure in front of her, her expression looking somewhat angry. "What kind of nightmares? What did you dream about? Did you find anything wrong after waking up? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?!"
How could she have forgotten to instruct her on such an important matter! Kal'tsit silently cursed her own negligence in her heart, and was also glad that she hadn't discovered it too late.
Hoping everything was still in time...
Seeing Kal'tsit's appearance, the Doctor was also somewhat stunned. She hadn't expected that this consistently calm Feline would actually worry so intensely over a simple bad dream. Was she really that important in her heart?
"Um, it was just a nightmare. How can anyone remember dreams so clearly..." The Doctor scratched her helmet and replied.
"Then hurry up and think, you must have some residual memories left!" Kal'tsit knocked on the table and raised her voice a few degrees, as if she wasn't the one who had just lectured about this being a public place.
Due to being overly agitated, Kal'tsit knocked over several drinks on the table with this sudden move. The group watched as Kal'tsit paid no attention to the cups at all, and the sharp sound of shattering glass rang through the air.
Passersby who noticed the commotion turned their heads to glance over, assuming these two women were getting into an argument over a partner. The pitiful part was that the Feline was even bringing along a Cautus daughter.
What a complicated family this was; the three females in front of them couldn't even scrape together two of the same race. The helmet-wearing figure in the middle also didn't look like any recognizable species, but a strong scent of melodrama was definitely drifting over.
"Alright, alright, let me think..."
Seeing Kal'tsit like this, the Doctor shrank back a little. Scratching her helmet, her tone weakened significantly as she seriously tried to recall what she had seen in her sleep.
"I dreamed of endless stacks of documents that needed processing, I dreamed of Amiya whispering in my ear that I still had a massive pile of work to handle and couldn't rest yet, and also..."
The Doctor spoke of her various experiences in the dream, though some of them hardly qualified as actual nightmares. Hearing the Doctor say this, Amiya lowered her head all the way below the rim of the table in sheer embarrassment.
Those were indeed things she had said to the Doctor in the past. Whether back in Babel or after the Doctor woke up, whenever she had to urge this work-averse strategist back to their desk, she used those exact lines.
And now, hearing the Doctor lay it all out like a traumatic memory, Amiya felt deeply self-conscious. Was Dokutah subtly complaining about how hard I pushed her to work?
Nervously, Amiya glanced up at the Doctor. Could it be that Dokutah had already started to resent me—this rabbit who only knew how to hand over more paperwork?
"Talk about the stranger dreams," Kal'tsit interrupted, her patience visibly wearing thin as she tried to keep her composure. "Those are just scenes your brain replayed after working all day. Tell me about the things you couldn't make sense of."
"A strange dream? Well, I did dream of the ocean and the sky... but when I wanted to see what was there, everything was completely empty. It was as if everything had quieted down into a pin drop, with nothing around at all..."
The Doctor dug up memories that were nearly buried. At the very bottom of her mind, there were indeed a few bizarre fragments, though they hadn't felt like terrifying nightmares at the time.
She was simply curious why someone who had only ever been between Rhodes Island and Chernobog would dream of vast oceans and high skies. She clearly had never been to such places.
"Do you think those are places I've been to before, and the lingering fragments are just surfacing in my sleep? Does that mean my lost memories are coming back soon?"
Hoping for a positive answer, the Doctor looked at Kal'tsit with bright anticipation.
Even through the opaque visor, Jeanne didn't need her Revelation to read the Doctor's eager mood, though the divine insight naturally confirmed it anyway.
"Is that all?" Kal'tsit frowned, an underlying trace of unease flickering across her face. "If there are any other dreams that left a deep impression on you, do not hide them. This is vital to your health."
Seeming deeply unsettled, or perhaps suspecting the Doctor was withholding information, Kal'tsit refused to let the topic drop, pressing the question repeatedly.
"There really isn't anything else! I've told you everything I remember. What reason would I have to hide things from you? Didn't I promise I wouldn't lie to you?"
The Doctor frantically waved her hands in self-defense. Hearing that genuinely aggrieved tone, Kal'tsit finally accepted that she wasn't keeping secrets.
"Even so, we cannot afford to take this lightly. You are coming back with me right now for a full medical checkup to make sure your condition hasn't deteriorated."
Kal'tsit didn't even notice how anxious she had become over the Doctor's minor symptoms, taking the strategist by the hand and heading straight back toward their quarters.