Seeing the little girl’s absolute persistence, Buldrokkas’tee swallowed his remaining objections.
The towering Wendigo cast a few lingering, unreadable glances at Flandre before turning his massive frame away.
Gesturing for Old Peter and his son to follow, he waded back into the biting Ursus blizzard.
He needed to organize a proper extraction team immediately; if the villagers were moved without a secure route, saving them from the tundra’s wrath would be as difficult as scaling the heavens.
With the Wendigo’s heavy footsteps fading into the howling wind, Talulah finally turned her full attention to Flandre Scarlet.
Her gaze was a complicated knot of wariness and curiosity.
Had she not overheard Flandre’s earlier declarations, Talulah would have outright refused the girl’s request to follow them.
Allowing a Sarkaz Blood Fiend to wander freely among a fragile crowd of Infected refugees was a recipe for sheer panic.
But the girl had explicitly stated her final destination was Lungmen, and that single detail struck a chord Talulah simply could not ignore.
Talulah silently admitted her own selfish motives.
She wanted to observe this mysterious Blood Fiend firsthand, to verify if this terrifyingly powerful child was truly reliable before allowing her anywhere near her family in Lungmen.
“Hello, Flandre.
My name is Talulah.”
The Draco extended a gloved hand toward the small vampire.
“Hello, Talulah.
Flandre is very pleased to meet you.”
Flandre reached out, her small, pale fingers briefly clasping the fighter’s hand.
As they parted, Flandre tilted her head, her crimson eyes quietly sizing up the woman before her.
Right now, Talulah stood tall in crisp, pragmatic military attire.
The sharp lines of her coat and the confident set of her shoulders gave her an exceptionally heroic aura.
Yet, beneath her innocent smile, Flandre grumbled internally.
The Draco’s current outfit was decent, but it lacked the dramatic, terrifying flair she would later possess when the Deathless Black Snake fully took the reins.
Flandre knew that once the Neo-Reunion Movement took root on the border between Ursus and Kazimierz, Talulah would adopt the drab, shapeless clothing of an ordinary peasant woman.
She really had absolutely nothing to do with the word ‘fashionable.’
Even with a face carved from absolute authority, dressing in rags would never look good.
Keeping her fashion critiques to herself, Flandre hummed a cheerful tune and followed Talulah into the dark expanse of the tundra, heading toward the Reunion Movement’s hidden headquarters.
The abandoned campfire and the frozen remnants of the Ursus Patrol behind them would naturally be swallowed by the snow, left for others to clean up.
The journey through the snowfields took several grueling hours.
The biting wind whipped at their coats, but Flandre walked with a light, unaffected step, her crystalline wings chiming softly in the desolate silence.
Under the heavy cover of night, the faint, warm glow of the settlement finally pierced the gloom.
As they approached the village entrance, Talulah spotted a slender figure waiting in the freezing cold and immediately quickened her pace.
“Alina, why are you standing out here!”
Talulah grasped the young Elafia girl’s shoulders, her face tight with nervous reprimand.
“I was just a bit worried since you hadn’t come back yet.
Don’t worry so much, I’m doing perfectly fine.” Alina offered a warm, reassuring smile before her gaze drifted past the Draco.
Her eyes widened, reflecting the moonlight catching on a set of vibrant, prismatic crystals.
“Who is this child?
The wings on her back are so beautiful!”
“She is Flandre Scarlet, a Sarkaz from Kazdel,” Talulah explained, her tone carefully measured.
“She plans to stay with us for a short while and will leave for Lungmen after the spring thaw begins.”
Talulah leaned in slightly, lowering her voice.
“She doesn’t know the Ursus language, so you don’t need to introduce yourself right now.
She won’t understand a word.”
While Talulah deeply preferred to keep her dearest friend far away from a creature that fed on blood, they were already standing face-to-face.
Ignoring the introduction was impossible.
“That’s amazing…
walking all the way from Kazdel alone, and now preparing to travel all the way to Lungmen.” Alina covered her mouth, her soft voice laced with genuine awe.
Talulah turned back to Flandre, switching to a language the girl could understand.
“This is Alina, my friend.
Over the next few days, you should try to learn some simple vocabulary.
That way, at least when I’m not around, you can communicate normally with the people here.”
Flandre nodded obediently.
“Flandre understands.”
She genuinely agreed with the Draco’s suggestion.
Even if she had no intention of ever returning to this frozen wasteland of Ursus, learning a foreign language was a basic necessity.
It would prevent her from being completely lost if she needed to find food or ask for directions.
Right now, watching Talulah and Alina chatter away in a language that sounded like rough gravel, she could only stand there with a polite, vacant smile plastered on her face.
Talulah led them deeper into the camp, eventually pushing open the door to a small, empty room directly adjacent to her own quarters.
“I’ll have to trouble you to stay in here for now,” Talulah said, brushing some dust off the bare wooden frame of the bed.
“Tomorrow, I’ll arrange for someone to install a proper heating unit for you.
Ursus winters are unforgiving; you won’t survive the night without a heater.”
Flandre looked around the barren room and offered a dismissive nod.
“As long as Flandre has a place to sleep, it is fine.
Flandre has no other requirements.”
Since she was only staying for a single winter, Flandre felt there was absolutely no need to demand luxurious decorations.
A roof and four walls were enough of a playground.
While the two were finalizing the arrangements, heavy footsteps crunched through the snow outside.
Alina pushed through the doorway, her breath puffing in white clouds as she lugged a massive, thick quilt in her arms.
“Alina!” Talulah rushed forward, quickly taking the heavy bedding from the panting Elafia.
“Can’t you think ahead for even a moment?” Alina grumbled, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead.
“A little child comes to stay here and you don’t even prepare any bedding for her.
Were you planning to wait until the middle of winter to freeze her?”
Talulah opened her mouth to defend herself, only to snap it shut a second later.
She really couldn’t argue with that logic.
Her dense, pragmatic nature often blinded her to domestic necessities.
Watching the exchange, a soft light flickered in Flandre’s crimson eyes.
She couldn’t understand a single syllable leaving the Elafia’s mouth, but the woman’s radiant warmth and unmistakable kindness transcended language.
In that brief, quiet moment, Flandre made a decision.
She no longer held any lingering apathy toward saving this fragile, gentle girl.
Alina was a genuinely good person, possessing the same pure, stubborn warmth as the people back in Gensokyo.
Good people might not always live long in this ugly world, but Flandre decided they certainly shouldn’t die so pointlessly.
Not while she was around.
The group lingered in the room for a while longer.
The conversation flowed in a clumsy, asymmetric rhythm, with Alina eagerly asking questions, Talulah acting as the reluctant translator, and Flandre’s cheerful answers being relayed back.
Talulah didn’t mind the tedious translation work; she used every question as a covert opportunity to probe deeper into the Blood Fiend’s mysterious background.
Despite the language barrier, the three of them enjoyed the strange, piecemeal chat.
Eventually, Alina bid Flandre a warm goodnight.
Talulah followed her out, pulling the heavy wooden door shut behind them.
Once they were safely in the corridor, Alina let out a soft, fatigued sigh.
“That child seems quite nice.”
Talulah’s expression instantly hardened.
“But she is also incredibly dangerous.
The Peter father and son who came back with her reported that she easily caused an entire Ursus Patrol to explode into mist.
Buldrokkas’tee himself warned me that Blood Fiends are fickle and highly lethal.”
She gripped Alina’s shoulders, her golden eyes dead serious.
“You have no ability to protect yourself.
Try not to have any solo contact with her when I’m not around.”
Alina frowned, gently brushing Talulah’s hands away.
“Is it really as serious as you claim?
If she’s such a monster, why on earth did you put her in the room right next to yours?”
“Because I need to keep an eye on her,” Talulah insisted.
“I think that child is very well-behaved.
She isn’t dangerous like you say.” Alina recalled the entire evening.
From the moment they met at the village gate to the second they left the room, the little Sarkaz had been perfectly quiet.
Her occasional glances were bright and friendly, completely devoid of the bloodthirsty malice Talulah was describing.
Seeing her friend’s stubborn disbelief, Talulah sighed, utterly helpless against Alina’s maternal instincts.
She could only repeat her warnings a few more times before retreating to her own room, praying the night would pass quietly.
The next morning, the pale winter sun had barely crested the horizon when Talulah stepped out of her quarters.
She froze.
In the clearing just outside their doors, one small figure and one slightly taller figure were performing a series of highly synchronized, bizarre stretching movements.
Flandre stood at the front, counting a rhythm under her breath, while Alina mirrored her motions from behind.
They were executing the famous, energetic radio calisthenics routine—’The Era is Calling.’
As Flandre finished the final stretch with a cheerful clap, Alina lowered her arms, her face flushed with healthy exertion and the biting cold.
She spotted Talulah and beamed.
“The movements this child just taught me are so interesting!
They happen to exercise the entire body perfectly.
Once our school is finally built, I think this could serve as a wonderful break-time exercise to enrich everyone’s daily lives.”
Talulah’s face slumped into her hands.
She had spent half the night repeatedly warning Alina to stay far away from the Blood Fiend, yet the very next morning, the Elafia had actively sought her out for morning exercises.
“Alright, Talulah, don’t look so grim.” Alina walked over, gently patting the Draco’s tense back.
“Look at her.
Flandre Scarlet is perfectly normal.
She isn’t dangerous at all.”
Talulah remained silent, acutely aware that her dearest sister possessed a personality that appeared soft as cotton but was actually forged from unyielding steel.
Arguing with Alina when her mind was made up was a losing battle.
Defeated, Talulah walked over to Flandre, her expression grave.
“Your Excellency surely knows the deep-seated fear ordinary people harbor toward Blood Fiends,” Talulah began, keeping her voice low.
“I have already taken on a massive amount of pressure from the camp leaders just by bringing you back to this settlement.
So, to ensure everyone’s peace of mind, I must ask that you do not appear or move around outside too often.
Is that understood?”
Flandre blinked, then offered a bright, agreeable nod.
“Do not worry.
Flandre will be very good.”
Flandre felt she was practically a grandmaster at staying quietly in her room.
Centuries in the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s basement had perfected that particular skill.
She had only stepped outside because she had recently developed a fond habit of soaking up the crisp morning sun.
As for Alina following her to learn the strange stretching routine, that had been a complete surprise.
Flandre had merely started her stretches, and the Elafia girl had enthusiastically joined in.
True to her word, Flandre retreated to her room and did not step a single foot outside for the rest of the day.
Throughout the afternoon, Alina passed by the frosted window several times.
Each time, her heart ached seeing the little girl sitting perfectly still on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall like a discarded doll.
When Talulah finally returned from her administrative duties at dusk, Alina immediately cornered her, thoroughly complaining about the miserable state she had forced the child into.
Talulah rubbed her temples.
She was certainly relieved that Flandre had obeyed her instructions so flawlessly, but even she had to admit that forcing a child to sit in sensory deprivation wasn’t right.
She needed to find something to occupy the vampire’s time.
Recalling their conversation about the language barrier, a practical idea sparked in Talulah’s mind.
A short while later, Talulah returned to Flandre’s room carrying a thick, heavily worn handwritten dictionary.
This was a precious literacy teaching aid that she and Alina had painstakingly prepared for their future school.
Unable to afford expensive, pristine dictionaries, Talulah had compiled this version entirely from memory and the scattered remains of a twenty-year-old textbook she had scavenged.
They had spent weeks hand-copying dozens of duplicates to serve as introductory primers for the Infected children.
Talulah pulled up a chair, setting the heavy book on Flandre’s lap.
Alina hovered warmly by the door.
Using a spare pen and a scrap of paper, Talulah quickly sketched out a few basic comparison tables between Yanese script and the Ursus language, sliding them over to the girl.
“It must be maddening to just sit here all day,” Talulah said softly.
“These are some basic comparison tables I wrote out.
You can start learning the Ursus alphabet with these.”
Flandre traced the rough ink on the paper, offering Talulah a genuine, polite smile.
“Flandre thanks you very much.”
Talulah hesitated, her golden eyes locking onto Flandre’s crimson ones.
Her tone shifted, becoming deadly serious.
“Forgive me, as this is incredibly impolite, but the safety of this camp is paramount.
I need to confirm this directly with you: do you feed on human blood?”
Flandre didn’t flinch.
She simply nodded, her expression as calm as if discussing the weather.
“Correct.
Flandre does indeed need to consume blood to maintain her life.
But you do not need to worry.
One good meal can last Flandre at least a month or so.”
Flandre tilted her head, a terrifyingly innocent smile curving her lips.
“As a reward for your willingness to take Flandre in, Flandre has a proposal.
During my stay here, if you encounter a very troublesome opponent, Flandre can help you deal with them.
It also happens to keep Flandre from going hungry.
Does that sound okay?”
Talulah froze.
She had fully expected the Blood Fiend to be evasive, or perhaps fly into a rage at the accusation.
She never imagined the child would lay the bloody reality of her nature so casually on the table.
The proposal was brutally simple, and horrifyingly aligned with the Reunion Movement’s current desperate interests.
Flandre needed to drink blood, but she didn’t care whose blood it was.
It didn’t have to be the Infected refugees.
Her targets could entirely be the vicious bastards from the Ursus Patrols hunting them down.
A deep moral conflict churned in Talulah’s chest.
using a monster to devour their enemies felt like a severe violation of her conscience, a step toward a darkness she wasn’t ready to embrace.
And it was absolutely not a topic she could ever discuss with the pure-hearted Alina.
“I…
I need to consult the others about this,” Talulah managed to say, her voice tight.
Without waiting for a response, she stood up and hurriedly fled the room.
Standing by the door, Alina watched Talulah’s hasty retreat in total bewilderment.
She didn’t understand why Talulah’s expression had twisted into such complicated distress after just a few sentences, nor why she had practically run away.
But judging from the calm atmosphere in the room, it didn’t seem like any harsh insults had been exchanged.
Shrugging off the Draco’s odd behavior, Alina walked over and gently patted Flandre’s arm.
When the girl looked up, Alina pointed a slender finger at one of the handwritten Ursus words on the paper, then pointed directly at the wooden bed, slowly enunciating the sound.
Flandre looked down.
Next to the Ursus letters was the Yanese character for ‘bed’.
Grasping the concept instantly, Flandre mimicked Alina’s pronunciation, her voice clear and precise.
“Excellent!” Alina beamed, giving a bright thumbs-up before pointing to the window to continue the lesson.
Alina taught with boundless, maternal patience, and Flandre absorbed the information with terrifying, unnatural speed.
An hour later, Talulah finally remembered she had left her defenseless, non-combatant friend completely alone in a closed room with an apex predator.
Panic seizing her heart, she sprinted back down the corridor and threw the door open.
Instead of a bloodbath, she found a picture-perfect, harmonious teacher-student bonding session.
“Alina…
you’re not hurt, are you?!” Talulah gasped, scanning the Elafia for any signs of injury.
Alina gave her a thoroughly unimpressed look.
“What on earth are you saying, Talulah?”
She sighed, gesturing proudly to Flandre.
“I’m telling you, this child is a genius.
I basically don’t have to repeat a word more than three times before she memorizes the pronunciation perfectly.
It makes me, as a teacher, feel like I have absolutely no sense of achievement…” Alina dramatically slumped her shoulders, feigning a look of deep depression.
Talulah stood in the doorway, her brain short-circuiting.
“So…
you two have just been having a language lesson this whole time?”
“What else would we be doing?” Alina blinked.
Then, her expression hardened into a rare, stern frown.
She walked over to Talulah, her voice dropping into a serious reprimand.
“Talulah, listen to me.
Although this child’s race has indeed produced many cruel people, you cannot deny someone who actively wants to be a good person just because of the blood in their veins.
What is the difference between your current attitude toward her, and the attitude of those ordinary Ursus citizens who are terrified of us Infected?”
The words struck Talulah like a physical blow.
Her body swayed slightly as the heavy truth of Alina’s logic sank in.
She took a slow, steadying breath, the tension draining from her shoulders.
Finally, she stepped forward and looked Flandre Scarlet directly in the eyes.
“I am deeply sorry, Flandre Scarlet,” Talulah said, her voice ringing with genuine remorse.
“My way of thinking was clouded by prejudice, which led to my poor attitude and unfair restrictions toward you.”
She offered a respectful nod.
“From tomorrow—no, from this very moment—I will no longer restrict your movements.
As long as you do not violate the basic rules of our camp, you are free to move through all permitted areas, just like everyone else here.”
Watching Talulah’s sudden, dramatic shift in attitude, and connecting it to the stern, passionate tone Alina had just used, Flandre easily pieced the puzzle together.
It seemed the Draco had rolled a critical failure in an argument against the gentle deer.
“There is no need to change your mind so quickly,” Flandre replied, her voice soft and sincere.
“Blood Fiends are indeed a race that unfamiliar people should rightfully fear upon first meeting.
And Flandre personally does not like moving around too much anyway; staying in this room is perfectly fine for daily life.”
Flandre gestured to the dictionary on her lap.
“Besides, Flandre is very interested in learning the Ursus language.
If possible, Flandre would just like Miss Alina to come teach more spoken words.”
After laying out her simple requests, Flandre tilted her head, her crimson eyes gleaming with a predatory innocence as she followed up on their earlier, darker conversation.
“And what about Flandre’s proposal?”
Talulah held the girl’s gaze, her jaw set with newfound resolve.
“It is temporarily approved,” Talulah stated coldly.
“Those Ursus Patrol members hunt and capture our people for bounty all year round.
There is indeed no need to harbor any sympathy for them.
However, you must notify us before every single action, and you will only act under our direct guidance.
Is that a problem?”
“Of course.
That is only natural,” Flandre nodded slightly, sealing the bloody pact with a polite smile.
With the grim business concluded, Talulah turned her attention back to Alina, her expression softening.
“I’ve settled everything with Flandre.
You can come over every day to give her literacy lessons.
It’s a perfect chance for you to accumulate some practical teaching experience before we finally open the school.
If you need any supplies or help, just let me know, and I’ll do my absolute best to provide them.”