For the next period of time, Jeanne became something akin to a grand logistics captain. Every day, she shuttled back and forth between the village and the main force's camp, responsible for transporting supplies.
In this place, even staying on the ground was enough to make one shiver from the cold, let alone the godforsaken high altitudes! Aside from Jeanne, no one else could withstand the frigid temperatures encountered during these daily round trips.
Because it was simply too cold, Jeanne eventually resorted to starting a fire while sitting on the dragon's back. The flames she created with her abilities required no conventional fuel; if she could find a way to secure a metal plate, she could even grill meat on it!
Regardless, this level of warmth had no negative impact on the Wyverns. In fact, they found it quite pleasant. Although they could survive in the deep winter, it didn't mean they enjoyed being in a freezing environment all the time.
"It's been a long journey for you. I've brewed some thick soup; do you want a bowl to ward off the cold?"
Upon arriving at the camp, the person greeting her had shifted from Patriot to FrostNova. This little white rabbit had a pot set up in front of her, filled with a thick stew made of potatoes and carrots—likely with some beast milk and meat added in.
In a season like this, was there anything more comfortable than holding a bowl of hot soup in the freezing weather, feeling the warmth travel from your throat straight to your heart? Especially in Jeanne's case, having been chilled to the bone all over, it was impossible to refuse such a treat.
"Yes, yes, yes! Give me a bowl. It's really not easy having to run so far in this weather. The main problem is the wind-blown snow; it's enough to freeze a person to death..."
Jeanne hurriedly sat by the fire to warm herself. Seeing Jeanne in this state, FrostNova, who was stirring the soup, took a bowl from the side and filled it for her.
At that moment, a group of Yeti members surrounded her, their eyes glowing green like hungry wolves. They were just waiting to get their hands on a bowl of this soup so they could finish their meal with their dry rations.
"Let's eat!"
Looking at this pack of "hungry wolves," FrostNova couldn't help but wonder if she had mistreated them before to make them this starved. They looked more attached to the food than anything else.
Upon hearing their "big sister's" word, the Yeti members ignored everything else. They gathered around the pot to scoop out the hot soup and then huddled in small groups to eat.
"How much longer will it take to finish clearing this place? Do you need me to bring some more people over to help?" Jeanne asked, noticing FrostNova's exhaustion. Over the past few days, they had been working in shifts to handle the logistics here, and the fatigue was starting to show.
The truly large items had already been hauled back. What they were clearing now was mostly miscellaneous items for daily use. This group was even trying to find ways to haul away the wooden planks.
"Soon. The people who stayed behind are also helping us collect usable materials. We'll rest tomorrow, and by the day after, we should be ready to start heading back," FrostNova said after taking a sip of soup. She also loved the sensation of the warmth opening up her pores; she hadn't felt this way in many years.
Before meeting Jeanne and receiving help to alleviate her Oripathy, her body had become so ravaged by the worsening disease that she could no longer feel warmth. Even if she drank hot soup or water, the moment it entered her mouth, it would turn into a freezing liquid.
Thus, she now deeply cherished the warmth she could feel. As she drank the soup, her ears—which had been drooping slightly from exhaustion—perked up once again.
Watching those ears go up and down, Jeanne suddenly felt an impulse to reach out and grab them. Unfortunately, the moment the thought surfaced, FrostNova seemed to sense something and shifted backward.
"I know what you're thinking, but don't even think about it!"
Regarding this person who was so interested in her ears, FrostNova could practically read her intentions in her eyes and sought to block those wicked thoughts. What kind of person is curious about the ears and horns on someone's head?
"You're overthinking it, aren't you?" Jeanne asked as she watched her retreat a few steps. She wanted to ask if she was serious—did their friendship really warrant such high levels of suspicion? It was quite heartbreaking.
"Absolutely not. I can guess exactly what you want to do."
After staring at her for a moment, FrostNova dropped the subject. Regardless, the person across from her occasionally came up with strange ideas, and nothing she did would be surprising.
"Honestly... to look at me like that. Fine, I'm going back to work. This whole day is just a life of toil!"
Jeanne finished her soup in a few gulps. By the time she went outside, the people loading the supplies had finished their task. The Wyverns, now bound with ropes, looked thoroughly displeased, appearing as if they wanted to burn the ropes off at any moment.
There was nothing wrong with their reaction, really. Who would want to help carry a pile of things that were visible but useless to them? Especially when none of it was edible. Wouldn't that make them the ultimate "suckers"? Working for others day in and day out on things they couldn't even use. But compared to their current situation, there wasn't much of a difference.
"Finished eating so soon? It's still quite early; won't you rest for a bit longer?"
The loading here was being led by Talulah. In this place, the only people the Wyverns would somewhat listen to, besides Jeanne, were Talulah. Perhaps it was the racial suppression of being a Draco, but these creatures didn't dare to be too insolent in front of Talulah, though they still expressed their dissatisfaction.
However, the moment Jeanne arrived, these creatures—who had been baring their teeth just a moment ago—instantly became as well-behaved as rabbits, like naughty children meeting their natural predator.
"You bunch of social climbers! Did I mistreat you or something? Is the difference in treatment between us really necessary?" Talulah said, her forehead lined with irritation as she looked at these "double-standard" dragons.
"It just proves I have charisma! Unlike you, who looks all fierce!"
Jeanne climbed onto the dragon's back and tossed that sentence behind her before leading the dragons into the high sky, leaving Talulah and the others to stare at each other.
It took Talulah quite a while to process what Jeanne had just said. By the time she wanted to argue back, Jeanne had already flown far away, leaving only a small black dot in the sky.
"Who looks fierce? Just talking nonsense all day!" Talulah stamped her foot and went back to her work. There was still much to do, and it wasn't time for a break yet.
As Jeanne would say, she admired someone like Talulah who worked overtime every single day. Just how much energy did she have? She was either busy or on her way to being busy. But then again, considering Jeanne's own personality of wanting to "slack off" whenever possible, such a work ethic wasn't hard to understand from her perspective.
On the other side, Jeanne sat atop the Wyvern, looking down at the earth covered in pristine, spotless white snow. Her mood was quite good. She began to softly hum a song. Gradually, snowflakes fell onto her shoulders, and even the whistling of the wind and snow in the sky seemed to dampen.
The very sky seemed to grow quiet because of this melody, leaving only her sitting on the dragon's back, humming that song from an unknown source.
It was a melody she had heard in her dreams while she was slumbering in Lungmen. At the time, she was walking across a wasteland in her dream, and this strange song had been echoing in her ears.
As for why Jeanne chose to hum it now—one reason was that flying in the sky was truly boring, and the other was that she had suddenly thought of something and wanted to experiment.
She clearly remembered that while she was walking through the wilderness in her dream, she had seen a strange nomadic city. That city had also been playing this very song.
Furthermore, that nomadic city moved at an incredibly slow speed. If it encountered a Catastrophe, it would have no way to escape. So why had they built such a city?
She had been busy with various matters lately and hadn't had the time to look into it. Now that she had a bit of free time, she recalled these things. Her purpose in humming the song here was to figure out exactly what the song was for and what kind of effect it had.