"Awoo~"
Noticing Remilia's intensely judging gaze, Flandre stretched out both of her small hands like a feral beast and let out a strange, playful little cry—only to be promptly and ruthlessly dragged out from beneath the giant carcass of the Manglerbeast by Remilia's firm grip.
"This massive thing is so incredibly filthy and covered in wilderness dirt, yet you still insist on actively crawling right inside its fur!" Remilia lectured, a look of pure, aristocratic disgust plastered across her pale face as she dusted off her own sleeves.
"Flandre is a certified Magical Girl, and everyone knows that true Magical Girls fundamentally don't get dirty!" Flandre spoke with righteous, absolute confidence.
However, the exact second she witnessed Remilia calmly raise her palm through the air as if preparing to deliver a swift reprimand, she immediately shrunk her neck back, diving sideways to hide her entire body directly behind Patchouli Knowledge's heavy robes.
"Patchy, Patchy, please tell Sister right now—Flandre is entirely right, isn't she? A proper Magical Girl won't ever be soiled or stained by mundane dust."
Seeing her younger sister's absolute stubbornness and complete refusal to admit wrongdoing, a sharp, mischievous glint flashed within the depths of Remilia's crimson eyes. Taking complete advantage of the fact that Flandre's attention was entirely focused on pleading her case to Patchouli, the Eldest Miss suddenly lunged forward across the carpet and delivered a swift, resounding headbutt of love directly against the girl's forehead.
Clack!
In the very next second, both of the Scarlet sisters simultaneously clutched their foreheads with their hands and crouched low onto the ground in identical, agonizing positions.
Regarding her older sister's bizarre, 'mutual destruction' combat move, Flandre could only tearfully say within her mind that as expected of the head of the house, she continuously utilized tactical maneuvers that Flandre never would have imagined in her wildest dreams.
"Alright, Remi, stop messing around with Flandre like a toddler. Sakuya, please go process this massive bear carcass immediately. We will be eating this specific meat for our dinner tonight!"
Patchouli sighed, turning her gaze toward Sakuya Izayoi, who had been standing quietly and perfectly straight by the doorway—though her elegant face had already begun to flush slightly with suppressed amusement after witnessing Remilia's ridiculous, 'head-clutching crouch defense.'
"As you command, Lady Patchouli!"
Sakuya Izayoi bowed slightly with flawless maid etiquette, and in the very next fraction of a second, her physical frame manifested directly beside the dead Manglerbeast. A single second later, both her form and the gargantuan apex predator vanished entirely from everyone's sight, transported cleanly down to the kitchen.
"By the way, Ms. Alina explicitly informed me a short while ago through the comms that you have some sort of localized military operation scheduled with her tonight. What exactly is going on out there?"
Remilia questioned, dusting off her skirt as she stood up. She wasn't genuinely worried about her little sister causing unmanageable trouble anymore, but if the girl was planning to deploy late at night, she still held a structural responsibility to ask about the fine details.
Flandre happily recounted the exact scenario she and Hong Meiling had witnessed within the northern valley, as well as the defensive conclusions Alina had reached after observing the active excavation scene following their initial contact.
"So that is how the geopolitical situation stands. In that case, what exactly do you plan to do about it?" Patchouli asked with a gentle, scholarly smile, looking down at Flandre with an explicit intent to test her practical intellect after she finished speaking.
"The simplest, most efficient way is naturally to completely close the canyon up for good. I've personally seen the terrain; as long as the primary canyon passage is permanently closed, the other side of the ridge consists entirely of sheer, vertical cliffs. Those Ursus troops won't be able to get their equipment across the mountains at all."
Flandre quickly gave her tactical plan, which she also privately considered to be the most convenient and effective way to solve the border problem once and for all.
Remilia nodded her head in total agreement after hearing this logical answer, while Patchouli smoothly followed up with another deeper, academic question. "And what specific branch of Magic do you plan to utilize to successfully achieve this geographic goal?"
Flandre stroked her chin with a profoundly serious, philosophical expression. What exact Magic should she unleash to reach this massive structural goal?
In terms of the sheer variety of Magic she knew and had witnessed, there were already quite a lot of options floating around in her mind.
"Let's see... Death Ball, Spirit Bomb, Lanza del Relámpago, Small World, Shinra Tensei, Star Breaker..." Flandre began counting the various apocalyptic spells she knew directly on her fingers.
Patchouli, listening from the side, felt her forehead instantly become covered in dark, imaginary lines. What on earth were these bizarre, fictional names?
However, it was fundamentally a good thing that Flandre was thinking seriously about mass-scale elemental manipulation, so she chose not to dwell on the complete nonsense pouring out of the little girl's mouth. After all, she fully planned to tag along tonight to personally monitor the structural situation.
Having successfully confirmed the administrative plans for the night, Remilia didn't keep Flandre tied to her side any longer, but explicitly reminded her to return punctually for dinner. Flandre nodded happily and prepared to walk back outside to continue her aimless wandering.
At this exact moment, she noticed Hong Meiling standing nearby in the corridor with a notably long, exhausted face.
"Meiling, are you feeling physically unwell today?" Flandre asked, tilting her head.
Hong Meiling vigorously shook her head and then stretched her long arms back with a massive yawn. "No, no, I'm just feeling a bit sleepy from the afternoon heat, it's really not a big deal."
Flandre pursed her lips in thought, and then pointed her small finger toward a nearby high mountaintop visible through the structural window. "How about the two of us head right back to that mountain from before? The natural environment up there is exceptionally nice, and I can take a comfortable nap right alongside you."
Hearing Flandre offer such a wonderful proposition, Hong Meiling instantly perked up, her eyes widening with joy. The two entities flew straight back to the isolated mountaintop, located a sprawling tree, and leaning their backs against the thick trunk while feeling the cool spring breeze, they fell fast asleep in no time at all.
By the time the duo finally woke up from their peaceful slumber, the sun had already almost completely dipped below the western horizon. Realizing the time, the two of them hurried to take flight, soaring back down the mountain slopes as fast as possible.
The moment they stepped through the house door and witnessed Sakuya Izayoi calmly setting the long dining table with pristine silverware, Flandre and Hong Meiling finally breathed a massive, simultaneous sigh of relief.
"You two are certainly punctual when it comes to a meal. Sit down," Remilia remarked from her seat at the head of the table.
Soon, a large, steaming platter of richly stewed Manglerbeast meat was formally served to the group. Flandre looked around the empty room, curiously asking where the rest of the Gensokyo residents were.
"The various fairies are all currently congregating in the southern sectors, and the other major figures staying within this mobile city possess their own designated residential quarters. Everyone possesses entirely different, specific tastes in daily food, so why would they constantly come running over to our dining hall?"
Remilia's explanation made Flandre fully realize that although the powerful Youkai had willingly traveled across worlds to assist the Reunion Movement, every individual faction still strictly maintained their own private space and personal affairs. Thinking of this, Flandre stopped worrying about the logistics.
After thoroughly finishing her hearty dinner, she stood up, incredibly eager to head straight north to crush the canyon.
"What exactly is the massive rush? Ms. Alina is still actively preparing her administrative affairs. We will all set out together in a little bit," Patchouli stated, stopping Flandre with a firm wave of her hand, and the group sat together in the lounge to wait.
It wasn't until well after eight o'clock in the evening, when the bright spring moon had fully emerged from behind the jagged mountain peaks, that their contact finally arrived at the front door.
"I am incredibly sorry, I've arrived late," Alina offered with a thoroughly apologetic look, adjusting her coat.
Remilia looked out the dark window and then shook her head elegantly. "It is not late at all. According to your previous operational analysis, if we were to set out too early, there might still be active scouts from Ursus watching the ridge line. A dark, windy night like this is quite suitable for a covert magical operation."
After saying that, she took the lead and walked out into the courtyard.
Upon leaving the house, they saw the medical trio from Eientei sitting and chatting comfortably under a large tree nearby. Seeing Remilia's group walk out in full force, Eirin Yagokoro looked up, looking somewhat surprised.
"Are you all heading out for a coordinated post-meal walk?"
"You could technically say that!" Remilia chuckled, briefly recounting Flandre's critical structural discovery in the northern valley.
"I see. In that case, I won't delay your defense work any further." Eirin Yagokoro stated smoothly. She wasn't particularly interested in this mundane territorial matter, and neither were Inaba Tei or Reisen.
Thus, only the core group from the Scarlet Devil Mansion and Alina officially set off toward the northern border.
Half an hour of swift travel later, the detachment successfully reached their high geographic destination.
Looking down into the deep, shadows-drenched canyon below, Remilia remarked with a hint of clinical respect that the Ursus engineering corps were certainly quite determined. After all, judging by the massive, absolute state of the original rock burial, Flandre hadn't held back a single ounce of her destructive power back then. Yet, the enemy side had actually managed to manually excavate such a massive area of the path without making a single sound loud enough to alert the main fortress.
By the group's professional estimation, the sheer number of laborers the imperial side had lost to exhaustion and the massive human price they had paid on this road were definitely not small.
Just as everyone finished inspecting the structural stability of the cliffs, Sakuya Izayoi rushed up from the shadows below, her uniform completely pristine. She had just been dispatched down into the basin by Remilia to scout for active military intelligence regarding the Ursus positions.
Sakuya Izayoi reported calmly that she had successfully located an fortified Ursus military outpost exactly three kilometers further down the mountain pass. There were currently about a hundred conscripted civilians and slightly over twenty fully armed Ursus line soldiers stationed there, alongside a massive repository of heavy excavation equipment.
"The absolute physical distance between our positions isn't very far at all. I'm afraid that the massive structural commotion caused on our side tonight fundamentally won't be hidden from their sentries," Alina noted with some clear concern, her eyes scanning the dark basin.
"It matters absolutely zero if the noise isn't hidden. What can those measly soldiers possibly hope to do to me anyway!" Remilia declared, her voice filled with bold, aristocratic arrogance.
Before she could strike a pose, Patchouli calmly reached out and pulled the Eldest Miss aside by her collar.
"I am currently trying to instruct Flandre in practical magic application, so please do not get in the way of the lesson, Remi."
Patchouli turned her gaze toward the younger girl. "Flandre, you tell me right now—what specific magical option would you choose to execute in this exact scenario?"