The one speaking was Logos. His voice carried that distinct, rhythmic cadence unique to the Banshee court, smooth yet layered with implicit weight. After listening to his formal and welcoming words, Remilia nodded gently, her fingers resting lightly on the armrest of her chair as she maintained her effortless, noble poise.
"I have already spoken with Eirin and the others regarding this matter before," Remilia answered smoothly, her crimson eyes reflecting the soft ambient lighting of the quarters. "Rhodes Island is indeed one of the essential stops we have carefully factored into our upcoming itinerary across Terra. I will definitely bring the mansion crew by for a proper visit after I take Flandre out for a thorough trip to see the various sights."
Hearing Remilia readily agree to the invitation, Logos, Pith, and the other elite Casters from the Rhodes Island delegation all broke into genuine, relieved smiles. The diplomatic friction they had anticipated from dealing with such powerful, unknown entities had completely evaporated into mutual goodwill.
"Then we shall certainly look forward to your arrival, and our landship will host you all properly when the time comes," Logos responded, inclining his head in a polite gesture of farewell.
Once the formal Rhodes Island group had taken their leave and stepped out of the quarters, the strictly formal atmosphere immediately dissipated. Remilia turned around and reached out, gently patting Flandre Scarlet's head, smoothing down a few stray strands of her blonde hair.
"Go along and play on your own for a while," Remilia said with a fond, permissive smile. "Just don't wander completely off the grid."
Hearing this long-awaited permission, Flandre's eyes lit up with instant joy. "Yay! I'm going out!"
She happily spun around to leave the area, but before she even crossed the threshold, her ruby eyes locked onto a familiar green outfit. Without a second thought, she reached out and tightly grabbed the sleeve of Hong Meiling, who was currently standing right by the side of the door frame, her eyes half-closed as she leaned against the wall dozing off.
"Meiling! Come with me!" Flandre cheered, pulling with surprising, supernatural strength.
"Eh? Ah! Second Miss, wait a moment!" Hong Meiling jarred awake, her eyes snapping wide open in complete surprise as she stumbled forward. "The Eldest Miss didn't actually give me explicit orders to go with you this afternoon... I'm supposed to be guarding the—"
Before the gatekeeper could even finish her sentence, she was entirely dragged away by the unstoppable force of the little vampire, their figures flying straight out of the residential corridor and into the open air of the encampment.
Outside the primary landship structures, Flandre walked briskly down the bustling, temporary streets of the camp, her wings chiming softly with every step. Hong Meiling followed helplessly a couple of paces behind her, patting the dust off her traditional cheongsam and sighing with a mixture of resignation and indulgence.
Before they had gone very far through the active sectors, Flandre's sharp eyes suddenly spotted a highly unusual sight near a cluster of supply tents.
There was Inaba Tewi, intentionally slumping her shoulders and altering her posture to perfectly pretend to be an innocent, helpless young child. She was currently utilizing her deceptively small stature and wide, watery eyes to systematically trick the passing Reunion soldiers and camp followers out of their personal rations of candy.
Thanks to the fortunate fact that little Tewi naturally looked even smaller and more delicate than Flandre herself when she actively suppressed her Youkai aura, she had already successfully swindled a quite impressive handful of colorful sweets by now, stuffing them into her pockets with a hidden, mischievous grin.
One must fundamentally understand that candy and refined sugar were extreme luxury items here within the active ranks of the Reunion Movement, usually strictly reserved for medical recovery or rare morale boosts. To be able to single-handedly swindle so much of it from rugged, battle-hardened Infected soldiers, it was honestly quite hard to say whether it was because Tewi was exceptionally silver-tongued and manipulative, or simply because everyone in the Reunion Movement possessed a very simple-hearted, protective nature toward children.
Just as Tewi was feeling immensely proud of her growing haul, tossing a wrapped piece lightly into the air and catching it, a small, pale hand descended heavily and firmly onto her shoulder.
Tewi's long rabbit ears instantly twitched in alarm, but she smoothly masked her surprise. Turning her head, she saw Flandre staring down at her with a knowing, unblinking look.
"Eh~ It's little Flandre," Tewi said, letting out a small sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't Eirin looking for her. She immediately put on a generous front, reaching into her pocket to pull out a pristine wrapped sweet. "Want some candy? It's the good kind from the central supply cache."
Flandre firmly shook her head, her expression a mix of amusement and mild disapproval. "I don't want any. But Tewi, it's really not very good to constantly lie to people like that."
"Where exactly did I lie?" Tewi argued immediately, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks in mock offense. "I exchanged for every single one of these pieces fair and square using nothing but my own natural eloquence and charm. It's a legitimate transaction!"
Others who didn't know the deceptive nature of the Earth Rabbits of Eientei might have believed that righteous defense, but Flandre didn't believe it for a single second. After all, she had literally just witnessed Tewi acting incredibly cute, sniffing pitifully to trick an older, sympathetic Infected woman out of her prized weekly sugar ration just moments prior.
"Fine, fine, don't believe me then..." Seeing Flandre's deadpan expression and knowing she absolutely couldn't fool the vampire's unique perception, Tewi dropped the innocent child act entirely. She popped a piece of candy into her own mouth and asked curiously, "By the way, when exactly are you guys planning to set off on that journey?"
"Tomorrow, I think!" Flandre answered brightly. She looked up at Hong Meiling standing beside her for confirmation, and the gatekeeper nodded dutifully to indicate that the schedule was correct. Flandre then continued with absolute confidence, "Yup, it's definitely tomorrow morning."
"Hmm, then you're setting off quite a bit before us," Tewi noted, chewing lazily on the sweet. "That serious fellow Eirin Yagokoro plans to set off alongside the Rhodes Island group, and according to their current logistics report, Rhodes Island will probably remain stationed here for about another week to fully synchronize their medical notes with the Reunion doctors."
"We also agreed with Logos that once we've successfully settled Letty into her new home, we'll travel all the way over to Rhodes Island to meet back up with them," Flandre replied, a happy, expectant smile gracing her face.
"Are you really leaving all the nature fairies behind here?" Tewi asked, her ears twitching as she noticed a glaring detail. Neither the upcoming travel plan nor the general layout of the Scarlet Devil Mansion seemed to include taking the rowdy fairy alliance along with them.
"Sister said it's honestly best for the fairies to stay right here in this territory," Flandre explained patiently, recalling the meetings. "For one thing, this entire northern border region is incredibly sparsely populated and the natural environment is pristine, making it perfectly suitable for all kinds of fairies to live and play in. Secondly, it's very close to the Reunion Movement's main routes. If the Reunion Movement ever faces severe danger from outside forces in the future, the fairies might be able to lend a hand with their Danmaku. Sister has already reached a firm agreement with Cirno and the others, and the fairies have all happily agreed to stay here."
Flandre was actually thoroughly aware of this matter because when Remilia, Eirin Yagokoro, and the fairy leaders were actively discussing the local defense balance, she had been sitting right there on the rug listening. It was entirely normal for Tewi not to know; after all, the rabbit Youkai didn't care about structural logistics in the slightest and had only come to this continent for Eirin's sake.
Asking about the fairies was purely a casual, passing question born out of habit; even if Flandre hadn't given her a detailed answer, she wouldn't have pressed the issue any further. Now knowing the actual reason, Tewi stroked her chin with an 'I see' expression, nodding to herself.
"So where exactly do you plan to go after you leave the snowy mountains?" Tewi asked, looking back at Flandre.
Flandre thought for a brief moment, tapping her chin with her finger. "Back to Lungmen, with the convoy. I remember hearing that they seemed to be actively preparing for their formal return journey back to the city too."
"True, true. Since you technically came out of Lungmen as part of their official diplomatic envoy, if you're not present when the convoy heads back and they have no viable excuse to present to the higher-ups, those poor soldiers would probably be severely punished by the authorities," Tewi nodded understandingly.
After Flandre chatted with her for a few more minutes, Tewi's sharp eyes quickly located a brand-new target—a gruff-looking guard who looked like a soft touch for children. She hastily said her goodbyes, spun around, and ran over to start another calculated round of candy swindling.
Flandre shook her head with a smile and then turned to take Hong Meiling toward the specific sector hosting the Lungmen diplomatic office stationed within the Reunion camp.
This particular office was not built directly on top of the mobile landship modules. Of course, this arrangement wasn't because Talulah looked down on Lungmen or wished to slight them, but rather it was Lungmen's own formal proposal during the initial paperwork exchange. After all, the Reunion Movement was filled from top to bottom with the Infected, many of whom carried active Originium lesions, while this specific Lungmen convoy, though consisting of professional soldiers and guards, was entirely composed of ordinary, uninfected people.
Having ordinary citizens and defensive military personnel live in tight, enclosed quarters with thousands of active Infected would still inevitably cause an undercurrent of deep unease and friction among many of the ordinary soldiers. Therefore, to ensure smooth relations, the Reunion Movement had specifically reserved a very high-quality, secure position for the Lungmen convoy to pitch their tents and park their vehicles just outside the main transit routes.
The moment the alert border guards saw Flandre flying over with Hong Meiling, someone immediately ran inside the main command tent to notify Zhang Wei.
"Oh, my absolute Eldest Miss, you have finally graced us with your presence!" Zhang Wei practically burst out of the tent, his face a mask of pure desperation. He looked like he was about to burst into actual tears of relief the second his eyes locked onto Flandre.
Ever since they had arrived at the Reunion Movement's base of operations, Flandre had immediately left the convoy's custody to stay with her biological sister. This was completely normal and expected, given the circumstances. But for Zhang Wei, who was personally responsible for her safety record, it had been a lingering, terrifying headache. He couldn't exactly march up to the powerful lords of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and demanding to know if she was coming back to the city with them. As their own scheduled departure time drew closer and closer by the hour, his anxiety had mounted beyond belief.
Now that Flandre had come to find him entirely of her own accord, it could be said she had genuinely saved his military career.
"Lady Flandre, may I please ask if this time... are you planning to pack your things for the return trip, or..."
"I just came over to personally tell you that I'll be going around to play across the continent with my sister for a while," Flandre answered straightforwardly, her tone light and airy. "Once we're completely tired of playing around, I'll bring them all back to Lungmen together. After all, the urban environment in Lungmen is quite good, and my sister and the others have already agreed to eventually settle down and live there permanently."
Hearing the first half of her sentence, Zhang Wei's face instantly turned incredibly bitter, imagining the furious reprimand he would receive from the Superintendent. But as the second half of her statement registered in his mind, his eyes widened, and he broke into a massive, radiant smile. Securing the permanent residency of multiple god-like entities for Lungmen was a diplomatic achievement that far outweighed a simple delay!
"May I humbly inquire about your specific itinerary?" Zhang Wei asked, pulling out a notepad with immense respect. "I will absolutely need to report the details directly to the Governor the moment I return to the city."
"Hmm, we've officially decided that our very first stop will be Kjerag," Flandre answered, counting on her fingers. "And we haven't meticulously planned anything beyond that just yet. Maybe we'll head over to Kazimierz afterward to see that famous Knight Tournament or whatever it's called. Oh, and then we absolutely have to go to Rhodes Island..."
Seeing the intensely troubled, anxious expression returning to his face as he realized how vague and dangerous that international route sounded to a normal human bureaucrat, Flandre pointed her finger toward a professional video camera resting on a tripod nearby.
"How about you just record a direct video of me?" Flandre suggested helpfully. "I'll give Sister Ch'en and the others a proper heads-up so they know exactly what's going on."
"That would be absolutely wonderful! Incredible!" Hearing Flandre's brilliant suggestion, Zhang Wei quickly scrambled over to the tripod, picked up the camera, verified the battery, and carefully aimed the lens directly at her.
After confirming the red recording light was flashing, Flandre cleared her throat, adjusted the custom rope knot at her waist, and looked right into the lens.
"Ahem! This is Flandre, and this right next to me is Hong Meiling, my very good friend and the gatekeeper from the Scarlet Devil Mansion," Flandre said, waving her hand at the camera while Meiling offered a polite, slightly awkward wave of her own.
"Sister Ch'en, Sister Beatrice, Sister Hoshiguma, as well as Auntie Fumizuki and Uncle Wei—I won't be returning to Lungmen with the official military convoy this time around. My sister and I are going to travel around and explore a bunch of other cool places first. Once we've had enough fun, we'll all come over to Lungmen together. My sister also explicitly said she's deeply grateful for everyone's kind care toward me during my time in Lungmen, and she wants to personally come see you all when we arrive."
After finishing her short speech, Flandre waved her hand briskly to signal the end of the take.
Zhang Wei turned off the camera and thanked Flandre repeatedly, bowing low with immense gratitude. With this definitive visual recording securely in his possession, he would have a flawless, unassailable explanation to present to Wei Yenwu the moment he crossed the city thresholds.