Accompanied by the grateful, formal salutations of the military personnel, Flandre Scarlet happily turned on her heel and departed from the Reunion Movement's localized Lungmen diplomatic branch. Together with Hong Meiling trailing faithfully behind her, she leisurely strolled through the various sectors of the camp all the way back to Remilia's side. By the time they finally crossed the threshold of the primary quarters, the natural light across the northern plains was already deeply shifting into twilight.
"What exactly were you doing out there, coming back home so incredibly late in the evening?" Remilia asked in an lecturing yet thoroughly fond tone. She immediately reached out, playfully squeezing and pinching Flandre's soft cheeks between her fingers.
Flandre didn't resist the affection at all, instead giggling softly as she meticulously recounted their entire afternoon itinerary to her older sister, including the interaction with the panicked Zhang Wei and the video message she had recorded for the authorities back in Lungmen.
"Hmph, it was indeed entirely right of you to proactively give those mortal officials a clear heads-up," Remilia noted, releasing her cheeks with a satisfied nod. "It saves our mansion from unnecessary bureaucratic annoyances later down the line. Remember to sleep exceptionally well tonight, Flandre; our entire group will officially set out toward the mountains at the exact break of dawn."
Flandre let out a massive, infectious yawn the moment she heard the schedule. Walking and flying around the sprawling military encampment all day had indeed left her small body feeling a bit physically tired. She nodded obediently, said her goodnights to the rest of the residents, and happily curled up into her bed.
When the next morning arrived, Flandre surprisingly got out of bed quite early, rubbing her eyes as she walked into the central chamber without needing anyone to knock on her door.
"Oh? It is honestly quite rare for you to not sleep in late on a travel day. Not bad at all, Flandre!"
However, it was completely obvious that her older sister had woken up even earlier. Remilia was already seated elegantly in the living room, comfortably holding a fine porcelain teacup filled with a rich blend of black tea heavily laced with sweet condensed milk.
The moment Flandre went over and sat down at the table, Sakuya Izayoi materialized smoothly beside her, setting down a fresh, steaming cup of her own. Except this time, to suit the younger sister's specific tastes, there was no bitter black tea mixed in at all; it was a cup of pure, hot, heavily sweetened condensed milk. Flandre didn't mind the lack of refinement in the slightest, drinking the thick, sugary treat quite happily.
After the pair finished their quick morning breakfast, Remilia assumed her role as head of the house and led the gathered group from the Scarlet Devil Mansion out toward the private room where Letty lived nearby. The ice Youkai was already completely packed and prepared to leave, her cool presence stabilizing the ambient air around her luggage.
Under Remilia's administrative arrangement, Flandre quickly ran over to notify Alina of their formal departure, and then the core group of six began walking outside toward the main thoroughfares of the landship.
"Are you all leaving us already?"
The travelers collectively looked up toward the second-floor balcony of the adjacent medical module to see Eirin Yagokoro leaning casually against the iron railing, looking down at them with a knowing, serene expression.
"We are officially off!" Remilia called out, waving her hand gracefully toward the doctor.
The group continued walking out toward the perimeter of the camp. Among them, only Patchouli Knowledge chose to constantly levitate a few inches off the dirt, her long robes drifting around her. After all, for someone possessing her notoriously fragile physical constitution and weak lungs, flying via passive levitation spells was infinitely more energy-efficient than walking over long distances on foot.
When the procession finally reached the massive structural city gates of the main landship module, Talulah, Alina, Yelena, and nearly all of the high-ranking Reunion Movement cadres were already standing there in a formal line to meet them.
"There is really absolutely no need for everyone to be so incredibly formal and structured just for our departure," Remilia remarked with a distinct note of genuine emotion as she took in the sight of the entire executive committee standing in the morning chill.
"It is entirely necessary, Lady Remilia," Talulah responded immediately, her voice carrying that commanding, steady resonance that defined her leadership. "Whether it is you, Lady Remilia, Flandre, or Lady Patchouli, you have all provided immense, life-saving assistance to the Reunion Movement when we needed it most. Our organization is absolutely not the kind of unprincipled faction that takes the kindness and sacrifices of others for granted."
Talulah paused, her clear eyes reflecting the rising sun as she looked at the powerful entities before her. "Although we are still undeniably weak on the global stage right now and possess many internal shortcomings, I firmly believe that we will carve out a much brighter tomorrow for the Infected. Perhaps the next time our paths cross, our roles will be reversed, and we will be the ones fully capable of helping you all."
Talulah's tone was unyieldingly firm and resolute; she possessed absolute, unshakeable confidence that she could make the Reunion Movement bigger, stronger, and entirely self-sufficient, ensuring they wouldn't always remain the vulnerable party protected by the supernatural power of Flandre and the mansion.
"An incredibly impressive spirit," Remilia praised, her crimson eyes widening slightly in genuine respect for the Draconic leader's resolve. "I fully believe you possess the strength to achieve exactly what you have said, Lady Talulah. I look forward to seeing a vastly different, far more powerful Reunion Movement the next time we meet across Terra."
After speaking her piece, Remilia performed a flawless, standard noble lady's curtsy. She then turned and led her group out through the open gates under the respectful, silent gazes of the entire Reunion high command. Before disappearing down the main trail, Flandre turned her body all the way around, waving both of her hands vigorously to say goodbye. Seeing the happy, energetic blonde girl smiling so brightly, the natural sadness of parting felt by Talulah and the others lessened significantly.
[If you ever run into any severe trouble in the future, you can always tell me secretly through the communication network; Flandre will absolutely help find a way to fix it!]
Alina couldn't help but let out a warm, incredibly fond smile as she quietly read the private text message Flandre had secretly sent to her terminal just as they crossed the threshold.
After fully leaving the active territory of the Reunion Movement's primary encampment, the group walked due westward according to their pre-established plan.
Although almost every single member of the party possessed the innate capacity to simply fly across the sky at breakneck speeds, this particular trip wasn't designed just to rapidly drop Letty off at Kjerag; it was also intended to serve as a leisurely survey of the local ecological environment, the wild flora, and the strange magical laws of this alien continent. Additionally, since even Letty herself wasn't in any particular hurry to reach the cold mountains, everyone naturally made their way forward at an incredibly relaxed, comfortable pace.
Directly to the west of the Reunion Movement's current location lay a vast, sprawling, ancient forest. There were quite a few fortified Reunion Movement military checkpoints and watchtowers scattered along the border trails. Perhaps Talulah had proactively informed the border guards in advance via official orders, or perhaps the frontline soldiers at the checkpoints all instantly recognized Flandre's iconic colorful wings from the battles; either way, the group wasn't stopped for questioning or documentation checks a single time along the way.
In fact, many of the Infected soldiers standing guard at the isolated checkpoints even snapped to a solemn, deeply reverent military salute the exact second they saw Flandre walking past their barricades. Flandre greeted every single one of them with a bright, cheerful chuckle, waving back happily.
"My, it seems you have become quite the famous celebrity in these parts, Flandre!" Remilia noted naturally as she witnessed the recurring displays of deep military respect. She didn't harbor a single ounce of jealousy over her sister's popularity; rather, she felt incredibly happy deep down. That her younger sister could receive so much genuine respect and love from ordinary people meant her volatile personality had improved significantly during her time on this world.
Furthermore, from her close clinical observations during this shared period, Flandre was indeed much more emotionally stable than before and would actively think things through before acting. Although the girl would still instinctively slack off and act like a spoiled child whenever she was directly by her side, this deep sense of familial reliance made Remilia feel immensely satisfied as an older sister.
Once they stepped fully out of the Reunion Movement's outer perimeter and entered the deep woods, Remilia paused, scanning the dense foliage with a slight pout.
"This forest is certainly primitive enough to be annoying," she muttered.
Since their long-term plan was to ultimately head to Kjerag in the far southwest, they naturally didn't choose the well-traveled main imperial highways, instead opting to follow a narrow, rugged small path originally carved out of the brush by local wilderness hunters. And such a hunter's path was, aside from technically being an opening through the trees, practically worthless and uneven in every other conceivable way.
Fortunately, when they had planned the logistics of this journey, Remilia and the others had wisely chosen not to wear their usual heavy, formal Victorian-style mansion dresses. Instead, they had all changed into durable, flexible sportswear sets purchased directly from the Reunion Movement's supply caches. Otherwise, within less than half a day of hiking, those elegant frills and laces would likely have been thoroughly snagged and torn by sharp branches until they were a complete eyesore.
"How about we simply choose to fly instead?" Patchouli suggested, her voice floating down calmly as she hovered over a particularly muddy patch of roots. "We can coast just slightly above the canopy of the forest. That way, we can still effortlessly observe the ecological environment below us without hindering our physical progress through the brush."
The air quality inside the woods was quite nice, but the overgrowth was simply far too dense for comfortable walking. Seeing Remilia pouting and clearly wanting to take to the air but unable to bring herself to say it aloud—since starting the journey on foot had originally been her own noble idea—Patchouli gracefully stepped in to make the tactical suggestion herself.
"Good idea, amazing idea!" Flandre cheered, immediately supporting the proposal from the side. She was already starting to feel that the ancient trees here were far too thick and hiking on the uneven dirt was making their progress slow, so it would be infinitely better to fly out of the dense zone first and locate a more scenic clearing suitable for hiking later. After all, they weren't just a couple of steps away from their destination, and their group certainly weren't hardcore, stubborn human hikers; there was absolutely no logical need to needlessly struggle against raw nature.
Seeing two members of the inner circle immediately supporting the change in plans, Remilia feigned a brief moment of aristocratic hesitation before smoothing down her jacket and saying, "Well, in that case, let us fly for the time being!"
With that pronouncement, she took the lead, her elegant bat wings unfolding as she shot gracefully up into the clear morning air.
"My word... this territory is vastly larger than the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and the Forest of Magic combined," Remilia marveled, suspending herself above the treeline and scanning the endless green horizon stretching out for hundreds of miles.
"That is entirely true, but you must remember that this is an entire, fully formed planet we are traversing; it is only mathematically normal that its geographic scale is infinitely bigger than the isolated boundaries of Gensokyo," Patchouli noted calmly, drifting up beside her without a hint of amazement.
After all, wasn't it precisely because they had collectively recognized how vast, unexplored, and structurally free this new world was—and that the native inhabitants here naturally possessed animal traits like Youkai, allowing their own unusual features to blend in seamlessly without attracting hostile human attention—that the scholars had tried every mystical means to open a path here?
Of course, this broad cultural curiosity didn't originally include the core residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. To be historically precise, the people living within the mansion were basically absolute, textbook shut-ins. If the entire situation hadn't directly involved finding and securing Flandre this time around, given Remilia's naturally reclusive temperament, she probably wouldn't have possessed a single ounce of interest in exploring foreign continents at all. After all, hadn't the Scarlet Devil Mansion entered the isolation of Gensokyo in the first place precisely because they felt the outside mortal world was far too much trouble to deal with?
The group suspended in the air didn't fly very fast at all, maintaining a relaxed cruising speed. They carefully observed the local wildlife, the geological formations, and the distribution of natural resources as they glided over the canopy. Whenever they encountered a particularly unique plant, a strange beast, or an interesting magical anomaly along the border, they would even happily halt their forward progress entirely, landing for a brief hour to study it together like a family on a grand vacation.