While unconscious, Jean Stardust vaguely felt something cool, soft, and slightly bouncy press against its lips, followed by a rush of bitter, spicy, hot liquid flowing into its mouth.
The hot liquid traveled down the esophagus into the stomach, maintaining its spicy heat; although uncomfortable, it felt as if it were providing strength to its entire body.
Drawing on this strength, Jean Stardust opened its eyes slightly and saw an incredibly cute beauty feeding it something mouth-to-mouth.
'What kind of crazy development is this? Is there always a reward after a big battle?!'
However, when Jean Stardust calmed down and looked closely, it couldn't help but be stunned. The iconic ice-blue hair and eyes, the white military uniform—even with two demon horns on its forehead, this was undoubtedly Esdeath, one of the two Great Generals of the Empire.
But in Jean Stardust's eyes, this was a minor matter; it had fought Budo before, after all. What mattered more now was whether this mouth-to-mouth medicine feeding counted as a first kiss.
With the mindset that it had nothing to lose and might even stand to gain more, Jean Stardust quietly prepared to test the waters by leaning forward.
Having no experience in this area, it naturally knew nothing about French kissing or anything deep; it was simply acting on instinct.
Of course, this little maneuver was immediately detected by Esdeath, who gave Jean Stardust a direct headbutt and then casually tossed it aside.
"Ow, ow, ow. I'm technically a wounded patient, you know. Don't treat me so roughly."
"That's because you weren't behaving yourself. I didn't expect you to have so much energy after sustaining such heavy injuries."
Esdeath still looked composed, but with its current keen eyesight, Jean Stardust noticed she was blushing slightly.
"So, where is this? And did you save me?"
While trying to converse, Jean Stardust checked its condition. Its injuries were still severe, but they had been bandaged. Its blood-soaked clothes were tossed aside haphazardly, and its nichirin blade was placed to one side.
It was only wearing undergarments now, but it was wrapped tightly in bandage-like strips of cloth.
"This is on top of a snowy mountain. It was indeed my mercy that saved you; after all, when someone makes such a huge commotion right at my doorstep, I naturally have to take a look."
"Uh, sorry, sorry. I was pushed to my limits at the time. Also, thank you for saving me." Jean Stardust thanked Esdeath very formally.
"Well, that's not important. Let me ask you, what exactly are you?" Turning around to sit on an ice throne nearby, Esdeath struck a queenly pose and asked, looking at Jean Stardust.
"Hey, why are you suddenly insulting me?" Perhaps due to the intimate actions from earlier, Jean Stardust was now very familiar with her and was not at all intimidated by the aura Esdeath was exuding.
"Then let me rephrase. In my eyes, you are neither human, so you don't trigger my appetite, nor do you have the disgusting scent that demons emit. So what exactly are you? A humanoid Danger Beast?"
"Uh, I can't really say for sure. Let's just say I'm a rather special human."
It had unexpectedly obtained special information: it did not trigger the appetite of demons. Perhaps that was why it hadn't been eaten immediately.
Since the 'Hansel and Gretel' scenario had been avoided, Jean Stardust began to examine its surroundings.
It appeared to be a huge mountain cave. Judging by the temperature and the feeling of oxygen deprivation, it was likely a place at a very high altitude.
The spacious cave was filled with simple furniture made of ice. Fortunately, the ice bed it was lying on was covered with plenty of furs, so it hadn't been finished off by the cold.
At this moment, Esdeath, who had been staring at it in contemplation for a long time, spoke up: "Alright, then why were you being hunted by Budo?"
After thinking for a moment, Jean Stardust recounted its experiences from the time it started fighting the clown.
Throughout the whole story, Esdeath did not express any opinions and just listened quietly.
When it finished, she finally spoke: "You are quite interesting. How does it feel to protect villagers only to be betrayed by them?"
Hearing her question, Jean Stardust was stunned for a moment, then thought about it: "At most, it's just a bit annoying. Protecting them was my choice, and it had nothing to do with them. What they did was their own decision. If there were a chance, I would definitely get them back, but the people involved are already bleeding on the spot. And speaking of revenge, the real target for revenge should be that Budo."
"Hahaha, revenge against Budo? You really dare to say that. But you should focus on healing your wounds first. What kind of revenge can you talk about when you're all broken and battered?"
And so, Jean Stardust stayed with Esdeath. Every day, Esdeath would bring a portion of beast meat and a bowl of the medicinal soup it had drunk before.
However, since Jean Stardust had woken up, it naturally no longer had the benefit of being fed medicine mouth-to-mouth.
During these past few days, Jean Stardust would talk to Esdeath from time to time. Although it knew nothing about why she was here, it could tell that she was not in league with Muzan, and that she was probably not eating people.
Although Jean Stardust tried to ask indirectly, it received no answer.
However, when it came to other topics, Esdeath seemed very happy to talk with Jean Stardust. After they became familiar with each other, the queenly aura was gradually replaced by the feeling of a girl-next-door.
Just like that, time passed bit by bit, and the injuries on Jean Stardust's body were gradually healing. It didn't know if it was because of the medicinal soup or its own constitution.
In just one week, the injuries, both large and small, on Jean Stardust's body had basically healed, without even leaving any scars.
When it could freely get out of bed and walk, Jean Stardust washed its clothes with snow water, removed the bandages, and changed back into its special outfit.
The cold resistance of the clothes provided by Shiro was top-notch; even in the cold wind, it basically felt no cold.
Since it now had the conditions to move in the cold wind, Jean Stardust began to consider whether it should return to the Swordsmith Village to report that it was safe.
But at this moment, Esdeath poured a bucket of cold water on Jean Stardust.
"You mean Night Fall?" According to Esdeath, General Budo was specifically camping out at the foot of the mountain to ambush it. At the same time, there was this seemingly worthless Teigu; normally, turning a 1km radius into darkness would be of little use, but in this era where evil demons ran rampant, it was practically a weapon of the demons.
But this made Jean Stardust even more puzzled. One would think it better for Muzan to keep such a Teigu with itself, yet it let General Budo specifically bring it out to deal with it. Jean Stardust itself didn't even know it had such great value.