Alina's expression quickly turned serious once again:
"The Reunion Movement has been wandering across the snowfields for so long. Look at you—with all those injuries on your legs, how can you still claim you don't have a scratch on you? Even the big black dog at the village entrance wouldn't believe that!"
"But... this, this isn't right..."
"Oh, what's not right? Two girls and we're suddenly worried about proper physical distance? What kind of twisted logic is that? Be a good girl and let me take a look!"
"Ah..."
Such a foolish dragon.
It was useless to try reasoning with her; she was far too prudish and overcautious.
Perhaps Talulah could reason with others, but as far as Alina was concerned, sick was sick, and it needed to be treated.
Without further ado, she grabbed Talulah's clothes, instantly unbuttoned them with practiced ease, and stripped her garments away as skillfully as if she were peeling the hide of a Rift Beast.
"Yikes—"
Talulah felt her Red Dragon blood boil all over again.
Alina merely frowned, staring intently at the scars on Talulah's abdomen.
Then, after applying ointment to the scars with her hands, she circled around and caught sight of the wounds on her back.
If one were to overlook these nearly fatal gunshot wounds, Originium Arts blast marks, and lacerations, this smooth, flawless back would undoubtedly charm anyone, man or woman alike.
Yet now, looking at the dense rows of stitches, the traces of healing spells, and the new flesh of a distinctly different color, Alina saw no sign of the so-called "Glory of Ursus." Instead, she saw only the cruel treatment a young girl should never have suffered and the hideous scars left by war.
"......Were you on the battlefield of the Great Rebellion?"
"......The Fifth Army, Colonel,"
Talulah said.
"How old were you back then? Twenty-five?"
".........Seventeen. I lied about my age to enlist."
Alina's frown deepened, nearly folding the space between her eyebrows into three deep creases.
.........Too cruel.
Had she always been charging at the very frontlines of the army? It certainly fit the Ursus stereotype, but.........
Alina turned around, staring at Talulah with a solemn expression:
"Listen to me, Talulah. You can't keep pushing yourself this hard."
"But!.........."
"No buts! You are the leader of this group; you cannot fall. If you fall, have you thought about the consequences? A workaholic who drives herself into the ground can never truly carry this banner! Especially not when your ambitions are so grand!"
"But..........."
"Will you seriously listen to me!"
Alina practically shouted the words.
She grabbed Talulah by both shoulders, her grip so firm that it instantly left two red marks.
She forced Talulah to meet her gaze, responding with utmost seriousness to Talulah's avoidance and cowardice in handling interpersonal relationships.
"This isn't the military, and you don't have anyone standing in reserve to replace you if you collapse! Take care of yourself before you try leading your group!"
Perhaps feeling that her words had been too harsh, Alina's tone softened abruptly:
"You have too many injuries on your body; you must let me treat them here. If this goes on, the moment you get hurt, everyone in the Reunion Movement will get hurt too, and I will be hurt most of all because of you. Before you protect everyone else, make sure you can protect yourself—understood?"
Talulah instinctively wanted to retort, but when the words reached her lips, they dissolved into a soft "Okay."
At that moment, Alina suddenly reached out a palm to stroke her head, then instantly furrowed her brow high:
"Talulah, you have a fever!"
A fever? The mighty Drakon, original master of the Victoria Central Valley, and one of the legendary species of this world—how could she possibly run a fever?
"No, Alina, I........."
"You must rest! Listen to me, I'll take this time to properly patch you up."
"But..........!"
"What are you 'butting' about? Is there anything to 'but'? Even if you didn't have a fever, you need a proper rest! Isn't there a single person in the unit you lead who can shoulder these responsibilities? Did you bring a whole group of good-for-nothings?"
"That's not it..........."
"Then you can feel free to leave things to them! Do you think you're an immortal deity in the heavens? Or do you think you possess the divine power and foresight of Emperor Igor? Or perhaps you think the Reunion Movement is just a bunch of loafers? Just trust them with the work—if the sky falls, you surely aren't the only one who has to hold it up, right?"
".........."
As Alina lectured Talulah, she kept pacing in circles around her.
With every circle she walked, Talulah's injuries and worrisome physical condition filled her with even greater sorrow and anger.
She drove herself far too hard.
Finally, it was Talulah's turn to interrupt:
"No, Alina, listen to me first!"
Alina was startled by Talulah's sudden outburst.
Talulah vigorously rubbed her unkempt hair and hurriedly retied her chest binder, speaking as she moved:
"Oh, I'm a Drakon, not a Vouivre—I carry the Red Dragon bloodline of the Victorian kingdom! Our constitution is much sturdier than an average Vouivre's, so you really don't need to worry about me so much........."
"Sturdier? I don't care if you're a Drakon or a Decepticon, even if what you say is true, your body isn't normal right now, and it needs proper care! Stop worrying about everything else; once your health is good, everything else will fall into place. As the saying goes, 'When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten out'—your boat is already smashed to pieces, how do you expect to reach the bridge?"
"...........I understand."
"As long as you understand."
Alina visibly let out a sigh of relief.
She picked up the kettle that the caravan had casually handed over during their trade, and poured two cups of hot water from it.
Then, she lifted one of the coarse ceramic cups and drained it in one go.
Hot water invariably nourished the throat better than cold water, allowing a speaker to recover quickly.
And a mouthful of water was precisely what Alina needed right now.
"Ah—"
The sensation of draining the water made every pore on Alina's body relax fully, as if her entire being from the inside out was basking in the sunlight.
"Drink your water, I'm going to go assign some chores to them."
"——Don't tell everyone about my condition!"
"——I know!"
Alina was a woman of action; Talulah only heard her acknowledging call as she reached the doorway.
Sunlight seeped into the room for a fraction of a second, only to be blocked outside once again by the heavy door.
Inside the room, nothing remained except the sunlight filtering through the paper window, illuminating the small table on the brick kang and the coarse ceramic cup.
The dust motes suddenly drifting and dancing in the air, along with the intensely visible water vapor under the sunlight, deeply captivated Talulah's gaze, leaving her lost in thought for a long time.
.............
October 2, 1086, 11:02 a.m.
Sergei carried a basket full of branches on his back, with a large log shouldered on top of it.
Pine needles and wood shavings covered his body, while the crisp fragrance of wood and the peculiar scent of tree sap drifted around him.
A hand axe was casually tucked into his waistband, and the notch on its blade bore witness to the work he had just finished.
He put back on his hat, which was already stained with pine needles and wood shavings but had cooled down enough, lifted the ear-flaps, and returned to Churvik Village just like any ordinary lumberjack.
At that exact moment, he happened to bump into Alina, who was rushing out in a flurry.
"Hey, you are..."
Not until Alina ran right up in front of him did Sergei wipe his face and point at himself:
"Me?"
"Ah, yes..."
"Sergei Schneitsevitch. Just call me Sergei."
"Alina. Are you going to...?"
"Gather some firewood, boil some water to take a bath, and relax. The Reunion Movement has been wandering the snowfields for almost three or four months now, always relying on sheer willpower to push through. Last night's ordeal made a lot of people fall sick again, so a hot bath will at least make them more comfortable."
"......The firewood stack is over there. Do me a favor, and in a moment, call the little leader of the Reunion Movement to the front yard of my cabin..."
"Little leader? Aside from Sister Talula, the Reunion Movement doesn't really have anyone who counts as a leader in any practical sense..."
"—— Then just call a few trustworthy ones. It's important."
Sergei looked at Alina's distinctly abnormal expression and realized that the "business" Alina spoke of probably concerned their leader. He frowned, quickly dumped the log onto the snow-covered firewood pile, set down his basket, and without even having time to change into another cotton-padded jacket, he brushed himself off casually and hurried off to round up the people.
For a long time, the Reunion Movement had relied heavily on individual initiative and Talulah's role as the charging vanguard to serve as the organization's internal driving force. The desire for survival among those wandering the snowfields was certainly undeniable.
Yet precisely because of this, it inevitably led to a certain degree of chaos within their command system, combat arrays, and daily management.
Before long, Charles and Ivan came running over, following closely behind Sergei.
"Alina, this Liberi is Charles, and this Lupo is Ivan."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Pleased to meet you."
Alina merely glanced at the gray-haired Liberi and the Lupo, then nodded curtly.
"Talulah has always been charging ahead of your unit just like she did last night, am I right?"
The three of them exchanged glances, unsure of what Alina meant by this, but ultimately nodded in unison.
Alina instantly wore a look of understanding, then helplessly rubbed her forehead:
"Then do you have any idea how many injuries she's carrying on her body?!"
Alina's voice suddenly spiked by several octaves, and her fierce roar made the three men recoil in successive steps.
Then, she stood in place, gasping heavily for breath, shaking her head hard to dispel the dizziness brought on by her skyrocketing blood pressure, before waving a hand to hold back the three men who wanted to rush forward.
When she spoke again, her tone had quieted down, though she still lacked breath:
"Talulah can't keep going like this... As the Reunion Movement members closest to her, you must understand her situation and combat style better than anyone. Her personality dictates all of this."
"......Indeed."
"——So!"
Alina gasped for air a couple of times, gathered her breath once more, and began pointing accusingly at the three of them:
"So the two of you need to help her carry this heavy banner! Do you really think your leader is some kind of public pack-mule who can run twenty-four hours a day without stopping for a single second? Or do you think the Reunion Movement only needs her as its sole locomotive to function?
"Please, you've all followed her this entire way; you know better than anyone how heavy the burden on her shoulders is! Do you genuinely believe spiritual support alone is enough? If she actually collapses, I'd like to see what you're going to do!"
"......Then......"
"What are you waiting for, go!"
"Yes!"
Although Alina's scolding was exceptionally harsh, the wave of gentle warmth emanating from her filled the three men with a profound sense of shame.
It was true that ever since the Reunion Movement took root on the snowfields and began its journey, Talulah had always been the one charging at the very front—acting simultaneously as the sharpest tip of the sword and the most stubborn tower shield for the entire group in both battle and daily life.
Although they, as some of the earliest members of the Reunion Movement, had offered corresponding advice to Talulah, it had done absolutely no good.
This foolish dragon always thought that by handling everything herself, she could solve most of their problems.
And when she dug her heels in, never mind pulling back with four horses—you couldn't drag her back with eight pack-beasts!
What could they do? What else could they do? Just spoil her! She was their leader, after all!
Even though Talulah was always charging forward, her role as the spearhead leading the charge was equally indispensable.
Within the Reunion Movement, a culture of mutual aid had already permeated every nook and cranny.
Today's tongue-lashing finally made Sergei keenly aware of the problem.
The three of them practically scrambled out in a panic.
"Old Xie, what do we do now?"
Sergei shot Ivan a disgruntled glare:
"What else can we do? Take advantage of the good daylight to hurry up and take our baths, and then deal with this mess! Otherwise, when everyone catches a cold, who are we going to complain to? We're the ones in the wrong right now!"
"Yes!"