"Are you... truly serious? To agree so quickly, did you even comprehend our request?"
Seeing that Talulah had given her assent before they could even finish their speech, these folk were left wondering if they were experiencing a hallucination.
It was an entirely laughable sight. They had originally stepped forward with the express intent of wresting the mobile city right out of Talulah's hands, yet they hadn't anticipated her agreeing so readily. It was a compliance so sudden that it left the entire crowd hesitant to believe her words.
They tried to search for some hidden meaning in Talulah's eyes, only to discover with a pang of dread that her gaze was entirely devoid of warmth. Those eyes, in fact, reminded them of the freezing frost wielded by Frostnova.
A sudden, terrifying impression washed over them that the Draco might unleash her fire Arts and reduce them to ashes in the very next heartbeat. Yet, Talulah merely stood her ground, offering no immediate sign that she intended to destroy them.
Having delivered those few quiet words, she remained perfectly still, watching their shifting expressions with an unreadable look until the weight of her gaze left them feeling thoroughly guilty. Only then did she choose to speak again.
"I said I can certainly agree to your request, however, there is still the matter of—"
"Then get out of here this instant..."
Before Talulah could even finish her sentence, the leaders of the crowd were already scrambling to evict her and her inner circle from the platform! If they failed to seize this opening to drive her away, things wouldn't unfold so simply once the other commanders arrived!
They possessed the nerve to talk down to Talulah in this manner, but that didn't mean they harbored the bravery to voice such a demand to the faces of Patriot or Frostnova. If the old general returned to find them scheming, their ultimate fate would be wretched indeed.
That old gentleman was never as easygoing as Talulah. In truth, the only reason these characters had grown bold enough to mount such a challenge was that Talulah's daily demeanor had given them the impression that she was soft and approachable.
If you intend to harvest a beast, you naturally seek out the weakest, most defenseless creature in the herd, don't you?
To their minds, Talulah's mercy and kindness were indistinguishable from outright weakness. They viewed her as an incredibly easy target to push around—that was their true assessment of the Draco leader.
"I haven't even finished my statement, and you are already trying to clear the room?" Talulah countered, her voice rising several notches. Her disappointment in these characters had reached its absolute limit, and the gentle, patient tone she usually maintained was entirely gone, replaced by an edge that left the listeners trembling. "Not to mention, whether or not this city belongs to you still requires the consent of both Patriot and Jeanne."
They suddenly realized that the way Talulah looked at them had shifted completely. If her earlier gaze had been that of a leader watching wayward compatriots who were choosing a different path, she was now looking at them as if they were nothing more than a heap of useless, unrecyclable trash.
"Why... Why should that matter? What does any of this have to do with them?" The crowd fell into an instant panic. They weren't dense; they could easily tell that Talulah was simply using a roundabout way to reject their demands entirely.
"That's right! What does this city have to do with Patriot or Jeanne? We can overlook the old general, but on what authority should we require the consent of that woman, Jeanne?!"
Several voices in the crowd immediately voiced their deep resentment, directing the bulk of their anger toward Jeanne. In their view, the only reason Talulah was uprooting their lives and forcing this march was that the strange newcomer had been whispering poison in her ear.
Yet, the surrounding onlookers weren't looking at them as trash anymore—they were looking at them as absolute fools! Even if these folk were recent arrivals, how could they possibly remain entirely ignorant of who Jeanne truly was?
"On what authority?" Talulah asked, crossing her arms as she looked down at the schemers. The icy rage on her features had actually softened slightly, simply because she could no longer find the energy to waste her anger on characters of this nature. "On the authority that those two served as the primary commanders of this entire battle! This city wasn't wrested away through any effort of yours. The two squads they led carried the entire weight of the assault!"
Her words resonated deeply with the regular combatants standing nearby. The individuals who had made the greatest sacrifice to secure this prize weren't even standing in this hall, yet these characters expected to simply step forward and harvest the fruits of their labor? What an absurd dream!
The disgruntled elements, who had appeared so unyielding just moments before, were suddenly left entirely at a loss for words. Yet, letting the matter drop now left them deeply unwilling; after all, they had already torn away the mask of politeness, and there was no turning back.
If they failed to secure this mobile platform, how could a small group like theirs possibly find a way to endure the horrors of the open snowfields? Even if the odds were entirely against them, they had to press their luck.
"We... we have fought for this movement for so long," the leader stammered, his posture weakening. "No matter how you look at it, we have earned the right to receive some form of compensation, haven't we?"
Hearing this, the surrounding guards could only stare at them with a sense of twisted admiration. They were genuinely curious how these folk could utter such shameless words without a single trace of embarrassment.
The schemers were well aware of how laughable their argument sounded, but they also recognized that this was no time to worry about their pride. They had to secure this moving town by any means necessary.
"We shed our share of blood for your cause," one of them pleaded, instantly shifting tactics to play the victim, hoping to use their apparent weakness to exploit Talulah's soft heart. "Now that we wish to part ways, you must at least provide us a haven where we can survive, right? You are all so powerful anyway; you can easily find another mobile city for yourselves!"
Seeing that blatant demands wouldn't yield results, they resorted to begging, hoping her compassion would cloud her judgment.
Yet, not a single soul in the courtyard showed any sympathy for their plight. After witnessing their treacherous behavior, the onlookers didn't care a whit whether these characters survived the winter or perished in the drifts once they walked away.
"Your past efforts will naturally be recorded," Talulah answered, her heart entirely unmoved by their pathetic display. She had long since seen through their true nature, and even if they fell to their knees and wept, it wouldn't change her stance by a hair. "If you wish to depart, we will not bar your way. We will provide you with ample rations, and you may seek shelter in other settlements or pursue whatever path you choose. We will not interfere."
Hearing that they would only receive a bundle of dry provisions, the schemers grew truly desperate. They possessed absolutely nothing else to their name; what earthly good would a handful of trail rations do them in the middle of a wasteland?
They tried every trick in the book to force Talulah into surrendering the city, entirely relying on the fact that she wouldn't use physical violence against her own people. Would they ever dare to mount such a circus if Patriot were the one standing before them?
"It must be that woman Jeanne who has been putting these ideas into your head, isn't it?" the leader hissed. "Talulah, that woman is entirely shrouded in mystery. If it weren't for her sudden appearance, our community would never have fallen into such discord..."
Finding Talulah completely unyielding, they immediately laid the entire blame on the companion who had returned to the camp. Everything was that outsider's fault!
It was her return that had disrupted their peaceful existence, forcing them to choose between marching south into danger or breaking away before the camp relocated.
So, what earthly offense did I commit against this crowd? Jeanne mused, standing a short distance away. Why does it look as though they want nothing more than to strike me down on the spot? Is there truly such deep-seated hatred between us?
Having concluded her duties over at the munitions warehouse, Jeanne had strolled over to check on her companion, guided by a sharp intuition that a disturbance was unfolding near the nexus.
The moment she arrived, she was treated to the sight of a handful of strangers loudly cursing her name, framing her as a troublesome obstacle and an absolute nuisance who had ruined their paradise.
The air in the courtyard grew completely still in an instant.
The schemers suddenly noted that the expressions of the surrounding guards—and Talulah herself—had shifted into something truly terrifying.
The sudden rise in temperature left them with a distinct impression that they had uttered something incredibly foolish, though their complete ignorance regarding Jeanne's true standing left them entirely blind to the nature of their blunder.
But the sudden heat radiating through the air served as a clear warning: they hadn't just angered the onlookers. Even the Draco leader, who had maintained her composure throughout their insults, was now thoroughly enraged by the venom they had directed at her companion.
The crowd fell into an instant, petrified silence, utterly terrified that the fearsome fire caster might incinerate them on the spot if they dared to utter another syllable.