Seeing her so persistent, Buldrokkas'tee did not continue to object. Instead, he turned to glance at Flandre a few times before taking Old Peter and his son to lead the way.
He had to go back and arrange for manpower to rescue the people; otherwise, once they were moved, saving them would be as difficult as reaching the heavens.
After he left, Talulah finally looked at Flandre Scarlet, her gaze somewhat complicated.
If she hadn't heard Flandre's words, she would have also refused Flandre's request. After all, allowing a Blood Demon into a crowd would cause too much panic.
But she said she was going to Lungmen, and that was something Talulah could not refuse.
Talulah admitted she had selfish motives in this matter, but she also wanted to check ahead of time for her family in Lungmen whether this Miss Blood Demon was truly reliable.
"Hello, Flandre. My name is Talulah."
Talulah reached out her hand to Flandre Scarlet.
"Hello, Talulah. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Flandre Scarlet sized up the fighter in front of her.
At this moment, she was in military attire, looking exceptionally heroic.
Of course, she didn't have as much fashion sense as when she was possessed by the Black Snake.
This could be seen later when the Neo-Reunion Movement took root on the border between Ursus and Casimir; her clothing then was like that of an ordinary peasant woman. She really didn't have much to do with the word 'fashionable.'
Although she had a face of absolute authority, dressing like that wouldn't look good no matter what.
While Flandre grumbled internally, she followed Talulah toward the Reunion Movement's headquarters.
As for the campfire here and the things nearby, others would naturally come to clean them up.
Several hours later, the two finally returned under the cover of night.
Talulah saw a young Elafia girl standing at the village entrance and quickly walked over.
"Alina, why are you standing here!"
Talulah looked at her with a face full of nervousness.
"I was a bit worried since you hadn't come back. Don't worry too much, I'm doing fine! Who is this child? The wings on her back are so beautiful!"
Alina asked in surprise as she looked at the girl following behind Talulah.
"She is Flandre Scarlet, a Sarkaz from Kazdel. She plans to stay here for a short while and will leave for Lungmen after spring begins."
"Oh, right. She doesn't know the Ursus language, so you don't need to introduce anything to her; she won't understand."
Although Talulah didn't want her friend to get too close to a Blood Demon, since they had met, it was impossible not to introduce her.
"That's amazing, walking all the way from Kazdel alone, and now preparing to go to Lungmen..."
Alina covered her mouth with her hand and spoke in great surprise.
"This is Alina, my friend. Over the next few days, you should learn some simple vocabulary so that at least when I'm not around, you can communicate normally with people."
Talulah said, looking at Flandre.
Flandre nodded. "I understand."
She agreed with Talulah's suggestion.
Even if she wouldn't return to Ursus later, learning a foreign language would prevent her from being completely lost if she encountered something and needed to communicate.
Just like now, watching Talulah and Alina chatter away, she could only follow along with a smile on her face.
Talulah prepared an empty room next to her own.
"I'll have to trouble you to stay here for now. Tomorrow, I'll arrange for someone to install a heater for you. Ursus winters are very cold; you won't survive without a heater."
Flandre Scarlet nodded to Talulah.
"As long as I have a place to stay, it's fine. I have no other requirements."
Flandre Scarlet felt that since she was only staying for one winter, there really was no need for much decoration.
While the two were chatting, Alina walked in from outside carrying a large quilt.
"Alina!" Talulah saw Alina panting and quickly reached out to take the quilt.
"Can't you think for a moment? A child comes to stay here and you don't even prepare bedding. Were you going to wait until winter?"
Alina grumbled at Talulah's straightforward and somewhat dense personality.
Talulah opened her mouth, finding that she really couldn't argue with that.
Looking at the woman whose words she couldn't understand, but whose warmth and kindness were unmistakable, a light flickered in Flandre Scarlet's eyes.
In this way, she no longer had any objections to saving this kind girl.
Because she was a good person, just like everyone in Gensokyo.
Good people might not always live long, but they shouldn't die so pointlessly.
The group chatted for a while longer, mainly with Alina asking questions, Talulah acting as a translator, and Flandre's answers being relayed back to Alina by Talulah.
Talulah didn't object to being used as a translator; instead, she used this opportunity to probe into Flandre Scarlet's background.
The three of them enjoyed the asymmetric conversation thoroughly.
After bidding Flandre goodbye and leaving the room, Alina looked at Talulah with some fatigue.
"That child seems quite nice."
"But she is also quite dangerous. The Peter father and son who came back with her said she easily caused an entire Reconnaissance Squad to explode and die."
"And Buldrokkas'tee said that Blood Demons are fickle and very dangerous."
"You have no ability to protect yourself, so try not to have solo contact with her when I'm not around."
Talulah warned Alina, recalling the information about Flandre.
"Is it really as serious as you say? Then why did you put her in the room next to yours!"
"I think that child is very well-behaved, not dangerous like you say."
Recalling tonight's interaction, from the first meeting to the moment they left, the other girl had appeared very quiet, and her occasional glances were very friendly, not at all like the dangerous figure Talulah described.
Seeing that her friend completely disbelieved her, Talulah was helpless. She could only warn her repeatedly before returning to her own room.
The next morning, after Talulah woke up, she saw one large and one small figure doing some strange movements outside.
She walked out and found Flandre standing in front, with Alina following her lead from behind.
What they were doing was the famous radio calisthenics—'The Era is Calling.'
After finishing the movements with Flandre, Alina looked at Talulah with a flushed face.
"The movements this child just taught me are so interesting, and they happen to exercise the whole body. Once the school is ready, I think this could serve as a break-time exercise to enrich everyone's lives."
Talulah's face slumped. She had repeatedly warned her last night to stay away from Flandre Scarlet, yet this morning she had made contact on her own.
"Alright, Talulah. Look, Flandre Scarlet is very normal, not dangerous at all as you said," Alina said, patting Talulah's back to comfort her.
Talulah was speechless, knowing that her sister's personality seemed soft but was actually very strong.
So she could only look at Flandre.
"Your Excellency surely knows people's fear of Blood Demons."
"I have already taken on a lot of pressure by bringing you back to the settlement."
"So, to ensure everyone's peace of mind, I hope you won't appear or move around outside too often, is that alright?"
Flandre nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll be very good."
Flandre Scarlet felt she was quite experienced in staying quietly in her room.
It was just that she had recently gotten used to soaking up the morning sun, which was why she went out.
As for Alina following her to learn the exercises, that was also a sudden whim of the girl; she hadn't expected the other to actually start following along after seeing her movements.
After returning to her room, Flandre really didn't leave for the entire day.
During that time, Alina passed by the window several times and felt distressed seeing her sitting on the bed in a daze.
When Talulah finally returned, Alina complained to her while describing the state she observed Flandre in.
Talulah was indeed happy that Flandre could listen to her and stay in the room, but she felt that having the girl sit there like a wooden doll wasn't right either.
So she had to find something for her to do.
Thinking about the fact that she didn't know the Ursus language, an idea immediately came to mind.
A short while later, she brought over a handwritten dictionary. This was a literacy teaching aid that Alina and she had prepared for the future school.
Because they couldn't afford and couldn't buy expensive original dictionaries, this dictionary was compiled by her based on the remains of an old version from twenty years ago that she had found.
Then the group had handwritten dozens of copies to be used as introductory books for children once the Reunion Movement's school officially opened.
The one in her hand right now was one of those copies.
After entering Flandre's room with Alina, she used a pen and paper to write some comparison tables between Yan script and the Ursus language and handed them to Flandre Scarlet.
"It must be too boring to just sit like this. These are some comparison tables I wrote for the Ursus language and Yan language."
"You can start learning these first."
Flandre Scarlet took the dictionary and thanked Talulah very much.
Talulah looked at her and asked seriously,
"Sorry, although it's a bit impolite, I think this matter is very important, so I need to confirm: do you feed on blood?"
Flandre Scarlet nodded.
"Correct, I do indeed need to consume blood to maintain my life, but you don't need to worry."
"One meal can last me at least a month or so."
"As a reward for your willingness to take me in, during my stay here, if you encounter a very troublesome opponent, I can help you deal with them."
"It also happens to keep me from going hungry. Does that sound okay?"
Talulah had thought Flandre might be evasive or get angry, but she didn't expect Flandre to lay the matter so directly on the table.
Her proposal was simple and very much in line with the interests of the Reunion Movement.
Flandre did need to drink blood, but it didn't have to be the blood of their own people.
Her targets could entirely be those guys from the Reconnaissance Squad.
Talulah was a bit conflicted; she felt this matter somewhat violated her conscience, but this was definitely not something she could discuss with Alina.
So she stated she needed to consult others.
Then she hurriedly left.
Alina didn't know why Talulah's expression became complicated after a few words with Flandre, nor why she left in such a hurry, but from the state of their conversation, it didn't seem like anything bad was said.
She patted Flandre's arm, and when the other looked at her, she pointed to one of the words, then to the bed not far away, and made a sound.
Flandre looked at the word she pointed to; next to it was 'bed' written in Yan script. She understood her meaning and repeated the sound following her lead.
"Excellent," Alina gave a thumbs up and then pointed to another item to continue teaching.
Alina taught very patiently, and Flandre learned very seriously.
By the time Talulah remembered she had left Alina alone with Flandre Scarlet and rushed over, what she saw was a harmonious teacher-student relationship.
"Alina... you're not hurt, are you!"
Looking at Alina, Talulah asked somewhat nervously.
"What are you saying, Talulah?"
"I'm telling you, this child is incredibly smart. I basically don't have to teach her anything more than three times before she can more or less learn it."
"It makes me, as a teacher, feel like I have no sense of achievement..."
By the end, Alina even had a look of depression on her face.
"So, you two have been in a lesson just now?" Talulah asked, stammering.
"What else?" Alina blinked, then reacted, looking at Talulah with a serious face.
"Talulah, although this child's race has indeed produced many bad people, you can't deny someone who wants to be a good person because of them."
"What's the difference between your attitude and those ordinary people who are terrified of the Infected?"
Hearing Alina's words, Talulah's body swayed. After calming down, she finally looked at Flandre Scarlet.
"I'm sorry, Flandre Scarlet. My thinking had some issues before, which led to a poor attitude toward you."
"From tomorrow—no, from now on—I will not stop your movements. As long as you don't violate the basic rules here, you will be free to move through all permitted areas just like everyone else."
Looking at Talulah's sudden change in attitude and connecting it to the changes in Alina's tone and emotions during their chat just now, Flandre guessed it was a dispute related to her, and it seemed Talulah had rolled a critical failure.
"There's no need to change so quickly. Blood Demons are indeed a race that unfamiliar people will feel afraid of when they first meet."
"And I personally don't like moving around too much; staying in the room is fine for daily life."
"Besides, I am very interested in learning the Ursus language. If possible, just let Miss Alina come to teach me more spoken language."
Flandre answered Talulah's words very sincerely, and after finishing, she followed up by asking about her previous proposal.
"It's temporarily approved. Those Reconnaissance Squad members capture our people for money all year round; there's indeed no need to have much sympathy for them."
"However, you must notify us of every action, or act under our guidance. Is that a problem?"
Talulah asked, looking at Flandre Scarlet.
"Of course, that is only natural," Flandre Scarlet nodded slightly, agreeing to her proposal.
Then she looked at Alina.
"I've settled it with Flandre Scarlet. You can come over every day to give her literacy lessons. It's also a good chance to accumulate some relevant experience before the school opens. If you need anything, just let me know, and I'll do my best to help you."