After finally convincing those worried Shieldguards to leave their Commander in peace, Jeanne sighed as she walked alone down the road.
She had originally only intended to teach Alina a few things, but now, her private tutoring session had ballooned into a full-blown public lecture. Jeanne knew perfectly well that she wasn't cut out to be a teacher—she could barely figure things out for herself, let alone instruct others. Wasn't this just leading people astray?
Yet the situation was clear. In the vastness of Reunion, besides herself, only Alina knew even a smattering of these "holy" matters. If she didn't do it, who would?
Whether these people could even learn it was another question, but since the ability to combat demons didn't have any particularly strict requirements, it should be fine. Still, the mere thought made Jeanne's head ache. What was it with the last couple of days? It felt like every time she returned, peace was the one thing she never found.
"Thinking about it, I'm like a harbinger of chaos. Every time I come back, I always bring some mess, big or small, to keep myself busy..."
At this thought, Jeanne couldn't help but chuckle at herself. Why did she always run into such strange circumstances? By all rights, as a Saintess, shouldn't she be the type of person who finds money just walking down the street? Why had it turned out like this?
It was lucky this place was always in the middle of some sudden incident; if she lived in a regular city for too long, people would probably start treating her like a walking catastrophe.
Then again, she felt a surge of gratitude toward God. If she had the talent for attracting trouble but lacked the power to clean it up, life would be truly unbearable.
"Sigh, my life really isn't easy. When will I finally get to sleep in a haystack and wake up naturally when the sun hits my face..."
She didn't have many hobbies, and yet this one simple wish remained unfulfilled. What kind of life was this?
Of course, that dream required the right environment—ideally somewhere where it was spring all year round with plenty of sunlight, so the haystacks would have that sweet, sun-dried fragrance. In this frozen wasteland, if she dared to sleep in a haystack, she'd be a popsicle before morning. Even with her constitution, the night time chill wasn't something she wanted to experience.
As Jeanne walked, she suddenly noticed a thick mist in the distance.
It didn't look like a natural fog; the sky everywhere else was clear, yet that specific area was shrouded in a dense, swirling cloud. Looking at this odd spectacle, Jeanne tilted her head, unable to fathom the cause. Her first thought was: Is this a precursor to a Catastrophe?
Her Revelation hadn't given her any danger warnings regarding this anomaly, but still worried, Jeanne quickened her pace toward the mist. She only hoped that whatever was happening inside wasn't an accident.
When she arrived at the site, she realized it was the very field they had designated for their training.
"Oh no, Talulah and the others are still in there!"
Jeanne sprinted forward, worried that the group had been trapped in the thick fog. But after a few moments, she slowed to a halt. She saw Talulah and the others sitting gloomily on the outskirts of the mist, staring at it.
From their expressions, they clearly knew what it was, and it didn't seem to be a safety hazard.
"I've only been gone for a little while! What new tricks are you playing now? Are you trying to manufacture your own natural wonders?"
Jeanne walked over and asked. She noticed everyone's spirits were low; they were all sitting there listlessly. There were even fewer Infected around Talulah than usual, and she and Yelena were sitting quite far apart. Had they quarreled again?
It wasn't rare for these two to clash. If they didn't have at least two disagreements a month, people would start asking if they were feeling sick. Usually, their bickering didn't damage their friendship; it was just that their personalities—and their Originium Arts—were naturally incompatible.
"Oh, you're back? How is the old gentleman? Is he in any danger?"
Talulah looked up and immediately asked about Patriot. Beside her, Yelena's ears perked up at the mention of her father.
"He's fine now. The old man is resting in his room. But seriously, what is this thing?"
Looking closer, Jeanne realized the mist was composed of countless tiny ice particles suspended in the air, falling at an incredibly slow rate.
It was obviously Yelena's handiwork; no one else present had Originium Arts capable of creating such a scene. But Yelena couldn't have done this alone—the White Rabbit's powers weren't usually this delicate. There had to be another factor.
Jeanne looked pointedly at the sulking Talulah. Her intuition told her Talulah was involved.
Talulah scratched her head in embarrassment and explained the situation.
"Well, we were practicing against Mudrock's squad. Yelena and I were on the same side, and our Originium Arts... well, they sort of interacted with each other..."
Talulah practically covered her face in shame. To her, this wasn't an achievement. She and Yelena rarely acted together because their powers tended to clash. Today, under the pressure of the Mudrock squad's excellent coordination, their Arts had reacted in a bizarre way.
The high heat had melted Yelena's ice into vapor and water droplets, which were then instantly refrozen by Yelena's cold into fine crystals. After a period of struggling, the training ground had turned into this strange "wonderland," making it impossible to continue the drill.
Jeanne looked at the two of them, then at the magnificent cloud of mist, and couldn't help but clap in mock-admiration.
"To pull off something like this proves you two aren't ordinary! Seriously, who else could manage this?"
However, she considered the tactical implications. In a retreat, creating an obstacle like this to hinder the enemy's vision and movement wouldn't be a bad idea. She just wondered if these two had the patience to turn this "accident" into a coordinated tactic.
"You two should keep at it! See if you can develop a weather-manipulation strategy. It could be very useful for us."
Jeanne cheered them on with a mischievous grin, then turned to leave the scene of the crime. It was clear both of them were in a foul mood, and she didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. Besides, she wasn't just running away—she had actual work to do! If she was going to give a lecture to so many people, she needed to prepare.
"Wait! Can't you use your dragons to blow this mist away? Otherwise, it'll take forever to clear out... Hey! Where are you going in such a hurry!"
Talulah had hoped Jeanne would use the dragons' wings to fan the mist away so they wouldn't have to sit around waiting. But upon hearing the request, Jeanne's pace quickened. She took two steps in one, accelerating away like a startled rabbit.
Even when Talulah shouted after her, Jeanne didn't stop. She simply tossed back a quick "Going to prepare for class!" and skipped away.
Talulah's arm remained frozen in mid-air as she watched Jeanne disappear. She looked like an ice sculpture herself.
After a moment, Talulah lowered her arm and muttered to herself, "Prepare for class? What kind of class does she have to prepare for?"
She hadn't heard anything about Jeanne wanting to be a teacher. What could she possibly be teaching? Wasn't she worried about leading people astray? Then again, there were many children in the village; teaching them didn't require professional certification, and Jeanne's temperament was well-suited for it.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Talulah looked back at the swirling mist and then at Yelena. After a long silence, she asked:
"So... what do we do about this place? Do we just wait for it to melt, or do we try to get rid of it ourselves?"
Mudrock's squad had already headed back, seeing that nothing more could be done today.
Hearing the question, Yelena gave Talulah a cold, annoyed look. "You're asking me? How should I know..."
"I..."
Talulah felt a ball of fire rising in her chest, but she had nowhere to vent it. She simply sat back down and stared blankly at the "wonder" in the sky.