After bidding their final farewells to the group at Penguin Logistics, the two successfully departed from the borders of Lungmen, steering their vehicle toward the vast and desolate lands of Ursus that stretched out before them.
"What do you think that City Director gave you as a parting gift? Jewelry? Or perhaps some rare, expensive little trinket?"
Lemuen sat in the passenger seat, her eyes fixed with intense curiosity on the small chest Shirayuki had delivered. She was genuinely intrigued by what a man of Wei Yenwu's stature would deem an appropriate "thank you" for someone like Jeanne. However, she didn't move to open it immediately; her reason for bringing it up was mostly that the act of watching the scenery roll by was becoming a bit tedious, so she occupied herself by turning the box over in her hands.
"How should I know? As long as it isn't a collection of fines for all the parts of Lungmen I accidentally dismantled during my stay. Why don't you open it for me? I'm actually quite curious myself."
Jeanne had weighed the box in her hands earlier and found it surprisingly light, which allowed her to immediately rule out the possibility of it being packed with heavy precious metals or Originium ingots. As for what was actually inside—she hadn't felt comfortable opening a gift right in front of the givers earlier, so how could she have guessed its contents?
"Then I'm diving in!"
With those words, Lemuen carefully unwrapped the outer casing of the gift, eager to see what this so-called "token of gratitude" truly was. Upon opening the lid, the most striking sight was five vials filled with a dark red liquid. At first glance, the color looked remarkably similar to the concentrated pomegranate juice sold in common markets.
"...?"
What was the meaning of this? Was it some long-standing Lungmen tradition to gift pomegranate juice to guests who were about to depart? Surely, the contents weren't as simple as she initially thought.
"Well? What is it? I'm guessing it isn't anything exceptionally valuable. When I took it from her, I didn't get the sense that there was anything particularly heavy or precious inside," Jeanne remarked, noticing Lemuen's sudden silence. She was curious—what could possibly stun the Sankta sitting beside her? Was it the secret activation key to a landship?
"Wait a second, let me check the notes... 'Oripathy Suppressant' produced by Rhine Lab? This might actually be worth a significant amount of money."
Lemuen noticed a slip of paper tucked at the bottom of the vials. It explained exactly what the liquids were and included certain intelligence Wei Yenwu possessed regarding the drug. Lemuen hadn't heard much about this specific product before; her knowledge of the country of Columbia wasn't much deeper than the hearsay Jeanne had picked up. As for Oripathy suppressants, she had heard of them even less. In her view, such things were likely just luxury items popular among the high-ranking aristocratic circles.
"I have a feeling that for people like us, the effect won't be all that great."
Having personally witnessed the "miracles" back in the rural villages, Lemuen mentally compared the described medicinal effects. The conclusion was that this drug's function largely overlapped with the effects of Holy Water. The only "extra" benefit it seemed to offer was its pain-killing properties.
"The primary ingredient is an extract from a 'special plant unique to Laterano'? I've lived in Laterano for so many years, and I've never heard of us having any unique plants with those properties."
Lemuen expressed deep skepticism toward the claims on the data sheet. What kind of thing was that supposed to be? If such a plant really existed, how could the Sankta living within Laterano's borders not know about it? A medicine recently discovered to have therapeutic effects on Oripathy should have been applied to their own people first. After all, while the number of Infected Sankta was rare, they certainly existed! Ordinarily, such a discovery would be used to help those Infected Sankta. They were merely infected with a disease, not "Fallen"; aside from being unable to return to Laterano, they were supposed to maintain the treatment and status a citizen deserved.
"Let me take a look at that."
Jeanne took one of the vials and began to examine it closely. The effects Lemuen described gave her a strong hunch as to what the ingredients might actually contain. Jeanne steered the vehicle with one hand while holding the reagent in the other. If she were to pull a stunt like this inside a city, her license would likely be revoked just as frequently as Exusiai's. Miraculously, however, even with her attention clearly elsewhere, Jeanne drove with incredible stability. There was no sense of danger, and even the turns were executed so smoothly they were barely felt.
"It's actually medicine mixed with... other things. But it's still impressive that such a diluted amount of Holy Water can achieve this level of efficacy."
Sensing the Holy Water within—which was diluted to the point of being nearly undetectable—Jeanne understood that the so-called "extract" was likely just a cover story. In a world where information was so compartmentalized, most people knew very little about other cities, relying only on rumors and biased media. This was doubly true for a mysterious place like Laterano. It stood to reason that many people would blindly believe Rhine Lab's explanation.
"And here I thought Laterano had some secret I didn't know about! I was even wondering if the Pope's afternoon snack budget was funded by selling this stuff!"
Lemuen thought back to a snack she had once managed to score from the Pope. She had fond memories of it, especially a dish called "Originium Slug Tart," the flavor of which was truly unforgettable. What kind of lunatic puts an explosive Originium Slug inside a tart! Even as a Sankta, she felt the person who created that dessert was somewhat mentally unwell. Even the Gun-Knight Patrician, who famously loved strange things and often made people doubt his sense of taste, found that specific dish impossible to stomach.
"This isn't a tart, it's a meat pie!" he had declared back then.
Hearing Lemuen mention the Pope, Jeanne wondered if the old gentleman was still in Chernobog. Should she take a detour to see him?
"He went back a few days ago. They're currently in the middle of discussing the restoration of his position as Pope," Lemuen answered. The old man had successfully returned to Laterano a few days prior and was presumably preparing for his formal reinstatement.
"There is one funny thing, though! The old guy resigned from his position as the 11th Pope. Logically, he's now campaigning to be the 12th Pope, which I expect will cause quite a bit of bureaucratic squabbling for a while."
Lemuen chuckled at the image of the old gentleman at the council meeting, stubbornly insisting he was still the 11th Pope. Since all Popes are buried in the same location and each is carved into the eternal record—a strict rule of Laterano—if the old man served two non-consecutive terms, he would technically be entitled to two separate grave sites. The citizens of Laterano were actually quite interested in this development—specifically, the potential for blowing up one of the duplicate structures.
As they spoke, they passed through a region that looked like charred black coal. The land appeared as though it had undergone a massive, violent inferno, leaving every inch of soil scorched and pitch black.
"Why do I feel like I've been here before? Is it just my imagination?"
Jeanne looked at the fire-ravaged land and brought the car to a halt, looking out with a expression of confusion. She vaguely remembered seeing this place when she first arrived, but she felt that if she had seen such a tragic site, she wouldn't have forgotten it. Had her memory failed her?
"Isn't this the place where we saw that pile of corpses before? Looking at it now, the tragedy here was definitely linked to those guys," Lemuen said hesitantly. She recognized the surrounding environment, though the change in the landscape was indeed drastic.
"It must be."
Looking at the blackened earth, it seemed Lungmen had utilized powerful Originium Arts when burning this place; otherwise, the likelihood of the soil turning out like this was low.
Jeanne closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer to the great earth. Now that the masterminds had received their due punishment, she hoped the innocent souls who died here could finally find eternal peace.
Afterward, the two of them moved on. Along the road, they saw the massive crater left behind by the explosion. It seemed those two villains had met their end in that very spot. Perhaps their deaths were a bit too "easy," as it felt as though they could never truly repay the blood debts they had incurred. However, when their souls faced judgment, they would likely receive the punishment they truly deserved—though Jeanne wasn't sure if this land had a literal hell, or if hell was simply everywhere.
Passing this place meant that Jeanne and Lemuen's journey to Lungmen had truly come to an end. They had entered through a place strewn with corpses, and they departed through a land turned to ash.