"Waaah!!!"
"Lucas!!!"
Looking at Lucas's incredibly familiar, handsome face.
Jessica finally couldn't control her emotions and burst into tears. Even knowing Lucas was a soul, she still rushed forward to hug him. Lucas quickly materialized his upper body to catch the pouncing Jessica, smiling as he gently stroked her short, deep blue hair.
Jessica's cat ears twitched continuously, and even her tail shot up high with happiness, the tip wagging from side to side.
At this moment.
The dark cloud that had been weighing on Jessica's heart for a full month completely dissipated with Lucas's appearance. It was as if the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared, filling Jessica's heart with brilliant sunshine.
"Sob, sob, sob! Lucas, I thought you weren't coming back!!"
The others nearby also let out a collective sigh of relief at Lucas's appearance.
Franka, standing beside them, wanted to say something, but when she looked at Jessica, she hesitated, her expression incredibly complex.
As for Liskarm, she glanced at her best friend and frenemy, said nothing, and started eating.
"Wow!! Big Brother Lucas is back!!!"
Ceobe was ecstatic.
She was already full after eating ten bowls of rice, but because of Lucas's return, she managed to eat another eight. Meanwhile, Magallan was studying Lucas's form. The last time she saw him, the situation was too grim for any proper research. But now, with everyone happy, she had to take a good look and figure out what this soul form was all about.
"Lucas, how have you been these past few days?"
Because Lucas was back, the team was back to four members. Jessica was overjoyed, constantly putting food on Lucas's plate, even though he couldn't eat it at all.
"Not bad... quite cheerful, actually."
Lucas said casually. He recalled the days he spent with Alina in Ursus and how genuinely happy they were. He thought that if a pure-hearted girl like Alina met an equally innocent girl like Jessica, they would probably become great friends.
"Cheerful?"
Franka was taken aback, catching a hint of something in Lucas's words.
"Weren't you sleeping?"
"Uh... yes... well..."
Lucas suddenly realized he had let it slip and hurriedly tried to cover it up.
"Well... my sleep was very cheerful. I hadn't slept well in a long time, so sleeping for a whole month straight was really refreshing, hahaha~"
"Is that so?"
Franka looked at Lucas with a scrutinizing gaze.
Jessica quickly came to Lucas's defense.
"Franka, Lucas has been in my necklace this whole time. Where could he have gone? It's not like he could go out and play with other girls, right?"
"That's true."
Franka nodded.
Jessica's words, however, surprised Lucas a little.
Is this... Jessica???
It has only been a month.
When did she become so talkative?
When he had first come to Jessica's side, she was so timid she would even speak to Franka cautiously, not even daring to raise her voice. But now... although her tone was still a bit shy, her voice was noticeably louder and much more confident.
Hiss...
Can a person change so much in just one month?
Lucas even began to wonder if he had been gone for only a month and not ten years.
"You've become much more confident, Jessica."
Lucas praised her with a smile.
Jessica's pretty face turned red, and the tip of her cat tail started wagging again. She lowered her head slightly and said in a very soft voice.
"It's all... it's all because of your encouragement, Lucas...."
Thanks to Lucas's return.
The atmosphere during lunch became much more cheerful.
Especially with Franka chattering away nonstop.
Jessica, meanwhile, recounted in detail everything that had happened during the month Lucas was away.
For example...
For the first time in her life, Jessica had refused someone's request. For the first time, she had initiated a conversation with a stranger that lasted more than ten minutes. As for other things, not much had happened. Franka's team had gone on one mission during the month, a trip to Ursus. And because Jessica had inherited Lucas's breathing technique, her own strength had improved significantly. Coupled with the fact that Jessica's own talent wasn't low, she had become capable of holding her own in a short period of time.
"Ursus?"
Lucas was stunned.
What a coincidence.
Jessica and the others went to Ursus too?
"What were you doing in Ursus?"
Franka said, "Carrying out a commission, of course."
"You probably don't know, but many of the cities in Ursus near the northern snowfields have been rather unstable lately. It's said that a pure-Infected terrorist organization called the Reunion Movement has been constantly carrying out terrorist attacks in the northern cities, resulting in tens of thousands of civilian casualties and deaths."
"What?!!"
Lucas was completely dumbfounded.
Isn't the Reunion Movement the group I'm with?
They've been quietly staying in their camp for the past month and have never gone out. Forget terrorist attacks, even getting enough to eat is a problem for them. How could they be carrying out terrorist attacks?
Could it be another organization with the same name?
"Tell me more."
"We were hired by a wealthy man in a small mobile city-state up north to protect him. Apparently, he had also received an ultimatum from the Reunion Movement, saying they would take his life."
Lucas's interest was piqued, and he pressed on.
"And then?"
"There is no 'and then.' The mission failed."
"Even with our protection, the rich man ended up dead. It's quite strange, actually. We were protecting him very carefully, even providing 24-hour personal security, but... he was still killed. This Reunion Movement has some tricks up its sleeve..."
"After the mission failed, we returned to Columbia. Anyway, the cities in northern Ursus are in a state of panic right now. Everyone is cursing the Reunion Movement and demanding that the military wipe out this terrorist organization. By the time we left, a large crowd of civilians was petitioning at the army headquarters..."
Franka took a large gulp of expensive red wine and let out a deep breath.
"In short, the Reunion Movement is utterly villainous. It's true that Ursus's oppression of the Infected is wrong, but venting their anger on ordinary citizens? How is that any different from being a group of demons? Lately, it's not just the news in Ursus; news outlets all over the world are reporting on this terrorist organization."
At this point.
Franka's voice grew softer.
"I heard a rumor, just something I picked up, that behind this Reunion Movement, there's a very evil god pulling the strings."
"An evil... god?!!!"
Lucas rolled his eyes.
Damn it...
How did I end up hearing gossip about myself after returning to Columbia?
"It's just a folk rumor. After all, gods are just legendary stories these days, figures from fairy tales. They don't really exist."
Lucas said nothing more.
This was just too much of a coincidence...
"When did you go to Ursus for this mission?"
"Nine days ago..."
"Nine days..."
"I knew it!"
Lucas snorted internally. *So this is the so-called retaliation of the Serpent's Scales? That Black Serpent...*
*Completely crush the Reunion Movement in the court of public opinion, and then justifiably send in the army to annihilate them...*
As a god.
How could he be so dishonorable?
As a high and mighty deity, he enjoys playing dirty tricks and engaging in propaganda wars? Truly shameful. What a schemer.
Looks like I need to warn Patriot and Talulah.
Since the Black Serpent is determined to retaliate, they definitely can't stay in this camp. They must relocate as soon as possible.
After finishing lunch with them.
Lucas made up a random excuse and returned to Ursus. He then summoned Patriot, Talulah, and all the other high-ranking members of the Reunion Movement and told them everything he knew.
As expected...
The Reunion Movement was completely in the dark.
The current Reunion Movement was like a sealed-off village with no contact with the outside world. No internet, no signal, no phones, no way to communicate with the outside. They just stayed within their own small territory all day.
After listening to Lucas's description.
Everyone frowned and fell silent. They had thought they could settle here for a long time, but now it seemed they had to move again... It was, after all... a little hard to leave.
"Mr. Reeve, how did you find out about this?"
Talulah raised her question.
Lucas didn't intend to explain much.
"I have my own ways of gathering intelligence. What I've said is basically true. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to investigate the cities north of Ursus."
"..."
After a moment of silence, the group decided on a relatively safe course of action.
They would start packing essential supplies so they could leave at a moment's notice. Lucas's catalyzing ability was much stronger than Alina's had been, so they naturally couldn't eat all the food he had produced in one go. Half of it was preserved—the ice fields were very cold, effectively a natural freezer, even colder than a refrigerator's freezer section. At the same time, they would dispatch specially trained scouts to gather intelligence.
——————
"Lucas? What were you doing just now?"
Jessica looked at the re-emerged Lucas with some confusion.
In the past.
As long as there were no outsiders around, Lucas would rarely return to the necklace unless he was sleeping. According to him, the necklace was cramped and stuffy, and he'd rather be out and about.
But today, he had uncharacteristically gone back into the necklace.
Strange...
"Nothing, I just suddenly remembered I hadn't made my bed inside the necklace..."
Lucas casually made up a ridiculous excuse.
Jessica was completely baffled.
Beside them, Ceobe, who had just eaten a huge lunch of eighteen bowls of rice, was already munching on snacks just a short while after the meal. She had a particular fondness for desserts; as long as it was sweet, Ceobe loved it. After all, she couldn't get these things in the forest. Jessica was also very indulgent with Ceobe, buying her whatever she wanted to eat, like those sweet cakes she liked.
Jessica would just use her 'snack money' to buy out all the desserts from a nearby, incredibly expensive cake shop. And... with Ceobe's constitution, she could gobble down ten super-sweet cakes at once without having to worry about gaining weight or her blood sugar spiking.
No wonder Ceobe was being raised at Jessica's house.
Franka's income probably wouldn't even be enough to feed her...
With Jessica's family fortune, Ceobe could eat for a lifetime and not even consume a millionth of it.
"By the way... um... Lucas, do you still remember... what we talked about before?"
Jessica suddenly remembered something and spoke hesitantly.
"What we talked about before?"
Lucas couldn't recall for a moment.
"It's... during the last mission, you promised me something..."
"?"
Seeing that Lucas still hadn't remembered, Jessica pouted.
"It's that in two days, my family is having a big banquet, and I wanted to ask you to come with me!!"
"Oh~~"
It dawned on Lucas, and then he asked a fatal question.
"How do you want me to attend?"
Lucas was just a soul.
He couldn't just show up like this, right? When other people introduce their significant others to their parents, they say,
*Mom, Dad, let me introduce you to my partner.*
When it's Jessica's turn.
*Mom, Dad, this is Lucas.*
Then Lucas floats out of the necklace.
Oh, great... I can already picture it...
I can already imagine all the elderly people with weak hearts being rushed to the hospital.
"Mmm~~"
Lucas's question stumped Jessica.
What should I do...
She really wanted to introduce Lucas to her parents, but his form... was really inconvenient...
Franka and Liskarm had already agreed to attend the 'noble' banquet at Jessica's house as her seniors. Franka had even bought a formal gown specifically for the occasion.
"Can't Lucas possess a body? We can just find a body for him, right? It doesn't matter whose body it is, as long as the soul inside is Lucas."
Magallan's words instantly enlightened everyone.
Jessica's eyes lit up.
"You're so smart, Miss Medivh!!"
Magallan: "???"
"So... whose body should we choose?"
Franka asked a sharp question.
Everyone looked towards Magallan, but she just waved her hands.
"I have work for the next few days, no time..."
Franka and Liskarm also needed to attend the banquet, so that wouldn't work.
Just then.
The sound of munching from the side caught everyone's attention.
Everyone turned their gazes to Ceobe. For a moment, all their mouths curved into slight smirks. Ceobe, who was happily eating, looked up and met their gazes. Her beastly instincts nearly made her fur stand on end. A bad feeling began to spread in her heart.
"Ceobe, how has big sister Jessica been treating you?"
Franka asked with a 'kind' smile.
"Um... very well....."
*Gulp...*
Ceobe swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
——Two hours later——
With the help of the most professional styling team in all of Columbia, summoned by a single phone call from Jessica.
Ceobe's image underwent a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation.
The original Ceobe was incredibly cute, on the same level of cuteness as the adorable cat-eared Jessica. But now, under the styling team's design, Ceobe, dressed in androgynous clothing, had an added layer of handsomeness to her cuteness, which stunned everyone for a moment.
"Ceobe!! We're counting on you in two days!!"
"Mmm~~"
Jessica: "Please, Ceobe, I'll reward you with a hundred of your favorite cakes afterward!! The ones with your favorite axe pattern on them!"
Ceobe: "Yay!!"