That night, everyone went to bed with a lingering sense of unease. They knew Jeanne's ability; every time she sensed the arrival of those Black Bugs, her premonition had always come true.
Inside the room, Talulah and Jeanne slept in a bunk bed, clearly cobbled together from two single beds.
Talulah couldn't fall asleep. She thought she heard a sound again, like a groundhog shrieking.
She sighed. The sound vaguely reminded her of Kashchey. Though she didn't know what it was, it certainly couldn't be anything good.
Meanwhile, Jeanne, in the upper bunk, was quietly praying to a wooden cross—a daily ritual for her, performed every morning and evening.
Sometimes Talulah would curiously ask her the name of the God she worshipped, but Jeanne would only reply, "Do not take the God's name in vain."
This left Talulah feeling somewhat helpless. In Ursus legends, countless evil gods slumbered beneath these snowfields. She worried that Jeanne might have placed her faith in the wrong deity and would meet an unfortunate fate.
However, Jeanne had been practicing her faith for so long without any apparent harm. Perhaps it wasn't some cruel, malevolent god after all.
Amidst the gentle prayers, Talulah drifted into a deep slumber, oblivious even to the piercing screams that echoed around her.
After a while, Jeanne finally finished her prayers. Since arriving in this world, she had unconsciously prayed whenever possible.
During her prayers, she could truly feel the warm, radiant light—the gaze of The One God upon her, ready to offer assistance when needed.
For instance, on her very first day in this world, unable to speak the local language, she prayed to God, who immediately granted her the ability to learn any language instantly.
Though once an atheist, Jeanne couldn't stubbornly deny the divine presence when God had revealed Himself to her.
What puzzled her, however, was this: if God favored even a Witch like her so deeply, why had Saintess Jeanne been burned at the stake in the execution grounds?
With the extent of God's favor, shouldn't He have descended to punish those who condemned her?
But that was all in the past. One day, she would uncover the truth. For now, she should sleep.
As Jeanne drifted into slumber, she found herself in a strange, ethereal realm.
This was a world woven from Jeanne's memories, a place she could enter periodically to relive fragments of Jeanne's past.
For nearly two years, she had witnessed firsthand, through the eyes of Saintess Jeanne, the trials and tribulations the girl had endured.
Today, the young woman's battle-worn life was nearing its end.
She saw the divine messenger warn Jeanne that if she continued leading her troops forward, she would be captured in battle.
Yet Jeanne only wished to die swiftly upon capture, to spare herself torture.
She witnessed the nobility's betrayal, their withholding of supplies and funds, even outright theft.
Weapons provided by the common folk were seized by other armies, only to be carelessly abandoned in defeat—how absurd!
She witnessed the Black Death sweep across the continent, relentlessly claiming lives, while the nobles who financed the war turned a blind eye.
Through it all, Jeanne silently endured, guiding her troops to victory time and again.
But she remained oblivious to the truth: the very King and nobles she fought for were the ones who truly desired her death.
To them, this village girl with her soaring reputation posed a greater threat than the English Army itself.
In the end, as she attempted to retreat into the city, the gates slammed shut.
The girl, who had long foreseen her capture, was seized. In a final, cruel twist of fate, she was sold to the English.
The French royalty and nobility refused to pay her ransom, actively preventing others from doing so, and merely awaited news of her death.
In the end, when an angel descended upon the tower to rescue her, she stopped it.
The angel warned her that if she didn't escape, she would inevitably be burned alive by these people. But she accepted her fate.
She resolved to awaken the people of France with her death, hoping to end the nearly century-long war.
The Angel finally departed, able only to bless Jeanne that she would not suffer in her execution and that the malice of her tormentors would ultimately return upon them.
Finally, within Jeanne's body, she watched herself being bound to the pyre, leaving this world amidst the flames.
At that moment, she was still just a girl, not yet twenty years old.
This made her finally understand Jalter's fury, even if it was born of fantasy, it was understandable. For she too was filled with rage.
Rage at the greedy nobles, rage at those who slandered her, those who called her a witch... This rage seemed capable of igniting everything, yet that version of herself had forgiven all and faced death with magnanimity.
When she opened her eyes, dawn was already breaking.
She rose to pray, pouring out her troubles. It was her usual routine, taking only about ten minutes.
Meanwhile, Talulah had also woken up. Today, the voice seemed weak, barely managing a couple of feeble groans, as if her desperate cries from the night before had drained her strength.
Just as the two women were starting their busy day, the black bugs of the Infected Inspection Team mobilized. They headed toward the village marked on their map, determined to complete their mission. Failure would mean suffering worse than the Infected themselves.
They had barely covered half the distance when they spotted several figures in black standing ahead, as if waiting for them.
"Who are you people? What are you doing here?" the Inspection Team captain asked uneasily, sensing the menacing aura radiating from the strangers.
Their imposing presence and the advanced equipment they carried made it clear these were no ordinary people. The captain immediately recognized them as private soldiers under the command of a noble, and decided it was best to tread carefully.
"Take us to Kobuvich Village," the leader said coldly. "And give us a few sets of your uniforms."
The murderous intent radiating from him served as an unspoken threat: Refuse, and we'll kill you and take what we want.
"This... this violates protocol! If the superiors find out, we'll be in serious trouble!"
The captain immediately refused, wanting nothing to do with this affair. What good could come from meddling in the dark dealings of nobles? One wrong move and you'd end up dead, no one the wiser.
"You have no right to refuse! Either lead the way, or die here. Choose one!"
The man's tone turned icy, and the murderous aura radiating from him coiled like a venomous serpent, making every hair on the captain's body stand on end.
"Alright... alright, I'll guide you. But it's an extremely remote village—even if we leave now, it'll take at least half a day to reach!"
With that, the captain and his team led the group toward the secluded village. Another poor soul must have angered these nobles, he thought grimly.