A few days later, a ghostly, ethereal Kal'tsit practically drifted out of her tightly closed room. She looked as though she hadn't slept in an eternity.
In order to finish her end of the bargain with Jeanne as quickly as possible—getting the goods and rushing back to Babel—Kal'tsit had barely rested. She had spent the last few days surviving entirely on coffee. If she hadn't run into Jeanne's business at Azazel, she should have left Chernobog long ago. She wouldn't have ended up in this state, looking like someone who had successfully completed "immortal cultivation" and was about to ascend to a higher plane.
Just yesterday, worried about the situation at Babel, she had managed to contact their long-distance communicator. The result made her feel that she had to return immediately. When Kal'tsit heard that the person answering the comms wasn't the Doctor, who should have been in the office, but the aggrieved little rabbit Amiya, she knew something had gone wrong.
According to Amiya's report, during Kal'tsit's absence, Theresa was preoccupied with war efforts and had no time to manage Babel's internal affairs. Now, there was no one left at Babel who could restrain the Doctor.
Even worse, nobody knew what the Doctor was thinking, but they had recently consumed a massive amount of Pure Originium, leading to "Sanity Evaporation." They were currently in a state of total irrationality.
"Dr. Kal'tsit, the Doctor found Dr. Warfarin and said if she helps swap my ears back to rabbit ears, the Doctor will give her blood... I'm worried about the Doctor's state. When are you coming back? Wait, I have to go, they found me—"
Amiya's words made Kal'tsit's blood pressure spike so hard that if her skull hadn't been there to stop it, a medical miracle in the form of a human fountain would have occurred right then and there.
Just listen to the kind of life that poor child was living. It seemed she had been away from Babel for too long, and certain people had begun to "find themselves" a bit too much.
"Ah, Dr. Kal'tsit! You... you wrote all those things by hand? I recall there should be a place to print things nearby."
After Kal'tsit knocked on the door, Talulah opened it. The first thing she saw was a "transcendental" Dr. Kal'tsit, with dark circles under her eyes that looked like she'd been punched twice. Kal'tsit was dragging a large suitcase with one hand and holding a stack of papers covered in elegant handwriting with the other. It was hard to imagine this was the work of a single doctor in such a short time.
Though surprised, Talulah let her in. Upon entering, Kal'tsit saw a large vat sitting in the room, but Jeanne and the Sankta (Lemuen) were nowhere to be seen.
"Apologies. I did not have backups of these files with me, and transmitting them could cause network security issues. Thus, I could only rely on handwriting, which wasted some time."
As she spoke, Kal'tsit handed the stack of papers to Talulah. Talulah tucked them away as if they were the most precious treasures. The knowledge recorded on these pages was invaluable to them. For Kal'tsit, it was also a chance to review years of research, which was quite beneficial even for her.
As for whether they needed to verify the authenticity of the data, Talulah could only say that she recognized every word individually, but once they were strung together, she couldn't understand a single sentence.
"Is it just you left in the room? Where are the other two?"
Kal'tsit looked around and noticed that everything in the room had been tidied up. It was obvious they intended to leave. What would they have done if she hadn't come to trade today? And where was the item for the trade? Surely it wasn't that water vat? That seemed a bit... crude for a storage method.
"Those two went out to handle some matters. We're just waiting for the trade with you to be completed before we leave this city directly."
Jeanne had used her Revelation to know Kal'tsit would arrive today. She took the opportunity to deliver the first batch of Holy Water to the Laterano personnel so they could handle the trade with the Ursus Emperor themselves while still within the borders, saving her the trouble of doing it again later.
In order to produce enough Holy Water over the past few days, Jeanne had nearly "stewed" herself. Fortunately, Talulah had somehow procured a water truck, allowing them to barely manage the transport.
"This is the instruction manual Jeanne wrote for you, including suggestions for dilution ratios. However, whatever you do, do not drink this. I have a friend who accidentally drank a bottle; she ended up glowing brighter than a Sankta's halo! Though, there were no other side effects."
Far away in the northern snowfields, FrostNova sneezed: "Achoo!"
Kal'tsit took the handwritten instructions and saw the words "PROHIBITED FOR ORAL CONSUMPTION" written in massive, bold letters. She nodded, indicating she understood. However, she couldn't help but feel curious about what specific changes oral consumption would cause. Was it really just glowing?
It was like seeing a warning on a lightbulb saying "Do not put in mouth." Even though you know it's absurd, your inner curiosity doesn't just go away.
I'll wait until I get back and see how those two behave, Kal'tsit thought to herself. If they really are traumatizing children like Amiya said, I won't even need lab rats for the experiment.
Kal'tsit had been wondering if hanging them from the bridge of the landship was too light a punishment; now, a much better form of "discipline" had presented itself.
After expressing her thanks, Kal'tsit picked up the massive vat and prepared to leave Azazel. The sight of the petite Feline carrying a heavy water vat with one thin arm—looking as relaxed as if she were holding a bottle of water—left Talulah utterly stunned.
Talulah took one last look at the room, which looked exactly as it did when they first moved in. This place had been a major turning point in her life. She planned to bid farewell to Hellagur, meet up with Jeanne, and then prepare to return to the snowfields.
However, Talulah tilted her head, looking at the room with a hint of confusion. Did she... forget something? Since a moment ago, she felt like something had slipped her mind.
Whatever! Talulah shook her head. If her poor brain couldn't remember it, it probably wasn't that serious. She'd deal with it when she remembered!
Talulah picked up the luggage Jeanne had packed for her yesterday. After one last glance at this room, she headed toward Hellagur's office.
"I'm leaving this Holy Water in your hands. As for the specifics of how to handle the trade and the logistics, I'll have to trouble you all."
Jeanne patted the water truck beside her while speaking to the Bishops and the Pope. The group stood there in a daze, staring at a transport vehicle measured in tons.
In Laterano, the use of Holy Water was calculated down to the gram! Even when selling to other nations, they had never seen such a "liberal" method of transportation!
"Rest assured, Your Holiness! Even if we are lost, not a drop of Holy Water will be harmed! Leave the rest to us! We will not let your efforts go to waste!"
The Pope was incredibly excited. He had originally thought getting a few hundred liters would be a success—that was the amount they had negotiated with Ursus. Who knew Jeanne would deliver this much! Even if they gave half to Ursus, the remaining half was more than they had ever dared to imagine.
This was entirely thanks to the descent of Jeanne. Praise the Lord, praise the Holy Water, and praise the Saint who brought all of this before them!
Jeanne watched the increasingly fanatical Laterano clergy, her mind in a state of complete confusion over what she had actually set in motion.