Facing Exusiai, who seemed to have turned into a completely different person in front of her, even the sharp-witted Ch'en naturally sensed that something was wrong. Especially when she discovered that whenever Exusiai sat next to Jeanne, the expression on her face looked as if she were dying to kowtow to Jeanne. This left Ch'en somewhat confused; according to what Jeanne herself said, she was just a young girl living in a small village, not someone with the lofty status they had imagined.
But what was this scene currently unfolding? Was this still the Exusiai she knew, who was quite famous in Lungmen? However, Ch'en did not pursue the question; since the other party hadn't told her, it meant the matter required confidentiality. Ch'en knew it wasn't appropriate to keep probing into secrets.
"Jeanne, you must try this. This dish is the boss's signature..."
Currently at the dining table, Ch'en didn't need to introduce what dish was being served at all. Exusiai, sitting beside Jeanne, cared for Jeanne even more intensely than she cared for her own sister sitting on her other side. Lemuen, sitting nearby, watched the performance of her silly younger sister, looking at the little brat who had "found the Saintess and forgotten her sister" only out of the corner of her eye, watching her heap food onto Jeanne's plate.
As for Jeanne? She could only face this overly enthusiastic Exusiai with a smile. Fortunately, she had experienced this kind of situation before and was used to the Sanktas' attitude toward her. However, although Exusiai was enthusiastic, she also observed situations carefully. Consequently, her enthusiasm did not make people feel uncomfortable. If Jeanne was speaking with someone else or eating, she would absolutely not disturb her.
The relationship between the two, which was originally just hearing about each other, rapidly grew closer in this back-and-forth exchange.
Meanwhile, Croissant and Texas on the side were completely reduced to just a pair of ears and a mouth; Croissant would occasionally say a few words, while Texas rarely spoke at all. However, both of them were very curious: how did Jeanne manage to become so familiar with Ch'en, the most difficult officer to converse with in the Lungmen Guard Department (LGD), to the point of being treated to a meal in just a single day?
"Then I won't send you back. By the way, this is my phone number. If you need any help during your time in Lungmen, feel free to call and contact me directly."
After the meal, Jeanne planned to return together with the Penguin Logistics group. Ch'en, meanwhile, planned to return to the LGD to check on the condition of those two individuals. Since Jeanne just said she would be staying in Lungmen for a while, and Ch'en already knew about Talulah's situation, she was naturally in no rush, even if something else came up.
After exchanging numbers, the two bid each other farewell and left. Ch'en watched the departing Penguin Logistics car, exhaled a long breath with a smile, and then took the packed takeout, rushing back to feed the one cat and one ghost back at the LGD.
"Eh, did these people in Lungmen discover your connection with Talulah? Is their intelligence network really advanced to this point? They managed to find out without any prior information."
Lemuen, who had already learned of Talulah's identity through Laterano, was now somewhat surprised by Lungmen's intelligence capabilities. To think they could uncover this news in such a short amount of time. One had to understand that even Laterano only investigated this companion of the Saintess after obtaining Talulah's name, which led them to discover her bizarre identity.
This was also largely due to the fact that the incident when Kashchey kidnapped her was simply too massive. It was a major event involving Lungmen, Ursus, and Leithanien back then, so they naturally conducted an investigation. But Lungmen was actually this capable? Lemuen was now full of admiration for Lungmen's intelligence department and wanted to inquire about how they achieved this, to learn from their advanced experience.
"They found out long ago. The person we met in Chernobog also discovered us. That's why Ch'en found me right away."
Hearing Jeanne's narration, Lemuen gave an "oh" in acknowledgment. If that was the case, then the matter was understandable.
Croissant, sitting on their other side, listened to the two discussing in hushed tones but was utterly confused, not understanding what they were talking about. Later, seeing that she couldn't understand, Croissant simply put on headphones and listened to music, which also created a better environment for the two to converse.
"Ah~ at this rate, we're never going to finish processing this pile of junk. It's all just dumped here at once; couldn't at least some of this work have been postponed for two days?"
In the LGD office at night, Swire couldn't help complaining to Hoshiguma, but her hands were still frantically tapping away at the keyboard, not slowing down in the slightest due to her complaints. The two of them had been busy from daytime until now, when it was already dark. Yet, the accumulated work seemed endless, still showing no hope of ending.
"It can't be helped. This work was accumulated by us up until now, wasn't it? Wasn't it precisely us who were too busy with cases a while ago to handle this stuff?"
Hoshiguma was also tapping away at the keyboard, and the several instant noodle cups on the table indicated that for the two of them today, their food for the entire day consisted of these noodles and bread to rush to meet the work deadline. Because there were simply too many cases in Lungmen this month, they had accumulated too much stuff that needed handling by the end of the month, and the main force behind the overtime had slipped away today...
"But my work wasn't accumulated at all! That pile of stuff was cleared away long ago. Damn it, if that Pink Sausage Dragon doesn't bring back any useful information today, it'll truly be a waste of all our desperate efforts today..."
Before Ch'en even entered, she could hear Swire's complaints from the doorway. Her already good mood became even better. Ch'en felt that standing here, listening to the "Char Siu cat" complain in such a breakdown, was quite interesting.
However, Ch'en did not choose to do so. She merely leaned against the door for a moment, listening, and then turned the handle and walked straight in.
"Who is it, entering without knocking? Did something major happen again... My god, Pink Sausage Dragon, didn't you ask for leave today to look for someone? Why are you back at this hour?"
The two people processing documents suddenly heard the sound of the doorknob turning. They discovered someone seemed to be ignoring the rules, walking in straight away without even knocking. Who could it be? Did they not know that others were generally not allowed in when they were processing these important documents? And to think they actually just strode in!
Swire didn't expect that when she looked up, she would actually see the Pink Sausage Dragon appearing before her! Wasn't this sausage supposed to be looking for Jeanne? Why was she thinking about coming back to work overtime?
"You... why are you back? You should have found the person, right? How did the questioning go? Is there anything needed..."
Swire cautiously inquired of Ch'en about the matter of looking for Jeanne today, fearing that if she said the wrong thing, she might hurt this person, who was now rather emotionally fragile, all over again. Swire worried that the reason Ch'en came to the LGD at this hour was because she had learned some bad news and was planning to find a deserted place to be quiet alone...
On the side, Hoshiguma also stopped working, looking toward the door at old Ch'en with a concerned expression. Although she didn't know the specific details of what happened, she could tell from Swire's earlier words that this matter was extremely important to old Ch'en.
"Look at me now, do I look like something is wrong?"
Ch'en did not bicker with Swire; instead, she gave her a smile, indicating that the result of this meeting was very good.
"Did you think I didn't know you two definitely didn't eat properly today? After eating with Jeanne, I specifically bought food to reward the two of you."
Saying this, Ch'en placed the several takeout boxes she had been hiding behind her back onto the table. Seeing her action, the two people worried about her finally relaxed.
"So, did Jeanne tell you news about her?"
Seeing that things seemed to be going smoothly, Swire hastily inquired about Talulah's situation. Regarding this old friend who had been missing for many years, Swire naturally wasn't indifferent. While asking, she disregarded cleanliness and casually picked up a roast pork bun and started eating it.
"How should I put it... Talulah's situation is quite complicated right now. However, one thing is certain: Talulah is still the Talulah of the past."