A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

Talulah felt completely different!

Fengling wore a smile, her tail swaying gently behind her.

Suddenly, she had the urge to play a little prank.

After each of them had eaten something, Fengling raised her glass to Talulah.

"Talulah~ Thank you for supporting my business. This toast is to you~"

"We only happened to need those things. It hardly counts as supporting you."

Talulah clinked glasses with Fengling, then drank it down along with her.

"Oh my." Alina smiled as she refilled their glasses, the amusement in her eyes seeming to suggest she had noticed something.

Urging someone to drink was, in truth, an act that could easily provoke intense disgust.

But that was only when the person being urged no longer wanted to drink.

If handled with restraint, and if the words were appropriate with a faint touch of teasing, it could instead make the atmosphere at the table livelier.

She chatted with Talulah freely about the future, yet never pried into anything about the Reunion Movement.

Or perhaps she did not need to say anything at all—just lightly clink glasses with a shared understanding.

Or perhaps they could talk about amusing things they had seen and heard.

Fengling always stayed within the bounds of propriety. As a "kidnapped person," she never overstepped in the slightest, nor did she mention anything she should not have.

In such an atmosphere, even Talulah herself failed to notice that she had already drunk more than she ever had before.

And as the alcohol in her system rose, Talulah gradually let go of a certain burden.

The onlookers saw more clearly. FrostNova and Alina had long since figured out Fengling's intentions.

But neither of them stopped her.

Fengling was exceptionally skilled at social negotiation, always making others feel at ease.

Just this once, FrostNova and Alina wanted Talulah to rest and relax properly like this.

As the leader of the Reunion Movement, she bore far too much pressure.

For just one night, FrostNova was confident that no matter what happened, Talulah would not be disturbed.

Though the source of that confidence did not come entirely from herself alone.

"Come on, Talulah, smile for me~"

Spurred on by the alcohol, Fengling was indeed more uninhibited than usual, though not to any excessive degree.

The personal terminals issued by Rhodes Island still had image-recording functions.

"Click~"

After that soft sound, an image was captured.

Fengling held the personal terminal backward, flashed a sideways V-sign, winked, and wore a mischievous, adorable smile.

Behind her, FrostNova looked toward the camera with a faint smile.

Alina, meanwhile, wore a gentle smile as she looked at Talulah.

And Talulah wore a cheerful, slightly tipsy smile, with the alcohol lending her the tiniest hint of foolishness.

"Mm~ It came out pretty well!"

Fengling was very satisfied with the moment she had captured.

Fengling's Little Radar Activates!

A glow gradually appeared along the horizon.

It was morning.

During this time, her intensely regular routine had made Fengling wake up almost instinctively.

When she opened her eyes, the wooden ceiling told Fengling that this was not the Rhodes Island dormitory she had grown accustomed to lately.

She sat up. The slightly thin blanket was just right for this season.

Pushing open the wooden window, Fengling saw that quite a few people were already working, processing food and the like.

The Reunion Movement's food supplies did not fall from the sky.

Besides buying from nearby villages, producing food themselves was also an important part of it.

That was why Talulah had immediately set out to find Fengling after learning that the supplies in her truck included crop seeds.

This was the last planting window, and planting at this time would also largely affect the yield.

Even so, they had to plant the crops now. Even if they failed to mature by then, they could at least be used to fill their stomachs during winter.

In a place like this, with its unusual circumstances, Fengling had no choice but to give up on carefully tending to her appearance.

After tidying herself up simply, Fengling tied the A4 Reserve Squad ribbon around her ponytail.

If possible, Fengling still wanted to return to her truck and wash up more thoroughly.

But with the boundaries Talulah had drawn in advance, Fengling could not act too casually.

Without radio assistance, Rhodes Island's personal terminal was nothing more than a toy.

The ability to communicate across vast distances anytime and anywhere had yet to be realized on the land of Terra.

Though Fengling did not know the reason behind it, that was simply reality.

When she opened the room's door, the little wooden house was still very quiet.

Most of the children living here were quite young and needed more sleep. It was still early morning, not yet the time they would wake up.

Besides, they had stayed up quite late last night.

Thinking of how Talulah had eventually fallen asleep sitting at the dining table last night, Fengling's lips curled into a smile.

To be honest, it had been a long time since Fengling had felt so at home in this kind of setting.

After all, when Fengling had first arrived at Rhodes Island, she had always felt like she was the one getting the short end of the stick. There were simply too many people better than her, making her tread carefully when she first joined Rhodes Island for fear of doing something wrong.

Of course, Fengling was much better now. More importantly, she had realized that although everyone at Rhodes Island had different personalities, they were all people she could get along with well and did not need to guard against too much.

Once she let go of that restraint, Fengling's true personality gradually began to show.

And after living at Rhodes Island for so long and learning more and more, Fengling could maintain that confidence even in unfamiliar situations, using what she knew to solve problems.

When she stepped out of the cabin, a faintly chilly morning breeze greeted Fengling.

"Jingle~ Jingle~"

The Windbell Pendant on her belt swayed in the wind.

"Feels nice~"

Fengling's ears twitched.

The morning breeze also cleared Fengling's head.

She stretched lazily.

Though she could not approach her vehicle, wandering around a little did not count as breaking the agreement.

"Then... hm?"

A trace of surprise appeared in Fengling's eyes, and her tail whipped sharply behind her.

It was as if she had suddenly encountered something—that sensation of looking for an item had emerged.

Oh dear...

Fengling still found it difficult to ignore that feeling.

If she did not find it, the itch would drive her crazy.

"But... this time... it feels a little different..."

Fengling closed her eyes and carefully sensed it for a while.

If she had to compare it to something... it seemed... the signal was stronger this time?

She could even vaguely sense some indescribable information.

If she absolutely had to translate those scattered thoughts into something tangible, they were probably "shaped like chains," "seems to be something round," "a memento," and "a child."

It seemed she would have to find the target before she could understand.

Fengling began walking.

The Reunion Movement settlement was fairly large.

Along the way, quite a few people who saw Fengling were puzzled by her unfamiliar face. But the place was guarded layer upon layer by Reunion Movement fighters, and suspicious people could hardly sneak in, so not many came forward to question her.

As for the few who did ask, once Fengling gave Talulah's name, they generally stopped suspecting her.

After all, anyone bold enough to use Talulah's name to swindle the Reunion Movement had probably died so thoroughly that not even ashes remained.

However, Fengling's search was not particularly smooth this time.

Following the sensation straight ahead, Fengling unexpectedly arrived beside the settlement's high wall.

And that "signal" was clearly still on the other side of it.

Climbing over the wall casually was impossible. Anyone who dared do that had to have a death wish.

Still, Fengling recognized this place. With her good sense of direction, she could roughly tell that this was near yesterday's entrance.

Fengling continued toward the entrance.

"Ah, FrostNova!"

She had not expected FrostNova to rise even earlier than Fengling, or to already be on duty at the entrance again.

After seeing FrostNova, Fengling relaxed a little. After all, she was someone Fengling was relatively familiar with already, making explanations easier.

"Fengling? Why did you come all the way here?"

Still, Fengling's movements looked extremely strange through an ordinary person's eyes.

So even though they had gotten along quite happily yesterday, FrostNova still had to raise her guard somewhat.

"Mm... I guess I'm looking for something?"

Fengling tilted her head and pointed outside the wall, her tone uncertain.

"What do you mean, 'I guess'..." FrostNova could only remind her helplessly. "I'm telling you... you look very suspicious right now."

"It really is hard to explain... But if you come with me, it should be fine, right?" Fengling simply decided to invite FrostNova along.

Talulah had said that with FrostNova present, the restrictions could be ignored. Fengling would even be allowed to get into her truck and use the radio.

"I can, but not too far. Otherwise, you have to come back obediently." FrostNova nodded, agreeing to Fengling's invitation.

The distance limit was also because the defensive force could not be left vacant. If anything happened, they had to be able to return immediately.

To put it more conspiratorially, FrostNova also had to wonder whether Fengling was trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain—assuming Fengling was truly a bad person.

FrostNova would not lower her guard when it came to her duties.

As for how far away the thing Fengling wanted to find was... it truly was not very far.

Following the sensation, Fengling entered the dense forest near the Reunion Movement settlement.

FrostNova followed closely behind her.

Carefully avoiding the sharp pine needles, they went deeper into the woods for some time.

"Seriously... if you wanted to make a move, this would be a good place."

From FrostNova's perspective, Fengling was naturally suspicious beyond belief.

They had also nearly reached the furthest distance FrostNova could accept.

"I won't! I can already feel that we're almost there!"

Fengling hurriedly turned back and shouted.