After the meeting with Kal'tsit concluded, and having endured several days of frantic activity, Talulah finally welcomed her rare moment of rest. However, she was currently locked in a desperate struggle against a pink nightmare.
Talulah was hunched over, clutching her tail and trying to scrub off the "My Little Pony" designs. But after trying countless methods, she discovered that these things weren't just difficult to remove—they were practically invincible. She had scrubbed so hard she nearly saw sparks fly off her scales, yet those little ponies remained, prancing on her tail as if mocking her useless efforts.
"If you ask me, you shouldn't waste your energy. Doesn't the manual say it clearly? Once applied, it can only be erased after four days. Have a little patience; just wait a few days and it'll be fine."
To the side, Jeanne was slumped on the bed. Her posture and expression were the literal personification of a retired old man lounging in a chair. Such beautiful weather was perfectly suited for nesting under the covers and sleeping in. Since their business was finished, Jeanne didn't want to move a single muscle today, no matter what.
Originally, there had been a side quest to go out with Talulah to buy clothes that could cover the tail, but the fire dragon lady insisted on waiting for the colors to fade and had cancelled the mission.
"Whose fault is it that my tail ended up like this anyway?! Why are you, the one who caused all this, acting like it's none of your business?"
Talulah glared at the "slump-mode" Jeanne and asked irritably. If it weren't for this tail, she would have been out enjoying this rare free time long ago. At that moment, Talulah glanced at a bag beside her—it contained the "paints" Jeanne had played with yesterday.
Suddenly, a thought seemed to strike Talulah. She sat there quietly, wiping her tail as if she were an antique dealer delicately maintaining a precious artifact.
Warm sunlight filled the room. Talulah focused on her tail maintenance while Jeanne, lulled by the comfortable environment, gradually closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Since Lemuen had gone out this morning to swap the Originium for the vehicle, only Jeanne and Talulah remained in the house.
Talulah watched Jeanne closely for a while. Once she confirmed the girl was truly asleep, she set her tail down, picked up the "paint," and crept toward Jeanne step by step. She watched for a long time, pacing around until she was absolutely sure Jeanne wouldn't be startled awake. Then, Talulah flashed a grin that screamed "revenge is sweet."
She pulled out the same set of tools Jeanne had used to torment her. The light gleaming in her eyes was almost blinding.
You dared to "create" on my tail? If I don't write the word "Pathetic" on your face today, my name isn't Talulah! My revenge begins today! I can't wait to see the look on your face when you wake up!
"I'm back! Let me tell you, those maintenance people at Raythean Industries are total scammers! They saw the car and actually tried to swindle me out of a huge sum of money. How could I possibly be the kind of... person... who is so easily fooled?"
Lemuen, returning from the vehicle maintenance, was met with a sight she didn't expect: Talulah was sitting on top of the sleeping Jeanne, frozen like a statue, her body stiff.
Talulah's expression was, frankly, not very good. She looked helplessly at Jeanne's face, which had been turned into a colorful mess. She had originally planned to test several colors to see which one was best, so she had opened five or six bottles and held them in her hand—but at that exact moment, Lemuen had walked in!
In that moment of fright, Talulah had reflexively let go of the bottles. Naturally, the contents splashed all over Jeanne's face, creating the "rainbow face" seen now.
"Ugh... what happened? Why does my face feel weird?"
Thanks to Talulah's commotion, the sleeping Jeanne was jolted awake. She felt something strange on her skin and instinctively wiped her face. Spreading her hand, she saw a brilliant array of colors. Combined with the sight of Talulah standing before her... Jeanne could figure out what happened without even using her brain.
"..."
"Jeanne, say something. Don't just sit there, okay? You're scaring me, being all silent like that."
Looking at the long-silent Jeanne, Talulah spoke up with some unease. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her or why she wasn't saying anything after seeing the colors on her face. Meanwhile, Lemuen, realizing her voice had caused the accident, sat obediently in the corner, trying her hardest to stifle her laughter. Jeanne's "rainbow face" was simply too creative.
"I'm just thinking," Jeanne finally spoke. "Does this count as 'he who harms others will be harmed in turn'? Or is it just karma? But I haven't done that many bad things; how can it be karma?"
Talulah watched the rainbow-faced woman whose thoughts she could no longer guess. She didn't know what to say. She could only praise the girl's thick skin—in a state like this, she could still wander off into deep philosophy.
"You really have a great mindset. But this stuff can't be washed off for four days, right? Do you plan to stay in this room for the next few days? Or should I go out and get you a mask?"
Talulah asked tentatively. She wanted to see what this lady intended to do; she couldn't stay calm with her sitting there in silence. Jeanne didn't answer. She seemed to have fallen back into a silent stupor, just sitting there thinking.
"I've got it. I didn't think it would be this easy to solve."
After about two minutes, just as Talulah was wondering if Jeanne had been poisoned and needed resuscitation, the lady stood up and walked away. Jeanne fetched a basin of fresh water. She soaked her hands in it for five minutes and then submerged her entire face in the basin.
A moment later, the stubborn pigment floated off her face in its entirety. Looking from a distance, it looked like a discarded mask floating in the water.
This was the perfect answer Jeanne had received from her Revelation. Though this time, the Revelation had been silent for a moment—perhaps because God didn't know how to deal with stubborn cosmetics and had to think of a solution on the spot up there?
"Is it that miraculous? Water you've soaked in can wash this stuff off? Then what was I doing wasting all that effort earlier?"
Saying this, Talulah tentatively dipped a section of her tail into the water. The stubborn colors she had spent ages scrubbing began to peel away from her tail under the influence of Jeanne's "Holy Water."
"Hey, this is actually pretty fun! It falls off so completely. How does it do that?"
Now, Talulah was playing with the water like a happy child. She was finally free of that damnable paint, which meant she could finally go outside!
"Is she... okay?" Lemuen, who had been quiet for a long time, leaned in. Watching Talulah joyfully washing her tail in the basin, she recalled some old texts she'd read. "Could this be the legendary 'joy turned to madness'? Does she have a clouded mind that requires a good thrashing to fix?"
"No, she's just overexcited," Jeanne replied calmly. "And she's happy too soon. She hasn't realized one terrifying thing yet."
"What thing?"
As a good supporting character, Lemuen instinctively followed up on the prompt. She was curious about what Talulah had forgotten.
"And that is," Jeanne grinned, "even if she washes it off, I can just paint it right back on!"