GR 6-25 (Patreon)

GR 6-25

Chapter 6:... What are you doing?

In the quiet tent, after Griseo picked up the brush and put the last touch of color on the canvas, her thoughts began to slowly withdraw from the painting, leaving the colorful world in her eyes.

After Griseo's efforts, a perfect painting appeared on the once empty, snow-white drawing board.

The warm yellow sunlight fell on the green woods, casting some spots.

On the forest path, a snow-white fawn lay on the ground with a peaceful and quiet expression, as if sleeping. People passing by couldn't help but slow down their steps, not wanting to disturb it.

However, upon closer inspection, there were some black hard substances of unknown origin on the snow-white fur of the fawn, and in the shadow behind the fawn, these hard substances even bloomed into a originium flower with a cold light and messy leaves.

Griseo, who had completely withdrawn from her immersion, put down the palette and brush and gently blinked her dry eyes. She planned to rest for a while.

"Gu~"

Not long after she put down her paintbrush, Griseo's hungry stomach protested again.

At the same time, the hunger that had been blocked by her immersion in painting surged into the little girl's heart again.

Then, when Griseo left the stool and planned to find something to eat, the very juicy scenery that had been blocked by the easel suddenly appeared in her big violet eyes.

"?"

A look of puzzlement appeared in the little girl's eyes.

"Sister Alina... what are you doing?"

As the little girl's voice sounded, the two people who were hugging each other pushed each other away in an instant.

"Ahem... nothing, just comforting your sister Tallulah..."

Although she was telling the truth, for some reason, under Griseo's innocent gaze, Alina suddenly felt a sense of guilt.

It gave her the feeling that she was really doing something shameful with Tallulah just now.

"Yes, yes... Alina is right, she was just comforting me... Ahem, little guy, are you done with your painting?"

After responding to Alina's words, Tallulah turned around and quickly changed the subject, not caring about her slightly red face.

Like a certain little deer, she didn't feel anything at first... But when she met the innocent eyes of the little girl, she suddenly felt shamefully guilty.

"Well... Sister Alina, I'm hungry."

After listening to their explanations, Griseo looked at them for a while before gently nodding her head.

"Then let's eat. Yelena has already sent it over." After gently touching Griseo's little head, Alina took her hand and walked towards the table.

"Yelena...?"

Although she let Alina lead her, when Griseo heard someone's name, it was like a machine that recognized a keyword, and the little hair on her head stood up... her heart became active.

To be honest, Griseo, who had been immersed in painting, really didn't notice that Frostnova had come; otherwise, she might have gone to get close to the white rabbit.

After all, before she traveled through time, she was also a Dokutah who was stabbed and cried because of Frostnova's death.

"Didn't little Griseo see Yelena just now?"

Looking at the suddenly active little hair on Griseo's head, Alina couldn't help but touch it again and then asked.

"When painting, this little guy only has eyes for painting, and doesn't look at other things or pay attention to people." Before Griseo could answer, the voice of a dragon girl came over first.

"I see. I'll introduce you to little Griseo later if I have a chance. Although Yelena seems a little cold, she is actually a very nice person."

"Okay, let's eat. Hmm... it looks a little cold. I'll go out and get you another one. Wait a minute, little Griseo."

After saying that, Alina picked up the food in front of her and walked out quickly, leaving Tallulah and Griseo staring at each other.

But soon Tallulah seemed to remember something. Her expression changed. She showed Griseo a smile that she thought was friendly, and then she moved carefully to the side of the little girl.

"Little guy, your name is Griseo, right?"

"Hmm... Tarurua, what's the matter?"

Looking at Tallulah's appearance, Griseo tilted her head slightly and asked in a calm tone.

"Tarurua...? Forget it. Little Griseo, can you tell me what happened to Alina before?"

It was not the first time that Tallulah heard this name from Griseo. Although she was a little curious, it was obvious that some things were more important in her heart.

"What happened before? Well... Sister Alina and I met bad guys, and then... Mr. Knight protected us."

Although she was a little surprised that Alina didn't tell Tallulah, Griseo chose to answer truthfully after thinking for a while.

"Does Griseo know who those bad guys are? And ...Mr. Knight?" After hearing Griseo's answer, Tallulah asked anxiously.

"I don't know... Mr. Knight is Mr. Knight. Does Tallulah want to see Mr. Knight?" Griseo shook her head and said seriously.

"I..."

"Okay, come and eat, Griseo, it's getting late."

However, before Tallulah could continue to ask, Alina's voice came again, and she entered the tent with food.

After seeing the food, Tallulah temporarily gave up the idea of asking.

"Well... I'm here."

...

After finishing dinner, Griseo walked to the easel she had been using and took down the painting she had just finished.

She now planned to give this painting to Alina, who provided its colors.

"Here, the painting... is for you."

Griseo gently raised the frame and handed Alina her first work in this world.

"Little Griseo actually finished a painting so quickly, it's amazing, the painting..."

Alina, who took Griseo's work and was about to praise it, suddenly fell silent in the middle of her words... She swallowed all the rest of the unfinished words.

The reason why Miss Deer lost her composure was because of the painting in her hand.

You should know that the painting that Griseo drew this time was not ordinary. In addition to being an exquisite and excellent work, it also possessed special power.

Although Griseo can also draw ordinary paintings, when she is stained with the color of a person, she will subconsciously use that person's color to create...

In this case, the painting will have magic. It can distort people's cognition, show the most fearful things in people's hearts, and even materialize them.

However, everyone has different colors, so the "intensity" or results of the paintings are different, so at this moment, even Griseo doesn't know what Alina saw in the painting.

She just knows that this painting will not materialize anything weird.

Chapter 7: Promise Me, Talulah

As Alina gazed at the painting, the scene in front of her and the people and environment around her distorted and disappeared almost instantly. Instead, she found herself in a snow-covered, silver forest, observing "herself" lying on the side of the road, covered in blood and grievously injured, yet still tightly holding an empty basket.

"..."

Staring at the scene before her, Alina's eyes revealed disbelief and confusion. Soon, she understood. She was too familiar with this scene; it was where she had been attacked before.

The scene depicted what might have happened without little Griseo's help. Alina had been cruelly killed by the infected who left the team over a small amount of supplies.

Before she could continue her thoughts, the scene changed again. The sky darkened, as if time had passed, and she lay on the ground, her life ebbing away.

A figure Alina recognized appeared on the dim forest path. It was Talulah.

"Ah... Ah..."

"Talulah, I'm here... I'm fine."

Watching Talulah, teary-eyed and in disbelief, walk in front of "her," Alina frowned and tried to reach out to comfort her, but her hand passed through the figure.

At that moment, Alina understood. She didn't belong there and couldn't interfere with anything. She could only be a silent spectator, watching everything unfold.

She watched as the dying "her" was carried on Talulah's back, step by step, towards the camp. She watched "herself" softly and weakly comfort Talulah, telling her not to wallow in anger. She saw herself finally die on her best friend's back.

She observed Talulah facing the village incident alone, collapsing completely, beginning to hate others, and turning to Black Snake. She witnessed Talulah making mistake after mistake, and her colleagues in the Reunion movement dying one by one.

Finally, seeing the girl who had awakened in her anguish but was now burdened with heavy sins and shackles, Alina lowered her eyes, filled with helplessness and sighs.

"..."

"Talulah... I will stay with you this time."

Alina whispered softly, as if making a promise. As her last words fell, a breeze blew across her cheek, and the scene in front of her slowly dissipated with the wind.

……

"Alina, Alina! What's wrong with you?"

Talulah frowned and shouted loudly at Alina, who was staring at the painting and ignoring everything else.

"..."

Standing next to her, Griseo did not intervene. She was also closely watching Alina, ready to rescue her if anything went wrong.

However, when Talulah's shouting didn't work and she was about to take action, Alina suddenly raised her hand, covered her ears, and looked at her best friend helplessly, saying, "Stop, Talulah... the sound is too loud. I heard you."

At the helpless gaze of her friend, Talulah quickly retracted her hand and asked softly, "Are you okay, Alina? What happened just now? Were you too fascinated by the painting?"

"Well..."

Alina squinted her eyes and her expression turned meaningful, not rushing to answer Talulah's question.

"So... what did Sister Alina see in the painting?"

Griseo, curious about what Alina had seen, asked with big, curious eyes.

"Little Griseo doesn't know?"

Now it was Alina's turn to be curious. In her opinion, what she had just seen was because of the painting Griseo gave her. It made no sense that the painter didn't know its effect.

"...Everyone's colors are different, and the paintings they draw are also different."

Griseo gently shook her head and explained in her steady voice. After the explanation, she continued to look at Alina with her big eyes, waiting for her answer.

But before Griseo got an answer, someone else spoke.

"What are you two talking about? Isn't this just an ordinary painting?"

Talulah first glanced at the painting in Alina's arms. She didn't see anything special except that it was very well done. Then she looked at the two people in front of her who were talking in a way she couldn't understand. She was a little confused.

"Nothing. I just think that little Griseo's painting is very good. I was fascinated by it just now."

After saying that, Alina didn't forget to wink at Griseo, hinting at her.

Alina didn't intend to tell her best friend directly about what she saw. Talulah's view of things and people was too idealistic, even a bit out of touch with reality.

Some things, even if she told Talulah, might not be believed. Even if believed, they wouldn't have a very intuitive impact. In this case, Alina didn't want to waste her breath.

What's more, she had plenty of time now. Instead of speaking directly, it was better to slowly train Talulah and subtly change her views on some things.

To help her become a good leader...

"..."

Seeing Alina's hint, Griseo became more curious but didn't ask more questions. Although she didn't know what Alina saw, since she didn't want Talulah to know, Griseo was willing to cooperate. She would ask in private later if necessary.

...

"...I always feel that Alina seems to be hiding a lot from me today... Let’s not talk about other things now. I want to know what happened to you today. Why did you get hurt?"

Looking at the two who were interacting closely, Talulah suddenly looked disappointed and puffed her cheeks. She felt that Alina seemed to have more secrets after meeting the little girl in front of her and hadn't told her everything.

Hearing Talulah bring up the matter again, Alina put away her smile and her expression became serious. She slowly closed the distance between herself and her best friend.

As they got closer, until there was only a palm's distance between them, Alina stopped. She stared at Talulah with her serious blue eyes and said, word by word:

"What I encountered today... Talulah, if you want to know, promise me first."

"Promise... not to retaliate against those people."

.

Chapter 8: Big Sister, Look at the Treasure I Brought!

"Orange..."

Griseo, who was standing not far away, shook her aho-hair and sighed as she looked at the two people who were almost touching each other.

She quickly stretched out her little hand to cover her face, although she continued to watch the scene in front of her that made her blush through her fingers.

This time, unlike before, Alina did not seem to stop at all even after hearing the little loli's sigh. She still stared at Tallulah closely, wanting her assurance.

"Uh..."

Unlike Alina's calm questioning, Tallulah, as the person being questioned, was now somewhat unsettled.

One reason was that her best friend suddenly became so serious, making her realize the seriousness of the previous incident. The second reason was that they were too close. The warm breath Alina exhaled when she spoke sprinkled completely on Tallulah's face, making it itch and causing her face to burn.

"I... I promise!" Tallulah quickly pushed Alina away, allowing the two to return to a normal distance.

"In that case, then I tell you, be mentally prepared, Tallulah..."

...

Griseo, who was peeking at the scene in front of her, secretly gave Alina a thumbs up in her heart. She is worthy of being a political commissar of this camp, so powerful, she has Talulah under her control.

However, Griseo did not plan to keep peeking (openly), because she felt that her blue hair was a little shiny, making her look like a light bulb in this room.

After a few more glances, she retracted her gaze.

Then, the little loli walked carefully towards her easel. Although Griseo's exclusive weapon, the Elysian Astra, is also a painting tool, the system reward of a complete set of tools from easel to drawing paper and various pigments is very practical. At least drawing paper is indispensable for painting.

So, after walking over, she carefully put all the tools in front of her back into the system space.

After doing all this, Griseo looked up and saw the two people who were still "rubbing" together and had no time to take care of herself, and blinked gently.

Then she lightened her steps and walked towards the exit of the tent. She wanted to go out for a walk and didn't want to stay here and continue to be a bystandee, although it seemed that she could join?

In this way, a curious little loli successfully slipped out of the tent filled with orange colors.

"..."

But when she really came out, Griseo didn't know what she should do. She looked up at the empty night sky with snowflakes floating, and a trace of confusion flashed in her violet eyes. However, just when the little girl was in a daze, suddenly, a black shadow rushed towards her from the corner.

"Look what I found!"

"You should be the child that Alina brought back from outside. You're really cute."

After the black shadow touched Griseo, she hugged her into her arms without stopping and shouted excitedly.

"......!?"

Griseo suddenly woke up from her daze and looked at the "sneak attacker" with her big purple eyes.

However, what first caught Griseo's eyes was not a person's face, but a big hood with a big circle of white fluff around it... Then she saw the face hidden under the hood.

Although she didn't know the person in front of her, Griseo knew the clothes of the person in front of her very well.

She could tell at a glance that the person in front of her was a member of the Yeti Squadron led by FrostNova...

"Sister... who are you?" Griseo did not break free from the arms of the person in front of her but just looked at her in confusion and asked seriously.

"Oh, look at my head. Little guy, you are so cute, so cute that I forgot to introduce myself."

After being asked this question, the member of the Yeti Squadron let go of Griseo a little embarrassedly. Then she stood up straight and introduced herself with a smile.

"My name is Lois, and I am a member of the Yeti Squadron led by my eldest sister. Little guy, what about you?"

"I... am called Griseo, and I am a painter."

After silently remembering the name of the person in front of her, Griseo made her first super formal introduction since she came to this world.

"Griseo is a very nice name. But, little guy, aren't you wearing too thin clothes? Aren't you cold?"

After learning Griseo's name, Lois praised her without hesitation. However, after noticing her cool outfit, her expression became worried again. She unbuttoned her heavy winter clothes, then took the little girl in front of her into her arms and held her tightly inside the coat.

Griseo, who was suddenly wrapped in warm clothes, was slightly stunned, and then she struggled and tiptoed to reveal her cute little head from Lois's coat and explained.

"Well, it's okay... Griseo isn't afraid of the cold. But why is Sister Lois here?"

"Not afraid of the cold you say... Never mind, let's leave it like this for now. As for why I'm here, it's because of curiosity."

Looking at the little head that popped out of her arms, Lois couldn't help but reach out and touch it, and then continued to explain:

"It has been said that Alina brought back her own daughter from outside, and eldest sister didn't tell us about your situation, so I can only come and see it myself."

"Big sister...?"

"It's the one who brought you food before. Since you are so interested in the eldest sister, let's go and see her again!"

After saying this, before Griseo agreed, Lois hugged the little loli wrapped in her clothes with both hands and rushed out.

"Hey..."

Griseo was confused by Lois's sudden action and even forgot to struggle. To be honest, whether before or after the time travel, this was the first time she had met a girl as enthusiastic as Lois.

Enthusiastic, energetic, and vibrant, with a warm red color around her body, it made Griseo feel warm and enthusiastic.

However, while the little loli was still confused, Lois had already arrived at her destination.

"Big sister, and everyone, look what treasure I brought here!"

Chapter 9: Yeti Squadron, I Will... March!

"Big sister, and everyone, look what treasure I brought here!"

Lois shouted, directly attracting the attention of everyone sitting around the campfire.

"?"

"?"

"Lois, what were you doing just now?"

"Baby! Where is the baby?!"

"Hehe! Of course, the baby is here!"

Looking at the curious eyes of the Yeti Squadron, Lois snorted lightly and patted her bulging clothes gently.

Before anyone could ask further, she gently opened her winter clothes.

Then, the world's cutest Griseo popped her little head out of Lois's arms once again.

"..."

For an instant, everyone around was silent...

But the silence didn't last long. Once everyone reacted, they surrounded her and started talking at once.

"Lois, when did you have a child without telling us?"

"Where did this child come from? Wait... Lois, you didn't steal Alina's child, did you?"

"Good one, I'm calling you a kidnapper! But the little one is really cute. Come and let this brother hold you!"

"You move aside, I should hold her!"

"Okay, don't scare Griseo. What's abducting? I'm just taking the child out to play!"

Looking at her friends, Lois took a step back, holding Griseo in her arms, and said unhappily.

"We won't scare her!"

"It's Griseo, so put the child down quickly. You can't hold her all by yourself!"

Just as the members of the Yeti Squadron were playing and fighting, a calm and cold voice sounded from behind them.

"Lois, put the child down."

"Okay, big sister..."

Hearing this voice, Lois showed a helpless look on her face, then obediently put the little girl in her arms down.

Lois could ignore others' words, but the one who spoke just now was Yelena, the big sister of their Yeti Squadron.

"Hmm..."

Stepping barefoot on the soft and cold snow again, Griseo gently shook her feet to adapt to the temperature outside.

Sure enough, compared to the cold outside, she felt more comfortable in Lois's warm embrace, surrounded by red and warm yellow.

"Huh? Why is this little guy wearing so little?"

"Not even wearing shoes? Lois, you didn't force her out of bed, did you?"

Seeing Griseo's cute appearance, everyone in the Yeti Squadron was almost melted, but after noticing her thin clothes, they looked at Lois with suspicion.

"Go away, little Griseo is not afraid of the cold. Everyone else, go back to your original position." Lois put her hands on her hips and said unhappily.

"Well... I'm not afraid of the cold."

Hearing Lois's words, Griseo nodded in cooperation, then explained seriously.

"Is that so? How amazing!"

"Yes, yes, she is not afraid of the cold. Could it be the same as our elder sister?"

"Stupid, don't you think about how it is possible? If she is like our eldest sister, how could Lois hold her in her arms?"

Watching the members of the Yeti Squadron playing in front of her, Griseo slowly opened her eyes... a trace of nostalgia flashed in them.

She saw large patches of warm yellow on these people... very warm.

Even in Griseo's memory, she had only seen such a thick warm yellow during a gathering in Fire Moth with everyone.

"Hmm...?"

At this moment, Griseo suddenly felt a scrutinizing gaze. When she looked through the gap between the people, she saw a tall Wendigo wearing pure black armor and a cloak: Patriot - Buldrokkas'tee.

Facing the scrutiny of Patriot, Griseo was not timid at all. She raised her little head... and looked straight into his scarlet eyes.

After the two looked at each other for a while, Griseo's temperament suddenly changed, from pure innocence to experienced sophistication, calmness, and sharpness.

"Yeti Squadron, I will... march!"

Then, Griseo took out her paintbrush, raised it, and announced to the members of the Yeti Squadron with a serious and domineering expression.

"... Pfft, little Griseo, you are really cute. Who are you imitating, Pops?"

Lois, who didn't know Griseo's characteristics, couldn't help laughing at the cute little loli in front of her.

Not only her, but other members of the Yeti Squadron who heard Griseo's announcement also laughed.

"Puha, hahahaha, the little guy really imitated it."

"Indeed, but it's just too cute."

"I have to say, the momentum is quite similar."

Patriot didn't feel offended by Griseo's sudden imitation of him but just watched quietly, not knowing what he was thinking.

This time, the color came and went quickly. After ending the eye contact with Patriot, Griseo quickly reverted to her color and retreated.

"Hmm..."

Griseo, who had returned to her blank state, first glanced at the laughing Yeti members standing next to her. Then she took small steps, walked around them, and headed towards Yelena, who was sitting by the campfire not far away.

Although these members of the Yeti Squadron gave Griseo a very good feeling, she still wanted to get in touch with Yelena. If possible, she would like to draw a picture with the colors of Frostnova.

After walking in front of Yelena, Griseo stopped, then looked at her with big, solemn eyes, and said seriously: "My name is Griseo... I am a painter. What is your name sister?"

"... My name is Yelena, codename FrostNova, and I am the captain of the Yeti Squadron."

Seeing Griseo's seriousness, Yelena was stunned for a moment, then stood up and responded seriously.

Looking at the serious little cutie in front of her, Yelena actually wanted to touch her little head. However, she could only maintain the level of thinking.

Let alone touching her head, she couldn't even shake hands.

Although Yelena had confirmed through her own observation that Griseo was indeed not afraid of the cold, not being afraid of the cold did not necessarily mean that she would not be frostbitten after contact with her.

So now that she did not know the specific situation, she would not do something that might hurt the little cutie in front of her just for her own thoughts.

However, at this moment, a warm and soft touch suddenly came from Yelena's right hand hanging beside her...

Chapter 10: Talulah, You Are the Leader!

"!"

Even before she saw it, the warm touch on her hand made Yelena's first reaction to shake it off and say seriously, "Don't touch me."

"Um..."

After her hand was shaken off, Griseo didn’t react much. She didn’t feel lost; she just continued to look at Yelena with her big eyes quietly.

Others might not know Yelena well, but Griseo knew that the person in front of her reacted this way out of fear of causing frostbite.

"Sorry... Is your hand okay?"

Yelena looked at Griseo, who had been shaken off but didn’t cry or fuss. Her expression remained unchanged as she quietly looked at Yelena. A trace of apology flashed in Yelena's eyes, and her voice softened.

Hearing this, Griseo gently shook her head and then said seriously, "... Is Sister Yelena cold? I'm not afraid of the cold. I'll warm you up."

With that, Griseo used the same hand that was just shaken off to hold Yelena's hand again, which was still cold despite the gloves.

As Griseo had always said, she was indeed not afraid of the cold, showing no sign of frostbite.

After observing for a while and confirming that there was nothing abnormal, Yelena relaxed. However, she didn’t dare to move her hand, just letting the little girl hold it.

After all, who would have the heart to hurt such a cute and well-behaved child like Griseo?

"She can touch our elder sister without getting frostbite!"

"Someone can touch our elder sister! That's great!"

"No, stick to me, stick it to me instead!"

The snow monsters were initially dumbfounded by the scene, but then they were happy for their elder sister. They knew their eldest sister, the Yeti princess, had not been in contact with people for a long time. Normally, even they could not touch her without getting frostbite.

Now, a little cutie who was not afraid of the cold and could touch their eldest sister had suddenly appeared. How could they not be happy?

Just a few minutes after making contact with Yelena, the system's voice suddenly sounded in Griseo’s mind.

[Character: [Setsuna] Sakura, unlocking, unlocking progress 1%, please try to keep in contact with the target person.]

"...?"

A question mark slowly appeared on Griseo’s cute little head after hearing the system’s prompt.

No matter how hard she thought, she didn’t expect that the unlocking under certain conditions marked on the system panel actually referred to rubbing so close to someone? And she had to try one by one, without prompts.

Although Griseo really liked rubbing close with beautiful girls, trying one by one and sticking to them like glue was really a lot for her.

She didn’t like deliberately contacting others for some purpose, not to mention she was still influenced by Griseo's innocence.

Griseo could choose to contact someone because she liked him or her color, but it wasn’t necessary just to unlock the character.

So after figuring out the unlocking method, she decided to just go with the flow...

After thinking it through, Griseo stopped struggling and took Yelena's hand, sitting down together by the campfire.

"Sister Yelena... can you tell me the story of your Yeti Squadron?" After sitting down, Griseo gently shook Yelena's hand and asked softly.

Although she knew a lot about [Frostnova] and the Yeti Squadron through the game, now that everything had become a reality, Griseo preferred to learn about their past directly from them. Many things couldn’t be explained clearly in the game...

"Well... OK."

After a slight pause, Yelena agreed, gently stroking Griseo’s little head with her other free hand.

"Telling stories? I’ll come too! Our eldest sister has many legendary stories!"

"Count me in!"

When it came to telling stories, the Yeti Squadron members became interested again and gathered around.

So far, the atmosphere around the campfire was lively and peaceful, and Griseo successfully integrated into it.

————————————————

In the tent——

"It turned out... it was them..."

After listening to Alina’s story, Talulah's expression became a mix of complication and self-blame.

She guessed that people attacked her best friend, but she didn’t think deeply about who it was... or she didn’t dare to think about it.

However, under Talulah’s questioning, Alina directly revealed the bloody facts.

Those infected people who hurt their best friends and wanted to kill her for a little food were the infected people in the original Reunion! They were the infected people that Talulah agreed to leave the camp!

This fact directly questioned Talulah’s previous decision to allow the infected to withdraw from the organization at will without punishment.

It also made Talulah's belief that most people are kind and good if placed in a good environment begin to crack, a crack she herself did not notice.

"Hehe, Talulah, I asked you to promise not to go for revenge, right?"

Looking at the draco in front of her, with a complicated expression and a hint of self-blame in her eyes, Alina chuckled, patted her on the shoulder, and asked an inexplicable question.

"Yes."

Hearing this question, Talulah nodded slightly and then looked at Alina in confusion.

"But in fact, I asked you to promise not to take revenge because I didn’t want you to hate me because of what happened... not even the slightest possibility."

At this point, Alina paused, put away her smile, and became serious, then continued, "But, Talulah, you are a leader, the leader of the Reunion Movement... the person who many infected people voluntarily follow."

"When you make a mistake, correct it. When you find a loophole, fill it."

"In the eyes of the outside world, our Reunion has long been linked to the infected here. Regardless of any factors, whether those people have withdrawn from Reunion or not, you, as a leader, have the responsibility to restrain them and bring them back on track!"

"..."

Alina's words directly made Talulah lose the complexity and self-blame in her eyes and fall into deep thought.

"Huh... You are right, this is my responsibility as a leader." After thinking for a while, Talulah exhaled a breath of turbid air, stood up, and said seriously.

At this moment, all other emotions in her eyes disappeared, leaving only firmness.

"Thank you, Alina..."

Chapter 11: Entering a Dream

"Come to think of it, did we forget something?"

After chatting and discussing a solution, Tallulah seemed to remember something. She suddenly raised her head and looked around.

"...?"

Prompted by Tallulah, Alina also raised her head and looked around.

"Griseo... she's gone!"

After realizing something was missing, their expressions became a bit stiff.

Almost simultaneously, they both stood up quickly and began to look for the little blue-haired girl from their memories.

But the tent was small, and if they didn’t see her at a glance, they could be sure she wasn’t there.

"Little Griseo must have run off. Let's go find her," Alina said anxiously, running outside.

In Alina's view, Griseo was the child she brought back, and she wasn’t infected. If Griseo got into trouble because of her negligence, Alina couldn’t bear to think about it.

Obviously, Alina, in her hurry, had completely forgotten that a guardian knight was always beside the little girl...

"Don't worry too much. In the camp... there shouldn’t be any big problems." Seeing her anxious friend, Tallulah felt helpless, but she also hurriedly chased after her.

---

"Um... ah."

Sitting by the campfire, Griseo, who had been listening to everyone’s stories, suddenly yawned slowly, and a little crystal tear appeared in her big purple eyes.

"Are you sleepy?"

After noticing that the little girl next to her yawned, Yelena asked softly.

After this night’s interaction, Yelena was full of affection for Griseo, a cute and well-behaved little girl who wasn’t afraid of the cold. Her tone was no longer so cold.

Hearing Yelena's question, Griseo gently nodded and whispered, "A little... Usually by this time, Mother Aponia would have called me to bed."

While speaking, Griseo relaxed her body and leaned gently on Yelena's shoulder.

"Is Aponia your mother? By the way, why did you come here with Alina?"

Yelena grasped the key words and asked with a puzzled tone.

Like Tallulah before her, Yelena was very curious about the origin of this little girl who was so close to her.

Because whether it was her dress, temperament, or uniqueness, she didn’t seem like a child from an ordinary family, and there were no obvious racial features.

When Yelena asked, almost everyone around quietly pricked up their ears, intending to eavesdrop.

"Mother Aponia... Mother Aponia."

"Because I had nowhere to go, I followed Sister Alina here." After thinking for a while, Griseo explained seriously to Yelena.

"What about your mother, little Griseo? Uh... Of course, if it's not convenient to say, forget it."

Lois, sitting not far away, suddenly asked curiously. However, realizing the sensitivity of the question, she quickly added another sentence.

"I don't know where Mother Aponia is. I seemed to have slept for a long time, and when I woke up again... I was in the snow, and then I met Sister Alina..."

Griseo wasn’t offended by Lois's question. She just gently shook her head and explained.

"So that's it..."

Hearing this, Lois nodded gently. But just as she was about to say something...

"Okay, let's stop talking about this topic. It's getting late. I'll take you back." Yelena glanced at Griseo, who still had big, sparkling eyes, and interrupted.

"Indeed, it's getting late. It's time for good kids to go to bed."

"Yes, yes, Griseo shouldn't be like us adults. Children should go to bed early."

"See you tomorrow, cute little Griseo!"

"Well... okay then."

Listening to the advice of those around her, Griseo gently hugged Yelena's icy arm, burying her delicate face in it, and said sullenly.

Before she transmigrated, Griseo definitely wouldn’t go to bed so early, but this body had long been trained by Aponia to sleep at a fixed time, so she was already feeling sleepy.

Looking at the cute little girl clinging to her, Yelena gently smiled, touched Griseo's little head, and then gently picked her up.

"...?"

Griseo, whose little head was clouded by sleepiness, hadn’t expected to be picked up by Yelena.

However, Griseo didn’t struggle and just let Yelena carry her back. After all, it wasn’t shameful to stick together...

On the way back, Yelena bumped into Tallulah and Alina, who were out looking for Griseo. Although a bit reluctant, she returned Griseo to them.

---

Because there were no extra beds in the tent, Alina was worried about letting Griseo sleep with others. So tonight, the little girl slept with Alina.

Griseo didn’t mind this arrangement. Although she felt a bit uncomfortable, she didn’t want to trouble others...

After a simple wash with Alina, Griseo lay on the bed. This was the first bed she encountered in this world.

Lying on the bed, Griseo closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. But in fact, she was checking the system panel in her mind to see how much progress she had made in unlocking.

The system had disappeared after notifying her of the unlocking, so she had to check it herself.

Opening the character interface, Griseo saw Sakura, the only one among the Valkyries with unlocking progress. At this moment, Sakura's progress had reached 36%.

Satisfied with the progress, Griseo exited the panel and went to sleep for real. After experiencing so much today and with sleepiness surging, she fell asleep quickly.

Alina, who originally wanted to ask something, gave up the idea when she saw Griseo’s cute sleeping face. After blowing out the candle, she went to bed too.

Chapter 12: Uncle Tyrant

In the early morning, the thin sunlight slowly spread over the vast snowfield, adding a touch of light gold to the land.

"Hmm..."

In the tent, Alina, who had a good night's sleep, slowly opened her hazy blue eyes, and a little confusion appeared on her face. But when she turned her head slightly and saw the cute blue-haired little girl clinging to her, Alina woke up completely in an instant, recalling the various events of the previous day.

Looking at Griseo's cute sleeping face, Alina suddenly became a little absent-minded. She realized that since the arrival of this little girl, many things had changed dramatically, and she had learned a lot in advance.

"Mm...?"

Maybe because Alina's gaze was too intense, Griseo woke up after a while. She slowly rubbed her big eyes and then looked at Alina with confusion.

"Did I wake you up?"

Seeing the little cutie still in a daze, Alina's heart almost melted. She reached out and touched Griseo soothingly, speaking softly.

Griseo shook her little head gently and replied, "No... I woke up by myself."

Then, as if she hadn't woken up yet, she buried her little face in Alina's arms again.

"Hehe~"

Seeing Griseo's movements, Alina just stroked her back and smiled gently.

...

Finally, after lingering in bed for a while, Griseo got up obediently with Alina. They went out to have breakfast with everyone. Although the breakfast was simple and Griseo wasn't quite used to it, she still had a very happy meal, enjoying the smiling faces, the lively atmosphere, and the warm colors around her.

However, after breakfast, everyone quickly dispersed to complete their tasks. After all, they were all infected fighters with their own duties, usually only having time to gather and chat in the mornings and evenings.

Griseo noticed that everyone seemed busier today, with many people going out. She guessed it might be related to the infected who had retreated and left the team, and that Talulah must have issued some relevant orders.

Griseo still believed in Alina very much. She had made room for the two to chat for so long last night, which should be useful. However, Talulah's personality and cognitive problems could be slowly changed by Alina. But the problem of the Black Snake made Griseo feel a little tricky.

So far, she had no way to kill the Black Snake directly. If she could have, the snake hiding in the dark would have been dealt with long ago. Transforming into Aponia could do it, but Griseo didn’t know the unlocking conditions, so for now, she could only take it one step at a time.

In the tent—

"Little Griseo, are you sure you don't want to come with me? You could go and listen, maybe make some friends." Looking at Griseo, who was wearing a painter's hat and sitting in front of the easel, Alina softly persuaded.

"No need... Sister Alina, I'll just paint here. Don't worry, I won't run around." As she said this, Griseo raised the paintbrush in her hand and shook it gently at Alina. "Besides, Mr. Knight is with me..."

Almost as soon as Griseo said this, the tall blue knight instantly appeared beside her.

"...Since you don't want to go, then fine. However, even with Mr. Knight’s protection, Griseo should not run around." Looking at the tall knight in front of her, Alina was stunned for a moment and said helplessly.

"Yeah."

"See you later, little Griseo."

"Goodbye, Sister Alina..."

After watching Alina leave the tent, Griseo retracted her gaze and looked back at the blank canvas in front of her.

Other children might feel lonely without company, but for Griseo, this wasn’t a problem. Not to mention she had Mr. Knight and three other companions with her, and besides, as long as she had paper and a pen, she wouldn’t feel lonely.

Today, Griseo didn’t intend to paint for others. She planned to paint something for herself. Although "Griseo" had painted for herself before, that was the "Griseo" of the past, not the current one.

With an idea in mind, Griseo picked up the pen, dipped it in paint, and started her own creation.

---

"..."

At this moment, Griseo, having withdrawn from her painting state, was staring blankly at the huge figure behind her, deep in thought. She was also a little confused by the sudden situation.

Just as Griseo finished the last stroke of her new self-portrait, the frame suddenly twisted, and the colors on the canvas broke away. Then, a huge scarlet warrior with a crown and a long sword appeared behind her, standing silently.

Griseo stared blankly at her new friend behind her.

"Uncle Tyrant... Well, nice to meet you."

After another moment of silence, Griseo waved her little hand and greeted the bloody tyrant in front of her.

Unlike the knight who doted on Griseo, the tyrant just nodded proudly in response to her greeting without moving.

"Hmm..."

Looking at the arrogant tyrant in front of her, some doubts emerged in Griseo's big eyes.

She had thought that when she painted for herself, she might create some new friends. However, she never expected her self-portrait to give birth to a proud and sharp tyrant uncle. His personality was very different from Mr. Knight's, and even his colors were so opposite and conflicting.

After thinking for a while, Griseo could only attribute this change to her being a transmigrator, so her mentality wasn’t the same as the real "Griseo."

Chapter 13: I Am No Longer a Child

After observing the tall tyrant in front of her for a while, Griseo stood up from her stool, walked to his side, gently patted his arm, and said, "Uncle Tyrant... you can go back now."

But after Griseo spoke, the scarlet tyrant didn't disappear immediately. Instead, he stretched out his large, armored hand, patted the little girl's head gently, and then disappeared silently from the tent.

"Uncle Tyrant seems unexpectedly reliable."

Looking at the spot where the tyrant disappeared, Griseo tilted her head slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. Although the unexpected appearance of the tyrant had initially startled her, she soon accepted this new partner.

In Griseo's perception, the offensive power of this Uncle Tyrant was even stronger than that of the knight who always protected her. This scarlet tyrant lived up to his name and temperament. After sighing, Griseo sat back on her stool, picked up her paintbrush, and continued to doodle. She had promised Alina not to run around, and Griseo was a good child, but this time she painted just an ordinary picture.

...

"I'm back, little Griseo! Did you miss your sister?"

Near noon, the curtain of the tent was suddenly lifted, and a gentle voice with a smile came from outside.

"... Yes, I missed you, Sister Alina."

When Alina entered, Griseo had finished painting, so she responded immediately.

"Little Griseo is so well-behaved. It's all because your sister is busy and has no time to be with you."

Seeing Griseo sitting obediently in front of the easel, Alina's eyes flashed with helplessness and heartache. She felt guilty for bringing Griseo back but not having time to accompany her.

"Hmm...?"

For Alina’s sudden apology, a question mark slowly appeared on Griseo's little head.

"Sister Alina, don't worry about it. I've been happy and I met a new friend today."

Griseo jumped off the stool, walked over to Alina, stood on tiptoe, and gently patted her head to comfort her. Griseo genuinely didn’t mind being alone. She was happy if someone was with her, but if not, she wouldn't be sad because she understood everyone had their own duties.

Just like "Griseo" understood that Grandma Mobius and Sister Elysia were sometimes busy.

Moreover, in a sense, she wasn’t really a child. Considering her real age before she transmigrated plus the age of her current body, she might be older than everyone in the entire camp.

"Well... little Griseo, you are so cute. I will definitely try my best to make time to be with you."

Looking at Griseo, who tried to tiptoe and touch her head, Alina gently took the little girl into her arms and softly rubbed her little face.

"..."

Faced with Alina's affection, Griseo did not resist and just let her move quietly. Although Alina accompanied her, the comforting effect was achieved, wasn’t it?

"I just remembered something. Sister Alina, you haven't answered my question yet."

After a while, having escaped from Alina's clutches, Griseo seemed to remember something. She raised her head and looked at Alina with big eyes.

"What is it?"

"What did you see in the painting yesterday?"

As she spoke, Griseo's big violet eyes showed some curiosity. She had wanted to ask this question in the morning but didn’t because she saw Alina was busy.

"It was the future direction... the end for me, Yelena, and many others. But now, because I've met a little cutie like you, everything has changed. Thank you, little Griseo."

Alina gently touched her chin, thought for a moment, and said with a smile.

"Hmm..."

Griseo was a little surprised by Alina's words. Her cute little head had guessed many answers, but she didn’t expect it to be this comprehensive.

"Then... Sister Alina, how are you going to deal with that bad snake?"

"How do you know about this, Griseo? Do you know the effect of your painting?"

Hearing this, Alina's pupils shrank slightly, and she asked nervously. She already knew the original fate trajectory and didn’t want to involve Griseo, the little angel, in the Black Snake incident. It was too dangerous.

It wasn't unreasonable for Alina to be cautious, given how the original timeline linked many things together, step by step, causing Talulah to fall into the abyss. She suspected that her death might have been orchestrated by the Black Snake and didn’t want Griseo to be involved. Although the little cutie was protected by her Knight, there might be someone the Knight couldn’t defeat.

"What I saw in Talulah's eyes... a black snake with a fierce look. I really don't know what will happen if I draw a picture with everyone’s colors."

Griseo looked at the nervous Alina and explained slowly. Even if she didn’t know the so-called plot, she could still sense the existence of the black snake. It was too obvious. When they first met, Griseo saw it... saw the heavy black color behind Talulah besides the warm orange color and the black curse in her eyes.

"...Did you see it?"

Griseo's answer stunned Alina, who then couldn’t help but cover her face. After a moment of helplessness, she earnestly said, "Okay, don't get involved in this matter. Let your sister handle it."

"I'm not a child anymore, I can help everyone..."

Listening to Alina's advice, which sounded like coaxing a child, Griseo shook her head gently and continued, "Next, let me draw a picture for Talulah."

"Painting has magical power, I believe it will help Talulah."

Chapter 14: Patriot's Reminder

Finally, Griseo said she would do it, and she had been sticking to Talulah since lunch, wanting to capture Talulah's color.

Alina did not stop her but treated it with a supportive and watchful attitude.

She also wanted to know what effect Griseo's drawing would have on Talulah and whether it would change her best friend.

Then there was the conversation before lunch today. In addition to Griseo learning what she wanted to know, Alina also asked and learned many things.

For example, Alina now knows Griseo's white paper characteristics and understands that she did not imitate her intentionally at the beginning, but because she spent a long time with her, she got her own color.

...

After Griseo's efforts, she finally captured Talulah's color. After getting the color, she went to the tent without saying a word.

Alina, who had been paying attention to Griseo, followed her silently and walked towards the tent after seeing the change in the little girl's temperament. Talulah was left standing there alone, looking at the two people's backs with a puzzled look on her face.

After entering the tent, Griseo couldn't wait to sit on the small stool in front of the easel and then began to mix colors on the paint tray while muttering.

"If justice requires more violence to be upheld, how can it be called justice?"

"..."

Griseo's muttering happened to be heard by Alina, who had entered the tent. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart that her little cutie was really good at learning...

After the muttering ended, Griseo mixed the colors and officially put the first stroke on the canvas. At the same time, she was completely immersed in the painting, ignoring the outside world.

————————————

"Alas, little Griseo didn't come today, and she didn't stick to Big Sister anymore, but went to pester Talulah."

Sitting by the bonfire stone, Lois looked at the bonfire not far away, which was empty but had originally had Talulah and Griseo, and said boredly.

"It's normal for a child. If you have a chance later, you can exchange some fruits and vegetables, and then coax little Griseo over."

"I agree, after all, it's not easy to meet a little guy who can get close to Big Sister without getting hurt."

Just when the topic was brought up and the Yeti Squadron were talking about this and that, Wendigo, who had been silent all the time, slowly raised his head.

"When you... come into contact with... that... child, pay more... attention... a little bit." A hoarse voice sounded from Patriot's mouth, and he said word by word, stuttering a little.

"Hmm? What happened to little Griseo?"

"Yes, Pops, why should we pay attention to a little kid?"

Hearing their Daddy's words, all the Yeti Squadron in the scene cast curious eyes over, waiting for the next words.

Even Yelena was the same. Although she had also noticed the specialness of Griseo, she still wanted to hear what her father had noticed.

"She...is not...an infected person, and...her origin is unknown. And...she gives me...an unusual feeling."

"Last...night, she...didn't...play a...playful...act...on me. Her...aura...changed, and I...felt...threatened."

In front of the Yeti Squadron, Patriot explained what he saw last night.

As a soldier, he always believed in his intuition. He was sure that he felt the same aura from the little guy last night, but it was much more dangerous than himself. However, because Griseo is too innocent under normal circumstances, and his daughter likes her very much... In addition, the dangerous aura on her body dissipated quickly last night, so he did nothing.

If Griseo had made any unusual movements last night, Patriot might have taken action and eliminated this unstable factor.

"What! Did the big dad feel threatened?!"

"So cute, isn't it just a simple imitation?"

"Could this be the originium arts of little Griseo?"

"Wait, isn't the point that this little guy is not infected? I didn't even notice it!"

After hearing what Patriot said, the Yeti Squadron went crazy and started to discuss it.

However, Yelena was not so surprised, because she had been sitting next to her and noticed the change in Griseo's aura last night.

"And... I... suspect... that she... deliberately... pestered... Talulah today..."

"Because... she... also... imitated... Talulah."

After looking at the Yeti Squadron who were in a tizzy, Patriot continued to add.

You know, after discovering the abnormality of Griseo yesterday, Patriot would quietly observe this little girl if there was a chance... to see if she was a threat to the Reunion Movement.

In addition, Griseo did not hide it at all when she took action at noon today. Therefore, the process of her being infected with Talulah's color was directly seen by Patriot.

However, the reason he did not warn or take action this time was... because of Alina.

While paying attention to Griseo, Patriot also took Alina's behavior into his eyes. He found that the deer seemed to have discovered the abnormality of the little girl, and might even know something.

"Oh, so that's why little Griseo didn't come to play with elder sister at noon? It turns out that she was imitating Talulah."

"So what is the ability of this little guy? Can she get the power of a person by imitating a person? If so, it's too strong!"

"I also found something wrong with that, and I always feel that Alina seems to know something. She just left with that little guy."

"If you ask me, if little Griseo wants to imitate someone, she should imitate our elder sister."

"I also think that our elder sister is very strong!"

After being told by Patriot, many Yeti Squadron remembered some details of lunch.

Some people talked about the matter, and some people who were usually more jumpy began to "stand up for FrostNova."

"Anyway, you... pay attention... for a while. If there is anything... abnormal... remember... to tell... me... about it. I will go... to Talulah... and talk... with them later."

Looking at the children in front of him, Patriot's scarlet eyes flashed with some helplessness, and then he reminded them again with his hoarse words.

"Okay, we'll remember it, Daddy."

"We'll tell you if there's any problem."

Yelena, who had been silent, nodded gently.

Chapter 15: Are You Sick?

Although the afternoon sun was very bright, it did not add even a trace of warmth to the cold snowfield. The cold wind blew the snowflakes on the ground and poured into the tent through the unclosed door curtain.

"..."

Enjoying the chill brought by the cold wind, Griseo raised her hand and dipped the paintbrush into the color on the palette, adding a touch of warm color to the depressing painting in front of her.

With her last stroke, the painting drawn with Talulah's color was officially completed.

Then Griseo withdrew from the painting state and looked at the painting in front of her.

In the picture, a red baby dragon lay on the snow, entangled by an illusory black snake. The eyes of the baby dragon revealed numbness, despair, and unconcealable hatred. The white snow beside the young dragon was also stained with large patches of scarlet. At the same time, an orange bloodstained armband of the Reunion Movement fell from the sky...

All of this fell into the black snake's vertical pupils full of joy, quietly appreciated and tasted.

"..."

For some reason, Griseo always felt that the painting she drew this time might not be so ordinary... but it was not to the point where strange things were materialized.

This made her hesitate whether to give this painting to Talulah...

After struggling for a while, Griseo decided to give it. After all, with her watching, there shouldn't be too much trouble.

Thinking of this, she picked up the canvas and temporarily covered the painting.

Then, Griseo seemed to remember something and summoned the system panel to look through it carefully.

Although the interface of this system looked very similar to the game, it did not have as many Battlesuits as in the game.

Except for a few special characters, the rest of the characters only need to be unlocked once, and when they are unlocked, they are at the peak of their strength.

Through more than a day of exploration, Griseo found that the character she transformed into had no framework restrictions in the use of power, and her strength could continue to grow.

After all, she had created the Uncle Tyrant who had never appeared in the game plot this morning...

However, now Griseo could only stare at the system panel characters with envy. After all, except for Sakura, she didn't know how to unlock other characters.

And if she unlocked a Valkyrie related to the spirit, she wouldn't need to be so cautious, she'll annihilate the black snake directly.

Thinking of this, Griseo's eyes helplessly swept over Aponia, and then slowly continued to turn back... but when the face of the next character appeared in her big eyes, in the little loli's mind, the sound effect automatically sounded...

[Huh? Hey! You! What! Me! Hey! Hum!]

[You are sick! No, you two are sick! ......]

[I will reverse all creation!]

"So scary..."

Instantly, Griseo recalled the fear of being dominated by the great Herrscher of Sentience before she crossed over.

......

After a long while, when the sound effects in her mind finally faded, Griseo looked back at the interface of the Herrscher of Knowledge and then subconsciously thought about who on this continent had better compatibility with Sentience.

Then, the next moment, the face of an American... Sarkaz girl appeared in the little loli's mind.

"..."

At this moment, Griseo was completely silent.

But she had to admit that W was indeed the person nearby to her now, and she looked a little compatible with Senti.

However, sticking to her... Just thinking about it made Griseo's petite body tremble. What kind of hell difficulty is this... She will definitely be humiliated to death.

You know, W is not like Senti, who can't find a few swear words after searching all of Fu Hua's memories. W's stored vocabulary is definitely rich enough...

But, Senti is really strong and can also get rid of the black snake... Woo!

"I'm back!"

Just when Griseo was struggling and her CPU was about to burn out, Alina, who had been out for something, came back.

"What's wrong? Why is little Griseo so struggling?"

Alina walked into the tent and looked at Griseo with her big eyes full of struggle and asked in confusion.

"No... nothing, I just thought about something. And... the painting is already done." Looking at the confused person in front of her, Griseo first shook her head gently and then changed the subject.

She didn't want Alina to know that she had just been struggling with whether to approach W... This kind of thing is really hard to explain.

"Very fast, little Griseo is really amazing."

Although she knew that the little guy in front of her was trying to change the subject, Alina cooperated very well. She gently touched Griseo's little head and praised her generously.

In Alina's opinion, it is normal for children to have secrets that they don't want to tell others. Therefore, if Griseo didn't tell her, she wouldn't ask.

"But... it's better to wait until Talulah is free at night before showing it to her, because I don't know what will happen... Alina shouldn't see the painting this time."

Griseo tugged at the canvas again, covering the already covered painting more tightly.

"Okay~I know."

Hearing this, Alina nodded first, and then said in a gentle tone: "Okay, little Griseo has stayed in the tent for another afternoon, let's go out for a walk now. I see that you like Yelena very much, she has come back from outside now."

"Yeah."

After agreeing again, Griseo put away all the paintings and painting tools she had just used, and then followed Alina out.

Griseo felt that she really should go out to relax; otherwise, it would be easy to have wild thoughts if she was always stayed idle in one place...

Sure enough, she should get in touch with Yelena more, build a good relationship, and then protect her! Unlock a character by the way.

Speaking of which, Griseo hadn't thought about how to use the identity of Sakura...

But no matter what, having one more identity is also an extra trump card, not to mention that Setsuna Sakura's strength is not weak.

...

The sky on the snowfield soon darkened, and it was soon dinner time, and everyone gathered at the campfire again.

Tonight, Griseo, Yelena, and the Yeti Squadron sat in front of a campfire, and Patriot sat on their side because he had something to discuss with Talulah and the others.

And today's dinner was still not very good, but just like before, Griseo didn't care about this kind of thing.

But some other things did make her a little concerned...

Chapter 16: This Is Because Kosma Said He Prefers This Way

"......?"

What made Griseo very concerned tonight was that although Yelena's way of treating her and her eyes had not changed, the Yeti Squadron sometimes looked at her in a very strange way.

As for why she used the word strange to describe it...

Because Griseo always felt that the Yeti Squadron seemed to be curious about something... I can't say that all of them, but most of them looked at her with more or less curiosity.

However, she was not the kind of person who kept her questions to herself.

After dinner, Griseo gently pulled the corner of Yelena's clothes, then looked at her with her big eyes and asked, "Sister Yelena, do you have any questions for me?"

"...Little Griseo, why do you ask this?"

After hearing Griseo's question, Yelena was slightly stunned, and it was obvious that she had not yet reacted.

"Well... the Yeti Squadron were very curious when they looked at me tonight, as if they had something to ask me." As she said that, Griseo raised her head and looked at the Yeti Squadron sitting by the campfire.

Because Yelena was not the observer, and the Yeti Squadron were all wearing thick clothes, she only noticed the curiosity in her team members' eyes when they looked at Griseo.

For a moment, facing Griseo's innocent and puzzled eyes, Yelena, as the leader of the Yeti Squadron, couldn't help twitching her mouth...

"Ahem... It's nothing, you don't need to care about them. They just have nothing to do and don't train enough..."

"Yes, big sister is right, we are just a little too idle."

"That's right, it's too idle, and little Griseo you are so cute, we can't help but want to take a few more glances."

"So that's it..."

Griseo nodded her head gently, indicating that she understood. Then she carefully rubbed Yelena's arms and silently acted like a spoiled child.

Although she was still a little curious about what the Yeti Squadron were curious about, since Yelena didn't want to say it, Griseo didn't intend to pester her and ask.

"Hmm... I have always had a question." Seeing the little girl nestling in Yelena's arms and acting coquettish, Lois finally slowly asked a question. After saying this, the Yeti Squadron, who had just barely put their minds at ease, instantly raised their hearts again. They were afraid that Lois would reveal the reason for their curiosity.

"Hmm? What's the question..." Griseo, who thought that she would not hear anything from the Yeti Squadron tonight, slowly raised her head from Yelena's arms, blinked her big violet eyes, and asked curiously.

"That is, although little Griseo is not afraid of the cold, why do you always go barefoot? Aren't you afraid of hurting your feet?" As she said this, Lois also glanced at Griseo's white bare feet that were very obvious when she stepped on the ground.

"... You said this, because Kosma said that he prefers it this way." Griseo didn't expect Lois to ask this question, but she still answered truthfully.

"Wait, who is Kosma? Did he tell you not to wear shoes?"

"??? What did I hear!"

"Outrageous, why should little Griseo listen to him!"

Obviously, Griseo's truthful answer was like a drop of water splashing into a frying pan, and the surrounding Yeti Squadron exploded directly.

Even Yelena, who was holding the little loli, tightened her hands...

"Kosma is Kosma, he is my family, but... I can't find him now." At this point, Griseo lowered her little head, and her expression became a little lost.

Both the transmigrator and the original "Griseo" knew very well that in the Honkai world... Kosma was already dead.

"It doesn't matter, we are here to accompany you..." Looking down at the lost little loli in her arms, Yelena reached out and gently patted her back to comfort her.

"Yes, yes, don't be sad. We are here to accompany you~"

"If I had known, I wouldn't have asked. You are so nosy!"

"And who is Kosma? I'm so jealous... annoying!"

"Well... I'm fine."

Listening to the sounds of fighting and looking at the warm yellow color all around... Griseo, who was a little disappointed, quickly recovered.

...

Another bonfire

"I... came here today to... know... something."

Looking at Tallulah and Alina sitting opposite him across the bonfire, Patriot lowered his voice and spoke.

His words were still so hoarse and stuttering, but there was nothing he could do about it. The mineral disease was getting worse and had damaged his vocal cords...

"What's the matter? Tell me."

Tallulah had long known Patriot's intention, so she was not surprised by his sudden opening. "That... girl, what is... her... origin? She... can imitate... us... and that... is not... a poor... imitation. I feel... danger, so... please give me... a reasonable... explanation."

Without any hesitation, Patriot asked the question he had been wondering about. Of course, he also controlled his volume so that no one else could hear.

"Let me tell you about this. After all, I brought the child back. Tallulah, come listen as well." In response to Patriot's question, Alina spoke before Tallulah could.

After Alina spoke, Tallulah and Patriot looked at her, waiting for her next words.

"First of all, I don't know where little Griseo came from. In this regard, the little girl is very mysterious. Even until now, I haven't been able to figure out her race."

"However, I know what the imitation you just mentioned is."

At this point, Alina thought for a while, and then continued, "That is indeed not a poor imitation. If you want to make a metaphor, it is probably that Griseo is a completely blank sheet of paper."

"Once she spends a long time with a person, she will be stained with the color of that person. However, this situation generally does not last too long. As long as you keep a distance and let her stay alone, she will recover quickly."

"So... that's... the case."

"But this... power... and mysterious origin, this... child... how do you plan to... deal with it? You know... she is not... infected..."

After listening to Alina's narration, Patriot raised the core issue of this incident with a serious expression and pointed out the key issue of this incident.

.

Chapter 17: Urgency and Change

Tonight was similar to yesterday for Griseo. After dinner, she stayed in Yelena's arms, listening to the Yeti Squadron tell stories.

During this time, the little girl absorbed Yelena's essence due to their close contact, but it didn't last long before she withdrew.

However, Griseo remembered the essence. She plans to find time later to draw a picture with this essence and give it to Yelena as a gift.

"Hmm..."

Suddenly thinking of something, Griseo snuggled into Yelena's arms again, trying to transfer as much of her body heat as possible to warm herself.

"What's wrong?"

Yelena looked down at the little girl who nestled into her arms again and asked softly.

"Sister Yelena's body... and everyone... Griseo can also fight. I want to protect you."

Hearing Yelena's gentle voice, Griseo's little hair trembled, and after a moment, she raised her head, her eyes full of seriousness.

Although Griseo didn't know what the Yeti Squadron did today, she noticed that the person in front of her seemed to be weaker than yesterday after a long time of contact with Yelena's body...

This made Griseo think wildly. In the end, she came up with the most reasonable explanation in her opinion.

She guessed that the Yeti Squadron had encountered some enemy today, and Yelena had taken action, using her arts, which worsened her Oripathy, resulting in her weakness.

This guess made Griseo's previously happy mood, buoyed by the comfort of the Yeti Squadron and the warm yellow surroundings, depressed again.

A feeling of powerlessness surged in her heart. At this moment, Griseo realized in a real sense... This continent is ruthless, and it especially targets those with white hair.

And, for the first time, she felt the urgency of time...

Even if "Griseo" is not ranked high among the Flamechasers, she is still very strong for the people in this world. However, this power is useless now...

Because with all her strength, she still cannot save the people she wants to protect from Oripathy...

"..."

After hearing Griseo's sudden words, Yelena and the surrounding Yeti Squadron were slightly stunned. The atmosphere in the area instantly became quiet.

"I didn't expect you to notice it... But don't worry, sister is fine." After reacting, Yelena stretched out her hand and gently stroked Griseo's little head, comforting her.

After discovering Griseo's special abilities, Yelena no longer regarded her as an ordinary child. So, when this little girl noticed her weakness, she was not very surprised.

But even if she was not ordinary, she thought she was not weak enough to need protection from a child.

"Hahaha, we appreciate little Griseo's kindness, but the brothers and sisters haven't fallen yet. How can we let a child like you stand in front of us?"

"Yes, yes, little Griseo doesn't need to worry, we are still in good health!"

"That's right, we can continue to fight for a long time. We will also protect eldest sister, after all, she is the princess of our Yeti Squadron!"

...

"..."

Listening to the reassurances around her and looking at the warm atmosphere and the warm yellow glow, this time, Griseo was not happy at all.

She knew that the group around her were big liars who deceived children... They only said things that they couldn't fulfill.

But...

It is precisely because of this that Griseo wanted to make these words come true, one by one...

——————————————

After discussing with Patriot on Tallulah's side, Alina came over to pick up Griseo.

Although the conversation with Patriot made the deer feel a little complicated, she did not forget another task for tonight.

However, when receiving Griseo, the observant Alina keenly noticed the little girl's unhappiness but did not ask immediately.

Until they left the crowded place and were about to return to the tent, Alina asked, "What's wrong? You look so unhappy tonight."

"I was just thinking about how to protect everyone..."

Griseo raised her little head and answered Alina's question calmly.

"Huh? Why did little Griseo suddenly think of this?"

Obviously, Alina was somewhat surprised after hearing this answer.

"...Because I'm not a child anymore."

After a moment of silence, Griseo finally did not reveal the real reason. She knew that explaining it wouldn't help and might only worry others.

At this moment, Griseo was more eager than ever to unlock new characters. If she had been relaxed about it before, now, after seeing Yelena's poor physical condition, she felt truly anxious!

Although she knew that everyone in the Reunion movement was infected, she never thought it would be so fast!

It was so fast that Griseo seemed to see the Grim Reaper holding a scythe to everyone's neck, waiting for their death...

So now, the order of the characters that Griseo wanted to transform into has also changed. The first one became Mobius, and Senti and Aponia had to be put on the back burner...

After all, no matter how you look at it, saving lives is more important than dealing with a black snake.

"Is that so... If you want to protect your sisters, Griseo should grow up quickly."

Listening to Griseo's childish speech, Alina did not realize that there was anything wrong, but just rubbed her head helplessly again.

"Yeah."

Hearing this, Griseo nodded her little head gently.

However, even if she nodded in agreement, Griseo knew very well that it was impossible for her body to grow up. From the moment she became a MANTIS, her body was already at its peak.

"So don't think too much, children should smile more."

...

Not long after the two returned to the tent, Talulah also rushed over from outside.

"So, Alina, is there anything else you asked me to do?" Looking at the big and small in front of her, Talulah asked with some confusion.

Before Alina could speak, Griseo looked at Talulah with big eyes and said: "It's not that sister Alina has something to do, but I..."

"I drew a picture with your colors, Talulah, and want to give it to you..."

After the voice fell, Griseo took out the painting that was covered by the canvas from the system space.

When the painting was taken out, she turned her eyes to Alina beside her.

Alina understood Griseo's meaning instantly, nodded slightly, and walked out of the tent, leaving the two alone.

"?"

Talulah, who didn't quite understand why Alina left, looked at the little girl in front of her with a puzzled look, wanting an answer.

"Open it, Talulah."

Chapter 18: Little Griseo, Do You Want to Leave Here?

"Open it for... Talulah to see."

Without rushing to answer Talulah's doubts, Griseo first handed the painting in her hand to her.

"Okay, thank you."

Although still a bit confused, Talulah took the painting from Griseo and thanked her.

"The reason I asked Sister Alina to go out just now was because I was afraid this painting would affect her."

After Talulah took the painting, Griseo slowly explained.

"So, this is the magical painting that Alina mentioned?"

After listening to the little girl's explanation, Talulah suddenly remembered the information Alina had revealed to her and Patriot earlier that night.

"..."

Griseo just nodded lightly and then continued to watch Talulah's actions in silence. She wasn't surprised at all that Alina had told others about her abilities and characteristics; she didn't mind.

In fact, if she had cared, Griseo wouldn't have told anyone in the first place. Since she had shared it, it meant she didn't mind it spreading.

Then, under Griseo's serious gaze, Talulah completely uncovered the canvas and took in the painting below.

"...It is indeed a very good painting, and the painting skills are impeccable. But...I feel like you're hinting at something strongly. Besides, nothing happened."

After observing it carefully, Talulah raised her eyebrows slightly and gave her evaluation.

"So, did Alina tell you about his existence?"

After a simple evaluation, Talulah fixed her eyes on the black snake in the painting, pointed gently, and then looked at Griseo and asked.

"...?"

Griseo tilted her head slightly, and a strong doubt flashed across her purple eyes as she looked at Talulah.

At this moment, she wasn't puzzled by Talulah's question but by why nothing had happened.

'How did nothing happen? No... I need to see...'

"You little one, why are you still looking at me with such a puzzled look?" Seeing Griseo's cute expression, Talulah slowly leaned down, pinched her delicate little face, and spoke helplessly.

Although Talulah felt a bit of resentment towards Alina for revealing her secret to such a young child, she couldn't bring herself to blame the adorable girl in front of her.

"Well...really...so strange..."

Griseo, her face pinched, spoke incoherently.

"What's so strange? Speaking of which, can we call Alina in? We still have something to tell you." After kneading Griseo's little face again, Talulah let go and spoke helplessly.

After gently massaging her little face, now a bit red from being pinched, Griseo said, "Put the painting away, and then you can call Sister Alina in."

Although she didn't know why the painting had no effect, Griseo still planned to be cautious... after all, she trusted her intuition when painting.

"Well, then go and call Alina in, I'll put the painting away."

Although Talulah began to doubt the truth of the matter since she couldn't witness the "magic of the painting" firsthand, she still listened to Griseo's words, covered the work in her hand, and then carefully put it aside for the time being.

For Talulah, regardless of the truth, the painting was a gift. Since it was a gift, it should be treated well.

——————————————

"Sister Alina, Talulah called you in..."

Griseo lifted the tent's curtain and walked outside, seeing Alina waiting nearby.

"So soon? What happened?"

After Griseo called out, Alina turned around and asked with some confusion.

"Nothing happened, but my paintings usually don't lose their effects... It's strange, how can I draw the world?"

Facing Alina's question, Griseo shook her head gently, her big eyes filled with doubt.

"You mean Talulah saw the painting, but nothing happened?" Alina summarized Griseo's words.

"Well... But it is not ruled out that something happened, but I didn't see it." Griseo nodded, then added as if she remembered something.

"So, can I sleep with Talulah tonight?"

"You have to ask Talulah. Well, since there's nothing urgent, let's go in quickly." Alina reached out and gently touched Griseo's head.

...

After following Alina back into the tent, Griseo wondered what they had to say to her.

However, the two sat together, exchanged glances for a long time, but neither spoke first.

"Ah~"

Time passed, and soon it was close to bedtime. Griseo yawned slowly, little crystals appearing in the corners of her eyes.

At this moment, Alina seemed to make up her mind and suddenly said, "Little Griseo... do you want to leave here and return to normal life?"

"!"

Hearing Alina's sudden words, Griseo's sleepiness vanished. She raised her head and looked at the two people sitting nearby with her big violet eyes, and asked, "Sister Alina, you don't want me..."

"No... No, how could I not want little Griseo."

Being looked at by Griseo's big eyes, Alina felt guilty and quickly stood up to explain.

Seeing her flustered, Talulah took over the conversation and explained, "No, it's not that we don't want you anymore."

"It's just that Patriot talked to us tonight. We think what he said makes sense. After all, you are not infected, and it may be unsafe to stay in the infected camp."

"And the nature of our organization leads to an uncertain life. So we want to ask for your opinion."

After Talulah finished speaking, she and Alina looked at Griseo quietly, waiting for her answer.

"I... won't leave here."

Chapter 19: Awakening

"I... won't leave here."

Looking at the two people waiting for her answer, Griseo shook her head gently, her eyes full of seriousness.

"But you will live better in a normal family. You can live a normal life, without starving, and you won't encounter danger." Although she heard Griseo's answer, Talulah still tried to persuade her, albeit with some hesitation.

Talulah didn't actually dislike the little girl who had only been there for two days; she even liked her quite a lot. After all, who doesn't like a cute and well-behaved child?

But it was precisely because of her affection and understanding of the dangers they would soon face that she was now shaken and had the idea of sending Griseo to a safe place.

"Well... little Griseo, can you tell your sister the reason?"

Looking at Griseo's serious expression, Alina slowly got up, walked to her side, and asked in a gentle tone.

Alina felt even more reluctant than Talulah to let Griseo go, but she couldn't deny that what the Patriot had said was indeed reasonable.

"Because Griseo doesn't want to leave you... I will be very good," Griseo said seriously, looking at the gentle Alina beside her.

At moments like this, Griseo would hate her body for looking too young. It made her words completely unconvincing... everyone just treated her like a child.

"Is that so..." Hearing this, Alina reached out and gently touched Griseo's little head, then looked at Talulah beside her.

As Alina looked at Talulah, Griseo also followed her gaze, staring at her with big eyes full of expectation.

"Alas... If that's the case, if you don't want to leave, stay here for now. I remember you seem to have a knight who can protect you in the camp. We'll discuss the rest when you grow up."

Looking at the expectation in Griseo's big eyes, Talulah sighed helplessly and then said softly, "As for Patriot, I'll convince them."

"... Talulah is great."

As Talulah finished speaking, the expectation in Griseo's eyes instantly turned into joy, and she cheered in a calm tone.

With Griseo's strength, even without Talulah's permission, she could still follow the Reunion Movement steadily. But being part of the group legitimately made a big difference.

In terms of danger, Griseo actually felt she was much more dangerous than the infected in many ways...

"This name again, you little rascal, why don't you even want to call me sister?"

Looking at Griseo's happy eyes, Talulah couldn't help but reach out and knead her little face again.

"Um... Talulah sister." After listening to Talulah's words, Griseo thought for a while, then changed the name.

"You... forget it, at least you called me sister."

Griseo's changed but not fully changed name made Talulah even more helpless. However, the smile on her face revealed that she was in a good mood.

"So... can I sleep with Sister Talulah tonight?" As if noticing Talulah's good mood, Griseo asked what she had been thinking about since just now.

She had not forgotten that Talulah looked at the painting but was completely fine.

To prevent any delayed effect, Griseo still planned to stay with Talulah at night and observe carefully.

"Huh? Why do you suddenly want to sleep with me? Don't you like to stick to Alina?" Hearing this, Talulah let go of Griseo's little face and asked curiously.

"The painting... is very strange. I want to take another look. So I want to be with Sister Talulah tonight."

Griseo didn't hide her thoughts and told the truth directly.

"So it's because of this, no problem."

Although Talulah had never seen the power of the painting and did not find any abnormality in her body, she did not completely disbelieve Alina's talk about the "magic of the painting."

However, not believing completely is one thing, and satisfying the little girl's wish is another.

"..."

After Talulah agreed, Griseo looked at Alina beside her again, asking silently.

"Hehe~" Alina nodded with a chuckle and then teased, "Go ahead, Talulah will be taken care of by little Griseo tonight~"

"Yes, I will." The little girl nodded obediently.

"What? It's obviously me who takes care of Griseo!" Hearing her best friend's teasing, Talulah laughed and argued, "And you, little rascal, actually nodded!"

"Hehe~"

"Alina, you're still laughing!"

...

Finally, after that conversation, Griseo was allowed to stay, and tonight she followed Talulah to her tent smoothly.

Dark night

"Okay, go to bed early. I saw you yawn earlier," Talulah stood in front of her bed, reached out, and touched Griseo's little head.

"Well, what about Sister Talulah?"

"I still have to look at some things, and I'll go to bed later," Talulah said, pointing to the table not far away.

Hearing this, Griseo could only nod helplessly and then said softly, "Okay... Sister Talulah, remember to rest early."

As the leader of the Reunion Movement, Talulah naturally had a lot of things to deal with. But in this regard, Griseo couldn't help at all.

However, she planned to find a time to show her strength in front of Talulah.

Because Griseo no longer wanted to be protected as a child, she wanted to protect others, and she could obviously fight and was very strong.

Of course, Griseo also made double preparations to participate in the action. If after showing her power, Talulah and the others still didn't let her join...

Griseo planned to change her identity to intervene...

Tonight, she stayed in Yelena's arms longer than yesterday, and the unlocking progress of [Setsuna] Sakura reached 75% at once.

If nothing unexpected happened, it would take only one more time for Griseo to unlock a new identity. At that time, she could just take Sakura and return to her old job.

"..."

Thinking about it, Griseo, who was lying on the bed, gradually felt sleepy, and finally fell asleep.

In the whole tent, except for Griseo's steady breathing, there was only the rustling sound of Talulah writing something.

...

But, she didn't know how long it took...

"!"

### Chapter 20: The Matter of Plucking the Black Snake's Scales

"!"

Griseo, who was lying on the bed and dreaming, suddenly felt an unsettling presence and was abruptly awakened. She opened her violet eyes, still a little groggy, and rubbed them before slowly sitting up to observe her surroundings.

It was then that Griseo noticed there was no one around her. Talulah, who should have been asleep, was lying on the table under dim candlelight, seemingly unconscious.

However, Griseo did not believe that Talulah was merely sleeping. Others might not notice the abnormality, but she could see it clearly. In her eyes, the draco lying on the table was surrounded by a light and illusory black mist, which was still agitated.

Griseo knew what this black mist was without having to guess. As for why this situation suddenly occurred, she thought it must be her painting that played a role. Just as she was about to get out of bed to do something, an unexpected sound suddenly rang out.

*[Ding, "Ourobouros" Mobius is unlocking, unlocking progress is 1%.]*

"!"

"???"

After hearing the voice in her mind clearly, Griseo froze in her action of getting out of bed. Although there was no expression on her little face, her eyes were full of astonishment and confusion.

Her little head, still foggy from the abrupt awakening, was stunned by this direct impact...

"..."

"!"

After a while, Griseo finally reacted and then pinched her face. Feeling a bit of pain, she confirmed that she was not dreaming.

She quickly summoned the panel and turned to Mobius.

As expected, Mobius, which previously did not show the specific unlocking method, now had it marked.

【“Infinity” Mobius】

*【Unlocking method: Collect nightmare value of Deathless Black Snake (Kashchey)】*

*【Current unlocking progress: 2%】*

Seeing the unlocking method for the first time, Griseo was so happy that she almost wanted to jump up and cheer, but her reserved nature restrained her.

This felt like someone gave her a pillow just when she was sleepy—a big win.

At that moment, Griseo finally realized what was going on tonight.

To verify her thoughts, she quickly jumped off the bed and walked towards Talulah step by step.

After arriving beside the draco, Griseo first took a deep look at the still restless black mist. Then she gently pushed Talulah's shoulder and whispered, "Sister Talulah...get up."

"..."

However, Talulah did not react to Griseo's shaking and calling, as if she had fainted.

At this moment, Griseo was completely sure of what was going on. Tonight, her painting had not only taken effect but was very effective, though the effect had been slightly delayed.

As for why she said that, it was because Griseo had just discovered through contact that the magic of the painting had not only affected Talulah but also the snake that resided within her.

Now, if nothing unexpected happened, the Black Snake should have seen the thing it feared most in its heart... As for what that was, Griseo did not know.

Of course, Griseo didn't know what Talulah saw or what she was experiencing.

"Mr. Knight... Please help carry Talulah to the bed."

Griseo slowly withdrew her hand from Talulah's shoulder and softly called her loyal knight.

The blue knight responded to the call of his princess at the fastest speed, appearing beside Griseo almost instantly.

Then, he gently and gentlemanly picked up Talulah and carried her to the bed.

Griseo, watching the knight's movements, was deep in thought.

Since she now knew how to unlock Mobius, she was determined to catch Kashchey and pull out his scales until Mobius was fully unlocked.

However, Griseo knew that Kashchey was no fool. This kind of accident would only happen once at most. If it happened again, he would probably run away and possess someone else.

At that time, it would not be so easy to catch the Black Snake and pull out its scales again.

So, Griseo had to take advantage of the Black Snake's current vulnerability and come up with a foolproof plan to extract its scales...

Even if she accidentally have to let the Black Snake go in the end, she had to wait until Mobius was completely unlocked.

"Hmm..."

After thinking for a while, Griseo couldn't come up with a good plan.

It was easy to keep the Black Snake—just draw a picture now and seal him in it—but it was difficult to keep him afraid, as the "dream" would end sooner or later.

"Ah..."

As Griseo was standing there pondering, Mr. Knight moved to her side without her noticing, picked her up, and placed her on the bed, gently covering her with a quilt.

"Well... Thank you, Mr. Knight."

Feeling the warmth of the quilt, Griseo squinted comfortably and thanked Mr. Knight politely.

...

"..."

After more thought, Griseo still couldn't think of a good plan, so she decided to use the simplest method to get the character value from the Black Snake.

This method was to extend the Black Snake's current fearful state until she collected enough character value.

The extension method was simple: draw a picture with the color of the Deathless Black Snake and send it to Talulah.

"Mr. Knight..."

Just as Griseo was about to call Mr. Knight to tell him what she needed, he had already started to move and set up the easel.

"......Amazing."

After marveling at Mr. Knight, Griseo left the warm bed again and sat on her small stool.

Not knowing when the Black Snake would emerge from this state, she took out her special weapon, [Elysian Astra], to assist in her painting.

She planned to prepare two paintings this time: one to prolong the effect of the dream on the Black Snake and the other to seal Kashchey in Talulah to prevent his escape...

Chapter 21: Good morning... Talulah

After coming up with the idea, Griseo dipped her brush in the color of the Black Snake and began to paint.

Why not dye herself with the color of the Black Snake to finish faster, you ask?

Don't even think about it. Griseo would never allow herself to be dyed with that dark, abnormal color. What if it turns her bad?

So, to progress in unlocking the Ourobouros, the little Lolita stayed up late, working diligently.

---

In Kashchey's Dream...

"How could this be possible..."

Kashchey, who had just lost the game, was listening to his subordinates report the news in shock, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Ursus... How could it be destroyed by a group of rabble! This is impossible!"

"Bang—"

At that moment, the door of the mansion was kicked open from the outside, and as the door opened, scorching flames swept in with terrifying temperatures.

"Nothing is impossible, Kashchey... It's time for us to have an ending."

As she spoke, Talulah walked in through the door. Each step she took melted the ground a little...

"End? Hahaha, you can't kill me, Talulah... my good daughter."

Initially, Kashchey was in disbelief, but upon seeing Talulah, he relaxed and laughed.

"I may have lost this game, but if you can't kill me, I still have a chance to make a comeback!"

"Really?"

Hearing Kashchey's words, the mature dragon girl's expression remained unchanged. She simply tightened her grip on the sword in her hand and stared at her prey with sharp eyes.

The next moment, a terrifying flame erupted, like a red dragon on the hunt, fierce and hot.

"It's just a body... What! Ahhhh!"

Facing Talulah's most terrifying flame, Kashchey did not show any tension... until he was engulfed by the flames. Both his body and will were burned in intense pain, eventually turning into a pile of dirty ashes.

...

"...What just happened?"

Kashchey came back to his senses, standing in his mansion, recalling his recent disorientation.

...

"How could it be... How could the powerful Ursus be split... How dare these ants!"

...

"I will come back again, snakes cannot be killed... Ah, how is it possible! Ah, ah, ah!"

...

"What just happened?"

---

"Ah~"

After yawning, Griseo blinked her wet eyes and stopped the brush in her hand.

It took nearly the entire night, almost until dawn, but she finally finished the second painting, creating a perfect closed loop for the Black Snake.

Tonight, in addition to accidentally starting to unlock Mobius, she also managed to deal with the troublesome Black Snake.

Just as Griseo was about to raise her hand to rub her tired eyes and take a break, the azure knight suddenly appeared beside her silently.

"......?"

After appearing, Mr. Knight gently grasped Griseo's slender wrist, stopping her from rubbing her eyes. Then, he produced a basin of water and a towel from nowhere and gently wiped the little Lolita's hands.

It was then that Griseo noticed the paint on her hands.

"Thank you, Mr. Knight..."

After wiping the paint off Griseo's hands, the azure knight disappeared again, hiding himself.

After rubbing her eyes with her clean hands, Griseo took down the painting she had just finished from the easel, jumped off the stool, and walked towards the bed.

Although she had closed the nightmare loop for the Black Snake, there was still a task left to complete.

After walking to the bed, Griseo placed the painting next to Talulah, who was still surrounded by black mist, and then held her brush again.

As the colored brush gently touched the painting, brilliant colors exploded, the surface of the painting began to distort, and it absorbed the black mist from Talulah's body bit by bit.

When the last trace of black mist entered the painting, Talulah, who had been entangled by the Black Snake, curled up with its eyes closed as if in a nightmare had come to end.

"Woo... So sleepy."

Now, Griseo was in a strange state of being very happy but very sleepy.

But this time, she could be completely relieved. The Black Snake was now sealed in the painting. If she wanted to kill it, she just needed to tear up the painting.

Of course, Griseo hadn't planned to do that yet because her Grandma Mobius was not fully unlocked.

Once unlocked, she planned to give the painting that contained the Black Snake to Talulah as a second gift.

After blinking her half-open eyes, Griseo glanced at Talulah, who was lying on the bed, and suddenly had a bold idea.

With new ideas in mind, she started to act again.

Griseo first put away the painting in front of her, then carefully climbed onto the bed and slowly moved towards the dragon girl.

Finally, she raised her smooth, white bare feet and sat on Talulah's waist.

With an expressionless face but a smile in her eyes, Griseo raised the brush in her hand...

After finishing her task, Griseo finally lay down on the bed again. Although not sleeping for a night had no effect on her as a MANTIS, she was truly sleepy now.

If Griseo were in the Honkai World now, with her sleep schedule, she might have been "kindly" persuaded by Aponia to go to bed.

"Huh..."

Griseo gently turned over, stretched out her little hand, hugged Talulah's slender, warm dragon tail, and slowly closed her big eyes.

"Good morning... Tarurua..."

Chapter 22: Give Up Fantasy and Start Fighting

In the early morning, as the sun emerged and sprinkled rays of sunshine, everyone in the snowfield camp gradually woke up and began to stir.

...

Talulah, lying on the bed in her tent, slowly opened her eyes. But unlike her usual mornings, her eyes were filled with confusion, sadness, and guilt.

When her vision cleared and she saw the scene before her, her pupils shrank, and her face filled with shock.

Talulah quickly sat up to assess the situation, but the tug from her tail made her look sideways.

Seeing the cute little Lolita holding her tail brought back her memories, and she understood what was happening. However, the return of those memories only added to her shock. She looked down at her palms and whispered, "Is this... the magic of painting?"

"Hmm... Ta... rurua."

Sensing the movement around her, Griseo shifted slightly, tightened her grip on Talulah's tail, and murmured drowsily.

"Huh—"

After a deep breath, Talulah stopped moving her tail and let Griseo continue to hold it. She reached out and gently stroked Griseo's soft hair, as if to confirm she was real.

Even with all her memories back, Talulah felt as if she were in another world.

In last night's dream, she experienced the transition from having everything to having nothing, alone...

Unlike Alina's perspective, Talulah's dream seemed to be something she had personally experienced. Whether it was Alina's death, her own sadness and hatred, or being controlled by the Black Snake, letting her companions die one by one... it all felt very real.

So real that when Talulah first opened her eyes, she wondered if she had been sent back two years ago...

However, she noticed differences from the dream. There was an extra presence... a cute but powerful little person who had changed the course of events.

"I originally thought Alina was exaggerating, but I didn't expect..." Talulah withdrew her hand from Griseo's soft hair and muttered to herself.

"꒪-꒪)?"

Although very sleepy, Griseo finally opened her eyes, half-closed, to check the situation when someone kept touching her head.

But when Talulah's face came into view...

"꒪꒫꒪)!"

Griseo, now fully awake and realizing the marks on Talulah's face were her doing, felt a mix of fear and relief.

"Ah, sorry, I got a little excited and woke you up."

Seeing Griseo's reaction, Talulah softened her voice and spoke gently.

"Wu... It's okay. Sister Talulah got up so early?"

Griseo rubbed her half-open violet eyes and sat up.

"Well, it's almost time for breakfast." Talulah nodded and touched Griseo's head again. "By the way, I plan to talk to Alina later. Griseo, thank you for your painting."

"Well... It seems to have worked."

"No, it didn't just work; it helped a lot." Talulah was both amused and helpless at Griseo's understatement. What Griseo thought of as a small effect had a significant impact.

The dream was over, and reality had not changed, but Talulah's mindset had matured and solidified.

The fighter who gave up naive ideas had returned. Talulah would regard reality as a new beginning, give up fantasy, start fighting, and lead the Reunion movement forward.

...

Listening to Talulah and observing her newfound maturity, Griseo blinked, wondering what would happen if Talulah discovered the drawings on her face.

After considering for a while, Griseo concluded she might just get scolded, and Alina might protect her.

Reaching this conclusion, she felt more at ease.

Then, as if remembering something, Griseo opened her system panel and checked the unlocking progress of Mebius.

Well... 48%, which was higher than she expected but not surprising. The painting Griseo drew last night affected not only the Black Snake on Talulah but its entire consciousness. With any connection, no one could escape...

The power of Griseo's painting was domineering, especially when drawn with the Black Snake's own color, making the impact even stronger.

Before, Griseo felt she couldn't kill the Black Snake not because it was impossible but because she had no way or opportunity. She knew Talulah was possessed by the Black Snake, but she had never seen it.

So, although Griseo's painting could affect the Black Snake, she had no way to draw and seal it.

Yesterday was a coincidence. The Black Snake was caught and emerged on its own, and the little Lolita captured it.

However, Griseo didn't plan to tell Talulah this good news yet. First, because she hadn't finished her work, and second... she needed more sleep.

Her body's schedule was so good that she didn't feel tired while painting last night, but now she was really sleepy.

"Little Griseo, didn't you go to bed early yesterday? Why are you still so sleepy this morning?" Talulah asked, curious about Griseo's exhaustion.

"Well... I painted two more paintings last night and didn't sleep." As she spoke, Griseo fell back onto the bed.

"Huh? Why did you paint two more? And children shouldn't stay up late, especially not all night!"

"Wu... um, Tarurua, ah ah..."

Listening to Talulah's reprimand, Griseo murmured a few times and closed her eyes again.

Chapter 23: Elafia and the Draco

"You."

Looking at the little guy beside her, sleeping soundly again, Talulah showed a helpless smile. After gently covering Griseo with a blanket, she carefully got out of bed.

At this time, Talulah, who was in a complicated mood but very happy, had not noticed anything unusual about herself.

She was going to wash up a little, then go out for breakfast, and by the way, go to Alina to discuss the next situation and deployment.

But before Talulah started to wash up, someone came to her first.

"Talulah, are you up?"

Alina's gentle voice came from outside the tent, causing Talulah to stop what she was doing and walk quickly toward the door.

If she were meeting someone else, she might pay attention to her image and ask them to wait outside for a while.

But it was Alina who came to find Talulah. For a close friend she lived with, she didn't care so much about her image.

After all, what had they not seen before? They even slept together before...

Alina outside the door also shouted once, then quietly waited outside without saying anything.

Because she knew Talulah's habits, her best friend must have heard the shout just now.

"Shh, the little guy Griseo is still sleeping. Good morning~"

Gently lifting the tent curtain, Talulah stuck her head out and then whispered to Alina in front of her.

"Hmm...?"

After hearing Talulah's words, Alina, who was about to say something, became quiet after looking up and seeing Talulah's face, she then swallowed all the words she wanted to say silently with a strange expression.

Looking at her best friend who suddenly stopped talking and whose expression became indescribable, Talulah asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"...Pfft, haha...Hum, sorry."

Talulah's dazed expression coupled with the cute graffiti on her face made Alina, who had been trying to endure, laugh out loud.

"???"

Alina's smile made the Draco even more confused. She subconsciously touched her face but couldn't figure out what was going on.

However, her ominous premonition became stronger and stronger...

Finally, under the gaze of her best friend with a smile, Talulah turned back to the tent to look in the mirror. At the same time, Alina followed carefully.

...

"!"

After looking in the mirror and seeing the "makeup" on her face, Talulah's expression suddenly twisted for a moment... but soon turned into endless helplessness.

What can be done after all? The little Loli agreed to stay and she helped her a lot. She can't just kick her out...

And she is so cute, so she can only forgive her...

"Hehe~"

Looking at Talulah's expression, Alina smiled softly. Then, to avoid waking up the little guy, she leaned over to her best friend's ear and whispered, "It seems that you two had a pretty good time last night~"

"Well... don't get so close. It's not a happy one at all!"

Feeling the hot air blowing in her ears, Talulah subconsciously tensed her body, then turned around and carefully pushed the person next to her away.

"Is that so? I always feel that... Talulah, your temperament has changed a lot. Although your appearance has not changed, you seem much more mature."

The little deer who was pushed away was not discouraged but grabbed Talulah's wrist and approached again, then squinted her eyes and whispered.

Although Talulah still looked the same when facing her, a little silly and funny... Alina still keenly felt the subtle changes in her best friend.

"...You are really amazing."

Looking at Alina's face close at hand and her inquiring blue eyes, feeling the hot air she exhaled, Talulah blushed and sighed helplessly. "This is not the place to talk. The little guy is still sleeping. I'll wash up and then go outside to talk..."

"Okay~"

After getting the answer she wanted, Alina slowly let go of Talulah and stepped aside.

"..."

After watching Alina step away, Talulah secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then turned around to wash up.

...

Fortunately, the paint that Griseo painted on Talulah's face last night was just ordinary paint and would wash off.

Otherwise, someone would definitely shake the little guy who was sleeping soundly on the bed.

Finally, after taking a look at Griseo, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, Talulah and Alina left the tent together.

---

"So, what happened between you and little Griseo last night?" Walking on the road, Alina couldn't help her curiosity and asked.

In fact, after noticing the changes in Talulah, the Elafia had some guesses. But guesses are just guesses after all, and she still hoped to get answers from her best friend to confirm her suspicions.

"I've been through it... The magic of the painting you mentioned is really better than seeing it." Hearing this, Talulah said in a low voice with an expression that was hard to describe.

"Hehe~ It seems that you have also experienced those things, Talulah. I was wondering why your temperament suddenly became mature overnight." Alina couldn't help laughing again, and her laughter was pleasant and gentle.

"Hmph."

Looking at the familiar but unfamiliar faces and smiles beside her, Talulah was in a trance for a moment, and hummed softly when she reacted, but she still raised the corners of her lips unconsciously.

'It's great that you are still here.'

"In that case, Talulah, do you have any new plans and deployments?" After confirming Talulah's current situation with a few words, Alina asked with a smile.

Listening to Alina's gentle inquiry, Talulah nodded gently and then invited, "There are indeed some. So, Alina, do you have time to chat after breakfast?"

"Is that so? But I still have to teach the children to read today..."

Looking at the expectation in her best friend's eyes, Alina flashed a smile in her eyes, and then said softly.

But before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by Talulah.

"Okay, let's talk next time."

After speaking, a trace of imperceptible loss flashed in the eyes of the Draco. Like a child who didn't get candy.

"Pfft, I haven't finished speaking yet. Talulah doesn't want to chat with me so much? Although I have to teach the children today, I can also let others help replace me."

"!"

"Okay, don't have that expression, let's go."

Chapter 24: New Clothes and Missions

"Hmm~"

Griseo woke up almost at noon. But she didn't wake up naturally; she was called by Mr. Knight to eat.

"Still a little sleepy..."

After sitting on the bed for a while, Griseo woke up completely, then stretched slowly. Although she was still a little sleepy, she didn't plan to sleep anymore because she didn't want to reverse the jet lag of this body, and it would be bad if she couldn't sleep at night.

Just as Griseo was about to get off the bed, the azure knight appeared by the bed again... but unlike earlier, he was now holding a set of clothes.

Looking at the familiar clothes in Mr. Knight's hand, Griseo was stunned at first, then asked in a low voice, "Mr. Knight, do you want me to wear this set of clothes today?"

Griseo didn't feel any surprise that Mr. Knight could produce clothes because it had always been like this. When they were still in Fire Moth, Aponia, Eden, and other female members prepared all kinds of clothes for the little loli, as well as some other things.

These things were usually stored in the space of a painting and kept by Griseo's Knight, and her other partners.

Faced with Griseo's question, the tall blue knight nodded gently, then put the neatly folded clothes on the bed.

"Well... In that case, Mr. Knight should also change his outfit."

Looking at the red hood of the clothes on the bed, Griseo took out her paintbrush, then mixed the red color to render towards Mr. Knight in front of her.

Soon, wrapped in the color, the blue knight disappeared, replaced by the huge and majestic golden-red Mr. Wolf.

"Well... Mr. Wolf is very handsome."

Looking at Mr. Knight, who had become completely different in terms of color and appearance, Griseo nodded her head gently, then changed his name to praise him. After being praised, Mr. Wolf bowed gracefully and then disappeared into the air.

After Mr. Wolf disappeared, Griseo looked at the Little Red Riding Hood-themed clothes beside her. Then, after taking off her original pure white skirt, she gently changed into this cute red dress.

"Hmm..."

Just as Griseo looked down at her new dress, the red Mr. Wolf appeared again. He moved to the bedside and sorted out the clothes that his princess had just changed. The snow-white dress that the little girl had worn for two days, although there was no dirt on the surface, Mr. Wolf would still tidy it up and take it back to clean it.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Wolf."

Looking at Mr. Wolf tidying up her changed clothes and bed, Griseo thanked him obediently before going to wash up.

...

After washing up, Griseo walked out of the tent. She was a little hungry and planned to find something to eat.

But it was obvious that her outfit was quite conspicuous in the camp, and the rate of turning heads was very high.

Finally, under the gaze of a group of people, Griseo passed through many tents and came to the place where she usually ate.

However, because she was too conspicuous, someone came over before she walked there.

"I didn't see you for breakfast today. You must be very hungry. Come and eat together... Also, this dress suits you very well and is very cute."

Walking to Griseo's side, Yelena reached out and gently touched her little head, then spoke softly.

"Good afternoon, sister Yelena..."

Hearing Yelena's gentle voice, Griseo greeted her and took the initiative to hold her cold hand.

"Good afternoon."

Feeling the warmth in her hand, Yelena gently curled her lips and then led the little one towards the campfire.

When they arrived at the campfire, the snow monsters looked at the cute Griseo and spoke one after another.

"This dress is so cute, it suits little Griseo very well."

"Yes, yes, it's amazing."

"So, why didn't I see little Griseo this morning?"

...

"..."

While the Yetis were discussing and caring about each other, one person did not speak out of character but stared at Griseo and pondered.

"Lois, what are you staring at little Griseo for? Are you so fascinated?"

Just then, a snow monster noticed someone's abnormality and asked curiously.

"Nothing... I'm just curious why little Griseo's socks didn't get wet when she stepped on the snow... And who designed the socks that expose the toes and heels?"

Lois didn't hide anything from her friends who came over and directly said what she had been thinking.

"Hiss, now that you mention it... these socks are really weird."

"Right, right, it's better to be barefoot... It won't be that Kosmo again."

"Hmm...?"

Griseo, who heard the conversation between the two, slowly raised her little head, looked at the two of them for a moment, and then explained softly: "My clothes... are very special, they won't get dirty or wet."

"As for socks, everyone prepared a lot of clothes for me... I don't know who prepared them."

And Griseo's clothes are not just this one; all of her clothes have been specially treated and will not get dirty. The reason is that she used to easily get paint on her clothes when she was painting, so everyone in the Fire Moth decided to specially treat all her clothes.

"Wow, what a magical dress!"

"It is indeed magical, but no matter how magical it is, it can't get around that damn bad taste!"

"Okay, stop chatting for a while, and eat quickly. Here, drink some hot soup first." Just as the snow monsters were still discussing, the big sister Yelena, who was sitting next to Griseo, spoke.

While speaking, she did not forget to hand a bowl of hot soup to the little loli.

"Well... Thank you, sister Yelena."

...

During the whole lunch today, Griseo did not see Tallulah and Alina.

After asking Yelena, she learned that the two had been discussing things in the tent since this morning.

...

After lunch, the Yeti Squadron did not continue to chat and play, but dispersed to prepare their own things.

"I'm sorry, I can't accompany you today. Griseo, go find Alina and the others. Sister will be back as soon as possible."

Looking at the scattered team members, Yelena leaned over and gently rubbed Griseo's little head and spoke with a hint of apology.

"Well, it's okay... Be careful."

Hearing this, Griseo nodded gently, indicating that she understood. At this time, the little loli didn't realize that the Yeti Squadron was going on a mission in the afternoon.

After rubbing Griseo's head again, Yelena also left to prepare.

While sitting in the same place and watching FrostNova's back leaving, a ray of light suddenly flashed in Griseo's big eyes.

"Mission...?"

Chapter 25: Follow

Griseo suddenly had some ideas about the Yeti Squadron's mission.

She wanted to go on the mission with Yelena...

But knowing that she would never be allowed to follow, Griseo did not plan to rush in directly but intended to follow secretly.

Once she had the idea, she began to prepare...

The first step was to return to Talulah's tent, take out a piece of drawing paper, write some words with a brush, and then put the "note" on the neatly folded quilt.

Then, Griseo took her own small steps, left the tent, and walked towards the Yeti Squadron's tent.

Although Griseo had no way to directly cure Yelena's Originium disease, she could try to prevent her from using her Originium Arts too much.

The little loli had already made up her mind: she planned to follow secretly. If there was no major situation, she would not take action and would not expose herself.

But if the Yeti Squadron was in danger, or if Yelena needed to use her abilities frequently, Griseo planned to take action to solve the problem. Of course, it would be better if she could use another identity to do this. Even if she was exposed and discovered, it didn't matter since the Yeti Squadron didn't know her other identities.

But up to now, Griseo had not unlocked other characters. Even the fastest unlocked [Setsuna] Sakura was still a little short, with an unlocking progress of only 91%.

So, there was no other way. The little loli could only take the risk of being scolded and secretly follow in her current identity.

...

Finally, after Griseo hid in the corner and waited for a while, Yelena and the Yeti Squadron set off with all their equipment and supplies.

Just as she wanted to catch up, the little loli realized that she really shouldn't have worn the Little Red Riding Hood-themed clothes today.

The reason was that Griseo found her red clothes were too conspicuous in the cold and snowy snowfield. It was so obvious that she could be seen from a long distance.

This forced her to stay far behind to prevent being discovered, and she didn't dare to get too close. Fortunately, the snowstorm today was not very strong, and the traces were not covered by the snow too quickly, so Griseo could barely keep up by following the tracks.

But there was one thing she wanted to complain about...

This time, they were not walking on a forest path. The snow on the ground was very thick, and Griseo was very petite, so half of her body was sunk in the snow...

Mr. Wolf originally wanted to carry her, but she refused.

She was conspicuous enough by herself, and if she were carried by the tall Mr. Wolf, Griseo felt that she would be discovered by the careful Yelena in a minute and sent back.

So there was no other way. To avoid being sent back, the little loli had to "swim" in the snow.

————————————————

In a tent in the camp—

"We actually talked for so long, and it seems that little Griseo didn't even have breakfast?"

As if she remembered something, Alina frowned slightly and stopped the previous topic.

"It seems so. The little one might still be sleeping, right? We should wake her up." Hearing this, Talulah nodded gently, then said softly.

"Let's stop chatting today. There are a lot of things to talk about. Let's sort out our thoughts next." Alina stood up from the stool and stretched her body.

After stretching her stiff body, she continued to speak softly: "I'll go and call little Griseo to eat. If she sleeps too long during the day, she won't be able to sleep at night."

"Go, I'll study the next plan. I don't know what's going on with Yelena. After this operation is over, whether it succeeds or not, we have to change our base again."

After nodding gently to Alina, Talulah retracted her gaze and continued to focus on the map on the table.

"Well, don't worry, believe in Yelena..."

Looking at Talulah's serious expression, Alina showed a touch of helplessness and relief, then turned and left the tent. Although she had experienced it herself and knew the magic, she still wanted to sigh at the strong ability of little Griseo.

...

Gently lifting the curtain of Talulah's tent, Alina looked out...but at a glance, she didn't see someone who should be there.

"..."

Frowning, Alina no longer moved lightly and walked in quickly.

But no matter how she looked, she did not see the familiar little figure in the tent.

Then, when her eyes swept over the neatly made bed again, Alina noticed the drawing paper on the quilt.

[If Sister Talulah can't find Griseo... don't worry, I'm fine and safe. And I'm also very powerful...]

After seeing what was written on the paper, Alina frowned even deeper, and at the same time, an ominous premonition emerged in her heart.

Finally, she pinched the drawing paper in her hand, turned around quickly, and left to find Talulah.

————————————————

As time passed, the sky over the snowfield became darker and darker, and the wind and snow gradually increased, starting to block the view.

"Huh, it's been so long. Sister Alina and the others should have seen the words I left..." After exhaling a breath of hot air, Griseo temporarily stopped her steps and murmured to herself softly.

In fact, Griseo could have left nothing for Alina and the others and gone secretly and returned secretly...

However, she didn't want to make the two very worried and then waste manpower to find her, so she left a "note" in the end.

Besides, now Griseo was actually quite glad that she left a note.

Because before she came, she had never thought that the goal of the Yeti Squadron would be so far away this time... She had been following them for several hours and had not yet reached the destination.

At this point, Griseo couldn't give up halfway and retreat, so she could only continue to follow.

However...

"Mr. Wolf..."

As Griseo called, the handsome Mr. Wolf showed up. After an elegant salute, he hugged the little girl in his arms, shielding her from the wind and snow, and continued to move forward.