"Thank goodness, Orson... you didn't leave—"
Talula's voice was somewhat flustered, yet overflowing with joy and lingering fear.
Orson, who had had a sword held to his throat when they first met, had never imagined Talula would one day hold him this tightly.
At that moment, Orson only wanted to say one thing:
"Um... Sis Talu, there are a lot of people watching behind you."
"..."
The current composition: Orson and Talula were inside the room, with Talula hugging Orson, while a row of people stood at the door, including but not limited to FrostNova, Patriot, Sasha, and the infected.
"..."
Talula glanced back, and the horns on her head began turning red at a visibly rapid speed.
"Sis Talu, Sis Talu? Sis Talu, you're on fire, aaaah!?!"
Poor Orson had only just awakened and was already enjoying the heating treatment of an electric blanket set to 100 degrees.
After the brief farce, everyone offered their blessings and returned to their respective posts, leaving the tent much quieter again.
"Hiss—um, Sis Talu, what happened while I was unconscious?"
Orson carefully sat up, only to tug at the wound in his abdomen and suck in a breath.
As for Talula, she had finally realized that whenever things were informal, this guy called her "Sis Talu."
"Patriot arrived in time. After seeing Patriot, the Imperial Guards merely faced off with us for a while and did not clash with the settlement. The blizzard soon stopped, and Sasha found us afterward."
Talula briefly summarized what had happened afterward. There had been no great upheaval, only a miracle brought about by a chain of tiny strokes of luck.
"I see... then how did I get this wound on my stomach?"
Orson looked at his bandaged abdomen. Less than a day had passed, yet the wound had already begun healing, including the pierced internal organs.
"Ino."
Talula pointed toward the corner of the tent. Only then did Orson notice the shy white-haired boy, who had actually been sleeping quietly in a chair in the corner all along.
"That child awakened his Originium Art, Life Transfer, and saved you. He really likes you, Orson."
"Yeah, somehow I feel a little guilty about it."
He had only wanted to keep Ino from becoming Mephistopheles, yet without realizing it, he had become one of the people Ino treasured most.
But I really did change something after all. Right, Little Pu?
Orson looked outside the tent, where fluttering dandelion seeds filled the sky.
"..."
Orson rubbed his eyes and realized they were actually falling snowflakes.
White—perhaps it wasn't so unpleasant after all.
A Pure and Noble Soul
Three days after the encounter with the Imperial Guards—
"Rest Note."
Orson stretched out his hand. The shadow beneath his feet immediately materialized and moved at his command, the black aberrant thing granted physical form.
Orson applied High Octave to increase the shadow's hardness, then changed its thickness and controlled Rest Note to slash at a nearby stone.
Swish—!
The upper half of the stone slid diagonally into the snow, its cut unbelievably smooth.
"..."
Orson stared at the mirror-like cross-section, vaguely thinking of something.
"Orson."
Talula's voice interrupted him. He withdrew Rest Note and waved at Talula.
"How is your body?"
"I've fully recovered. Ino's Originium Art is truly amazing, but I also had a proper talk with him. That ability is still too taxing for him right now. He needs to master it properly before helping others."
Orson rubbed his abdomen. The previous piercing wound had completely healed. Instead, the spread of his Oripathy caused by forcibly summoning Rest Note for the first time had had a greater effect.
"You've become quite proficient with your Originium Art now."
Talula noticed the cut beside him.
"Yeah. After messing around recklessly last time, I can now control Rest Note without any burden. But... that answers my previous question too, doesn't it?"
"—Do you regret it, Orson?"
Talula knew what Orson meant. The scattered, severed corpses and buildings in that village had probably been caused by Rest Note's first rampage.
"A little, but it's something I must bear."
Orson's answer was concise. Talula nodded as well; this young man was more resilient than she had imagined.
"Then, Orson—I can finally answer you now."
After confirming that Orson was unharmed, Talula hesitated for a moment, but ultimately spoke.
"I've thought about it for a long time. There was once a time when I believed I had already strayed from the path. Those infected comrades, the Guerrilla Force members, FrostNova, Patriot... I feared that one day, I would use the people I cherished as chess pieces. I feared Alina would be unable to correct someone like me, feared that she would be unable to accept who I had become..."
"But you were right, Orson. We must keep moving forward. If we wait passively, spring will never come. We have to seek out that warmth ourselves."
Talula looked at Orson, her gaze no longer evasive or wavering.
"—You're right. Leave it to me."
Orson smiled, then patted his chest.
Having received Talula's resolve, the two returned to the room where Alina slept. This Elafia woman, who had always stayed by Talula's side and endured the harshest times with her, had been unconscious for far too long.
"Soul Tuning."
Orson gently held out his hand toward Alina. A pure white score floated before him like the most ethereal chord.
Alina's soul was calm and warm, but there was a tiny crack within it. As long as that gap could be filled, she should be able to regain consciousness.
Orson reached out and touched Alina's pure white soul. In the next instant, he found himself in a pure white space. There was no concept of time or space here, no scenery at all—only the slightly surprised young deer girl before him.
"Excuse me, what is this...? My right hand is still here?"
Alina looked at the white expanse in confusion, then at the hand that should have been severed.
"This is the depths of your soul. The body appears here in the form of a complete soul, and this pure white means... you have never held resentment, anger, or unwillingness toward the world."
Orson was somewhat astonished. It was his first time seeing such a pure and flawless soul melody. Whether he had experimented on Enforcement Team members before or used Staccato on the Imperial Guards, the souls he glimpsed in those moments had all contained indescribable pollutants.
"You've worked hard, Alina. Before I met Talula, you had also been striving all along, hadn't you? Fighting death in your own way, all so Talula would not completely collapse."
Orson walked up to Alina and gently took the slender hands of this young deer girl who had fought alone for so long.
"You are no longer alone now. We will stay with you, and then you can return."
Orson held Alina's hand. This sensation was not unfamiliar. When he had first arrived at this settlement and knew nothing of anything, these very hands had held his in an unconscious state.
"You've also worked hard taking care of Talula during this time. She's a wonderful girl, isn't she?"
"Mm... yes."
Alina smiled at Orson, while Orson replied quietly with a slight blush.
"Hehe, but I won't give up."
"Huh?"
Alina's cryptic remark made Orson pause, but she merely gave him a mischievous smile and stuck out her tongue.
"Haha... then welcome back."
Alina's prank made Orson laugh. Then, he placed their tightly clasped hands over each other's chests—
"..."
In reality, Alina opened her eyes and saw the strong girl she had intended to protect for the rest of her life, so strong that it broke one's heart.
"Good morning, Talula."
Alina gave Talula a smile that had come several months late.
"Ah, good morning, Alina..."
Talula hesitated at first, then clear liquid streamed directly from the corners of her eyes.
"I'm sorry—I'm sorry! Because of my failure, because of my carelessness, because of my cowardice, that's why... that's why I let you become like this...!!"
"It's alright, Talula. I understand. I understand."
Alina struggled to raise her relatively intact left hand and placed it on Talula's head, slowly and laboriously stroking her.
"Hmph..."
Seeing this, Orson softly snorted, then silently left the room.
The Soul Tuning process had lasted four or five hours, but even so, Orson did not choose to share in this hard-won joy with Talula.
After all, there was no room for him to interfere in the blooming lily flowers between beautiful girls. As a man, this was when he ought to silently...
"Teacher Orson!"
Not long after leaving the room, Orson ran into Ino. Upon seeing Orson, the latter immediately approached him happily.
"What is Teacher Orson doing?"
"Imagining yuri fanservice... cough cough, contemplating life. What is it, Ino?"
Orson rubbed Ino's pure white hair, and the boy showed an expression of enjoyment like a cat being petted.
"I've mastered a new way to use my Originium Art, Teacher Orson!"
Ino excitedly pressed his hands together, then opened them and gently blew on them. Countless pure white feathers flew out from his palms.
"What a beautiful Originium Art."
Orson sighed from the bottom of his heart, while Ino became a little shy after receiving the praise.
"No, it's not just beautiful, Teacher! Anyone who touches the feathers can receive a transfer of vitality. They can even be briefly influenced and controlled by my will, so Teacher Orson..."
As Ino spoke, a feather appeared in his hand and kept drawing closer to Orson.
Perhaps it was just an illusion, but Orson seemed to see pink hearts in Ino's eyes.
"Teacher Orson... please become my first test subject!"
"I'd rather give it to Koschei than you!?"
Ino pounced on him, and Orson fled in panic.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Talula was telling Alina about everything that had happened during this time.
At times Talula was happy, at times dejected, at times angry, while Alina listened with a smile throughout.
After a while, when Talula had nearly finished recounting everything, Alina finally voiced her thoughts.
"That Mr. Orson has truly changed you a great deal."
"—Mm, yes."
Talula froze for a moment, but did not refute her like she had in the past.
"He may be a little strange, but he is truly an incredible person. As long as I am with him, perhaps I—"
Boom! Orson slammed into the door, interrupting Talula's confession.
"Um, I didn't mean to disturb your time alone, but Ino seems to be trying to molest me. Sis Talu, you have to save me—RUAA!!"
Before Orson could finish speaking, a blast of hot air sent his entire body flying.
"...Let me correct that. This guy is a purebred idiot."
Before you continue