The Matter of Being Picked Up and Adopted by Talula, Chapter 33

W laughed, thinking it was utterly naive that someone like herself would be called an "idealist."

Idealist... Hmph.

The woman she knew, the one "with unrealistic ideals," was already dead, buried along with her brilliance.

"Get ready, we— Hey, you're being followed."

As W was about to notify the mercenary, she spotted the trace of a tracker on the Sarkaz mercenary.

"Tracked? I just came from Garson's, and all the way here—"

"Get down!"

W reached out to pull the mercenary in front of her down, but before her hand could reach him, a crossbow bolt shot out from behind the door, piercing the mercenary's head.

"Tch—!"

Not just one, but bolts came flying in one after another from the entrance.

"Tsk...!"

Using the mercenary's corpse as a shield, W retreated to the table, grabbed a freshly made bomb, and tossed it towards the door.

"BOOOM—!"

The loud explosion and impact scattered everything in the safe house, but as the dust settled, more crossbow bolts flew in.

"Clang!"

W drew her dagger and deflected the bolt, seeing the attacker's true face—Garson, the leader of a Sarkaz mercenary group.

"—Ah, so that's how it is."

W froze for a moment upon seeing his true identity, but quickly wore a cruel smile.

I've been made a 'pawn', she realized. The previous mission brief was just a trap.

"As expected of W, you understand the situation quickly. Then, die, mercenary."

Garson pulled the trigger of his crossbow, aiming at W, who immediately lunged towards the adjacent kitchen, using the concrete wall as cover.

"Count Baikal is very concerned about your failure, and your actions are indeed suspicious—Sorry, W, this has nothing to do with personal grudges, it's the boss's order, haha!"

"What a loyal dog!"

W pulled out a grenade launcher, showed half her body, and aimed at Garson, pulling the trigger. However, the grenade was shot through in mid-air by his crossbow bolt.

Garson and W were the second-in-command of a large Sarkaz mercenary group, but their methods were completely different.

Although W appeared deranged, she meticulously planned every mission, controlling team attrition.

Garson, on the other hand, would lead the team with only the most basic tactical planning, resulting in a large number of veterans dying on his missions every 3-4 operations.

"Where are my people, Garson? You wouldn't dare kill them all, would you?"

"Of course not. They have separate assignments—though they are one-way, disposable missions."

Garson put on his goggles and observed W's position in the kitchen through the wall, aiming an armor-piercing, high-explosive bolt at the silhouette.

"You actually answered honestly, you idiot!"

"—!"

The "heat source" in his vision didn't move, but W suddenly circled around from the other side of the window, her dagger aimed straight for Garson's chest.

"Using the stove and signal flares to disguise the heat source, while you circled around from the window—Too bad, you should be running, haha!"

Garson laughed, blocking W's surprise attack with his crossbow, and simultaneously grabbed her wrist.

"Tch!"

W, who had just pressed the detonator, was restrained by Garson. At the same time, several bombs in the safe house began to emit a beeping sound, signaling their imminent explosion.

W couldn't break free, and the two of them crashed straight through the nearby window.

"Crack—BOOM!!!"

The explosion and heatwave blew both of them away. W, in mid-air, managed to hook the strap of her grenade launcher onto a roadside billboard for cushioning, then immediately raised the launcher and aimed at Garson, who was not far away.

"No... don't...!"

"—"

Garson now held a young Ursus girl with short gray hair and red eyes, whom he had just grabbed. She looked at W in panic, confused and terrified.

"A hostage? Do you take me for an idiot, Garson!"

W laughed and pulled the trigger. The grenade, with its fuse lit, flew directly towards them.

Boom!!

A loud explosion echoed from the center of the road. W immediately sprinted towards the blast site, but—

"Pfft!"

The sound of flesh tearing was clearly heard.

"Detonating the bombs prematurely as a diversion is pointless, W."

Garson appeared unharmed from the smoke, holding his freshly fired crossbow bolt with a sinister grin.

"Or perhaps—you're afraid of hurting that child?"

"Ngh—!"

Garson pushed the hostage little girl aside and slowly approached W.

"Who knows...?"

W was sweating, smiling as she looked at her abdomen. A crossbow bolt was lodged there, stopped by her bulletproof vest and stuck deep into her body.

"Die, you fool."

Garson aimed the crossbow bolt at W's head.

"Same to you."

W produced a remote control from somewhere and pressed a button.

"...!?"

Garson hesitated for a brief moment before immediately diving in the opposite direction.

BOOM!!

A bomb was fired from an automated turret drone in the corner of the safehouse, which had already been reduced to ruins.

"Damn cockroach, you're really resilient..."

The smoke cleared, and W had vanished. More and more people were gathering due to the commotion of the explosion. Garson could only click his tongue and leave the scene.

"Hah... hah, like an idiot."

In an alley, W leaned against the wall, moving slowly, eventually sinking to her knees, her face soaked in cold sweat.

"Idealism, hypocrisy, damn it, my brain must have been affected by that shadow-playing guy."

W cursed her own foolish actions of trying to protect the girl earlier. It was an action even she couldn't believe—unprofitable, meaningless, dangerous, it went against all of W's survival principles.

"Dada-da—"

Footsteps echoed from the other side of the alley. W gritted her teeth and raised her grenade launcher, only to find it empty.

"Heh..."

W tossed the launcher aside, waiting for a death befitting her end.

However—

"First off, I need to state that I'm broke right now and I'm busy with work, so if you're a thug... Huh! Miss W?"

"...Damn"

A familiar face, unexpectedly so, made W unsure of what expression to put on.

"Miss W, what happened!"

Orson, who had appeared here for some reason, immediately rushed over to check W's injuries.

"I was ranked third... no, I was just an idiot because of my own naivete... And you?"

"I'm setting up a frequency reflection array—your injuries are serious, so I'll be forceful this time. Come with me, I'll take you back to the Rostov family to be treated."

Orson extended his hand to W. As her consciousness blurred, W vaguely felt a white light emanating from Orson, like... Theresia.

No.

"What the hell are you doing carrying light bulbs around..."

W noticed several light bulbs behind Orson, the source of that "white light."

"Hm? I'm pre-supplying some light sources to the catalyst, so I can capture reflections even at night... W?"

Orson was halfway through his explanation when he realized W had fallen unconscious.

There is an illustration here, available in the updated version.

48. Full Outbreak

"..."

W woke up from her unconsciousness, feeling a bit dazed.

The last time she had gotten up from a sickroom like this felt like a long, long time ago, yet it also felt like it had happened just yesterday.

But W knew clearly that this was not Rhodes Island, but the territory of the Rostov family. After all, Orson had found her before she lost consciousness.

The wound on her abdomen had been treated. Although the bandages were wrapped a bit awkwardly, it didn't affect basic movement.

—I really have a tough life, or perhaps, it would have been easier to just die?

W looked around, putting on the clothes placed beside her. She checked that the wound wouldn't crack from this level of movement as she slowly pushed open the door to the infirmary.

"—" "—"

As fate would have it, just as W cautiously pushed open the door, Lumen happened to be passing by the infirmary. The two found themselves staring at each other on the spot.

"Well, well, the Rostov family's eldest daughter, we meet again. Need me to count down a few dozen seconds for you to escape?"

W said with a mocking threat, and after a brief moment of surprise, Lumen wasn't as flustered as she had been when first being chased.

"Miss W, this is territory belonging to the Rostov family. I hope you won't do anything out of line, and that threat is one such thing."

"—Hahaha, not bad, noble lady! Although your noble status won't last much longer, you're really starting to get that 'important person' vibe."

"Thanks to your help, mercenary lady."

W commented sarcastically on Lumen's change, while Lumen calmly responded before heading towards the conference room.

"..."

This girl has certainly matured a lot. Is it because of Orson?

W pondered the reason for Lumen's significant change. At the same time, speak of the devil, Orson walked into the infirmary carrying a tray of potions.

"Hmm? Miss W, you're awake. I'm relieved to see you're still so energetic, but your bandages need changing."

Orson greeted W with a smile. Upon seeing him, W dropped her sarcastic demeanor, figuring this simpleton might not even understand sarcasm.

"Why did you save me, Orson? Are you trying to humiliate me this way? Or do you plan to pry some information out of me?"

W questioned Orson. While she maintained a playful smile, she genuinely wanted to know the answer.

"Uh..."

Orson tilted his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Since I saw you... it just didn't feel right not to save you."

"Even though someone like me isn't 'worth saving'?"