The Matter of Me Being Picked Up and Adopted by Talula

After switching places, on the fifth fish, Orson stood up first, his survival instincts roaring within him.

"Um—Sister Talula, how did you catch a fish?"

Orson proactively asked Talula.

"Just like they taught me, cast the hook, and watch the float."

"The hook… what did you put on your hook?"

Talula pulled up the hook and saw that it was wrapped with a… block of ice.

"..."

"..."

The two exchanged glances.

"Are you fishing or ghosting! Even ghosts wouldn't be this sloppy… Pffft! Sorry, I was wrong—"

Orson very gently explained the correct bait selection method to Talula.

Afterward, when Talula caught her first fish, she showed a clear smile, but thinking that Orson was nearby, Talula immediately suppressed her smile, though her [Melody] did relax a tiny bit.

With a fruitful harvest, Orson followed Talula to the next location—a simple cross.

This time, Talula didn't say what needed to be done; she just lowered her head slightly and closed her eyes.

Orson quickly understood; this was likely a grave to mourn past deaths, so he also closed his eyes.

"Who are you mourning?" Talula's voice reached him.

"The Infected from those villages."

"And what about those villagers?"

Faced with Talula's question, Orson gave a wry smile.

"I have no intention of mourning those people. I'm not a saint."

"—You're different from her."

Faced with Orson's answer, Talula said thoughtfully.

"Actually, I planned to go to that village with FrostNova again today, but FrostNova absolutely refused, which is why I suddenly became free. Is she worried about my condition? Such unnecessary worry. I won't be crushed by something like this… absolutely not."

Talula's tone was heavy, and Orson frowned.

The Melody, which had already slowed down, suddenly tensed up again. Not only that, but the [Dissonance] hidden within became even more obvious and jarring.

"Sister Talula, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Perhaps this question is a bit strange, um… do you have another personality, or have you been possessed by something?"

Orson was merely asking tentatively, not expecting Talula to provide an answer.

However, Talula's reaction was completely beyond Orson's expectations:

"How did you know—?"

Talula extended her palm towards Orson, and scorching heat waves were about to erupt.

08. Song of Tuning

"How did you know—"

The heat waves building in Talula's hand were not fake, and the dark flame in her eyes seemed as if it could devour everything at any moment.

"I don't really know the specifics...! After that incident, my mind suddenly started to sense something like a [Melody], and Sister Talula's Melody always had a very abrupt Dissonance mixed in!"

Orson immediately performed a French salute. He didn't know which of this young dragon's sensitive nerves he had touched, but he decided to back down first.

"Melody…?"

Talula hesitated, then stared at Orson for a few seconds.

After confirming that the person in front of her wasn't hiding anything, Talula finally lowered her hand hesitantly.

"Based on your description, perhaps you've awakened your Originium Arts."

"Originium Arts?

A very familiar name, but for Orson, who hadn't received any cheats in half a year, it was also a very unfamiliar term.

Talula took Orson's confusion as ignorance of Originium Arts. After all, there weren't many people in this world who could manipulate such wondrous powers, especially in a desolate place like the northern part of Ursus.

"...I'm sorry, I was a bit too neurotic just now. Regarding the 'Dissonance' you mentioned, I don't want to explain it yet. But perhaps I can help you understand how to control this ability."

Talula didn't put on airs; she apologized sincerely to Orson and then offered to help him learn to control this power.

"Actually, the number of people with Originium Arts on Terra is not small, but most people don't deliberately use staffs to train this power. Infected people are different. Assimilated by Originium within their bodies, they themselves are the staffs, which is why they unconsciously use Originium Arts that originally required a medium to be released."

Talula, with Orson carrying the fish they caught, returned to the settlement, explaining the intricacies of Originium Arts along the way.

"Infected… so that means I did gain this ability after that day."

Orson looked at his palm. Although he didn't have any symptoms of Infection yet, the seed had already been planted within him, and he didn't know when it would consume him.

"Try this sword."

After storing their things, the two went to a forest behind the settlement. Talula directly handed the longsword at her waist to Orson, which startled him.

"Huh? Talula, are you asking me to commit suicide...?"

"...This sword can serve as a catalyst."

Talula began to worry if she had accidentally cooked a portion of Orson's brain earlier.

"But this sword should be very—"

"Sentimental? That's right, I have some special feelings for this sword, but none of them are worth cherishing."

Talula handed the greatsword to Orson. After taking the longsword, which was slightly lighter than he expected, Orson indeed felt something different.

Those intangible "melodies" that had only been drifting in his mind gained form. But for some reason, these visible melodies were extremely blurry, making it even harder to discern their content.

"Even though I can barely see the physical form of these abilities, they've become even more blurry..."

Orson squinted hard, trying to focus artificially, but it was useless. The only effect was almost making Talula beside him laugh out loud.

"Cough, cough... Perhaps your Originium Arts have poor extensibility, or perhaps your control over this ability is insufficient."

Talula coughed twice, returning to her teacher mode.

"What's certain for now is that you have indeed awakened your Originium Arts. Next, try to conceive the circuit switch that triggers and uses your Originium Arts."

"Talula, can you speak normally? Aaaahhh!! Why are you still holding half a corn cob!?"

Orson was once again hit in the face with popcorn by Talula.

"In short, to put it simply, it's about turning the act of 'using Originium Arts' into an imaginable physical form in your mind."

Talula extended her palm, and scorching flames leaped from it.

"If your ability is some kind of 'melody,' then try to conceive a switch based on a similar feeling."

"Then what's your switch, Talula?"

Orson asked Talula about the framework for using his Originium Arts while rubbing his temples with both hands.

"...It's a snake."

"..."

It seemed he had touched a sensitive topic again. Orson wisely stopped the conversation and instead focused all his effort on conceiving the switch for using his Originium Arts.

After an unknown amount of time, Orson finally succeeded in materializing his Originium Arts—those chaotic melodies gradually transformed into a black musical score.

"I see it, there's a black musical score on the stone, and... it seems touchable."

From Talula's perspective, Orson reached out his right hand into the void. But for Orson himself, he was indeed touching the "black musical score" belonging to the giant stone in front of him.

Crack—!!

With a loud noise, the stone suddenly cracked, and in Orson's hand was a segment of the musical score that had turned into Dissonance.

It seemed that not only that, but applying direct external force would cause it to shatter. But if he used more precise manipulation...

Orson looked at a tree and this time raised the "pitch" of the black musical score.

"Hiss—Boom!"

The frozen dead tree suddenly ignited from within, but it was quickly extinguished by the cold wind.

Could it be that the "black musical score" could change the physical form of an object?

This time, Orson set his sights on an icicle by the cliff, but before he could even listen to the melody, his vision suddenly went black, and he fainted on the ground—

"Ugh..."

After a brief period of unconsciousness, Orson opened his eyes and saw Talula's fair and resolute face. He felt a soft and warm sensation on the back of his head.

It took about two seconds for Orson to understand the situation—he was lying on Talula's lap.

"Huh... Am I dead?"

Understanding his situation, Orson chose to avoid it.

"Don't misunderstand, you're not dead. That was my mistake; I didn't notice you were overloaded. It's easy to overexert yourself when using Originium Arts for the first time; that was my oversight. Also, I need to thank you for your actions earlier, Orson."

Orson—this was the first time Talula had called him by his name.

Orson looked at Talula with mixed emotions, staring, omo-ing.

"...Can you stop staring at me like that?"

Talula was getting a little annoyed by Orson's constant staring, but before Talula could say anything, Orson suddenly sat up—still looking at Talula.

"No, I just—uh, I saw another musical score."

Orson looked at Talula. At this moment, not only did the "black musical score" appear in his eyes, but a "white musical score" also appeared.

"Unlike the black musical score from before, a white musical score."

"White?"

"Yes, pure white, without any impurities, as if it were... a soul."

Orson stared directly at the white musical score. This feeling, like a "resonance," was something he had never experienced before.

"Then what does my soul look like?"

Talula also asked Orson with some interest.

"Tense, as if it could snap at any moment, and outside the musical score, there are wandering black patterns—Oof!"

Orson tried to touch the foreign object but was repelled as if struck by high voltage.

Black musical scores could alter physical characteristics; only dead things had black scores. White musical scores, however, were alive, existing only for those with souls.

Is this my ability? Like [Tuning], the ability to change objects, even souls?

Wait a moment... if I can truly control the white musical score—no, I actually can.

Just as humans firmly believe they can see the world with their own eyes, Orson naturally believed he possessed the ability to "tune souls."

"Sister Talula, that Elafia—I might be able to reawaken her."

Orson looked at Talula and said this in a calm yet certain tone.

"...Alina?"

Talula looked at Orson in surprise. This was the first time he had seen Talula wear such an expression.

"—"

Talula wanted to say something but couldn't open her mouth. She just met Orson's gaze for a moment before looking away again.