Regarding the Matter of Me Being Found and Adopted by Talula Chapter 9

Orson wiped the sweat from his brow, and the two officially began their duel on the board.

"And with that, you're checkmated. You were a bit too hesitant with your pawns."

"Hmm... One more game."

Talula stared at the board, her tone tinged with defiance.

The two sat opposite each other in the tent, engaged in the simple chess game Orson had hastily drawn. Though the board and pieces were extremely basic, there was a unique charm to it.

Talula's gaze was fixed on the board, the faint, ever-burning flame in her eyes temporarily extinguished. Her body, no longer tense from maintaining a rigid posture, relaxed.

All her ambitions, goals, and beliefs were set aside along with the greatsword. At this moment, Talula was just a girl racking her brain over the game, occasionally wanting to take back a move but stifling her frustration out of pride.

Their eyes occasionally met, but the brief flicker of awkwardness quickly vanished into the fierce blizzard.

"...Shall we play again?"

"Yeah."

It was unclear who suggested playing again or who accepted the request. They simply continued their matches, one after another.

Both Orson and Talula knew that the current peace was incredibly precious, something they couldn't easily obtain.

The living conditions for the Infected were deteriorating, and the health of the severely infected within their ranks was worsening. The crops harvested from the surrounding farmlands were poor, and the threat of the Enforcement Team loomed overhead, a constant shadow.

To pursue the continent of sunshine and grain that everyone yearned for, Talula had countless matters to attend to, and more would only arise.

But even so, even with all that, the two tacitly understood and tried their best to prolong this fleeting warmth.

"Check— I win this time, right, Orson?"

Talula moved her cannon, and after a brief moment of thought, she looked up and smiled at Orson.

"...Did you hear that sound of glass shattering? That was my pride."

A brief silence, followed by their laughter.

"Talula, your learning talent is truly terrifying. Once the revolution is over, you could easily become a professional chess player."

Orson chatted casually as he packed away the pieces.

"A chess player? That's a decent option. But I don't think this revolution will end easily."

"That's true."

Orson looked at Talula, whose white musical score, symbolizing her soul, was finally less tense than before.

"Then, let's play again—"

"Talula! Those Infected who left the group earlier have sent an emergency distress signal!"

All happy moments are short and fleeting, and that's precisely why happiness feels so precious.

FrostNova, lifting the tent flap, delivered the intelligence, completely shattering their small moment of peace.

13. We have Inner Guards now.

The situation was urgent, and FrostNova didn't even have time to ask, "Why is this Orson guy in Talula's tent?"

"Based on the communication method, it's not a distress signal, but rather... a top-level warning telling us to flee immediately."

FrostNova's expression was grave. After receiving the signal, she had immediately tried to contact them back, but the resistance lacked reliable two-way signal transmission methods. These Infected who had left the group had not responded since sending the signal.

"What should we do, Talula? They've already separated from the resistance, and we could choose not to respond to the signal."

FrostNova asked for the decision from the leader of their group.

"But they are still Infected, and I will lead a small team to rescue them."

Talula re-sheathed the greatsword by her side, straightening her posture.

She had returned to her role as a fighter, preparing for the battle that might lie ahead.

"Take me with you. My abilities might be useful."

Orson, checking his clothes for cold resistance, volunteered to join this impromptu rescue mission.

"...Alright."

Talula hesitated for a moment but finally agreed to Orson's request. Orson's [Tuning] reconnaissance ability was unique in its range on the snowy plains.

"Count me in too."

"No, FrostNova, you've put too much energy into the Originium devices of the Abyssal Hunters before, and you were responsible for trading with the village yesterday. What you need now is rest. Leave this to me."

Talula refused FrostNova, who clearly showed some doubt about this judgment.

"We don't know the enemy's configuration, we can't let you take such a risk—"

"It's not a risk. We need you to contact Patriot. You also know how scarce the guerrilla team's communication equipment is. We need you and Patriot's... resonance?"

"It's the resonance of Originium Arts... Never mind, I understand."

FrostNova sighed and then looked at Orson.

"Keep an eye on Talula, Orson. Remember to retreat if you encounter anything suspicious."

"Yeah, I'll ask Talula to protect me then."

"You bastard..."

FrostNova rubbed her forehead, while Talula gave a slight smile.

After quickly and efficiently organizing a six-person team, they immediately advanced towards the location of the distress signal.

Along the way, Talula and the scout caster noticed no signs of the Enforcement Team or any other factions. The snow-covered ground only bore shallow tracks, barely indicating any sign of an attack.

"...Something's wrong."

But Orson didn't think so. He frowned and activated his wide-area low-frequency scanner. Although he received no feedback, the anxiety in his heart did not disappear.

Unlike those who would think, "Something feels off, but it's probably just my imagination~," Orson knew very well that this sense of unease was definitely not an illusion.

"Is something wrong, Orson?"

Talula asked Orson seriously. She knew that although this young man sometimes seemed to forget his brain when he went out, he would never engage in meaningless actions or conversations at a time like this.

"I can't quite explain it, but the Melody is off. A sound, like white noise, has been echoing in this area."

"White noise..."

Talula pondered for a few seconds.

"Scout caster, can you temporarily boost the strength of the alert casters?"

Talula asked the infected individual at the very front of the team, but there was no response.

"Hey, Scout Caster—Char?"

An infected warrior walked towards the unresponsive caster at the front. He placed his hand on the caster's shoulder, and then let out a cry of horror.

"Ugh—!? Dead, dead!? What's going on, what's happening!"

The infected individual stumbled back to the ground in a panic. At the same time, a long spear suddenly emerged from the scout caster's neck, piercing through his body.

"Damn it—Enemy attack! Everyone gather around me, light the torches!"

Talula immediately drew her greatsword, while simultaneously conjuring flames in her palm. Orson also took out the personal defensive dagger he carried.

But before the illuminating torches could reach the flames Talula spat out, the infected warriors seemed to be dragged into a swamp. They fell to the ground silently and stealthily—with their heads completely separated from their bodies.

"...!"

In less than a minute, all members of the search and rescue team, except for Talula and Orson, had suddenly and silently died.

—What kind of enemy is this? What is their scale?

Talula's mind raced. On the frozen plains of the North, there weren't many possible answers for an enemy with this kind of ability.

Orson increased his detection frequency, attempting to mask the influence of the white noise. This time, the detection was effective. He immediately sensed a humanoid figure right in front of his face.

"Ngh!"

Without hesitation, Orson retreated as soon as he detected the enemy's position. At the same time, he felt a sharp sting near his throat.

"Orson!"

"I'm fine, just a scratch. More importantly, I've analyzed the enemy's frequency."

Orson shielded his bleeding throat with his left hand and snapped his fingers lightly with his right.

Snap!

A counter-frequency extended outwards. Upon contact with the unknown enemy, it immediately revealed their outline amidst the white blizzard.

As the enemy's position and form were analyzed and exposed, both of them saw the entity that had almost wiped out the rescue team in an instant and had killed the previous infected team.

It was a tall figure wearing a strange gas mask, with a finely crafted sword at its waist—a bizarre existence.

Just standing in front of Orson, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread and terror.

"...Emperor's Inner Guard."

Talula frowned, stating the identity of the enemy before her with a grave tone. Although her voice was as calm as usual, Orson could still detect the tremor and confusion in it.

"Indeed. To sense me and evade that slash. You have a good piece by your side, daughter of Duke Koschei."

"Who are you calling whose daughter?"

Talula's anger was palpable. The surrounding cold blizzard was covered by a surge of heat.

Koschei?

Orson seemed to have some impression of the name, but it was also like he had no memory of it.

"What do you want, Emperor's Inner Guard? Is there anything worth plundering in this barren frozen land?"

"Assessing the situation. Your game, and that of your infected team, seems to have reached its end. We need to confirm the potential benefits of continuing to allow you to operate."

The inhuman entity called the Inner Guard spoke in a low, cold tone.

"Benefits? Game? This is not a game! I will gather those who have been abandoned by this land, by the Emperor you serve, and give them a place to survive on this continent!"

Talula roared, unleashing flames at the Inner Guard. However, the seemingly surging heatwave was easily dispersed by the opponent.

"Naive, unrealistic. Young serpent, if this is your goal, then the assessment may need to be lowered."

"What right do you executioners have to judge others! The lives you've taken number more than those in a localized war!"

"Killing, that's right. No matter how you sugarcoat it, the result of us killing others remains the same. You and I are doing the same thing, so why are you so sure that the path you're on is justice, daughter of Koschei, young serpent?"

"..."

The Inner Guard's words made Talula frown, but before Talula could retort, Orson's voice cut in.

"Because Talula never chops off someone's head just because they disagree. Is that reason enough?"

Orson shielded Talula, while the Sankta seemed momentarily lost in thought at the scene before him.

How long had it been since someone last "protected" him...?

14. I'm a Stand User too!

—Can you defeat this guy, Talula?

"...?!"

As Orson spoke, another voice echoed in Talula's mind simultaneously.

—This is one of the ways I'm temporarily experimenting with using Melody. Let's call it Resonance Beyond. In short, you've been invited into this frequency band, allowing us to communicate temporarily, disregarding the environment.

—A wondrous ability. In short, the Inner Guard... if it's just one, I might be able to contend with it.

Talula was only briefly surprised before immediately using this ability to communicate with Orson.

—Understood. Unfortunately, there are two of them.

—...?!

"Her ideals might indeed be naive and difficult to grasp, but so what? The first person to become 'King' in this land, would his ideas be mocked by those around him before they were realized!"