The Snake Lord's Second Letter / Greyy's Announcement
On both sides, Saria Muelsyse now have Ho'olheyak as their guide, but Silence's "guide" or "contact person" has not yet been decided.
The reason... well, it's because Mobius didn't really want to reveal his or Sakura's identities to Silence, this upright young man.
Because doing that would introduce many more risks, and it's even possible that Saria might realize it at some point.
Therefore, Mobius was still considering who to contact Silence.
However, just as Mobius was deep in thought, a familiar, childlike voice rang in her mind after a long time, making her startled slightly.
'This person... Aunt Mobius, let me do it.'
'Heh~ Why is Griseo suddenly interested in this?'
Upon hearing this, Mobius couldn't help but laugh, then teased him gently.
'Hmm, Aunt Mobius should know that Talulah and the others are worried about food. I want to help them...'
Faced with Mobius's teasing, Griseo earnestly explained in her mind.
After hearing Griseo's explanation, Mobius wasn't surprised at all, but then she seemed to think of something and said:
'I know you're short of food over there, but Griseo, weren't you planning to go to Bianca's place? Why did you suddenly change your mind?'
'Because if I go to Aunt Mobius's place, it might be able to help you, wouldn't it?'
'Heh~ In that case, welcome, Griseo ~'
'Hmm... I'll go tell Talulah and Bianca, then I'll head over.'
Go ahead.
Meanwhile, in Ifrit's room...
While Silence was busy, Ifrit was in her room, intently looking at her new picture book.
However, just as she was reading the enigmatic story, she suddenly realized that the story was a jumbled mess of characters and words, and that the characters were actually quite complex and difficult to understand. She then realized that the characters were actually quite complex and difficult to understand.
Then, Ifrit quickly found the source of the sound... under her bed.
After discovering the source, the little dragon put the picture book aside and then lay down on the bed to look under it...
Although she was somewhat prepared, Ifrit still couldn't help but be startled when she saw what was under the bed...
There was nothing strange under her bed, only a puddle of Black Mud emitting a ghostly green glow and a letter floating on top of Black Mud.
After regaining its senses, the little dragon reached for the letter under the bed...
If it were anything else, Ifrit might have felt some fear, but as for this Black Mud, she was already used to it, and now she even felt a sense of joy.
Because, while others might not know, she was quite certain that the owner of this Black Mud was the Mobius she loved! And the Mobius wouldn't harm her!
"Hmm!"
After grabbing the envelope, Ifrit seemed to remember something, shoved it under her pillow, and then quickly got out of bed barefoot, running towards the laboratory exit amidst a series of exclamations.
However, after leaving the laboratory, the familiar figure he had imagined did not appear in Charmander's sight.
Ifrit, what are you doing?
Silence, who had chased after her from the lab, looked at Ifrit was standing motionless outside, with a somewhat helpless expression, and said...
"Um, it's nothing... I just misread it."
Hearing Silence's call from behind, Ifrit looked around again, and after confirming that she didn't see any familiar figures, she turned around with a hint of disappointment and whispered.
"Sigh... you, you don't even know how to put on your shoes. Hurry up and go back." Seeing Ifrit suddenly look dejected, Silence sighed and ruffled her hair before gently leading her back.
However, just as Silence finished wiping Ifrit's feet and settling her in, and was about to go out again, she was suddenly called back.
"Wait a minute, Silence."
P. S.: I'll finish the next chapter as soon as possible. My current toothache is so bad I'm numb.
Chapter 123 The Serpent Lord's Second Letter
"Wait a minute, Silence."
"Hmm? Is there anything else, Ifrit?"
Suddenly stopped, Silence turned around and looked at Ifrit was sitting on the bed, and asked her a question.
"Um!"
Upon hearing this, Ifrit nodded heavily, then carefully glanced at the laboratory outside. After confirming that no one was paying attention, she waved slightly to Silence.
"...?"
Seeing her child's mysterious demeanor, Silence suppressed her complex and negative emotions, mustered some patience, and slowly walked over.
Although she is in an extremely bad mood right now, and her worldview is somewhat Honkai Impact 3rd, she will absolutely not show her negative emotions in front of her child; that's her bottom line.
"Give..."
After Silence moved closer, Ifrit carefully took the letter out from under the blanket, which she had just glanced at on the cover, and then stuffed it into the arms of the person in front of her.
"...?!"
At first, Silence was a little confused, but when she saw the inscription on the envelope, "[Secretly hand this letter to Silence] - Serpent Lord," she was slightly startled.
But she quickly realized what was happening, and then quietly folded the envelope and stuffed it into her pocket.
Then, Silence slowly bent down and whispered to Ifrit, "So, Ifrit suddenly ran out just now because of her? She was just here?"
"I don't know, this letter appeared suddenly. I just thought the Mobius had arrived..." Upon hearing this, Ifrit shook her head slightly, then a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
"... I see."
After hearing Ifrit's words, a fleeting look of apprehension crossed Silence's face. She then softened her voice and continued, "If Ifrit isn't in danger, that's fine. But if someone suddenly appears and tries to hurt you, remember to shout."
"Um!"
"Sweetie, I'm going out for a bit."
After saying that, Silence gently patted Ifrit's head to comfort her before turning and leaving the room.
To be honest, if Silence had previously suspected a connection between Sakura and the Serpent Lord, her suspicions had now diminished considerably...
After all, someone had already managed to slip things into Ifrit's room silently without alerting anyone. Given that, sneaking in undetected wasn't impossible...
"..."
Ifrit watched Silence's departing figure for a moment before picking up the picture book beside her again to continue reading.
Although he was a little disappointed that the Mobius had sent a message but hadn't come to see him, the little fire dragon knew that the person wasn't as free as he was, and he couldn't reveal his identity.
Of course, even though she knew, Ifrit already planned to make up for this "debt" the next time she met Mobius. Next time, she was going to eat 10 candies in one go!
Just as the little dragon hadn't fully settled down and immersed herself in the picture book story, that familiar soft voice rang out again, causing her to pause slightly as she turned the pages.
Then, Ifrit skillfully tossed the picture book aside, bent down, and glanced under the bed. When she saw what was under the bed, her eyes widened in surprise.
This time, there was no Black Mud or envelopes under the bed, only a small, lonely bag of candy.
After leaving Ifrit's room, Silence greeted her colleagues in the lab and headed towards the bathroom.
Although she didn't want to read letters in the bathroom every time, there were too many people and too many eyes outside, and she couldn't find a better place for the time being.
"..."
On her way to the restroom, Silence frowned slightly, her hand, tucked into the pocket of her white coat, tightly gripping the envelope containing the [Serpent Lord] letter.
Although she hadn't opened the envelope yet, Silence had some guesses about its contents.
After all, she hadn't forgotten the "cooperation" mentioned in the Serpent Lord's previous letter...
Then, with mixed feelings, Silence went to the restroom, skillfully entered a stall, closed the door, took out the letter from her pocket, opened it, and began to read.
[Tsk tsk tsk, how pathetic, kind Miss Silence ~]
[It must be unpleasant to think you're doing something righteous and saving others, only to find out in the end that it was all a lie and you were an accomplice.]
Poor Ifrit!
Just reading the first paragraph made Silence clench his fists, and his expression turned very ugly as if a sore spot had been hit.
[Alright, I'm not going to waste any more time. Let's get straight to the point. Miss Silence, would you like to collaborate?]
[Oh, right, I almost forgot. To prevent you, naive Miss Silence, from pinning your hopes on that ridiculous method, I must remind you.]
[During the experiment, if Ifrit is suddenly paralyzed and loses consciousness and control of her body, there is a 90% chance that her Originium Arts will go out of control and go berserk!]
[If Miss Silence isn't worried about losing such a test subject due to her severely deteriorating health, then she could certainly take the gamble.]
"!"
After reading through another long passage, Silence's pupils contracted slightly, his face filled with horror and disbelief.
But there's no way around it; after all, no one would remain calm if an outsider guessed their thoughts beforehand and gave them a "warning."
"Call--"
After taking a short while to compose herself, Silence continued reading.
[However, I think the kind-hearted Miss Silence wouldn't be willing to gamble with someone's life like this.]
[And now, being restricted from all sides and besieged, the best solution for you to save the innocent child Ifrit is to cooperate with me.]
[Of course, cooperation is all about mutual consent. Come to xxxxxxxx at 2 PM today. If Ms. Silence is interested, you can come and discuss the details.]
--[Serpent Lord]
"..."
After reading the entire letter, Silence fell into complete silence, not even noticing when her nails dug into her flesh.
Silence had to admit that every letter the Serpent Lord sent, though not particularly well-written and seemingly just casual conversation, was... a knife stabbing at her sore spots, as if he had her completely under his control.
"2 PM...?"
P. S.: So sleepy, another all-nighter. It proves that being unable to concentrate really makes writing incredibly inefficient; I kept getting distracted and wanting to slack off. Time for bed, everyone. Goodnight zzz.
Chapter 124 Griseo's Announcement
Ursus Snowfield, the temporary base of the Reunion Movement --
"I'm back... Why are you sitting here alone, lost in thought?"
Having just returned from outside the encampment, the little polar bear Alyona, dressed in a thick cotton coat, walked to the campfire and asked the little girl, who was sitting alone in a thin dress, a question.
"???)?"
Having just finished her conversation with Mobius and Bianca, Griseo, who was lost in thought, felt a slight twitch in the ahoge on her head before turning her head to look.
After recognizing the person who had arrived, she spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Welcome back... Alyona, why are you back so early today?"
"I had already mastered what we were training on today, so I was allowed to come back first." As she spoke, Alyona sat down next to Griseo with a smile.
"Hmm... Alyona is amazing."
Upon hearing this, Griseo gently nodded her head, then gave a serious thumbs-up to the person beside her.
"Heh, I'm nothing special. I can't even protect the people I want to protect with this little bit of strength..." Faced with the little girl's praise, Alyona shook her head slightly and said with a wry smile.
After hearing Alyona's self-deprecating words, Griseo reached out her warm little hands, cupped Alyona's face which was cold from the wind, and encouraged her, "No, I believe Alyona can do it... I'll always be with you."
"... Um!"
Feeling the warmth on her face, Alyona was slightly taken aback, then gently rubbed Griseo's little hand and nodded with a smile.
"..."
Seeing her friends laughing happily because of her words, Griseo remained silent, instead thinking about what gifts she should bring back for them and everyone else when she went to Mobius to shop.
From the little girl's perspective, since they were already there... buying food was the same as buying food anyway, so she might as well bring some gifts for everyone. After all, many things were still scarce on this snowy plain.