But Alina was the one who had come looking for Talulah. When it came to a close friend she lived with, she was not that concerned about keeping up appearances.
After all, what had they not seen of each other? They had even slept together before...
After calling out once, Alina quietly waited outside the tent without saying another word.
Because she understood Talulah's habits. Her close friend had definitely heard that shout.
"Shh, Griseo is still sleeping. Morning~"
Gently lifting the tent flap, Talulah poked her head out and softly spoke to Alina in front of her.
"Mm...?"
After hearing Talulah's words, Alina had been about to say something. But when she looked up and saw someone's face, she fell silent, wearing a strange expression as she swallowed all the words she had meant to say.
Seeing her close friend suddenly stop talking and make such an indescribable expression, Talulah asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"...Pfft, hahaha... S-sorry."
Talulah's blank expression, combined with the adorable doodles on her face, finally made Alina, who had been trying hard to hold it in, burst into laughter.
"???"
Alina's laughter only made the Dragon Girl even more confused. She instinctively touched her face, but could not figure out what was going on.
Still, the ominous feeling in her heart only grew stronger...
At last, under her friend's amused gaze, Talulah turned around and went back into the tent to look in the mirror. Alina carefully followed her inside.
"!"
When Talulah looked in the mirror and saw the "makeup" on her face, her expression twisted for an instant... but it soon turned into endless helplessness.
What else could she do? She had agreed to let the little girl stay, and Griseo had even helped her tremendously. She could not exactly kick her out...
And she was so adorable that Talulah could only forgive her...
"Hehe~"
Alina gave a quiet laugh as she watched Talulah's expression.
Then, so as not to wake the little one, she leaned close to Talulah's ear and whispered, "Looks like you two had quite a pleasant time last night~"
"Mm... Don't get so close. And it wasn't pleasant at all!"
Feeling warm breath against her ear, Talulah's body tensed instinctively. She turned around and carefully pushed away the person beside her.
"Is that so? I feel like... Talulah, your temperament has changed a lot. Your appearance has not changed, but you seem much more mature."
The little deer was not discouraged after being pushed away. Instead, she grabbed Talulah's wrist and used it to pull herself close again, narrowing her eyes as she spoke softly.
Even though Talulah still acted the same around her, a little blank and rather amusing... Alina had still keenly sensed the subtle changes in her close friend.
"...Just as expected of you."
Note
Looking at Alina's face so close to her own and those probing blue eyes, feeling the warm breath she exhaled, Talulah sighed helplessly with a faint blush on her face.
"This isn't the place to talk. The little one is still sleeping. I'll wash up, then we can talk outside..."
"Okay~"
Only after getting the answer she wanted did Alina slowly release Talulah and step aside.
"..."
After Alina moved away, Talulah secretly let out a sigh of relief before turning around to wash up.
Fortunately, the paint Griseo had used to draw on Talulah's face last night was ordinary paint and washed off easily.
Otherwise, someone definitely would have vigorously shaken awake the little girl who was sleeping soundly on the bed.
After taking one last look at Griseo, who was sleeping deeply in bed, Talulah left the tent with Alina.
"So, what exactly happened between you and little Griseo last night?" As they walked, Alina could no longer restrain her curiosity and asked.
After noticing Talulah's changes, the little deer had already formed a few guesses. But guesses were only guesses. She still wanted to hear the answer from her close friend and confirm them.
"I experienced... the magic of painting you mentioned. All I can say is that seeing it for myself was far more shocking than hearing about it." Talulah wore an indescribable expression as she spoke quietly.
"Heh~ Looks like you experienced those things too. No wonder your temperament suddenly became so much more mature overnight." As she spoke, Alina could not help laughing again, her laughter sweet and gentle.
"Hmph."
Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face and smile beside her, Talulah was dazed for a moment. Once she came back to herself, she gave a soft snort, but the corners of her lips still rose unconsciously.
It's really wonderful that you're still here.
"Since that's the case, Talulah, do you have any new plans or arrangements?" After confirming Talulah's general situation through a few words, Alina asked with a smile.
Hearing Alina's gentle question, Talulah nodded lightly before inviting her, "I do have a few. So, Alina, after breakfast, do you have time to talk?"
"I see, but I still have to teach the children today..."
Seeing the anticipation in her friend's eyes, a trace of amusement flashed through Alina's own as she spoke softly.
But before she could finish, Talulah interrupted her.
"Then forget it. We can talk next time."
After saying that, an almost imperceptible look of disappointment flashed through the Dragon Girl's eyes, like a child who had not received any candy.
"Pfft, I haven't finished speaking yet. Talulah, do you really not want to talk with me that badly? Even though I have to teach the children today, I can have someone else take my place."
"!"
"Alright, don't make that face. Let's go."
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New Clothes and a Mission
"Mm~"
Griseo woke up around noon.
However, she had not woken naturally. Mister Knight had called her up to eat.
"I'm still a little sleepy..."
After sitting on the bed in a daze for a while, Griseo finally woke up completely and slowly stretched.
Though she was still a little sleepy, she did not plan to sleep anymore. She did not want to mess up this body's schedule and end up unable to sleep at night.
Just as Griseo was about to get out of bed, the azure knight appeared beside her bed again... Unlike before, when his hands had been empty, he was now holding a set of clothes.
Looking at the familiar clothes in Mister Knight's hands, Griseo froze for a moment before asking quietly, "Mister Knight, do you want me to wear these clothes today?"
Griseo was not surprised that Mister Knight could take out clothes, because it had always been like this.
Back when she was still at Fire Moth, Aponia, Eden, and the other female members had prepared all kinds of clothes and other things for the little girl.
Those things were usually stored in the space within her paintings and kept by Griseo's companions, such as Mister Knight and Madam.
In response to Griseo's question, the tall azure knight nodded lightly and placed the neatly folded clothes on the bed.
"Alright... If that's the case, Mister Knight should change outfits too."
Looking at the red hood among the clothes on the bed, Griseo summoned her paintbrush and brought out red paint, coloring Mister Knight before her.
Very soon, wrapped in color, the azure knight vanished. In his place stood the enormous and majestic gold-and-red Mr. Wolf.
"Mm... Mr. Wolf is very handsome."
Looking at Mister Knight, whose colors and appearance had completely changed, Griseo nodded her little head and praised him with a different form of address.
After being praised, Mr. Wolf gave a proper and elegant bow before fading into the air.
Only after Mr. Wolf disappeared did Griseo look at the Little Red Riding Hood-themed outfit beside her. Then, after taking off her original pure white dress, she gently changed into the cute red outfit.
"Mm..."
Just as Griseo lowered her head to look at her new dress, the red Mr. Wolf appeared again. He moved to the bedside and began tidying up the clothes his princess had just changed out of.
Although the snow-white dress Griseo had worn for two days was not visibly dirty, Mr. Wolf still carefully folded it up and took it back to clean.
"Mm, thank you, Mr. Wolf."
Watching Mr. Wolf tidy her changed clothes and the bed, Griseo obediently thanked him before going to wash up.
After washing up, Griseo walked out of the tent. Her stomach was a little hungry, and she planned to find something to eat.
However, her outfit was clearly quite eye-catching in the camp. The number of people turning to look at her was remarkably high.
At last, under everyone's gaze, Griseo passed through the many tents and arrived at the usual place where they ate.
But because she was so conspicuous, someone approached her before she could even get there.
"You weren't here for breakfast today. You must be hungry, right? Come eat with us... Also, this outfit suits you very well. It's adorable."
Walking over to Griseo, Yelena reached out and gently patted her little head as she spoke softly.
"Good afternoon, Sister Yelena..."
Hearing Yelena's gentle voice, Griseo greeted her before taking the initiative to hold her cold hand.
"Good afternoon."
Feeling the warmth in her hand, Yelena curled her lips into a faint smile and led the little one toward the campfire.
When they arrived beside the campfire, the Yetis all started speaking when they saw the adorable Griseo.
"That outfit is so cute. It suits little Griseo perfectly."
"Yeah, yeah. It really does."
"So why didn't we see little Griseo this morning?"
"..."
While the Yetis chattered away and expressed their concern, one person unusually did not speak. Instead, she stared intently at Griseo in deep thought.
"Lois, why are you staring at little Griseo so intently?"
Just then, one of the Yetis noticed her unusual behavior and curiously leaned over to ask.
"It's nothing... I'm just wondering why her socks haven't gotten wet even though little Griseo is stepping on snow... And who designed socks that expose the toes and heels?"
Lois did not hide what she had been thinking about from her friend. She simply said it outright.
"Hiss, now that you mention it... Those socks really are strange."
"Right, right? She might as well go barefoot... Don't tell me Cosmo designed them again."
"Mm...?"
Hearing their conversation, Griseo slowly raised her little head. After staring at them both for a moment, she softly explained, "My clothes... are special. They don't get dirty or wet."
"As for the socks, everyone prepared a lot of clothes for me... I don't know who prepared them."
And it was not just this outfit. All of Griseo's clothes had undergone special treatment and would not become stained.
The reason was that she had once often gotten paint on her clothes while painting, so everyone at Fire Moth had discussed it and specially treated all her clothes.
"Wow, what magical clothes!"
"They really are magical, but no matter how magical they are, they can't excuse that awful taste!"
"Alright, stop chatting for now. Hurry up and eat, all of you. Here, drink some hot soup first." While the Yetis were still discussing it nonstop, Yelena, who sat beside Griseo, spoke up.
As she spoke, she handed a bowl of hot soup to the little girl.
"Mm... Thank you, Sister Yelena."
Before you continue