In Arknights, Starting Out as Griseo

If nothing unexpected happened, all they needed to do next was wait quietly for Talulah to send someone to meet them.

After returning to the tent, Griseo joined Lois's bored little group, since there was nothing to do.

However, just as the little girl was about to take out her easel and paints to start drawing, that long-unheard voice sounded in her mind once more.

Mission: Repel the invading enemies and ensure that over 80% of the infected at the mine survive. (Mission-limited characters: Setsuna, Sakura)

Mission Reward: Divine Key: Seven Thunders of Purification

"???)?"

After hearing the long-absent system mission, a huge question mark slowly appeared above Griseo's little head.

Never mind the mission itself—the character restriction alone left her somewhat bewildered...

After taking a moment to process it, Griseo hurriedly opened the panel and checked Sakura's unlock status.

Sure enough, just as she had expected, Elysia's Sakura had somehow already been unlocked...

"..."

After a moment of silence, Griseo roughly guessed when Sakura had been unlocked... Whenever this happened, she felt utterly helpless about how the system never notified her when characters were fully unlocked.

It was not just Sakura this time; it had been the same with the snake girl last time... If she had not happened to check, she might not even have realized a character had been unlocked.

After leaving the character interface, Griseo looked back at the mission panel and began studying and analyzing the current situation.

Based on the mission description, the little girl guessed that the mine's abnormal situation had probably been discovered.

She just did not know whether the enemies mentioned in the mission referred to other infected coming to claim a share of the spoils, or the Ursus authorities.

After all, the Ursus authorities had always had wanted posters and bounties out for the Yeti Squad.

As far as Griseo knew, Sister Yelena's head was actually worth quite a lot. It took the combined bounties of many Yetis to compare with it.

Then there was the fact that this mission had character restrictions. She did not have any objections to that, but...

There was one problem.

Whenever Griseo unlocked a new character, they did not come with matching weapons... Based on past experience, ordinary weapons—or Divine Keys like this time—were generally mission rewards.

But the problem was that Setsuna Sakura had originally been an assassin for Poisoned Pupae, specializing in handling traitors and various targets for the organization... Yet even an assassin needed a weapon.

Although Griseo felt that Sakura could probably strangle enemies to death one-handed, that would be far too unsightly and troublesome...

So, the little girl now needed to find a weapon for the Sakura she would transform into. It did not have to suit her perfectly, but she absolutely needed one.

"Hmm..."

As she thought, Griseo slowly turned her faint gaze toward Lois and the other two, who were sitting around bored out of their minds.

She really could not be blamed for setting her sights on the Yetis. Mainly because, barring any surprises, they were probably the only ones in the entire mine with weapons.

The mine's original weapons and equipment had long since been gathered up by the Yetis, right in front of Griseo.

But there was no helping it. They were strategic resources, after all.

"What is it? Little Griseo, that look of yours is kind of scary."

Feeling the scorching gaze beside her, Lois turned her head, met the little girl's eyes, and shuddered as a bad feeling rose in her heart.

After hearing Lois's words, the other two people present also turned puzzled looks toward Griseo.

"Mm... I want a long sword."

Meeting Lois's gaze, Griseo voiced her request with a hint of longing in her eyes.

"?" ×3

After hearing Griseo's words, huge question marks appeared over the heads of the little one and the two adults almost simultaneously.

"...Can you tell me why?"

After pausing briefly, Lois rubbed her forehead before asking helplessly.

She wanted to know what her little darling wanted to do this time...

"Because I want one."

Without even thinking, Griseo answered honestly with a blank expression, offering no attempt at concealment whatsoever.

"..."

Hearing such an honest answer, Lois choked. She then covered her face with one hand and began to think.

This time, someone had completely rendered her speechless.

Leos, sitting nearby, wore an utterly helpless, amused expression as he watched the two interact.

"..."

Alyona, seated beside Griseo, lightly furrowed her little brows after hearing that. A trace of helplessness flashed through her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed the words.

"For a moment, I don't know whether I should praise you for being honest, little Griseo, or..."

"Forget it, forget it. I don't know what you need a weapon for, but there's no harm in giving you one for self-defense."

After covering her face for a long while, Lois finally moved her hand away and spoke softly to Griseo in an extremely helpless tone.

She was not so helpless because Griseo wanted a weapon. What left her helpless was the little girl's honesty and directness.

Truthfully, Lois had lived on these Ursus snowfields for a long time. She had seen all kinds of people, all kinds of cruelty, and had suffered through many hardships herself.

But a child as innocent, pure, and simple as Griseo... she had truly never seen one before.

And whenever this happened, Lois became even more aware that Griseo's identity was anything but ordinary.

A child like this could never have been raised by an ordinary family. At the very least, her family background had to be exceptionally good.

Not to mention that the little girl's abilities were also remarkably unusual and powerful...

"Thank you, Sister Lois..."

After hearing Lois agree, the light in Griseo's violet eyes flickered, sparkling like stars.

"You really are something~"

Seeing the little girl's adorable appearance, most of Lois's helplessness dissipated. She could not help reaching out and pinching Griseo's soft, tender cheeks.

After Lois truly agreed, Leos put away his previous helpless smile. He lightly raised an eyebrow, revealing a strange expression.

P.S.: No one is posting comments, and no one is urging me on either. It makes me feel like nobody is reading. I'm exhausted. I'll try to write the second chapter faster. Come on, urge me on a little—

Setsuna Sakura

"So, what kind of long sword does little Griseo want? Honestly, for a cute little thing like you, I think a short sword or dagger would be more suitable." Lois withdrew her hand and asked softly.

"Mm... I don't know? I'm not actually the one who'll be using it."

Griseo was slightly startled by the question, answering with a hint of uncertainty.

This time, after hearing the little girl's words, understanding flashed through Leos's eyes. Beating Lois to it, he asked quietly, "I see... Little one, are you finding a weapon for your companion?"

"!"

Leos's sudden words immediately frightened Griseo, and a trace of panic flashed through her eyes.

"I see! I was wondering why little Griseo needed a weapon when Mr. Wolf and the others are protecting you. So it's for those companions of yours." After hearing Leos's words, Lois clapped her hands and realized the truth.

"...???)?"

At that moment, Griseo's feelings slowly shifted from panic to confusion, then settled down again.

Seriously, if Lois had not immediately followed up with those words, the little girl would have thought that her purpose for wanting a weapon—and her identity—had been exposed.

"The weapons are in this storage room. Since they're for your companions, Griseo, go choose one yourself. Hmm... Alyona can also pick a weapon for self-defense."

As she spoke, Lois jumped down from where she was sitting and headed toward the weapon storage area. Soon, she dragged out a huge box filled with all sorts of weapons.

Seeing this, the two little ones hurriedly stood up and walked over.

After staring at the box of weapons and thinking for a while, Griseo eventually chose a long sword that was passably usable and stored it in the system space.

With Lois's permission, Alyona also selected a sharp dagger for self-defense.

After the two little ones finished choosing their weapons, Lois pushed the box back into its original place.

With the weapon issue resolved, Griseo began considering the final condition of this mission... an 80% survival rate.

The little girl did not quite understand it. If the system had specifically brought it up, that almost meant that if she did not intervene, the infected people they had rescued this time would suffer severe losses.

There were only two possible explanations for such an outcome. First, the enemies this time were extremely troublesome or numerous enough that Sakura might make mistakes and let some slip through.

Second, the coming environment would be extremely harsh, and many infected would not make it back to the Reunion Movement camp.

However, Griseo felt that both possibilities might be involved...

After analyzing things for a while, the little girl stopped thinking about it. She realized that once she had sorted out the situation, there was no need to keep indulging in empty speculation.

It was time to send someone out to investigate.

After all, where were the enemies now? How many were there? How many groups had they split into? Griseo knew none of that yet.

Moreover, she had one concern that made her want to figure out the enemy's situation as quickly as possible.

That concern was that Griseo feared Talulah's people might coincidentally run into this group of enemies... That would be quite troublesome.

Thinking that, the little girl blinked her big eyes, stood up again, and said softly, "I'm going out again. I'll be back soon, so don't worry."

"Go on. Be careful."

"Yeah, little one, remember to stay safe."

With the experience from last time, the two Yetis did not react too strongly this time. They agreed readily enough.

"Do you need me to come with you?"

Unlike the two Yetis who had agreed so readily, Alyona looked at Griseo with her pale green eyes and asked softly.

"No. I'll be back soon. Alyona, just wait for me." Hearing Alyona's words, Griseo gently shook her little head.

If it had been like before, she definitely would have happily brought her companion along, but not this time... This was, after all, something of a little secret.

Then Griseo quickly ran out. Time was tight, and no one knew when the enemies would arrive, so the sooner the better.

Just like last time, after avoiding the others, she plunged into the forest again.

Of course, Griseo did not intend to personally carry out this scouting mission... At least, "Griseo" would not be going.

A flash of icy-blue light appeared, and Setsuna Sakura manifested in this world. She had pink hair, long fox ears, and attire just as light as Griseo's.

Before the little girl could say anything, Sakura gave her a gentle smile and said, "It has been a long time, Griseo."

"Mm, it has been a long time, Sister Sakura... I have something I'd like to ask of you." Griseo lightly nodded and spoke.

Before Griseo could explain further, Sakura smiled and said first, "I already know. Leave this mission to me. Don't worry."

After all, no matter how different their thoughts and ways of thinking were, the two were ultimately one person linked by heart.

Under such circumstances, Sakura naturally knew about this mission and the current situation. She was determined to obtain the Seven Thunders of Purification.

Then Sakura flicked her slender wrist, and the long sword Griseo had just acquired from the storage room appeared in her hand.

The moment the weapon entered her hand, Sakura's gentle aura changed instantly, becoming sharp and fierce.

"Mm, I believe in you, Sister Sakura. I'll have my companions stay alert as well. If there's any news, I'll tell you immediately."

Facing Sakura, who radiated a dependable presence, Griseo did not waste any more words.

"Good. Then go back first, Griseo."

Sakura nodded lightly. After giving that reminder while gripping her sword, she did not linger any longer. She pushed off with her feet and quickly departed.

"..."

After watching her leave, Griseo did not keep standing there foolishly. She returned the way she had come, heading back toward the storage room.

Lost in thought, the little girl clearly did not notice that a pair of eyes had been watching her from afar the entire time, even seeing her enter and leave the forest.

P.S.: There are plenty of people. I definitely wouldn't judge popularity based only on comments, but if people urge me on, I really do write faster.

These past few days have been too busy. After it goes premium, I'll start doing bounties and write more. Also, if you urge me on, I might not write more, but I'll write earlier.