In Arknights, Starting Out as Griseo

As the sounds grew louder, a fully armed squad wearing thick cotton coats and carrying crossbows appeared in Sakura's sight.

The moment she saw their clothing, she all but ruled out the possibility that they were Infected.

Coupled with their small numbers, Sakura guessed that they were an advance squad sent to gather intelligence on the mine.

There should have been quite a few more people behind them, waiting for their report.

But since they were an advance squad, Sakura had no reason to let them go. She planned to keep one or two alive for questioning and kill the rest.

With her mind made up, Sakura slowly took a mask from the system space. After running her fingers over it and a trace of nostalgia flickered in her eyes, she put it on.

Then she pushed off the ground, leaping lightly and swiftly. A slash of icy-blue sword energy flew out, and before anyone could react, it instantly took out nearly the entire squad.

"Who's there? Captain!"

The sudden attack sent the only uninjured member of the squad into a panic. He kept looking around frantically.

Then, amid gusts of cold wind, Sakura landed lightly behind him, her long blade pointed directly at his vulnerable throat.

"..."

When he noticed the blade that had suddenly appeared at his neck, the sole survivor broke out in a cold sweat. He immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word.

"From now on, I ask, you answer. You'd better tell the truth, or else..."

As her words fell, a trace of killing intent leaked from Sakura, making the man before her shudder violently as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"I... I'll talk..."

PS: Something came up last night, so the bonus chapter got completely wrecked. I didn't write any of it. I'll keep at it today—no, more accurately, I have no choice but to post a bonus chapter today. QAQ

Forget-me-not

Swish—

After using a few little methods to obtain the information she wanted, Sakura showed almost no mercy. Her blade rose and fell...

A bright red line appeared across the sole survivor's throat. Then he collapsed into the snow with a thud, staining a wide patch of white crimson.

Once Sakura confirmed they were enemies, she would not show them mercy. That would have been cruelty toward herself.

Looking at the corpses before her, a faint glimmer flickered in her beautiful blue eyes. After a moment of silence, she took several delicate little flowers from the system space and gently placed them nearby before turning to leave.

Both the mask she was currently wearing and the delicate Forget-me-nots from before had appeared in the system space after Sakura was unlocked. They were items that belonged to Sakura alone.

And what she had just done was a ritual that belonged to her alone.

From what that man had said, Sakura learned the enemy's general deployment.

As for why it was only general, the reason was simple: she had not gotten any detailed information... Of course, it was not because the man had refused to talk. The outer personnel simply had no knowledge of the specific arrangements.

After all, that squad had merely been an advance unit sent to scout the situation. It was already impressive that they knew the broad deployment. They had no access to the finer details.

Still, that was enough for Sakura. As long as she knew the general locations of their deployment, she could go over and eliminate them.

There was one troublesome point, however. This time, the enemy had split into two groups, planning to surround the mine from different directions. Both groups had sent advance personnel to scout ahead.

So Sakura was a little torn. Should she rush over and kill the advance personnel from the other group first, or follow this route to the end... and deal with the main force here first?

After thinking it over for a while, she abandoned the former option and decided to deal with the nearby main force first. Then she could focus on the enemies on the other side.

For the sake of her mission, Sakura burst forth with terrifying speed, once again darting through the frost-covered woods toward her target.

Meanwhile, Griseo, who was chatting with Alyona and the others in the warehouse, suddenly had a look of understanding flash through her large violet eyes.

After learning about the enemy through Sakura's shared information, she silently informed Tyrant and Madam, sending the two of them to keep watch on the enemies approaching from the other direction.

They could not make a move, but they could still keep an eye on them...

Just before this, Griseo had also received word from her driver sister. Patriot was already leading a group this way, and they were advancing at no slow pace.

So after learning this from Sakura as well, Griseo blinked her large eyes lightly, a faint hint of frustration appearing in them.

She truly had reason to suspect that the system had calculated all of this beforehand. Otherwise, how could it have been such a coincidence...

Judging by both sides' timing, if Sakura had not intervened, Reunion Movement's reinforcements would almost certainly have run into one group of enemies and caused a conflict.

And if Griseo made an even bolder guess, since Reunion Movement had dispatched a major figure like Patriot this time, perhaps there might be Elite Guards among the enemies...

Still, although Ursus's Elite Guards were extremely powerful compared to ordinary people, they were not much of a problem in the little girl's eyes. They were merely troublesome.

Besides, killing an Elite Guard might draw the investigation and pursuit of other Elite Guards. They might even pin the blame directly on Reunion Movement.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Griseo beside her suddenly distracted by something, Alyona asked in a puzzled tone.

"It's nothing..."

Hearing the familiar hoarse voice by her ear, Griseo suddenly came back to her senses and gently shook her little head.

Looking at the somewhat dazed little girl, Lois chuckled and teased, "Looks like there really are quite a lot of things going on in that little head of yours, Griseo~"

"So, are we continuing the topic you only got halfway through earlier?"

As he spoke, Leos looked at Griseo with curious eyes, waiting for her answer.

Before receiving Sakura's message, Griseo had been telling the three of them stories to pass the time. More precisely, she had not been telling stories, but introducing her own "family."

"Mm... if you still want to hear more."

Hearing that, Griseo thought for a moment before answering seriously.

Although the little girl had not started the topic herself, she did not mind telling others about the other Flame-Chasers. In a sense, after all, she was not making it up.

"If you're still willing to talk, little Griseo. We're only curious, after all." Lois helplessly spread her hands and returned the decision to her.

Everyone had witnessed Griseo's strangeness and abilities firsthand. Of course they were curious, but they also respected her.

If the little one did not want to talk, they would be understanding and would not press her for answers. Besides, even if they did press her, they probably could not beat her?

"Mm, then let's continue."

As the decision returned to her hands once more, a trace of helplessness flashed through Griseo's large eyes, and she spoke softly.

At the same time, the little girl silently made a decision in her heart. She felt it was time to have one of her "guardians" come out and have a proper talk with Reunion Movement.

As for whether that "guardian" would be Sakura or the snake, Griseo had not decided yet.

But that was not important. After the "guardian" had a friendly conversation with Reunion Movement, she only wanted one result.

That was for "Griseo" to be able to remain with Reunion Movement openly and legitimately, rather than as someone of unknown origin.

Then, through someone else's words, Reunion Movement could also be informed of certain traits and precautions regarding "Griseo."

"Ahem... then I'll continue asking questions~"

After clearing her throat lightly, Lois softened her voice to test the waters before formally asking, "What kind of person is the Aponia Mama you mentioned, little Griseo?"

After Lois asked her question, the other two did not stare directly at the little girl, but they quietly pricked up their ears as well.

The three people present had long since heard the name Aponia from Griseo more than once, and they were all somewhat curious and concerned.

Furthermore, although the little girl had mentioned her back at the camp, what she said had been almost as good as saying nothing. That only made the two Yetis even more curious.

They wanted to know what kind of person could be the mother of a child as remarkable as Griseo.

"Mm... Aponia Mama is very gentle, and she treats me very well. But when she gets angry, she might be a little scary?"

PS: There'll be more tonight. I'll write even if it kills me, because if I don't, I'll miss the release date soon. I'm doomed.

And thanks to the big shot for the tip. It was really terrifying. I thought this reward event was nearly over and no one was really doing anything anymore, then I got hit with such a surprise???)

And now for the book recommendation segment. Since I'm still getting promoted recently, there will be more books I'm helping recommend.

For Raiden Mei,

There was moonlight in her heart, scattered across the world, and a warm sun shining over the earth.

She had believed the sunlight was gone while the moonlight would endure, never expecting the world to play such a huge joke on her.

At that night's ball, the warm sun said to her, "Hi, how does it feel, Mei?"

Slaughter

"Mm... Aponia Mama is very gentle, and she treats me very well. But when she gets angry, she might be a little scary?"

As she spoke, a pair of dim, lightless scarlet eyes appeared in Griseo's mind...

Even in "Griseo's" memories, she rarely saw Aponia angry. It was not only because Aponia had a good temper, but also because she often avoided "Griseo."

Of course, there were exceptions. For example, when the little girl wanted to do unhealthy things, refused to sleep properly, or would not eat properly... then there was a chance she would see Aponia's red eyes.

Hearing that, Leos stroked his chin and asked thoughtfully, "I see. It sounds like your family is quite good to you, little Griseo. But why has no one come looking for you? Do they not know you're here?"

It was something he had been curious about for a while. The little girl had told them in somewhat greater detail about several members of her family, such as Aunt Mobius, soft Sister Sakura, and Cosmo.

However, when Cosmo was mentioned, Leos and the other two all wore somewhat strange expressions.

If the two Yetis had initially only found Cosmo a little odd because they learned why Griseo went barefoot...

Then after hearing the little girl's further descriptions just now, they all felt that there was something rather criminal about him...

Of course, setting that aside, Leos and the others could tell from Griseo's words that these people treated her well. But precisely because of that, they had this question...

"Um, maybe they don't know I came back, and they're all very busy."

Faced with Leos's question, Griseo thought it over a little before giving her answer.

After Griseo answered, the atmosphere among them suddenly became a little stiff, but Lois quickly recovered.

She then leaned over and slung an arm around the little girl's shoulders, saying with a grin, "Don't overthink it, little Griseo. If no one comes looking for you, then stick with us! We'll take good care of you!"

"...?"

Griseo, who had merely been calmly describing the situation, slowly put a huge question mark over her little head after being suddenly hugged.

"I'm not overthinking it..."

However, after the little girl quietly explained herself, a gentle, comforting pat landed on her head, followed by Lois's voice.

"Good. It's good that you're not overthinking it. Once this mission is over, Leos and I will secretly take you two little ones out for something tasty."

"Mm."

Amid the cold wind and falling snow, Sakura quickly found her target, one of the enemy's main forces.

Since it was daytime, she did not approach too closely. Instead, she chose to observe them secretly from a distance first.

Sakura swept her gaze over them and analyzed the various traces. She concluded that this group of enemies numbered at least several hundred, and their equipment was relatively sophisticated.

However, none of that mattered to Sakura. It would not affect her.

The only thing was that this was probably her first time dealing with so many people... She did not really seem much like an assassin.

Huff—

Once she was ready, Sakura flashed toward the enemy. This was destined to be a cruel slaughter...

But she would not hesitate, because they were enemies and because they stood on opposing sides.

If Sakura spared them today, and they brought even more enemies here or even harmed people she cared about, what then?

What was more, even if she gave them a chance, Sakura did not think they would spare Reunion Movement's Infected...

"..."

Elsewhere, Griseo, who was eating lunch, suddenly lost a little of her appetite after sensing what Sakura was doing at that moment.

A trace of complexity quickly flashed through her wide violet eyes...

"What's wrong? Is it not tasty, little Griseo? Though that's true, there's barely any oil in it."

Watching Griseo stop eating and seeing how she had suddenly lost her appetite, Lois could not help reaching out and gently rubbing her soft hair as she asked.

"No... it's not because of lunch..."