In Arknights, Starting Out as Griseo

"...Thank you so much."

Faced with Talulah's embrace, Griseo did not dodge at all and simply let her hold her.

Only after the little girl sensed the "heat" of the Dragon Girl's colors did she say seriously, "Then... Talulah has to keep her word."

"Of course. Trust me, I'll do it!"

"Mm."

At last, when the people around the bonfire were nearly dispersing and Talulah and Alyona were about to get back to work, they belatedly realized they seemed to have forgotten something...

;

After Black Serpent's matter disrupted everything earlier, neither of them remembered to ask Griseo about her sister Sakura.

And now, the two little ones had already left and gone back...

"Oh no... It seems we forgot to ask about Miss Sakura." A trace of helplessness flashed across Alina's face as she looked at Talulah.

"It's fine. The little one isn't going anywhere. We can ask at noon," Talulah said with a gentle shake of her head and a smile for her close friend.

It was clear that the Dragon Girl was in an exceptionally good mood right now. Even the tail behind her swayed slightly.

"Heh, true enough. All right, let's go." Seeing Talulah in such high spirits, Alina could not help but chuckle.

"Mm."

"..."

"Did you forget something?"

Alyona tilted her head slightly, looking at Griseo, who had suddenly stopped and seemed to be thinking about something.

Griseo nodded her little head and explained softly, "Mm... but it isn't very important. Let's hurry back. It's still rather cold outside."

Like the two people by the bonfire, the little girl only belatedly remembered Sakura's matter as well...

But since it was neither a major nor minor issue, although both sides remembered it, they tacitly chose not to seek the other out for now.

"Okay."

After looking Griseo over a few more times and confirming that she truly had no problems, Alyona finally nodded. Then, letting the little girl hold her hand, she continued walking forward.

PS: This is too scary. Starting tomorrow, I need to update earlier... Before I knew it, I'd gone back to that godawful schedule from before. And I hope these next few days pass quickly. I don't want to write huge chapters anymore.

I was seriously stuck today. I revised the Black Serpent part so many times.

That's all. Good night, everyone. Give me a push.

Mobius's Departure

After breakfast that morning, Griseo took Alyona back to the tent. It was still cold outside, and a large group of infected people had only just joined them, making things somewhat chaotic.

Originally, Alina had wanted Alyona to try getting along with the children in the Reunion Movement camp, but for various reasons, they had not attempted it even now.

However, Alina was not in any hurry about it. The camp was about to relocate, and everyone was busy. They could wait until after the move had settled down.

So under those circumstances, Alyona had not interacted with any of the Reunion Movement's children since arriving at the camp. She had stayed with Griseo the entire time.

Griseo did not mind this at all. She did not dislike having someone by her side like Cosmo; on the contrary, she rather liked it.

But no matter how closely they stuck together, there would still be times when they had to part, such as now...

After spending several hours in the tent with Alyona, Griseo belatedly remembered something. After explaining her reason to her companion and leaving Mister Knight behind to protect her, she finally left the tent.

What the little girl had suddenly remembered... was, in a sense, quite important.

It concerned what to do with Mobius. It was getting late, and it was time to send her on her way.

No matter how capable Mobius was or how comprehensive her past knowledge was, she still needed to start from scratch in order to understand and learn this world's various forms of knowledge. After all, they were not from the same world.

All of that would take time. But as far as treating Originium infection was concerned, it was something Griseo urgently needed done.

The Reunion Movement was, after all, a genuine organization of infected people... The little girl dared say that in this entire camp, she was probably the only person who was not infected.

Even taking a step back, she was not talking about benefiting every infected person. Just the few people Griseo cared about were, in her eyes, people who needed treatment as soon as possible.

Of course, the little girl had no intention of recklessly sending Mobius out right now and simply releasing her into this freezing snowfield. That would be far too inconsiderate, and very unfriendly toward a snake.

So Griseo planned to find Talulah and ask her for some "startup capital."

But considering the Reunion Movement's current circumstances, she only needed enough money for Mobius to eat after leaving the snowfield... As for any other funds, the snake would have to earn them herself.

After all, the little girl was completely broke. What? She had no pockets? Well, never mind then. In any case, she did not have a cent to her name.

Once she had an idea, Griseo naturally acted on it. But Talulah was clearly very busy today, because Griseo had to ask many people before finally finding the busy Dragon Girl.

Looking at the busy Talulah, Griseo did not hurry forward. She merely stood to one side and watched from afar.

Although she was anxious to "release" Mobius, it was not so urgent that it had to happen this instant... So the little girl remained calm and well-behaved.

But that wait lasted until nearly noon... It was only shortly before lunch that Talulah finally freed herself from all the miscellaneous matters.

"I'm temporarily finished. I kept you waiting, little one."

Having finished her work, Talulah put away the seriousness on her face and slowly walked over to Griseo, smiling at her.

The Dragon Girl had noticed the little one standing in the distance and secretly observing her long ago.

Talulah had even found time midway through to ask what was going on, but Griseo refused to say and pushed her back to work.

"Um, I didn't wait very long."

As she spoke, Griseo shook her little head, and the small blue cowlick on top of it swayed along with the motion.

At that, Talulah bent down and helplessly pinched the little girl's cheek.

"You... So what did you come to see me about, little one? And where is your companion?"

"Mm... Talulah, I need some startup capital. Not too much. Alyona is still in the tent. I left her drawing brushes and paper, and I also asked Mister Knight to stay behind."

Facing Talulah's question, Griseo raised her head slightly and answered with eyes full of seriousness.

The little girl was utterly straightforward about her purpose. In her eyes, there was no need to hide it or beat around the bush.

If she tried to be vague about it while also being a child, Griseo felt there was a very high chance she would not get the "startup capital" at all...

So, in order to keep the snake from having no money to eat, she felt it was better to be an honest child.

"?"

After hearing Griseo's words, a huge question mark slowly appeared above Talulah's head.

After taking a moment to process it, the Dragon Girl looked seriously at the little girl before her. "Little Griseo, what do you need money for?"

To be honest, Talulah found Griseo asking for money very strange.

Because judging from their current life, she could not see anywhere the little girl would need to spend money.

After all, in this resource-scarce snowfield, sometimes even having money did not mean you could spend it...

"Um... Can I not tell Talulah?"

This time, Griseo hesitated. After thinking for a while, she tilted her little head and asked softly.

It really was difficult to explain. What could the little girl say? She could not expose Aunt Mobius...

Watching the adorable little girl tilt her head, helplessness almost overflowed from Talulah's face.

"Honestly, I really don't know what to do with you. Fine, if you can't tell me, then don't. How much do you need?"

"...I don't know."

Griseo blinked her large violet eyes before giving that straightforward answer.

"..."

As expected, Griseo successfully choked Talulah with just three short words again, making her cover her face.

"...Forget it, forget it. Let's head back first. I don't have anything on me anyway. It's almost lunchtime, so we can pick up your companion while we're at it."

After taking another moment to recover, Talulah lowered her hand from her face and said with a laugh that did not know whether to cry.

"Mm."

Hearing Talulah's words, Griseo nodded her little head in agreement. She looked completely obedient, as though she would let Talulah arrange everything.

The little girl truly knew nothing about this sort of thing and had no concept of it at all... And it was not just Griseo. Even if she transformed into someone else, she would still have no understanding of it.

After all, it was currency she had never used and units of measurement she did not understand. No matter who she transformed into now... what she did not understand was still what she did not understand.

"Then let's go, little one."

Looking at the obedient Griseo before her, Talulah put away her helpless expression and replaced it with a gentle smile as she extended her hand.

"Okay."

Faced with Talulah's outstretched hand, Griseo did not hesitate. She directly took it gently with her small hand.

After that, the two of them, one big and one small, returned to the tent together and began a round of back-and-forth discussion.

In the end, only after Griseo revealed roughly what it was for and Talulah made an estimate did she finally understand about how much money the little girl needed.

At the same time, Talulah became even more curious about what Griseo intended to use the money for. But... curiosity was curiosity. The Dragon Girl did not intend to pry, because everyone had their own little secrets.

Before lunchtime arrived, Griseo found an excuse and left the tent once again.

Because of what had happened earlier and because of Sakura, Talulah was rather reassured about the little girl now. She did not stop her, only reminding her to stay safe and return early.

The reason Griseo left was naturally to "release" the snake. As for why she chose noon, it was because lunch was nearly here, and the infected people in the camp were relatively relaxed.

Under those circumstances, it would be easier to slip out without being noticed...

Though it would not really matter if she was seen, Griseo preferred fewer troubles over more.

With a plan in mind, the little girl quickly put it into action.

With light steps, she avoided the guards and quietly slipped out of the camp.

Only after leaving the camp for some distance did Griseo stop.

Then, after looking around and confirming there was no one nearby, a green light flew from her body and landed beside her, transforming into a large snake with curled green hair and a white lab coat.

After coming out, Mobius took a moment to process the memories and what had happened earlier before speaking with a soft chuckle.

"It's been a few days, Griseo. I didn't expect that after finally meeting again, we'd be parting ways once more."

Hearing Mobius's words, Griseo blinked obediently and greeted her softly, "Grandma Mobius, long time no see?"

"..."

Mobius had been in a rather good mood, but when she heard Griseo's greeting, the smile on her face froze...

After recovering, she wanted nothing more than to shoot Elysia, that person who had taught a child such bad habits.

"Phew—"

After taking a deep breath, Mobius worked hard to calm herself down and silently added another mark against Elysia in her heart.

"..."

Seeing Mobius like this, Griseo's little face remained unchanged, but amusement quickly flashed through her violet eyes.

"You... Little Griseo~ Take good care of yourself and head back early. I should be leaving too... As expected, a barren and freezing place like this really doesn't suit me."

Seeing Griseo like this, Mobius could not help extending her slender fingers to gently pinch the little girl's smooth cheek. Only then did she narrow her eyes and speak.

"Um, Aunt Mobius, be careful... Here."

Hearing that, Griseo put away her playful mood, took out the money Talulah had given her earlier, and handed it to Mobius.

"Don't worry. The people here cannot hurt me at all. Besides, snakes do not die."

Mobius accepted the small stack of money Griseo handed over. After glancing at it, she put it away, then gently rubbed Griseo's little head.

;

"Mm, I believe in Aunt Mobius."