After hearing Mobius, Griseo obediently nodded, her large eyes filled with trust.
"All right, that's enough. Go back and have lunch."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mobius withdrew her hand as well.
At some point, the ground had become covered in Black Mud tinged with green. In the next instant, Mobius suddenly sank into it, disappearing before Griseo's eyes.
"...Goodbye, Auntie Mobius."
Faced with this sight, not a trace of panic appeared in Griseo's eyes. Instead, she seriously said goodbye.
Only then did she start walking again, leaving without hesitation.
After Griseo returned to the camp, she went back to the tent, brought her little companions with her, and then ran over to the bonfire for lunch.
At noon today, Talulah and Alina did not forget to ask about Sakura, whom they had been curious about all this time.
Griseo answered every question they asked, but whether they believed her, and how much they believed, had little to do with the little girl.
Still, Griseo herself felt that not many people believed what she had said about Sakura's strength.
After all, such things had gone beyond their understanding. Unless they saw it with their own eyes, they generally would not believe it.
Especially people as stubborn as Patriot and Yelena. To earn their recognition and support, one had to display the corresponding strength.
PS: Today was truly ridiculous. It was a real deadline... the submission deadline was six o'clock today.
But I'm finally free after this, so I can go back to updating in 2,000-word chunks. If there are typos, refresh a few times; they've already been fixed.
Honestly, if I hadn't run out of leave slips, I definitely would have taken the day off yesterday. New characters are about to appear, but I still haven't fully grasped them. I need time to understand them.
Book recommendation.
"After I Died, the Bad Women Regretted It"
The mad god Fang Ling died. The news sent all humanity into celebration, because humanity did not thank Fang Ling.
As everyone knew, after Fang Ling exterminated the Sitting-Forget Immortals, slaughtered the demons beyond the heavens, and brought about Ragnarok, humanity once again became the ruler of the world—if not for her.
Thus, everyone was satisfied with this outcome, except for the bad women who had once used Fang Ling to the fullest:
The world's last remaining immortal spent every day recalling the childhood she and Fang Ling had shared, regretting how she had gradually drifted away from her and sacrificed her alone to erase the Heavenly Dao.
The princess of a fallen ancient kingdom became obsessed with seeking traces of Fang Ling, regretting that she had not cherished their journey together and had even led her into taking revenge against the gods.
The world's greatest assassin laid down her butcher's knife and cultivated herself for Fang Ling, regretting that although she had always stayed by her side, she had betrayed her because she craved her flesh and blood.
In the end, these bad women decided to return to the past, to the time when they could still embrace their beloved.
But Fang Ling no longer opened her heart to them.
Interlude
Over the next few days, aside from a few minor incidents, Griseo's life was exceptionally peaceful.
Every day, she was usually with Alyona, painting, playing with the Yetis, and so on. Oh, and through their shared connection, she occasionally learned what was happening on the little snake's side.
As for why things were so peaceful, it was naturally because the camp was relocating. Although there was no shortage of matters within the camp, external missions had temporarily stopped.
Griseo generally could not help much with the camp's internal affairs. At most, she could have her companions lend a hand.
However, there was one little incident that caused quite a commotion. Still, in the little girl's eyes, the outcome had been rather good.
As for what that incident was, it happened while most of the camp was relocating. Patriot invited Griseo—no... rather, he invited her companions to spar.
?
Long ago, Patriot had learned of the little girl's companions' strength through the accounts and information provided by various people. However, he had never found either an opportunity or a suitable place to test them.
The reason he had not fought Sakura back then was the same. Once they began fighting, unless they went somewhere very far away, innocent people would inevitably be caught up in it.
If Patriot chose to restrain his strength, he would not obtain the results he wanted. That was why he had never made a move.
Thus, only after most of the camp had relocated ahead of time did Patriot have the chance to conduct such a test.
The scale of this sparring match did not exceed Patriot's expectations. The testing area suffered devastation within a limited range, and even more distant areas were affected.
However, the result truly overturned Patriot's understanding of Griseo and the unknown organization behind her.
Because Patriot lost.
As the battle dragged on, he gradually used his full strength, yet he still lost to the azure knight. Moreover, he could feel that the knight fighting him still had considerable strength in reserve.
What finally plunged Patriot into silence afterward was Griseo lightly waving her paintbrush. Azure colors emerged, and almost instantly repaired the damage he had inflicted upon the knight...
In the end, Griseo earned Patriot's recognition with her own(?) strength in that battle.
At the same time, Patriot and the others no longer understood the little girl and Sakura merely through hearsay and superficial impressions.
After that little incident, Griseo followed Patriot directly to the new Reunion Movement camp, and peaceful days resumed.
Although life was peaceful, the little girl had not forgotten about W and her group of mercenaries. She continued quietly waiting for their arrival.
Although Griseo was somewhat reluctant to approach W, if making contact with her could unlock the Herrscher of Reason... then the little girl would probably have to grit her teeth and do it when the time came.
It was another morning. Thin sunlight filtered through the clouds, adding a hint of warmth to the cold snowfield.
As usual, Griseo naturally woke up at that time in the morning. After waiting briefly for Alyona, the two of them finished washing up before leaving the tent and heading off for breakfast as usual.
Honestly, if Griseo had still been groggy before leaving the tent, then once she stepped outside and faced the biting wind... she was completely awake.
The two did not walk for long before reaching the bonfire. With practiced ease, they found where Talulah and the others were sitting and joined them.
"Good morning, little Griseo, Alyona."
"Morning~"
"You two are up so early~"
"Good morning, everyone..."
Faced with the greetings from the group, Griseo lightly blinked her violet eyes and replied.
Alyona, sitting beside her, was even more concise. Without any unnecessary words, she lightly nodded to those greeting her and softly said, "Good morning, everyone..."
However, after spending the past few days together, both Talulah's group and the Yetis had already grown accustomed to Alyona's aloof personality and did not mind it at all.
Because they had discovered that this little polar bear Griseo had rescued was also a good child. In fact, she was an exceptionally promising one...
That was right. Alyona had awakened Originium Arts when she escaped the mine earlier. However, since Griseo had protected her so well afterward, she had never needed to use them again.
After learning this, Talulah, Yelena, and the Yetis all wanted to train Alyona.
However, because she was only fourteen, physically frail, and still recovering from her injuries, no one had taken action yet.
Of course, the factors preventing her training only concerned martial matters. There was another person who had set her sights on Alyona long ago... and was now planning to make a move.
After the lively group finished breakfast, Talulah's smile faded at some point. She then looked seriously at Griseo, organizing her words in her mind.
There was still something very important she had not told the two little ones.
If it had only been Alyona, Talulah would not have thought much of it. But Griseo was different. She felt it was necessary to properly warn her, lest something went wrong later.
"Hmm?"
Perhaps because Talulah's gaze was too serious, Griseo quickly noticed it. She tilted her little head slightly and looked back at her in confusion.
"Ahem..."
Caught off guard by Griseo's innocent gaze, Talulah could not help coughing twice to hide her awkwardness before speaking.
"There's something I need to tell you two. Especially you, little one—you need to remember it."
"What is it?"
Hearing that, Griseo blinked her large eyes, a trace of confusion flashing through them. Then she seriously prepared to listen.
Alyona was much the same. She raised her head to look at Talulah and quietly waited for her answer.
The surrounding group seemed to have guessed what it was about. They also fell silent, watching the scene before them.
"What you need to be careful about is..."
PS: Yay, my 2,000-word chapters are back. I finally don't have to write those endless long chapters anymore. There are so many words, they take forever to write, and they're even inconvenient to proofread and revise.
There's another chapter too. I'll see if I can finish it before midnight. Hurry me along.
Precautions and Guests
"What you need to be careful about is not running around today. If possible, it would be best for you to stay in the tent, or stay with Alina."
Looking at the two adorable children before her, Talulah's tone softened involuntarily as she gently reminded them.
"Um... Talulah, can you tell me why?"
Although Griseo had heard Talulah's warning, she was still somewhat confused. At the same time, a guess had formed in her heart, though she needed to confirm it.
"Well... because a large group of guests will be arriving at the camp today. If possible, not only today, but ordinarily as well, it would be best if you avoided contact with them."
Hearing Griseo's words, Talulah froze slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she finally explained the matter.
Although the people arriving today had been invited by her and would likely join the Reunion Movement afterward, that did not stop Talulah from wanting to keep Griseo away from them—especially after learning of the little girl's traits.
Before she knew, she could still be less strict out of consideration for Griseo's companions' great strength. But after learning the truth, she had decided to keep a close watch on her.
And it was not just Talulah. The others more or less had the same idea.
After all, including Talulah, none of the people close to Griseo wanted to see the little girl forcibly stained with bad colors and become worse.
Of course, this was not discrimination against today's guests or their future colleagues. It was mainly because... their reputations were simply too notorious. Talulah and the others had no choice but to take it seriously.
Otherwise, if they were careless and their little darling was taught—or corrupted—into becoming bad, that would be terrible.
"All right... I understand."
Hearing that, Griseo paused slightly. Once she understood Talulah's intentions, she gently nodded and agreed.
!
Talulah's answer had practically confirmed the guess that had surfaced in the little girl's mind earlier... W and the others were coming. More accurately, the Sarkaz mercenaries were coming.
However, although Griseo understood Talulah's good intentions, she still had to find a chance to secretly make contact with them.
Even putting W aside, she had to try for Mudrock's sake...
Honestly, whenever this happened, Griseo suddenly realized that she might not be a good child. Since joining the Reunion Movement, she had discovered that she had already done quite a few things behind everyone's backs.
Good things, bad things, things she could say, things she could not say... there had already been quite a lot.
But there were many things Griseo could not help doing or give up... For example, if she ignored this completely and let the Sarkaz Big Girl go, she had no idea when they would meet again.
Maybe the next time they met, they would even be enemies... The very thought scared the little girl.
So she was definitely poaching Rhodes Island's talent!
"Alyona, you're older than the little one, so you're her big sister. Keep an eye on her for me from now on. Don't let her run around."
Although Griseo had obediently agreed, Talulah somehow still felt uneasy. So she turned to Alyona beside her and said this.
Before Alyona told them her age herself, no one had expected her to be fourteen...
The girl was simply too small and thin. Severe malnutrition had not only left her skin and bones, but also prevented her body from developing at all. She did not look fourteen in the slightest.
@
"Mm... I will."
Hearing that, Alyona did not answer immediately. She first looked at the adorable little girl beside her with her pale green eyes before agreeing.
Before you continue