After several days of migration, the entire force finally reached the area Talulah and the others had chosen beforehand.
After selecting a relatively suitable and secluded location, the Reunion Movement officially settled down and established their camp there.
While the camp was being built, Griseo did not personally lend a hand, but she still summoned several of her companions to help.
At the same time, she properly introduced her companions to the Yeti Squad, who had been curious about them for some time.
Since several of Griseo's companions had helped out before, many of Reunion's infected still feared them, but they were no longer as resistant or terrified.
For the little girl, that could be considered a good thing—a happy thing.
After all, to Griseo, all of her summons were true companions.
And wasn't it something worth being happy about when her companions were accepted by others?
This time, with living supplies plentiful, Talulah and Alina discussed it and directly set up a separate tent for the two little ones, Griseo and Alyona.
Almost no one objected to it, and both Yelena and Patriot supported the decision.
After all, they all knew how special Griseo was.
Besides, the little girl had helped the Reunion Movement—and them—so many times already.
In their eyes, spending a few supplies to put up a separate tent for her was entirely justified.
"..."
After waking from her first afternoon nap in the new camp, Griseo glanced at Alyona, who was still asleep beside her.
Then, moving carefully so as not to wake her companion, she left the tent.
Honestly, in the entire Reunion Movement camp, only the little girl and the little white bear still had the habit of taking afternoon naps...
The other infected either could not sleep or had already lost the habit of napping.
After all, most of the infected in the Reunion Movement had not lived very pleasant lives after becoming infected.
It could even be said that simply staying alive was already fortunate.
Even Alyona had only picked up the habit of napping again because she wanted to keep Griseo company.
"Mm..."
After sneaking out of the dim tent, Griseo squinted her large eyes slightly at the brightness outside.
Once she had adjusted, the little girl began looking around.
After observing for a while and confirming that no one was watching her, her violet eyes brightened slightly with delight.
Several days had passed, and she had finally waited for an opportunity.
Griseo felt that if she did not go see the Sarkaz Big Girl now, she would be letting this opportunity down.
After several days of "settling down," Griseo no longer wanted to dwell on anything.
She had decided to just charge in!
Of course, if she happened not to meet Mudrock, Griseo would not be too disappointed.
Because if she did not find her, she could still do something else.
Something she had been holding back for several days...
In any case, both things required taking a stroll through the mercenary group's area.
So no matter which one she accomplished, Griseo felt it would be perfectly fine.
Once she had made up her mind, the little girl stopped hesitating.
She lifted her smooth, rosy bare feet and headed straight for the area where the mercenary group was stationed.
However, the impression Griseo had left on everyone that day had clearly been far too profound.
As she wandered through the camp alone, she still attracted quite a few stares.
Too many people were curious about this powerful, mysterious child who had drawn the attention of several Reunion Movement leaders.
So when they saw her, their eyes instinctively followed her, wanting to learn more.
This became even more obvious after Griseo entered the mercenary group's encampment...
After all, everyone present was a battle-hardened Sarkaz mercenary who had lived with their lives on the line.
They instinctively remained wary of the little girl, a mysterious existence with such strange abilities.
However, ever since the operation began, Griseo had kept her gaze lowered to lessen her influence on others.
So she paid no attention to those gazes and did not sense their colors.
After walking for a while longer, the little girl seemed to sense something.
She slowly raised her head and met W's golden eyes, which were full of scrutiny and teasing.
Once they noticed that Griseo had locked eyes with W, quite a few mercenaries around them poked their heads out.
No one stopped them, and no one offered a warning.
They merely watched the show in silence.
However...
After giving W only a brief glance, Griseo immediately withdrew her gaze.
Without the slightest concern, she turned around and left.
"...?"
W had thought Griseo had come looking for her.
When she saw the little girl's decisive departure without even a moment of hesitation, her expression froze for an instant.
It was only for an instant, though.
She quickly adjusted herself, then seemed to think of something as the corners of her lips curled into a strange smile.
She rose to her feet and chased after Griseo...
The others might not have noticed that scene.
But Ines, who was sitting nearby, saw everything clearly, and a faint smile flashed through her eyes.
Honestly, ever since that incident, it had been quite a while since Ines had seen W like this.
W still made jokes and pulled pranks on them from time to time.
But that feeling was different...
"..."
Griseo walked with her head lowered, only occasionally glancing at the people around her.
Then her vision suddenly darkened as a figure stepped in front of her and blocked her way.
The little girl instinctively raised her head.
Then she saw W's face.
"???)?"
Seeing the "sweet" smile on W's face, Griseo froze.
A huge question mark seemed to appear over her little head.
Clearly, she had never expected W to stop her directly while wearing such a strange smile.
Anyone who knew W from the game knew that nothing good ever happened when she smiled.
Especially when she smiled this strangely.
But even after racking her little brain, Griseo could not figure out where she had provoked W today.
She had clearly been avoiding her just moments ago.
Besides, though the two had had plenty of "small frictions" before, those had all happened in secret.
They could practically be considered W's one-sided, exceptionally subtle little pranks.
If Griseo had been replaced by another child, that child might not even have realized those "strange incidents" were someone's pranks.
So, in a sense, this was the first time the two of them had formally met face-to-face.
"Little one, where are you rushing off to? Come play with big sister for a while~" W said in a "gentle" voice as she looked at the confused Griseo.
Combined with the "sweet" smile on W's face, her gentle voice made her look exactly like a kind big sister to anyone unaware of the truth.
"?-?)!"
However, instead of drawing closer, Griseo was so frightened that she took two steps back.
Her beautiful violet eyes shimmered with fear, and she looked as though she had seen a ghost.
For the little girl, it really did feel a bit like seeing a ghost.
Because W was genuinely scary.
Could anyone imagine a cruel, efficient, and violent madwoman suddenly acting gentle toward them?
And it was not just Griseo.
The mercenaries who saw W acting like this also looked horrified, as though they had seen a ghost.
Even Ines, in the distance, could not help but twitch the corner of her mouth in speechless exasperation.
"...Why are you backing away? Am I really that scary?!"
W had no mood to care about how anyone else was reacting.
The moment Griseo retreated two steps with that terrified expression, something in W's head snapped with a click.
Yet the smile on her face did not fade.
Instead, it became even more "gentle."
Of course... that was only if one ignored the veins throbbing constantly at her temple.
"...???)"
Griseo stared blankly at W, who wore a "gentle" expression while quietly clenching her fists beneath it.
Then she came back to her senses...
Whoosh—
The little girl swiftly retreated several more steps, putting some safe distance between herself and W, whose emotions looked unstable no matter how she viewed them.
Then she nodded her little head and said softly in a serious tone, "Mm... very scary. And I didn't come here to find you..."
After saying that, Griseo lifted her foot, intending to leave quickly.
She was already starting to feel that if she stayed with W any longer, she would end up getting colored before long.
Alyona was not beside her right now.
If she got colored, it would take time for the color to fade, and who knew what kind of trouble that might cause.
For example, she might start throwing paint bombs at people everywhere.
And if she was colored by someone else in advance, it would not be convenient for Griseo to go look for Mudrock.
"..."
After hearing Griseo's words, W froze for a moment.
Then her face darkened.
She could not help striding forward quickly, pressing closer to the little girl.
At the same time, W gave up pretending.
The smile that had made Griseo uncomfortable disappeared, replaced by the familiar arrogant, provocative smirk.
W bent forward slightly, bringing her face close to Griseo's.
Her golden eyes stared straight into the little girl's as she said with a smiling voice, "Hahaha... now that you're here, little one, how could I possibly let you leave so easily~"
"..."
At such close range, after suddenly locking eyes with W, Griseo's aura began changing wildly.
The emotions in the little girl's previously calm eyes became exactly the same as W's.
"Hahaha, then why do you think I'd leave so easily?!"
After taking on W's color, Griseo suddenly burst into laughter.
An excited, thoroughly punchable expression appeared on her face.
Then, with lightning speed, she pulled out her color-stained paintbrush and swiped it across W's face.
After doing her mischief, Griseo did not give W time to react.
She immediately sprang backward and fled.
The way she looked was exactly like W running away after pulling a prank.
And while running, the little girl did not forget to turn back and add, "No way, no way, surely no one still hasn't reacted yet, right?! Hahaha..."
"..."
This time, W, whose face had been smeared with paint, completely lost it.
Combined with Griseo's punchable words, she slowly pulled out an explosive.
What she intended to do was obvious without saying.
Just then, Ines, who had been watching from nearby, darted over with light, swift movements.
Moving at incredible speed, she knocked the bomb out of W's hand.
"Playing around is one thing... don't casually use your explosives."
I wanted to update earlier too, but I suddenly found myself having trouble grasping W's personality.
I revised this chapter several times and cut it down more than once.
Honestly, I was starting to wonder whether I should force myself to write the next two thousand words or sleep first and get up at 4:00 tomorrow morning to write.
Damn it.
Calm Down and Run Away
"Playing around is one thing... don't casually use your explosives."
After saying that, Ines looked at W's paint-smeared face.
Though her expression did not change much, the amusement in her eyes deepened.
"I told you to be more careful. You actually got the better of you by a child. But she's already run far away, so stop staring."
At that point, Ines raised an eyebrow slightly.
After a brief pause, she continued, "I found something interesting. If you want to hear it, go wash your face and come over."
After speaking, Ines did not hurry to move.
Instead, her gaze drifted lightly across the mercenaries still watching nearby...
.
Although Ines's gaze did not carry W's intense emotions, nor was it as sharp as others' gazes, none of the mercenaries around them dared meet her eyes.
Most of them slowly withdrew their gazes and stopped peeking at what was happening.
After doing all that, Ines did not remain where she was.
Instead, she turned around and returned to where she had originally been sitting.
"..."
After Ines interrupted things like that, W's expression eased considerably.
After giving Ines's back a calm look, W weighed things up and followed without saying anything more.
In that brief moment, the little girl had already run so far that she was nowhere to be seen.
Even if W chased after her now, there was no guarantee she could catch her, and the commotion would probably not be small...
Rather than making such a fuss now, W might as well pull a few tricks later.
After all, a monk could run, but the temple could not. She would remember this grudge.
If she did not get revenge for this, she would not be W...
Before you continue