An Ark Resident, Starting as Griseo

It was too obvious. During their first meeting, Griseo had already seen it... seen the heavy blackness behind Talulah, beyond her natural warm orange, seen the black curse in her eyes.

"...You could tell?"

Griseo's answer made Alina, whose expression was tense, pause slightly. Then, as she realized, she almost couldn't help but want to cover her face...

After a moment of helplessness, she said with a serious expression, "Alright, this isn't something a child should get involved in. Let your big sister handle it."

"I'm not a child anymore. I can help everyone..."

Hearing Alina's words, which sounded like she was coaxing a child, Griseo gently shook her head. Then she continued, "Next, let me paint a picture for Talulah."

"Painting has a magical power. I believe it will help Talulah."

ps: I'm writing a bit slowly tonight. I'll try my best to finish and post Chapter 2 before midnight. The temperature dropped significantly today and I caught a cold, so you all should take care too.

Chapter 14: Patriot's Reminder

Finally, Griseo, true to her word, got to work. Starting from lunch, she had been sticking to Talulah... wanting to absorb Talulah's color herself.

Alina, however, didn't stop her. Instead, she treated the matter with an attitude of support and observation.

She was also very curious about what effect Griseo's painting for Talulah would have, and whether it would change her dear friend.

Then there was the conversation before lunch today. Besides Griseo learning what she wanted to know, Alina also inquired about and learned quite a bit.

For example, Alina now knew about Griseo's "blank paper" characteristic and understood that Griseo hadn't intentionally imitated her at first, but rather had absorbed her colors from spending so much time together.

After Griseo's efforts, she finally absorbed Talulah's color. Once she had absorbed the color, she headed straight for the tent without a word.

;?;

Alina, who had been keeping an eye on Griseo, silently followed her towards the tent after noticing the change in the little one's aura.

Talulah was left standing alone, looking bewildered at their retreating figures.

Upon entering the tent, Griseo eagerly sat on the small stool in front of the easel... and began mixing colors on her palette, muttering to herself.

"If justice requires more violence to be served, how can it still be called justice?"

"..."

Griseo's muttering was overheard by Alina as she entered the tent. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking how much her little darling had learned...

After her muttering, Griseo had finished mixing her colors. She made the first stroke on the canvas, completely immersing herself in her painting and ignoring the outside world.

"Sigh, little Griseo didn't come over at all today. She's not sticking to Big Sister anymore and went to bother Talulah instead," Lois said, sitting by the campfire stones, looking at the now empty spot where Talulah and Griseo had been.

"She's just a child, it's normal. If there's a chance later, we can go trade for some fruits and vegetables and coax little Griseo over."

"I agree. After all, it's rare to meet a little one who can get close to Big Sister without getting hurt."

As the conversation turned, the Yetis chimed in. Patriot, who had been silent all along, slowly raised his head.

"When you... interact... with that... child, be... careful." Patriot's hoarse voice spoke, each word slightly slurred.

"Hmm? What's wrong with little Griseo?"

"Yeah, Big Daddy. Why should we be careful around such a small child?"

Hearing their "Big Daddy," all the Yetis present turned their curious gazes towards him, awaiting his explanation.

Even Yelena was the same. Although she had sensed Griseo's peculiarity, she still wanted to hear what her father had perceived.

"She... is not... infected, and... her origins... are unknown. Furthermore... the feeling... she gives me... is not... ordinary."

"Last... night, her... interaction... with me... was not... a playful... act. Her... aura changed. I... felt... a threat."

In front of the Yetis, Patriot explained what he had seen the previous night.

As a soldier, he had always trusted his intuition. He was certain that the previous night, he had felt an aura from the little one that was similar to his own, yet far more dangerous.

However, because Griseo was so innocent under normal circumstances, and his daughter liked her so much... coupled with the fact that the dangerous aura on her quickly dissipated last night, he hadn't acted.

If Griseo had shown any unusual behavior last night, Patriot might have already taken decisive action to eliminate this unstable factor.

"What! Even Big Daddy felt threatened!?"

"She's so cute, and it wasn't just simple imitation?"

"Could this be little Griseo's Originium Arts?"

"Wait, isn't the main point that this little one isn't infected? I didn't even notice!"

After hearing Patriot's words, the Yetis erupted in an uproar, chattering and discussing amongst themselves.

?

However, Yelena wasn't as surprised. She had also keenly noticed the change in Griseo's aura the previous night while sitting nearby.

"Also... I... suspect... she deliberately... pestered... Talulah... today..."

"Because... she... also... imitated... Talulah."

Patriot glanced at the agitated Yetis and continued.

He knew that after discovering Griseo's abnormality yesterday, Patriot had quietly observed the little one whenever he had the chance... to see if she posed a threat to Reunion.

Furthermore, when Griseo acted at noon today, she made no attempt to hide herself. Therefore, Patriot directly witnessed her transformation under Talulah's influence.

However, the reason he didn't speak up or intervene this time... was because of Alina.

While paying attention to Griseo, Patriot had also taken Alina's actions into account. He realized that the little deer seemed to have noticed the little one's abnormality, and might even know something.

"Oh, so that's why little Griseo didn't come to play with big sister at noon. She was imitating Talulah."

"So, what exactly is this little one's ability? Can she gain a person's power just by imitating them? If that's the case, she's too strong!"

"Now that you mention it, I did notice something was off, and I have a feeling Alina knows something. She even left with that little one just now."

"If you ask me, Griseo should have imitated big sister if she was going to imitate anyone."

"I agree, our big sister is clearly very strong too!"

Hearing Patriot's words, many Yetis recalled some details from lunch.

Some discussed the matter factually, while others, who were usually more boisterous, began to "champion" FrostNova.

"In any case, you... all should... pay attention... If you notice... anything abnormal... please... inform me... I'll... go talk... to Talulah... and the others... later."

Looking at the children before him, a hint of helplessness flickered in Patriot's scarlet eyes. He reminded them again in his hoarse voice.

"Understood, Big Daddy. We'll be sure to tell you immediately if anything comes up."

Beside them, Yelena, who hadn't spoken much, also nodded gently.

ps: I need to write earlier tomorrow, I'm about to collapse. Took my medicine and went to sleep. Good night, everyone.

Chapter 15: Are You Out of Your Mind?!

Although the afternoon sun was bright, it did not bring even a sliver of warmth to the cold, snowy plains. A cold wind gently blew, stirring up snowflakes from the ground and entering the tent through the unclosed flap.

Enjoying the coolness brought by the wind, Griseo dipped her brush into the colors on her palette and added a touch of warmth to the somber painting before her.

As she laid down her final stroke, the painting, rendered in Talulah's colors, was officially complete.

Griseo then withdrew from her artistic state and examined the painting.

The scene depicted a red young dragon, entangled by a shadowy Black Serpent, falling onto the snow. The dragon's eyes conveyed numbness, despair, and an undeniable hatred.

The white snow beside the young dragon was stained with large patches of crimson, while a blood-stained orange Reunion armband floated down from the sky...

All of this fell into the Black Serpent's delighted vertical pupils, to be quietly savored.

For some reason, Griseo felt that this painting might not be ordinary... but it hadn't reached the point where something strange would be materialized.

This made her hesitate, unsure whether to give the painting to Talulah...

After a moment of deliberation, Griseo decided to give it to her. After all, with Talulah watching, it probably wouldn't cause too much trouble.

With that thought, she picked up the canvas and temporarily covered the painting.

Then, as if remembering something, Griseo summoned the system panel and began to browse it seriously.

Although the system interface looked very much like a game, it didn't have as many armors as in a game.

Except for a few special characters, the rest only needed to be unlocked once, and they would be at their peak strength upon unlocking.

Furthermore, through over a day of exploration, Griseo discovered that there were no limitations on how she could utilize the power of the characters she transformed into, and their strength could continue to grow.

After all, she had even summoned the Tyrant Uncle, who never appeared in the game's plot, this morning...

However... Griseo could only stare enviously at the characters for now. Besides Elysia, she didn't know how to unlock any other characters.

And if she could unlock even one Valkyrie related to mental abilities, she wouldn't have to be so cautious; she would have dealt with the Black Serpent right away.

Thinking this, Griseo's gaze swept over Aponia with a hint of helplessness, and she slowly continued to flip forward... But when the face of the next character appeared in her large eyes.

A sound effect automatically played in the little loli's mind...

[What? Hey! You! What! Me! Hmph! Hmph!]

[Are you out of your mind! No, are both of you out of your mind! ...]

"So scary..."

In an instant, Griseo recalled the terror of being dominated by the great Herrscher of Reason before she transmigrated.

After a long while, when the sound effect in her mind finally faded, Griseo looked at the Herrscher of Reason's interface again. She instinctively wondered who on this continent would have good compatibility with the Herrscher.

Then, in the next instant, the face of a beautiful American... Sarkaz girl appeared in the little loli's mind.

"..."

Griseo fell completely silent after that.

But she had to admit, W was currently the closest to her and seemed like a good match for Little Shi.

However, getting close to W… just the thought made Griseo's small body tremble. What kind of hellish difficulty was this? She'd definitely be yelled at.

After all, W wasn't like Shi-bao, who couldn't find many insults even after searching through all of Fu Hua's memories. W's vocabulary was definitely rich enough…

But Shi-bao was really strong, and could deal with Black Serpent… sob!

"I'm back!"

And just as

Griseo was agonizing over her dilemma, her CPU about to fry, Alina, who had stepped out for a moment, returned.

"What's wrong? Why does Little Griseo look so troubled?"

Alina entered the tent and asked, looking at Griseo, whose big eyes were filled with indecision.

"N-nothing, I was just thinking about some things. Also… the painting is finished." Griseo first gently shook her little head at the confused person before changing the subject.

She absolutely didn't want Alina to know that she had just been struggling with whether or not to approach W… It was impossible to explain something like that.

"That was fast, Little Griseo is amazing."

Although she knew the little one was changing the subject, Alina played along perfectly. She gently patted Griseo's little head and praised her generously.

In Little Deer's eyes, it was perfectly normal for children to have secrets they didn't want to share. So, she didn't press Griseo for an explanation.

"However… it's best to wait until Talulah is free tonight before showing it to her, because I don't know what might happen… Alina, you shouldn't look at this painting this time."

Saying that, Griseo tugged at the canvas again, covering the already hidden painting even more securely.

"Okay~ I understand."

Upon hearing this, Alina nodded first, then said in a gentle tone, "Alright, Little Griseo has been in the tent all afternoon. Let's go out for a walk now. Didn't you say you liked Yelena? She's already back from outside."

"Mhm."