At Rhodes Island, I Became Griseo at the Start

After agreeing, Griseo put away the painting she had just finished along with all her art supplies, then followed Alina outside.

Griseo felt that she really should go out and relax. Otherwise, staying cooped up in one place for too long made it easy to overthink...

Sure enough, she should spend more time with Yelena, build a good relationship with her, and then protect her! And while she was at it, unlock another character.

Come to think of it, Griseo had never really considered how she was supposed to use Sakura's identity...

But no matter what, having another identity meant having another trump card. Besides, Elysia Sakura was not weak either.

The sky over the snowfield quickly darkened, and before long, it was time for dinner. Everyone gathered around the campfires again.

That night, Griseo, Yelena, and the Yetis sat around one campfire, while Patriot sat with Talulah and the others because he had matters to discuss with them.

Dinner still was not particularly good, but just as before, Griseo did not care much about such things.

However, there were other things that caught her attention...

PS: Damn it, another night of staying up late. I actually started writing this afternoon, but after writing two thousand words, I wasn't satisfied and deleted it all. I also feel like this chapter suddenly changed style a little. What do you all think?

This Was Because Cosmo Said He Preferred It This Way

"...?"

What Griseo found particularly concerning that night was that although Yelena's attitude and gaze toward her had not changed at all... the Yetis sometimes looked at her strangely.

As for why she described it as strange...

Griseo felt as though the Yetis were curious about something... not all of them, but most of the gazes directed at her carried some degree of curiosity.

Still, she was not the type to keep questions bottled up inside.

After dinner, Griseo gently tugged at Yelena's sleeve, then looked up at her with her large eyes and asked, "Sister Yelena, is there something you want to ask me?"

"...Little Griseo, why would you ask that?"

Hearing Griseo's question, Yelena froze slightly, clearly not having processed it yet.

"Um... the Yetis have all been looking at me curiously tonight, like they have something they want to ask me." As she spoke, Griseo raised her head and looked toward the Yetis seated around the campfire.

Since Yelena was not the one being observed, and the Yetis were all dressed rather heavily, she had only now noticed the curiosity in her squad members' eyes whenever they looked at Griseo.

For a moment, faced with Griseo's innocent and puzzled gaze, Yelena, the Yetis' big sister, could not stop the corner of her mouth from twitching...

"Cough, cough... It's nothing. You don't need to mind them. They're just idle and haven't trained enough..."

"Yes, Big Sis is right. We're just a little too bored."

"That's right, we're just too bored. And Little Griseo, you're just so cute that we couldn't help wanting to look at you a little more."

"So that's how it is..."

Griseo gently nodded her little head to show that she understood. Then she carefully scooted into Yelena's arms and silently acted spoiled.

Though she was still curious about what the Yetis were curious about, since Yelena did not want to say, Griseo did not intend to keep pressing the matter.

"Um... come to think of it, I've always had a question."

Seeing the little girl nestled in Yelena's arms and acting spoiled, Lois finally forced out a question.

The moment she said that, the Yetis, who had only just barely relaxed, instantly tensed up again. They were afraid Lois would blurt out the reason for their curiosity.

"Hmm? What question...?"

Thinking she would not learn anything more from the Yetis that night, Griseo slowly lifted her head from Yelena's arms, blinked her violet eyes, and asked curiously.

"Well, even though Little Griseo isn't afraid of the cold, why do you always go barefoot? Don't your feet hurt from stepping on things?"

As she spoke, Lois's gaze swept over Griseo's snow-white bare feet, which stood out starkly against the ground.

"...Oh, that. Because Cosmo said he preferred it this way."

Griseo had not expected Lois to ask about that, but she still answered truthfully.

"Wait, who is Cosmo? He told you not to wear shoes?"

"??? What did I just hear!"

"This is ridiculous! Why does Little Griseo have to listen to him?!"

Clearly, Griseo's honest answer was like a drop of water splashing into a pan of hot oil. The Yetis around her immediately exploded.

Even Yelena's arms tightened around the little girl...

"Cosmo is Cosmo. He's my family, but... I can't find him now." At that, Griseo lowered her little head, her expression turning faintly despondent.

Whether it was the transmigrator or the original "Griseo," both knew perfectly well that in the Honkai world... Cosmo was already dead.

"It's alright. You still have us with you..." Looking down at the dejected little girl in her arms, Yelena reached out and gently patted her back to comfort her.

"That's right, that's right. Don't be sad. Aren't we here with you?"

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have asked. I really put my foot in my mouth!"

"And who exactly is Cosmo? I'm so jeal... annoying!"

"Mm... I'm fine now."

Listening to the playful bickering around her and looking at the warm yellow colors surrounding her, Griseo's previously despondent mood quickly recovered.

At another campfire—

"I... came today... because I want to know... something."

Across the campfire, Patriot looked at Talulah seated opposite him and spoke in a lowered voice.

His voice remained as hoarse and halting as ever, but there was nothing to be done about it. His worsening Originium infection had damaged his vocal cords...

"What is it? Go ahead."

Talulah had long known why Patriot had come, so his sudden question did not surprise her.

"That... girl, what exactly... is her background? She... can imitate... us... That was not... a clumsy... imitation. I felt... danger. So... give me... a reasonable... explanation."

Without hesitation, Patriot asked the question that had long troubled him. At the same time, he kept his voice low enough that unrelated people would not hear.

"I'll explain this one. After all, I'm the one who brought that child back. Talulah, you should listen too." Before Talulah could answer Patriot's question, Alina spoke first.

After Alina spoke, both Talulah and Patriot turned their gazes toward her, waiting for what she would say next.

"First of all, I don't know Little Griseo's origins either. That child is extremely mysterious in that regard. Even now, I haven't figured out her race."

"However, I do know what you meant by imitation."

At that, Alina thought for a moment before continuing, "That truly wasn't a clumsy imitation. If I had to make an analogy, Griseo is like a completely blank sheet of paper."

"Once she spends a long time with someone, she takes on that person's color. But this usually doesn't last long. As long as she keeps her distance and stays by herself for a while, she quickly returns to normal."

"So... that's... how it is."

"But this... power... and her mysterious origins—how... do you intend... to deal with this child? You should know... she is not... an Infected."

After hearing Alina's explanation, Patriot solemnly and directly raised the core issue of the matter.

PS: Tonight, I hereby make the same declaration as last night: tomorrow, I'll start earlier and sleep earlier. I'm exhausted to death. And the quality of writing after staying up late isn't great either... If there are any issues with this chapter, remember to point them out.

Urgency and Change

That night was much the same for Griseo as the previous one... After dinner, she stayed in Yelena's arms and listened to the Yetis tell stories.

During that time, because of their close contact, the little girl took on Yelena's color once. However, it faded away before long.

But Griseo had remembered that color. She planned to find time later to use it in a painting and give it to Yelena as a gift.

"Mm..."

As something suddenly occurred to her, Griseo burrowed deeper into Yelena's arms, doing her best to pass more of her body heat to Yelena and warm her.

"What is it?"

Yelena looked down at the little one who had burrowed further into her arms and asked gently.

"Sister Yelena's body... and everyone else's... Griseo can fight too. I want to protect you."

Hearing Yelena's gentle voice, the little ahoge on Griseo's head trembled. Only after a moment did she raise her head, her eyes full of seriousness.

Griseo did not know what the Yeti Squad had done that day, but after being in contact with Yelena for so long, she discovered that compared to yesterday, the person before her seemed to have grown somewhat weaker...

That inevitably caused Griseo to overthink... In the end, she came up with what seemed to her to be the most reasonable explanation.

She guessed that the Yeti Squad must have encountered some enemy that day.

Then Yelena had acted, used her Originium Arts, worsened her Originium infection, and become weakened as a result.

That guess caused Griseo's mood, which had brightened after being comforted by the Yeti Squad and surrounded by warm yellow, to sink once more.

A sense of helplessness surged into her heart. At that moment, Griseo truly understood for the first time... this land devoured people, and it especially liked devouring white-haired ones.

And for the first time, she felt the urgency of time...

Even though "Griseo" did not rank highly among the Elysian Heroes, she was still very powerful compared to the people of this world.

But now, that power was completely useless...

Because strength alone could not wrest back the people she wanted to protect from Originium infection...

"..."

Hearing Griseo's sudden words, Yelena and the Yetis around her all froze slightly. The atmosphere instantly fell silent.

"I didn't expect you to notice... But don't worry, Sister is fine." After recovering, Yelena reached out and gently stroked Griseo's little head, soothing her.

After discovering Griseo's unusual nature, Yelena had long stopped treating her as an ordinary child. So she was not particularly surprised that the little one had noticed her weakness.

But unusual or not, Yelena did not believe she had weakened to the point of needing a child to protect her.

"Hahaha, we appreciate Little Griseo's feelings, but your brothers and sisters haven't fallen yet. How could we let a child like you stand in front of us?"

"That's right, that's right. Little Griseo doesn't need to worry. We're still in good shape!"

"Exactly, we can keep fighting for a long time yet. And we'll protect Big Sis too. After all, she's the princess of us Yetis!"

"..."

Listening to the comfort around her, looking at the lively atmosphere and the warm yellow colors surging around her again, Griseo could not feel happy at all this time.

She knew that the people around her were all big liars who fooled children... They only knew how to say things they could not accomplish.

But...

That was precisely why Griseo wanted to make every one of those words come true...

After finishing their discussion with Patriot over by Talulah's campfire, Alina came over to pick up Griseo.

Although her conversation with Patriot had left the little deer feeling conflicted, she had not forgotten the other thing she needed to do that night.

However, when she came to get Griseo, the observant Alina immediately noticed that the little one was unhappy. Still, she did not rush to ask.

Only after they had left the crowded area and were nearing their tent did Alina ask, "What's wrong? You seem so unhappy tonight."

"I was just thinking about how I can protect everyone..."

At Alina's question, Griseo raised her little head and replied calmly.

"Hmm? Why did Little Griseo suddenly start thinking about that?" Clearly, Alina was somewhat surprised by that answer.

"...Because I'm not a child anymore."

After remaining silent for a while, Griseo ultimately did not reveal the real reason. There was no point in saying it, and it would only affect everyone else's mood.

At that moment, Griseo yearned to unlock a new character more than ever before. If she had previously been willing to leave it to fate, then after seeing Yelena's terrible physical condition, she was anxious now... truly anxious!

She knew that everyone in the Reunion Movement was Infected, but she had never imagined it would happen so soon!

So soon that Griseo could practically see Death holding a scythe against everyone's necks, waiting for them to die...

As a result, the ranking of characters Griseo wanted to transform into had changed as well. Mobius had taken first place. Senti and Aponia could all move down the list...