I Really Like One Word: "Huh?" / Sewing

After everyone was seated, Talulah's eyes couldn't help but glance at Specter.

With a sorceress like Amiya by her side, it might be possible to kidnap Doctor. Oute, but in the process of fighting this shark... No! Don't think that way!

She shook her head and asked, "Doctor. Oute, what brings you here?"

"I noticed that you still have that outfit, Miss Talulah." Oute looked at the coat next to Talulah.

That was originally a manifestation of Kashena's aesthetic sense.

For Talulah now, this is precisely the material embodiment of the time when the "Black Snake" personality dominated.

"I'll keep it as a reminder," Talulah replied.

"I noticed you're trying to fix it?"

"Please excuse my poor skills. I never really learned needlework well back in Lungmen —neither did Huijie." A slight smile appeared on Talulah's pretty face. "The things we both made were all crooked and uneven."

"After I left with Koschei... he mainly groomed me as his heir, without any intention of using me for a marriage alliance. That's why, even in Ursus, I didn't learn much sewing."

Oute observed an interesting phenomenon: when Talulah described how Koschei abducted her, she chose a very neutral, even positive, way of saying it—"I went with Koschei."

In the original timeline, when Amiya and Ch'en confronted "Talulah" in the Core City, Talulah realized that her memories were faulty, which awakened the Talulah inside the Black Snake.

But now, this never happened at all, and Talulah's memories themselves have many problems that need to be addressed.

This is also one of the side effects of speedrunning the Chernobog; I completely forgot to consider this... Now that things have come to this, can we revive Koschei and kill him again?

That's what I thought of that complete jerk.

In any case, if we want to make good use of Talulah, we can't let her maintain this mindset.

"I see. During the Reunion Movement, your clothes were repaired by Alina Talulah?"

Chapter 237 I really like the phrase "Huh?"

"That's true."

In the early days of Reunion Movement, when Talulah and FrostNova fought and sparred to get to know each other, Talulah's magic once affected her cloak.

At that time, the person who helped Talulah repair that cloak was Alina.

In fact, it wasn't just that cloak. Throughout Talulah's short yet long life on the snowy plains, it was Alina who consistently repaired her clothes.

The thought of Alina warmed Talulah's gloomy and desolate demeanor.

A smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.

"She always thought I knew nothing about needlework, but I also liked watching her concentrate on sewing, and I liked to bother her then and say a few more words to her."

Oute was silent for a moment, then told Talulah, "Now she definitely knows."

"...What?" Talulah leaned back unconsciously.

Amiya, however, was somewhat worried.

"Anyway, I think your... coat is a bit too simple, and I'd like to ask Alina to help alter the design."

This is a terrible excuse, and the worst part is that it lacks any logic or coherence.

But Talulah had already sensed a possibility, and she refused with a look of longing on her face. "... Never mind."

"Why?"

Talulah replied, "Yin and Yang are different. I'm already very satisfied to be able to interact with her twice more."

It seems that some traditional factors led to her subtle misunderstanding.

"Talulah, it seems you didn't fully understand some things back at the Interstice," Oute explained. "That place isn't hell, nor is it the underworld."

"It is a unique realm, distinct from ordinary places of death."

"You mean...?" Talulah understood the implication.

"There is no impermanence, no judge, no underworld emperor, no Hades or demon king." Oute stretched out his hand to Talulah and wiped her eyes from a distance.

"Just me."

"Open your eyes."

"... Alina."

Talulah unconsciously grabbed Oute's hand.

Alina's body completely overlaps with Oute's, but as a "soul" she and as a "living person" Oute are perceived by Talulah in different ways. Although they are two completely overlapping people, Talulah can see both of them simultaneously without any conflict.

After a long while, Talulah finally asked, "What's going on now?"

Amiya could clearly feel that strange emotion twisting and turning, while Talulah seemed to have heard something.

The dragon girl nodded and said, "I understand."

"Amiya, please fetch my sewing tools," Oute asked, turning to her.

"Hmm." The little rabbit looked at Oute, then got up and left.

Before she left, Oute explained directly, "Alina doesn't have a physical body. If you want her help, you'll have to provide her with one."

But Amiya's low spirits stemmed from other factors. "Doc Otter... no, nothing."

There was something clearly in her eyes.

[We can't discuss matters of the soul in front of Talulah.]

Having received this subtle response, her rabbit ears twitched happily, and she closed the door.

Talulah looked at Specter, who was silent but whose presence was still astonishing, standing next to Oute, and shook her head violently.

"What's wrong?" Alina asked with concern.

"I have some bad ideas." Talulah and, facing the fawn, spoke frankly, "The Black Snake may have been defeated, but his lingering influence remains."

She frankly stated, "I've always had the idea of kidnapping Doctor. Oute and breaking free from Rhodes Island's control."

Specter released Oute's left arm without saying a word, but his wine-red eyes were filled with murderous intent.

With his freed left arm, Oute soothed the nun's back.

He commented truthfully. "Rhodes Island is indeed restricting your personal freedom right now."

"Doctor. Oute, I really didn't expect you to be so... blunt."

"I'm not a politician—at most, I'm a research director." Oute's facial expression remained completely unchanged.

That scoundrel is at it again with this vanity project.

"Even so, presenting the facts in a more tactful way can save you a lot of trouble..." Talulah kindly advised.

After hearing Talulah's words, Oute remained noncommittal and asked again, "So which version do you prefer?"

"Out of concern for your condition, respect for the financial contributions of Mr. Wei Yenwu and Ms. Ch'en, and out of medical ethics, Rhodes Island strongly recommends that patient Talulah remain in the hospital for observation."

"Or do you prefer another explanation: to prevent the mob leader Talulah from suddenly falling ill, rekindling her ambitions, and inciting the infected to riot again when the Catastrophe is imminent, so that her movements are restricted and she is kept under constant surveillance?"

By presenting these two possibilities, Oute cleverly concealed his true purpose: he needed to establish a deeper influence and presence among the Chernobog refugees and remnants of the Reunion Movement before Talulah's return.

Before establishing new office models in multiple countries, Rhodes Island needs to maintain a relatively harmless image. Therefore, after the reconstruction of Chernobog, Oute intends to relinquish control of the Reunion Movement, retaining only direct influence over Chernobog.

One of the results of the speedrun was that Talulah's image wasn't ruined by the wicked Black Snake. If Talulah were to Reunion Movement in front of the Reunion Movement, then establishing influence would be out of the question.

Oute's "straightforward" statement left Talulah somewhat amused and exasperated. "Personally, I do prefer the latter."

"They're already having a tough time; they can't afford any setbacks now."

Alina couldn't help but reach out and stroke Talulah's face, saying with pity, "Talulah... you're too hard on yourself."

The dragon girl gripped Oute's hand tightly and closed her eyes.

"No, you were right before."

"Even if that spell never existed, I would still be... controlled by what it represents."

"At this moment, dark and lewd thoughts are surging within me: What vicious methods has this man used to control you?"

"He must be using you to manipulate me."

What might he do to you when I can't see him?

Alina, both amused and exasperated, said, "He'll make me do clerical work."

"... ah?"

Just as Talulah was dissecting her own rotten heart, which had been soaked by the Black Snake, Alina gave a very surprising answer, "He brought his employees into the Interstice as well, using their sleep time to work for him."

Oute clarified, "In exchange, they are actually on vacation during the day."

"Furthermore, Miss Alina, your job cannot be described as 'paperwork'; your job is to help me organize and compile documents."

Chapter 238 Sewing

Oute has even surpassed capitalists, feudal lords, and slave owners, and rolled back to the era of "divine" power, where even the dead have to work for him... This completely interrupted Talulah's emotional buildup.

Seeing that Talulah had calmed down, Alina breathed a sigh of relief.

Oute also emphasized, "Whether you believe it or not, the direct effects of the Black Snake Originium Arts have been eliminated."

Talulah smiled wryly, "But the nails have already left marks on the wood, and even if the nails are removed, the marks will still remain."

She finally accepted reality—that those dark thoughts now came from, and only from, her own mind.

"These despicable thoughts have always lurked deep within my heart. Koschei merely used Originium Arts to mold them into a personality that believes itself to be the new Serpent..."

"It's not necessarily what you think," Oute disagreed. "Your adoptive father himself might have had the same outcome."

"It's hard to imagine someone like him advocating for other people's ideals," Talulah objected gently, adding, "In any case, these thoughts disgust me—along with myself, who has these thoughts."

Everyone has dark thoughts.

However, this reason alone is unlikely to convince Talulah.

"Doc Otter!"

Amiya opened the door, bringing Ch'en with her.