Arknights, Suika's Messenger Journey

But she still looked the same as she had from the beginning—slightly drunk, yet always wearing that expression, not completely passed out.

"Am I not drunk?" Suika pointed at herself, took another sip, then said to Alina,

"You staring at me like that feels too strange. It's like I'm keeping all the good stuff to myself and not sharing with you. Want a sip too?"

"Just a little." Alina handed over a cup, and Suika skillfully poured her a small serving.

After that one small cup, Alina sank into the soft sofa and fell deeply asleep.

Suika merely rewarded herself with another sip.

As for Alina, she had spent enough time with Suika these days that it was not as though she had never drunk before. Suika knew her tolerance inside and out.

So after seeing her pass out, Suika picked up a blanket from nearby and covered her with it, then continued chewing through the books in front of her.

"Can you come outside for a moment?"

Talulah, who had entered from outside, looked at the sleeping Alina and Suika sitting by the table, then spoke in a lowered voice.

Following her outside, the two arrived at a pavilion near the door.

"Can you use it on me? That Originium Art of yours."

Talulah pointed at herself as she asked.

"Huh?" Suika did not quite understand.

"I want to experience it... It's just that we never had a chance to settle down before...

When did—"

After speaking, Talulah suddenly discovered that a wine cup had appeared in her hand at some point. The burning sensation in her mouth told her that she had apparently already drunk some alcohol.

Suika raised her own cup toward her.

"Didn't you say you wanted to experience it?"

Upon hearing that, Talulah closed her eyes and recalled what she had just done, an astonished expression appearing on her face.

In her memories, while she had been speaking, Suika had poured a cup of wine and pushed it before her. Then she had simply picked it up and drunk it.

Yet before she finished drinking it, she had not noticed any of it at all.

"What an incredible psychological suggestion. Can we do it again... Gah!"

Still unwilling to give up, Talulah wanted to see whether she could resist the strange technique while fully prepared. But once her words fell, she looked at the empty cup before her and felt the blade-like burn traveling from her mouth to her throat and then to her stomach. She was completely stunned.

Even when she believed herself to be fully focused, she had failed to realize what was happening until after she had finished the wine before her. At that moment, she more or less understood why the encounter Alina had described had ended in such an eerie fashion.

If even she could not resist the wine Suika offered while prepared, then it was no surprise those Ursus soldiers had been drunk into submission by her on the battlefield.

"What a powerful and bizarre Originium Art. Combined with that gourd of yours that can produce alcohol, as long as someone can't outdrink you, they're no match for you, right?"

Talulah wore an expression that said, no wonder you drank every day—you were training your alcohol tolerance so you could win drinking contests.

Suika shrugged, but did not tell her that Drink Invitation did not actually require her to drink. There was only one reason she drank: whenever she saw others drinking, she instinctively wanted a drink too.

After two cups, Talulah no longer doubted Suika's ability to make people obediently drink.

Watching her stagger back to her room, Suika raised the Ibuki Gourd in admiration.

Talulah was the first person Suika had ever poured two cups into and who could still walk back to her room on her own. Her strength truly was extraordinary.

Time passed into the winter half a year later.

"I heard Talulah recently exiled some Infected?

That doesn't sound like her. I remember she initially said she wanted to save all Infected."

Suika came to Alina's side and told her what she had heard outside.

"I know those people. They stole the little food we had left. If the rest of us want to survive this winter, we'll probably have to tighten our belts."

Alina spoke while sorting through things.

"Going out again?" Seeing her movements, Suika fastened the Ibuki Gourd.

"Mm. My infection isn't severe, so ordinary people usually can't tell. I'm planning to go to a nearby village and trade for some fruits and vegetables for everyone.

Otherwise, eating nothing but rye bread every day will ruin our health."

After saying that, Alina finished packing and prepared to leave.

"I'll go with you!" Suika suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Alina tilted her head, somewhat surprised by Suika's suggestion.

"It's too boring staying in the house every day. I should go out, take a walk, and stretch my body a little.

Besides, if there's too much stuff, I can help carry some. You know I'm pretty strong."

Suika raised an arm as she spoke.

"Sure, let's go!" Alina did not suspect anything. Even she had been feeling rather stifled lately.

The Reunion Movement had only gone through a split not long ago, and now someone had committed another serious mistake. So this trip was not merely to trade for ingredients for the Reunion Movement; Alina also wanted to clear her mind.

As the two walked out the door, they ran into Talulah.

"You're going out? Things haven't been peaceful lately." Talulah frowned and looked at Alina with concern.

"But everyone still needs to eat. And Suika said she'll protect me, right?" Alina looked toward Suika, who was carrying a small bamboo basket.

"Mm-hm. Don't worry, Talulah. I'll protect Alina."

Suika looked at Talulah, her gaze unusually firm...

Moonless, Windy Night

"Oh? Then I'll be watching!"

Hearing Suika's words, Talulah suddenly felt a panic in her heart for no reason, as though something important were slipping away from her.

After steadying herself, Talulah looked at Alina.

"When you go out, remember not to head west. According to the intelligence, people from the patrol squad have been active there.

Also, when you return, I want to establish a study group centered around you. There are more and more children in the Reunion Movement, and we need to give everyone the chance to learn."

"No problem. The village to the east should be able to trade us what we need. As for the study group, my recent exchanges and studies with Suika have gone quite well. I should be able to help you with that." Alina gave her a playful wink.

"Then... be careful." After saying that, Talulah hurried away.

After watching her leave, Alina took Suika's hand.

"Let's go. That village to the east isn't close. If we walk too slowly, it might be nighttime by the time we make the round trip."

Suika nodded and left with her.

As they walked, Suika asked,

"Have you ever thought about leaving Ursus?"

"Mm? Why would you ask that, Suika?" Alina said curiously.

"Before I left, an acquaintance told me about intelligence from various countries, including a great deal of information related to the Infected.

She told me that in Victoria and Columbia, there were cities that recruited Infected in order to develop.

Though the Infected earned less than ordinary people and worked in worse environments, it was still better than Ursus, wasn't it?

At least in those places, the Infected were publicly treated as people.

But in Ursus, the Infected are merely tools and expendable goods for the nobility.

And that is difficult to change, because most people in this country harbor terrifying malice toward the Infected.

From top to bottom, they constantly indoctrinate the lower classes, telling them how frightening and inferior the Infected are.

On the land of Ursus, unless the Infected can completely overthrow this rotten, stubborn regime and establish a new order belonging to the Infected, I simply cannot imagine how the Infected could ever truly stand up."

Suika spoke sincerely. In truth, every Infected in Ursus and every member of the Reunion Movement understood these things.

It was impossible to simply make the upper class of Ursus hear their voices through public outcry, then hope for their pity to improve the treatment of the Infected.

But if they left Ursus, where could the Infected go when they did not even speak the language? The attitudes of other nations toward the Infected might not necessarily be better than Ursus's either.

Therefore, as long as they could still maintain some degree of survival, few Infected in Ursus chose to flee abroad, no matter how suffocating the oppression became.

Alina's expression stirred after hearing this, but in the end, she sighed.

"Suika, your idea sounds simple, but actually carrying it out would be very difficult.

Even though Ursus has never shown mercy to the Infected, this is still our homeland, our country. We have lived here for decades. To suddenly leave and start over in an unknown, unfamiliar place... Believe me, if Talulah made that choice, many people would leave on the spot.

Unless they truly could not survive anymore, no one would choose to leave their own country."

After hearing Alina's words, Suika felt somewhat helpless. She had indeed been speaking without understanding the hardship involved. As an outsider, as someone who thought herself an impartial rational observer, she could offer a method that seemed relatively more favorable for the future of the Reunion Movement.

But as Alina had said, even after becoming Infected, even after being chased across this land like Jumping Beasts by the patrol squads and military, when it came to leaving the country and seeking a new path elsewhere, most people would still instinctively refuse.

That was human nature.

Suika said nothing more. Standing in the position of a spectator, she could not truly empathize with the Infected of the Reunion Movement, nor could she understand their conflicted feelings toward Ursus.

By noon, the two reached the edge of the village.

"Suika, help me check whether the Originium Crystals growing outside my body are hidden well enough." Before entering the village, Alina adjusted her clothing again, concealing her Originium Crystals beneath it.

"No problem. You can't see them at all." Suika gave her a thumbs-up, then the two entered the village hand in hand.

Because one was grown and one was small, and both were girls, people's guard naturally lowered around them. As a result, this food-trading trip went very smoothly.

The two pushed a small cart out of the village. Looking at the cart full of vegetables, Alina's expression brightened considerably.

With so many vegetables, if everyone in the Reunion Movement ate sparingly, they could last at least a week.

That was already an excellent result.

Naturally, the small amount of supplies Alina had brought could not have purchased so many vegetables. Fortunately, Suika was there.

She traded the fine wine from the Ibuki Gourd with the locals. Ursus people simply could not refuse good alcohol, so they obtained a small cart filled with vegetables. Even the cart itself had been gifted to them out of friendship after the locals drank the wine.

"Thank you so much this time, Suika. Otherwise, the little supplies I brought couldn't have traded for so much." Alina spoke gratefully on the road.

"Aren't we friends? Thanking me is too formal.

Besides, I can't finish all the wine in this Ibuki Gourd anyway. Isn't it a good thing if I can trade it for food like this? And it's not like I gave up anything."

Suika held one end of the cart's handle while Alina held the other. They pushed the cart side by side along the road back, Suika occasionally taking a sip.

"With so many vegetables, everyone will have no idea how happy they'll be once we get back." Alina looked at the food on the cart, hope shining in her eyes.

Because pushing the cart slowed them down, by the time they reached a small forest not far from the Reunion Movement's settlement, the sky had already grown nearly pitch-black. With snow and wind falling around them, Alina became anxious.

"Huff, huff. We need to move faster. Otherwise, it'll get too dark. If the wind and snow grow stronger, we might not be able to keep going."

Alina looked around and said to Suika,

"This isn't far from the settlement. How about you go get Talulah to help? I'll stay here and protect the food?"

"No need. It seems someone is coming this way."

After saying that, Suika hid herself behind the cart and coldly watched several people emerge in the distance.

Those people had not expected to encounter anyone here either, but when they saw the things on the cart beside Alina, greed flared in their eyes.

Time for Murder and Arson

"Food, fresh vegetables!

Damn it, Talulah said the Reunion Movement had no food, yet she secretly went and bought so much!"

The leader spoke through gritted teeth, as though he had been betrayed.

"What do you want?" Alina looked at them warily.

"What else? This food is ours now!"

The leader saw Alina spread her arms, trying to block his way. Thinking of how close they were to the camp, he feared that if the woman's voice attracted the camp's attention, none of this food would be left for his group. As that thought crossed his mind, viciousness flashed in his eyes. He swung his weapon and slashed at Alina.

Clang! Just as the long blade was about to strike Alina, a chain appeared from the side and happened to block the blade's path, stopping the fatal blow.

"What?!" The man had not expected his certain killing blow to be so abruptly blocked.

Before he could react, the iron chain turned into a long whip and lashed directly toward his body.

Instinctively, he raised his long blade to block the sudden attack, but a terrifying force surged through his hands.