Arknights, Suika's Messenger Journey

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes again, and the hesitation was gone from her gaze.

She looked at Suika gratefully.

"You're right. We need to save those Infected in Ursus who are still suffering oppression and hardship, but we can't put our original companions in danger because of it.

"I'll think more carefully about things like this from now on. I won't make this mistake again."

"It's useless telling me that. You need to promise the others, because I'm not your companion—they are." Suika pointed at the cadres gathered nearby, then stepped back.

Watching Talulah pull herself together and begin issuing orders again, Suika nodded to Alina beside her, and the two of them left.

"Thank you!" Alina suddenly said as they walked.

"For what?"

"You didn't need to be the one to say those things." Alina looked at Suika.

"But none of you said them.

"I don't know what you all think, but as far as I'm concerned, right is right and wrong is wrong.

"Talulah's ideas are good, but she isn't perfect. She'll make mistakes eventually.

"At times like that, as the people she trusts most, instead of reminding her, you watched her head down the wrong path. I think that's irresponsible.

"Alina, you need to understand that ever since Talulah became the leader of the Reunion Movement, nothing about her is hers alone anymore.

"Every plan and every thought she has may bring about different consequences.

"Some will be good, some bad. As her friend, you should be there to remind her.

"This was never supposed to be my job, but you failed in yours..."

Suika looked at Alina, her tone stern and blunt.

"I understand!" Alina pursed her lips, then wore an expression of sudden realization.

"Damn it, I'm not some teacher who preaches and answers people's questions. It feels weird having me do this kind of thing!"

Suika irritably rubbed her long hair, then took a gulp of wine as if venting her frustration.

"Sorry. This is our first time too, so there are a lot of things we aren't familiar with. Everyone is still figuring things out.

"As an outsider, you naturally see things more clearly than those of us caught up in it!"

Alina took Suika's hand and said with a bright smile.

"Sigh, whatever. I'm tired. I don't care anymore..."

The two chatted as they walked back to their living quarters.

At noon the next day, Suika saw Alina helping her sort through her things.

"Stop packing. You've gone through everything four times since yesterday. I don't have much to bring."

"That won't do. Victoria is so far from here.

"If you bring so little, you'll have nothing to eat on the road. You'll go hungry."

Alina put her hands on her hips, finally looking a little like the lady of the house.

"Speaking of hungry... help me call Talulah and the others over."

Since she was leaving anyway, Suika felt she should bring everyone a little happiness and some sweet dreams before she went.

"What are you going to do?"

"Just call them over, okay? It's a good thing!"

Suika took the bag containing her letters from Alina and set it aside, then began sipping her wine.

"Then you'll have to wait. I remember Talulah saying she'd be training with the soldiers this afternoon." Alina lightly tapped her chin with a finger, recalling the conversation she had had with Talulah before she left that morning.

Ursus Jokes Never Get Old

"Then tell her to let everyone else know. They can all come together later!"

Suika knew what kind of training she meant, so she stretched lazily without any concern.

As the most battle-experienced member of the Reunion Movement, Patriot had personally trained most of its fighters.

Although Talulah was a leader, she was clearly still very inexperienced in areas such as battlefield command. That was why she had volunteered to join the training, so she could have more confidence when facing battle.

Since she was training now, Patriot would treat everyone equally until it was over. Naturally, Alina had no way to call her over.

"Perfect. Help me out, then. Let's set up some tables in the open space behind us. We'll need them later." Suika pulled Alina toward the back.

By the time Talulah returned, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Suika checked the time and said,

"Good thing you came back when you did. Any later and we'd have to start preparing dinner."

"Hm? Are you hungry?" Talulah took the handkerchief Alina offered and wiped the sweat from her face.

"Not really. Since I'm leaving, I prepared a gift for everyone in the Reunion Movement before I go." Suika stood and dusted off nonexistent dirt from her hands.

"A gift? Where is it?" Talulah looked around but found nothing in the room. She looked at Alina, but Alina shook her head too, equally unsure what gift Suika meant.

"Let's go to the little clearing behind us!" Suika said as she headed outside.

Not knowing what Suika was planning, the two followed her out.

In the clearing behind the building, there were only more than ten long rows of tables that had been set up that afternoon, along with children playing nearby.

"You borrowed all the tables from the surrounding households, didn't you?" Talulah could not help teasing as she looked at the tables in the middle of the clearing.

"Everyone was very kind. The moment they heard I needed to borrow tables, they brought them over without even asking what I wanted them for."

Suika clasped her hands and gave them a shake before walking to the tables.

"Now, witness a miracle!"

With that, she lightly snapped her fingers.

Then, to the two women's wide-eyed astonishment, dish after dish of food appeared on the tables out of thin air.

The commotion caught the children's attention as well. Drawn by the aroma wafting from the food, they curiously came over.

"This is..."

"Just think of it as a special kind of Originium Arts!

"Everything is real, and it's all edible. It'll fill you up too. But these foods have been enchanted, so they can't be taken away. Once the spell ends, any uneaten food will disappear, so eat as much as you like while the spell lasts.

"Oh, there's double-skin milk! I love this stuff."

As Suika spoke, she looked over the table. She could only determine the general nature of the banquet—whether it would focus on alcohol, food, or fruit, and whether the dishes would lean Eastern or Western—but she could not control what specific dishes appeared.

This time, it was a large banquet focused on food, with no limits on Eastern or Western cuisine.

Thus, there were all kinds of Eastern stir-fried dishes on the tables, as well as Western specialties like pizza and steak.

She happened to spot the double-skin milk. She picked it up and smelled it, then happily took a spoon from nearby and began eating it in small bites.

Faced with food that had appeared from nowhere, the two women did not know whether they should dig in.

The children nearby could not hold back any longer. They grabbed roasted Fowlbeast from the table and tore into it, shouting about how delicious it smelled as they ate.

Seeing the children eating with grease all over their mouths, Talulah picked up a fork and speared a serving of Fowlbeast liver, something she was relatively familiar with, then put it in her mouth.

Feeling its rich, creamy texture, she could not help freezing, because it did not feel fake at all.

From the fragrance before it entered her mouth to the changing layers of flavor as she chewed, everything was incredibly real.

Especially after she swallowed it—the sensation of food passing through her esophagus and entering her stomach was something no illusion could possibly replicate.

"Stop guessing. This food is all real. I spent a fortune getting it when I was in Lungmen.

"I originally planned to eat it as I traveled, but now that I think about it, treating everyone to a good meal seems pretty nice too."

Naturally, she would not say the food came from her magic and could be supplied without limit. Instead, she claimed she had paid people in Lungmen to make it, then used magic to store it in some special space until now.

Alina also picked up a spoon and drank a ladleful of pumpkin soup. After confirming that the food was real, she looked at Talulah.

"Can we call the others over?" Talulah asked.

"Of course. Why else would I make such a big space? And do you really think the people in this courtyard could finish all this food?" Suika took out the Ibuki Gourd and poured some wine into her double-skin milk, then lowered her head and continued eating her self-invented wine-flavored double-skin milk.

Talulah turned and headed outside. Before long, FrostNova and Patriot arrived, followed by Mudrock, the other cadres, and several children who could make medicine.

Everyone wore astonished expressions when they saw the wide range of Eastern and Western delicacies on the tables.

No one asked who was wasting food so extravagantly, because many of the things on the tables were not even available in the storerooms.

Besides, so many exquisite dishes, beautiful enough to make people reluctant to eat them, were not something the Reunion Movement's cooks—who only knew how to make food in giant pots—could create.

Then quite a few ordinary Reunion Movement civilians and soldiers who had received the news also arrived in the courtyard. More and more people gathered.

An hour later, the food on the tables had been eaten completely clean.

Everyone patted their bellies in satisfaction.

Though they did not know where the food had come from, many people had eaten until they were at least eighty percent full. They could even skip making one meal, which meant they had practically gained the equivalent of two meals.

For the Reunion Movement, that also indirectly eased some of the pressure on their food supplies.

After the crowd dispersed, Suika waved a hand, and every plate vanished from the tables.

Looking at the spotless tables, anyone who saw the scene would have doubted whether they had eaten anything at all if their full stomachs had not told them otherwise.

"We ate all the food you prepared for the journey. What are you going to do now?" Once the crowd had dispersed, the calmer Alina looked at Suika with a slightly reproachful tone.

"What else? I'll gnaw on big rye bread.

"It can double as a walking stick on the road, and if danger comes up, it can serve as a weapon too.

"Carry a backpack full of big rye bread, and it's useful for everything. A guaranteed bargain."

Suika's words made everyone laugh.

After all, hardly anyone chose to eat big rye bread directly.

Most people broke it apart and soaked it in soup, a simple method that also made it easier to digest.

Jokes about big rye bread in Ursus never got old, and after hearing Suika's complaint, everyone understood the joke immediately.

A Long Talk Beneath the Moon

That night, sitting on her bed and thinking about how she would be leaving tomorrow, Suika tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

After sitting up, she walked outside. It was already late at night, yet she found Patriot sitting not far away.

Walking over, Suika greeted him.

"It's so late. Be careful not to catch a cold sitting out here alone."

"It is nothing." Patriot's voice was somewhat muffled, but Suika could tell he was doing much better than when she had first met him.

After Yagokoro Eirin's medicine was distributed, he had volunteered to be among the first batch of "test subjects."

Even he had been extremely surprised by the excellent results.

His infection had persisted for many years, and many organs inside and outside his body had nearly become Originium.

If not for his Sarkaz bloodline, he would have long since become dust between heaven and earth.

But after taking the medicine, he could clearly feel that the area covered by Originium on the surface of his body had decreased by one-fifth. In particular, after the infection in his throat receded, he could speak normally again as he once had.

It was just that his habit of speaking briefly, formed over a long time, was not something he could change all at once.

"At this hour, there's nothing to look at except the two moons in the sky. Don't you feel lonely sitting here?"

As the atmosphere grew quiet, Suika continued asking.

"No. The Reunion Movement is all family. Protecting Yelena, protecting Talulah, is my responsibility." Patriot answered, one word at a time.

"Are you still uneasy about that New Reunion Movement?

"Do you think this New Reunion Movement is a scheme by the immortal Black Snake?"

"Yes. It is too much of a coincidence.

"The Black Snake was driven away by you, and then this organization appeared."