I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

Almost without thinking, Gretchen honestly stated her reason with a blank expression on her face, without any attempt to hide it.

"..."

Upon hearing such an honest answer, Lois was speechless for a moment. Then she covered her face with her hands and began to think.

This time, someone completely silenced her.

Leos, standing to the side, had a completely bewildered expression as he watched the interaction between the two.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Alyona, who was sitting next to Gretsch, frowned slightly, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she swallowed her words.

"For a moment, I don't know whether to say 'Greschwitz, you're good at being honest,' or..."

"Never mind, I don't know what you need the weapon for, but it won't hurt to give you one for self-defense."

After covering her face for a long time, Lois finally removed her hand and spoke softly to Gretsch in an extremely helpless tone.

Her helplessness wasn't because Gretsch wanted weapons; it was because of the little girl's honesty and directness.

To be honest, Lois has lived in the Ursus snowfield for so long, seen all kinds of people, witnessed all kinds of cruelty, and experienced a lot of hardship herself.

But she had never seen a child as innocent, pure, and naive as Gretchen...

And whenever this happens, Lois becomes aware once again that Gretsch's identity is not simple.

Because such children are not children that ordinary families can raise; they must come from very wealthy families.

Moreover, the little girl's abilities are also very special and powerful...

"Thank you, Sister Lois..."

Upon hearing Lois's agreement, Gretchen's large violet eyes shone brightly, like stars.

"You~"

Seeing the little girl's adorable appearance, Lois's helplessness dissipated considerably, and she couldn't help but reach out and pinch her soft, smooth little face.

Once Lois actually agreed, Leos, who was sitting to the side, put away the bewildered expression he had shown earlier. He raised an eyebrow slightly, revealing a strange look.

P.S.: Not many people are posting, and no one is urging me to hurry up, so it feels like nobody's reading it. I'm so sleepy. I'll try to write the second page quickly, please urge me a bit!

Chapter 44 [A Fleeting Moment] Cherry Blossom

"So, little Gretchen, what kind of longsword do you want? Actually, for a cutie like you, I think a short sword or dagger would be more suitable." Lois asked softly, withdrawing her hand.

"Hmm... I don't know? Actually, it wasn't me who used it."

Upon hearing this, Gretchen paused slightly, and replied with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

After hearing the little girl's words, a look of understanding flashed in Leos's eyes. He spoke first to Lois and asked in a low voice, "I see... little one, you're looking for weapons for your friends, right?"

"!"

Leos's sudden words startled Gretsch, causing a flicker of panic to cross her eyes.

"I see. So that's why you needed weapons, little Greta, even with Mr. Wolf and the others protecting you. You were planning to give them to your friends." Lois clapped her hands after hearing Leos's words, realizing what he meant.

"……???)?"

At this moment, Gretchen's mood slowly...

The initial panic turned into confusion, and then calmed down.

Honestly, if Lois hadn't followed up so quickly, the little girl would have thought her purpose and identity for wanting the weapon had been exposed.

"The weapons are in this warehouse. Since they're for your companions, Gretchen, go and choose one yourself. Hmm... Alyona can also choose a weapon for self-defense."

With that, Lois jumped down from where she was sitting and walked toward the pile of weapons. She quickly pulled out a huge crate filled with all sorts of weapons.

Seeing this, the two little ones quickly stood up and walked over there.

……

After staring at the box of weapons for a while, Gretchen finally chose a longsword that was still somewhat usable and put it into her system space.

With Lois's permission, Alyona also chose a sharp dagger for self-defense.

After the two little ones finished choosing their weapons, Lois pushed the box back to its original position.

----------------

With the weapon issue resolved, Gretchen began to consider the final point of this mission... the 80% survival rate.

This puzzled the little girl. The fact that the system specifically mentioned it meant that if she didn't intervene, the casualty rate of the infected she rescued this time would be very high.

There are only two possibilities for achieving this result: either the enemy is extremely difficult to deal with or there are too many of them, causing Sakura to fail and some to escape.

Secondly, the environment will be extremely harsh, and many infected people will not survive to return to the Reunion Movement camp.

However, Greta thinks it might have a bit of both...

After analyzing it for a while, the little girl stopped thinking about it because she realized that once she had figured things out, there was no need to keep daydreaming.

At this point, it's time to send someone out to investigate.

After all, where is the enemy now? How many enemies are there? How many groups have they split into? Gretchen has no idea about any of these things so far.

Moreover, she had a concern that made her want to find out about the enemy's situation more quickly.

The concern was that Gretchen feared the people Talulah sent might just happen to run into these enemies... that would really be troublesome.

Thinking it over, the little girl blinked her big eyes, stood up again, and said softly, "I'll go out for a bit more, I'll be back soon, don't worry."

"Go ahead and be safe."

"Okay, little one, remember to be careful."

Having learned from their previous experience, the two yetis didn't react much this time and readily agreed.

"Do you need me to come with you?"

Compared to the two yetis who readily agreed, Alyona gazed at Gretsch with her light green eyes and asked softly.

"No need, I'll be back soon. Alyona, just wait for me." Gretchen gently shook her head after hearing Alyona's words.

If it were like before, she would definitely be happy to bring her friends along, but this time it's better to leave it at that... after all, it's her little secret for now.

Then, Gretchen quickly ran out. Time was of the essence, and no one knew when the enemy would arrive, so the sooner the better.

Just like last time, after avoiding everyone else, she plunged into the woods once again.

Of course, Gretchen did not intend to go on this expedition herself... at least "Gretchen" would not go.

A flash of icy blue light appeared, and Setsuna Sakura, with pink hair, long fox ears, and dressed as scantily as Gretchen, appeared in this world.

Before the little girl could say anything, Sakura smiled gently at her and said, "It's been a long time, Gretchen."

"Hmm, it's been a long time... I have something I'd like to ask you." Upon hearing this, Gretchen nodded her head slightly before speaking.

Before Gretchen could say anything, Sakura smiled and said, "I know everything. Leave this mission to me, don't worry."

After all, no matter what, no matter how different their thoughts or thought processes are, the two people are ultimately connected at heart.

Under these circumstances, Sakura was naturally aware of the mission and the current situation. She was determined to complete this mission, or rather, the [Seven Thunders of Purification].

Then, with a flick of her slender wrist, the longsword that Gretsch had just obtained from the warehouse appeared in her hand.

After acquiring the weapon, Sakura's gentle temperament changed instantly, becoming sharp and ruthless.

"Yes, I trust Sakura-neechan. I'll have my friends keep an eye out for things, and I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Faced with Sakura, who exuded an aura of reliability, Gretsch stopped wasting words.

"Okay, Gretchen, you can go back now."

Nodding slightly, Sakura, holding the knife, gave a word of advice before leaving without lingering, quickly moving away.

"..."

After watching the person leave, Gretchen stopped standing there and went back the way she came, heading back towards the warehouse.

The little girl, lost in thought, clearly didn't notice that a pair of eyes were watching her from afar, and even saw her enter and leave the woods.

P.S.: I certainly wouldn't judge popularity based on the number of posts, but if someone urges me, I do write faster.

I've been too busy these past few days. After the book was published, I wrote more during the initial period due to the bounty system, but then everyone kept urging me to write more, so I might not write as much, but I'll try to write as soon as possible.

Update. It won't be like tonight, where the second chapter is being written so late.

Okay, goodnight. Time to hurry up.

Reward announcement

After thinking it over, I decided to open the bounty ahead of time.

There is no upper limit to this bounty, and it will end next Thursday night, because I will officially launch the product next Friday.

The rules for offering a bounty are:

150 monthly tickets + 1 update

100 blades + 1 more

10000 Rewards +1 Update

If the amount is large, I will repay it gradually and without delay. (Although I don't think it will be that much.)

That's all for now. Thank you for your support.

Chapter 45 Mission Explanation

"..."

Sakura moved nimbly and lightly through the woods, searching for clues about the enemy, while also making sure to minimize the traces of her movements.

After all, it's too easy to leave traces in a forest covered in silver frost, and it wouldn't be good if someone noticed.

But so far, she hasn't noticed anything unusual or sensed anything strange.

However, it's also possible that the enemy hasn't arrived yet, or that Sakura's search direction is wrong...

All I can say is that the area is simply too vast; even with her senses, it would take her some time to explore it.

If only Gretsch could be there to help. Although the little girl isn't very good at it either, having her help would make things much faster. What a pity.

Thinking about it, a hint of helplessness flashed in her cherry-blue eyes, then she put her thoughts aside and continued to concentrate on her actions.