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

Gretsch keenly sensed this momentary unease, but she didn't intend to expose it. Instead, she calmly asked:

"Hmm... I'm planning to go out for a bit, would you like to come along, Alyona?"

"You just stopped feeling unwell... Do you really have to go out now?"

After hearing Gretchen's words, Alyona frowned slightly and said in her hoarse voice.

"Well, I just remembered something important. I need to go find Tarua now." Gretchen explained softly, noticing the disapproval on Alyona's face.

Then, as if remembering something, the little girl added, "If Alyona is worried, she can come with me. I will protect you."

After speaking, Greta stared intently at the little polar bear in front of her with her beautiful, sparkling eyes, awaiting her answer.

"……it is good."

Alyona, who had wanted to say something more, swallowed her words after meeting the little girl's eyes and then agreed.

Afterwards, Gretchen happily took Alyona's hand and carried her away from the tent to find Talulah and, incidentally, to check on the current situation of the camp.

……

Sitting by the campfire near his tent, Hadley turned to his two comrades and asked:

"You could tell that little girl from before was..."

What race?

As a seasoned Sarkaz mercenary, Hedley considered himself to have seen a lot, but what he saw after meeting with the Reunion Movement today was somewhat beyond his expectations.

In all his life, he had never seen Originium Arts like Gretchen's. The summoned creatures were not only powerful, but they could even pull people into paintings...

"No, that child shows absolutely no racial characteristics. And her shadow..."

After hearing Hadley's words, the female mercenary with black hair and sharp horns sitting to the side finally stopped her deep thought and spoke.

But towards the end, she paused, as if organizing her thoughts.

P.S.: I'm sleepy. It looks like it'll be past midnight today. I'll try to hurry. I'll urge them a bit.

Chapter 72 Creepy and Curious

"No, that child shows absolutely no racial characteristics. And her shadow..."

After hearing Hadley's words, Ines, who had been sitting to the side with a thoughtful expression, spoke up.

But towards the end, she paused, as if organizing her thoughts.

"Her shadow gave me a very terrifying and complicated feeling, it was absolutely chilling. Moreover, I couldn't see through her at all."

After she finished speaking, the black-haired girl, Ines, narrowed her golden eyes, her expression turning somewhat complicated after a long time.

"So that's the feeling you got. It seems this child is more dangerous than she appears." Hearing this, Hedley raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression somewhat surprised.

He originally thought that Gretchen had already shown enough, but he didn't expect that she would give his comrade Ines such a feeling.

In this situation, Hedley couldn't help but slightly raise his estimate of the little girl's potential.

It's important to know that Ines's Originium Arts are quite unique; she possesses the ability to read people's minds by observing their shadows...

'

This time, instead of finding anything, he frightened himself.

So, what do you think, W?

As he spoke, Hedley turned his gaze to the other side, to the silver-haired, red-horned mercenary girl who seemed lost in thought.

Hearing Hadley's words, W slowly turned his head and said indifferently, "Oh, you mean that kid? Talulah and the others seem to value him a lot."

"And, although there's some distance, that child doesn't seem to be infected... It's quite interesting to see such a young non-infected person mixed in with a group of infected people~"

As he spoke, the indifference on W's face disappeared, replaced by excitement in his golden eyes and a playful smile on his lips.

"..."

Seeing W like this, Ines knew without even thinking what her comrade was up to.

Although she knew the chances of stopping it were slim... as a friend, she felt it was necessary to remind her and go through the proper procedures.

"W... You already said that the child is being taken seriously, so don't go over there, or you might cause a disaster."

"Tsk, I'm not going to do anything to her."

After hearing Ines's reminder, W clicked his tongue softly and then put away the playful smile on his face.

However, although he put away his smile, the excitement and curiosity in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"Listen to Ines, be careful. That child's summoned creatures are quite powerful."

Seeing W like this, Hedley helplessly shrugged and then gave some instructions.

However, knowing W's personality, he didn't say much. After saying those two sentences, he stopped talking.

————————————————————

"..."

Gretchen, who was walking with Alyona at this moment, could now be said to be starting to have some regrets.

Although the little girl's expression didn't change, and even her gaze didn't change, she subconsciously tightened her grip on her friend's hand.

#

As for why I regret it...

The reason is very simple: because of what Gretchen did before, her appearance outside the tent this time has attracted a lot of attention.

It's even more terrifying than before. If before you only looked at Gretchen out of curiosity or strangeness, and quickly lost interest afterward...

So now it's a blatant display of intense attention; wherever the little girl goes, all sorts of eyes, both overt and covert, are drawn to her...

Although most of the glances weren't malicious and the distance wasn't very close, this time Gretsch did feel genuinely uncomfortable.

The little girl originally thought that because of the influence of "Gresch's" memories, she would no longer care about other people's opinions and behaviors...

But she now realizes she was wrong; it's not that she didn't care, it's just that she hadn't reached a certain level of concern.

"Ok?"

When she felt the grip on her small hand tighten, Alyona was slightly taken aback, but quickly reacted and adjusted her position to block Gretsch's view.

"Are you feeling unwell? If so, let's go back. If it's important, I'll go find Talulah for you." Alyona said, turning around with a worried expression.

She was watching Gretchen.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little unaccustomed to it. But it's okay with Alyona by my side."

Looking into her companion's worried eyes, Gretchen's eyes flickered slightly before she gently shook her head.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Alyona didn't say anything, but her helpless gaze seemed to say, "I really can't do anything with you."

"Um... Mr. Knight."

Seeing the helpless look in her partner's eyes, a hint of a smile flashed in Greta's beautiful violet eyes. Then she softly summoned.

Since she was already feeling uncomfortable, the little girl naturally didn't plan to waste any more time walking over there. Instead of wasting time walking over, she might as well summon her knight.

Then, the azure-blue knight appeared, first giving an elegant bow, then nimbly picking up his little princess and her companions, and continuing towards the target, Tower Rua.

Because of the Knight's sudden appearance, the attention that was focused on Gretsch was reduced by more than half in an instant, and the remaining attention was almost entirely blocked by the azure-blue knight.

"Well……"

Greta was at a loss for words.

If she had known that these people would react this way to her knight, she would have summoned him immediately when she left the tent.

……

"..."

Just as W was sitting by the campfire feeling a bit bored, she heard intermittent chatter from another campfire not far away.

This made her involuntarily squint her golden eyes slightly.

Meanwhile, the discussion continued over there...

"Just now, I saw that little girl and that knight over there, they seemed to be looking for something..."

The two people standing nearby could tell from W's expression that she was getting excited and about to cause trouble.

However, Ines and Hadley both knew that W was still sensible in this regard, so they didn't say anything more.

P.S.: My teeth hurt so much, and I'm getting more and more irritable as I write, it's so annoying. I'll write a few more chapters of slice-of-life scenes and then lay the groundwork. This volume can be temporarily concluded, because there's nothing major going on for Gretsch's side, just slice-of-life stuff.

Just a quick reminder, goodnight everyone.

Chapter 73 Stained by Gretchen's Smile

Gretchen, who was nestled in her knight's arms and wandering around the camp searching for Talulah, suddenly seemed to sense something and turned her head slightly to look to the right.

At this moment, the azure-blue knight seemed to understand his princess's needs, and temporarily stopped moving, quietly holding the two little ones in his arms without moving.

"..."

When Gretchen turned her head, she met a pair of golden eyes filled with excitement and curiosity.

Upon recognizing the owner of those eyes, the little girl's heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong.

Although Gretchen had considered taking the initiative to contact W, it was just a thought, and she didn't want to take any action on it, at least not in the short term.

But now it's clear that the little girl hasn't even made a move yet, and it's as if she's already been targeted...

Having a fairly good understanding of W's personality, Gretsch, after seeing the emotions in her eyes, could say with certainty that W was interested in her. As expected, more pranks and interactions were bound to follow.

For a moment, the little girl didn't even know if this was a good thing or a bad thing... In fact, if she could, she would prefer to replace W with Mudrock, the Sarkaz girl.

Of course, Gretchen knew this was unrealistic, so she only thought about it.

"Ah……"

Not far away, W saw the azure-blue knight stop, and the child in his arms meet his gaze. A glint flashed in W's eyes, and a wicked smile slowly crept onto his lips as he looked at Gretsch.

If it were an ordinary child, they would definitely be startled or even frightened by W's sudden smile.

However, Gretchen was no ordinary child; in fact, she could be considered quite special. But…