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

After washing his face to remove the paint, W sat back down by the campfire.

Fortunately, these pigments are very...

It's easy to wash off, otherwise W wouldn't be sitting here calmly right now...

Then, W raised an eyebrow and looked at Ines sitting to the side, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Sitting on the other side, Hedley also turned his gaze to Ines, quietly waiting for her to speak. After all, he also wanted to know what his comrade had discovered.

“You must have noticed it too, w, the changes in that child…” Ines didn’t rush to explain, but looked at w and said softly.

"Um……"

Upon hearing this, W nodded slightly.

Everyone present was a seasoned mercenary; none of them were fools, including W. After all, if someone were naive and foolish, they couldn't have survived in the land of Sarkaz.

And, naturally, W noticed Gretsch's sudden change. Moreover, this wasn't the first time W had witnessed such a transformation in the little girl.

"Then let me tell you what I saw first."

;;

After glancing at W, whose expression had returned to calm, Ines continued, "The child's shadow changed when you leaned close to her, W. It went from being something I couldn't understand or comprehend to something similar to you."

"In my opinion, this is not something that can be achieved by mere imitation; it must be related to the child's abilities."

To be honest, Ines was completely stunned when she noticed the change in Gretchen's shadow.

Because this was the first time in her life that seeing a person's shadow could cause such a change and give her such a feeling.

This also made Ines curious about Gretsch.

Of course, while she was curious, Ines wouldn't be as rash as W and rush over to offend her. That wouldn't be in line with her style of doing things or her personality.

"I know~"

Upon hearing Ines's words, W did not show any surprise, but simply responded casually.

W had already guessed about Gretchen's "characteristics".

Both today's situation and Ines's words only further confirmed this suspicion. Therefore, she wasn't surprised at all.

"..."

Seeing W's completely unsurprised expression, Ines showed no surprise whatsoever.

After all, W had been dealing with Gretchen privately for several days, and Ines would never believe that she hadn't discovered anything.

“There are still some minor issues, but it’s getting more and more interesting.” As he spoke, W slightly narrowed his golden eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Meanwhile, Hadley, who hadn't said a word the whole time, looked at his two comrades and helplessly shrugged.

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

After "escaping" from W's clutches, Gretchen immediately gave up on her plan to find Mudrock.

After all, given her current situation, the little girl was genuinely afraid that if she found the Sarkaz girl, she'd be met with a barrage of close-range taunts and attacks...

Now, Gretchen doesn't even plan to linger outside anymore; she intends to go straight back. Alyona should be awake by now.

If the little polar bear doesn't see its own people for a long time, it will get anxious.

Moreover, in a sense, the opportunity to turn the tide against W has been handed over to Gretchen.

If conditions allowed, the little girl would probably set up her easel right now and start painting the paint she'd gotten on her paper.

Although Gretchen herself could not be sure of the effect of each of her paintings, most of the time, the paintings still evoked the deepest fears in the viewer's heart.

In this situation, the little girl even felt... it would be a shame not to give one to W.

Once she had the idea, Gretchen acted quickly. On her way back, she tried her best to avoid contact with other people.

After all, even now, she still has W's signature smile on her face...

If you were to put mudstone on your face like that, it would at most lower your likeability and make you feel a little awkward.

So, to stick your face to someone you know like that would be incredibly embarrassing, awkward, and an admission of guilt.

……

Gretsch pushed open the tent flap and went inside, only to find Alyona sitting blankly on the bed, seemingly lost in thought.

"!"

When Alyona looked up at the sound and saw Gretchen, the confusion and worry in her beautiful light green eyes vanished instantly.

However, before she could happily get out of bed to greet the little girl, her smile and words stunned her on the spot.

"Hey, let me see who's been waiting for me in the tent all this time!"

P.S.: I hope I can update early today; accumulating words until late at night is really getting weird. Right now, I'm in a state of being sleepy, but not really sleepy.

Give it a push.

Chapter 79 "Forced" Recovery and Painting

"Hey, let me see who's been waiting for me in the tent all this time!"

"...?"

Looking at Gretchen, who seemed completely unfamiliar to her, Alyona was momentarily stunned and even rubbed her eyes.

However, no matter how much the little polar bear rubbed its eyes, when it opened them again, it still saw the little girl with a playful smile on her face.

"..."

After a brief silence, Alyona quickly got off the bed and approached Gretchen directly.

"What, this?"

"Are you so eager to see me?" Gretchen asked with a grin as Alyona quickly approached. She made no attempt to dodge.

"Well……"

And this "arrogant" Gretchen was immediately pulled into Alyona's arms, her little head buried in the soft fabric of her clothes...

At first, the little girl instinctively wanted to struggle. But when she remembered that her friend was still injured, she softened her grip and only made a few token movements.

There was no way to break free from this level of struggle, so Gretchen was thus "controlled" by Alyona.

……

After a moment, Gretchen, feeling that she was almost back to normal, reached out and gently patted Alyona's shoulder, signaling her to let go of her.

"call……"

After her partner let go, Gretchen finally lifted her little head and couldn't help but gasp for breath.

This was the first time the little girl felt that the clothes she gave to Alyona were of really good quality... she had never felt this way before.

"Where did you go? You look like this. Could it be that guy...?" Alyona asked with a hint of worry in her light green eyes as she looked at Gretchen, who was breathing heavily.

Although it was a question, the little white bear's tone was actually quite certain.

After all, she didn't think there was anyone in the Reunion Movement besides that annoying woman who could dye Gretchen the way she just did.

"Um... I was stopped by Daburu earlier." Looking into her partner's eyes, Gretchen didn't intend to hide anything, and nodded slightly before answering.

"really……"

Upon hearing this, Alyona remained gentle on the surface, but her eyes were brimming with anger.

Others might not know, but she, who was with Gretsch every day, knew it all too well.

That Sarkaz mercenary was absolutely despicable... Not only did she constantly make small moves, but when she secretly wandered around in front of the two of them, she had this smug look on her face.

The little white bear wanted nothing more than to use Originium Arts to slap her face, but unfortunately, every time he tried to do so, Gretsch stopped him.

"It's alright, it didn't cause me too much trouble." Seeing Alyona's anger, Gretchen tiptoed and gently patted her head to comfort her.

"And, after I got covered in that ruby ​​of color, well... I took the paintbrush and smeared it on her face."

As she said this, Gretchen turned her head slightly, a hint of guilt flashing in her large violet eyes.

After all, while others might not know, the little girl herself was quite clear about it. That last moment was, to put it mildly, a complete mess.

To be honest, Gretchen was even certain that if she had run any slower, she would likely have faced W, who was in a rage, and her "revenge."

Especially since the little girl said such infuriating things back then...

After noticing the guilty look in Gretsch's eyes, Alyona assumed it was due to fear and worry, so she softened her voice and comforted her:

"It's alright, it's nothing, it was just a stroke of the pen, it doesn't matter. If anything happens, I'll go with you to find Sister Talulah."

After saying that, the little polar bear didn't forget to reach out and pat Gretchen's head.

"Yes, I'm fine, Alyona, don't worry. There's no need to go find Tarua now." As she spoke, Gretchen gently rubbed the hand that was stroking her head.

"Moreover, I've already figured out how to deal with Daburu..."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Alyona was slightly taken aback, then looked at the little girl with some curiosity, waiting for her answer.

"Drawing...Alyona, will you come with me?"

After giving her answer, Gretchen's large violet eyes shone as she looked earnestly at her companion.

"Yes, I'll stay here with you."

After understanding Gretchen's meaning, Alyona smiled slightly in her beautiful light green eyes and softly agreed.

Having spent some time with the little girl, Alyona has learned quite a bit about her characteristics and abilities.

In addition, a few nights ago, Talulah and the others had called her out to tell her and give her some instructions.

This elevated Alyona's understanding of Gretsch to a new level; while she might not be the person who understood her best, she was certainly one of those who understood her.

So when Gretchen mentioned drawing, she immediately understood what she meant.

"Um……"

Upon hearing her partner agree, a smile involuntarily appeared in Gretchen's eyes.

Then, before she could say anything, the azure knight silently appeared beside her and helped her set up the easel and everything else.

"Alright, Alyona, please sit here."