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

However, she was unwilling, extremely unwilling... but she was powerless and had no way to resolve the situation.

“Theresia, this time… wait for me a moment, okay? I’ll definitely find a way…” ℃?⊥6+ear∽slippery≤order+*Mín∪⑧／㈡⌒?*&^qqun%^

With a trembling, anxious voice, a crystal tear slowly slid from her eye and silently dripped onto Theresa's face.

Looking at W like this, Theresa's gentle eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness and apology.

She slowly reached out and gently stroked her follower's face, whispering softly, "...I'm sorry, w."

"Heh, this is... the first time I've ever seen you cry. There's no need to be so sad, I've always been here... all along."

As she spoke, Theresa moved her arm with difficulty, placing her fingers on W's chest, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"And this time, we said goodbye properly... didn't we?"

"I believe that we will meet again someday..."

As her last words faded, Theresa smiled and closed her eyes. Her breath grew weaker, and her hand slowly slid to the ground…

"Theresia!"

Noticing Theresa's lifeless state, W gazed at her gentle face and couldn't help but cry out. The sorrow in her eyes was so intense it was almost overflowing…

"Kacha——"

Clearly, this dream didn't want to give W time to react. Accompanied by that familiar sound, everything around them cracked again... shattering into countless fragments.

The Theresa in her arms, too, was transformed into countless stars by a gentle breeze, silently disappearing into the darkness.

"!"

However, just as W reached out to stop her, the darkness before her eyes shattered, and she opened her eyes...

"call--"

Startled awake, W sat up, panting heavily, staring at the dim firelight flickering in the tent... She felt utterly lost, her eyes vacant.

"...!"

Just then, W suddenly felt a hot sensation in one of her pockets, and she quickly reached out her hand.

They took the contents out.

The moment she saw what she held in her hand, the confusion in her eyes was instantly replaced by astonishment. For what she held in her hand was none other than Theresa, the figure she had previously cut from Gretsch's painting…

"boom……"

Then, accompanied by a faint sound, the remaining painting in W's hand suddenly burst into flames and turned to ashes in front of her.

"..."

W looked down at the remaining crumbs in her hand, her golden eyes gleaming slightly, her expressionless face making it impossible to discern her thoughts.

If W still doesn't understand what his dream was all about at this point, then he's truly wasted all that time he's been a mercenary.

Although he now knew who was behind it all, W was surprisingly not angry. As he calmed down, his expression became thoughtful.

Especially now that I think about it carefully, Theresa's last few words in that dream gave me a very strange feeling.

It was as if... it wasn't a dream, and the people in it weren't fake.

Besides this, W also had many questions and was very concerned about Theresa's words, especially the last sentence.

But no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't come up with a reasonable answer.

She even suspected that her prince might have only faked his death and was actually still alive. However, she quickly dismissed this thought.

But while ruling them out, a small hope was planted deep in her heart: what if?

……

Finally, W stopped her chaotic thoughts, looked up at the sky that was about to brighten, and silently planned when to go find Gretchen.

After all, if you don't understand something, you still have to go and ask the "culprit".

————————————————————

"Well……"

Gretchen woke up naturally in the morning and slowly opened her big, confused eyes.

Last night, because she didn't receive any pranks, the little girl went to bed quite early and slept very well. Therefore, she woke up even earlier than usual this morning.

"..."

After a moment of blankness, Gretchen's confusion faded, and she quickly came to her senses. She then recalled the events of the previous day.

To be honest, after she had Mr. Knight "deliver" the painting to W yesterday, she paid almost no attention to what happened afterward. All she knew was that her partner had completed his mission last night and she had returned home.

I wonder what the situation is like on W's side right now.

P.S.: It's true what they say, you shouldn't touch games, or you'll be transported to another world... I'll try to write the second chapter quickly; finishing it in one go is a victory. Also, subscriptions have dropped quite a bit lately; looks like everyone's been quite tired from school or work.

Give it a push.

Chapter 90 About Bullying

"..."

Although Gretchen didn't know the specifics of W's situation, she guessed that someone would most likely come looking for her today...

Given the little girl's current understanding of her own drawing, it's likely that she's either extremely angry and embarrassed, or she's in a better mood but very curious about the painting.

Regardless of the situation, Gretchen felt that given W's personality, there was a high probability that he would come looking for her.

However, none of this mattered much to the little girl. Besides, Alyona couldn't be with her today, and without anyone she was afraid of accidentally hurting, she was even less afraid of W.

The reason is that both the Yeti Squad and the Patriots have free time today, so they plan to bring Alyona over for training...

Starting today, the little polar bear will officially begin its long-term training.

Although Gretchen was somewhat reluctant, she also knew very well that this was a good thing for her companion.

Alyona herself strongly agreed with this, so in the end the little girl chose to give it her full support.

After sorting out her thoughts, Gretchen blinked her big eyes and, feeling the chill outside, couldn't help but shrink deeper into the blankets.

"Um……"

While still asleep, Alyona noticed Gretsch's movement and instinctively moved her arm, placing it on the little girl and pulling her into her embrace.

"Well."

Suddenly embraced tightly, Gretchen let out a cute little murmur. Then she nestled quietly in Alyona's arms, no longer moving, letting her hold her.

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

Then, as usual, Gretchen waited for Alyona to get up before they washed up together and went out for dinner.

However, this morning the two little ones ran into an acquaintance by the campfire after a long time.

"Good morning, Sister Yelena and the Yetis..."

"Good morning."

After greeting Yelena and the others, Gretchen and Alyona found a seat nearby.

Good morning, Gretchen and Alyona.

Yelena nodded gently in response to their greetings, and then responded softly.

"Damn it, why is little Gretchen so perfunctory when she's with us?"

"Yes, yes, you already greeted your older sister separately."

"That's right, you're treating people differently."

Unlike Yelena, the Yetis teased Gretchen about her differential greeting.

Finally, a helpless Gretchen had no choice but to greet each of the unreliable yetis individually before breakfast.

Updated daily; new: one!

'say?,9,",3,8!:9?;:

……

A short while later, Talulah and Alina also arrived for breakfast. However, both of them had a rather serious expression on their faces.

This made Gretchen, who had noticed their expressions, suddenly feel a little nervous and had a bad feeling.

Soon, the little girl's bad premonition came true. Because after the two of them walked over, they immediately sat down on either side of Gretsch and Alyona…

"……???)".

To be honest, Gretchen was starting to panic a little. She began to seriously consider what she had done recently that had angered others.

But after thinking it over carefully, the little girl didn't get a good answer. In her memory, the only bad thing she had done recently seemed to be W's...

Could it be that they were caught sneaking out?

Alyona, who was also caught in the middle between Talulah and the other woman, was also pondering the problem.

The strange atmosphere here successfully attracted Yelena and the Yetis's puzzled and inquisitive gazes.

After all, no matter how you look at it, the two little ones sitting in the middle look like they've done something wrong. There's juicy gossip out there, might as well eat it.

"Ugh, really, Gretchen... Couldn't you tell us if you were being bullied? Where did you come from, you little idiot?"

Finally, Talulah couldn't hold back any longer and spoke first. Her tone carried a hint of disappointment and frustration.

“???)?”

Upon hearing this, a big question mark slowly appeared on Gretchen's little head.

You see, the little girl had already braced herself for a scolding. But it wasn't until Talulah spoke that she realized it was completely different from what she expected.

Of course I still got scolded, if you count the little idiot...

Meanwhile, the bystanders, unaware of what had happened, also became serious and alert upon hearing this. After all, it was no small matter for their beloved companion to be bullied.

?;'

"Look at that expression on your face..."

Seeing Gretchen's dazed expression, Talulah couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek, saying with exasperation.

"I...I wasn't...bullied."