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

……

"I'm back. Did little Gretsch miss her sister?"

Around noon, the tent flap was suddenly lifted... and a gentle, smiling voice came from outside.

"...Yeah, I miss Alina."

Gretchen had already finished painting when Alina came in, so she responded to her immediately.

"Little Gretchen is such a good girl. It's all because her older sister is too busy to spend time with you."

Looking at Gretchen sitting obediently in front of the easel, Alina's eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness and heartache.

After all, in her view, she brought the person back herself, but she didn't have time to spend with her...

"Um……?"

When Alina suddenly showed her apology, a question mark slowly appeared on Gretchen's little head.

“Sister Alina… there’s no need to worry about such things. Gretchen has always been happy, and she even met a new friend today.”

With that, Gretchen jumped off the stool, walked to Alina, and then tiptoed to gently pat the fawn's head in a comforting manner.

Greta didn't really care about being alone. She would be happy if someone were with her. But even without them, she wasn't sad, because she understood everyone…

Just as Gretchen understood how busy Grandma Mebius and Alicia were at times...

Moreover, in a sense, she's not really a child. Considering her age before the time travel plus the age of this body, she's probably older than everyone else in the entire camp combined.

"Hmm... little Gretchen, you are so adorable. I will try my best to spend time with you."

Seeing Gretchen struggling to touch her head even while standing on tiptoe, Alina gently pulled the little one into her arms and softly rubbed her face.

"..."

Gretchen didn't resist Alina's kneading; she simply let Alina do as she pleased. Although she'd gone along with it, the comforting effect was achieved, wasn't it?

"...I remembered something, and my sister Alina hasn't told me the answer yet."

After a while, having escaped Alina's clutches, Gretchen seemed to remember something, and looked up at her with her big eyes.

"whats the matter?"

"What exactly did Sister Alina see in the painting yesterday...?"

As she spoke, a hint of curiosity appeared in Gretchen's large violet eyes.

Actually, she wanted to ask about this this morning, but seeing that Alina seemed quite busy, she didn't ask and wasted her time.

"This... it's the future... the end for me, Yelena, and so many others. But now, because I've met a lovely little one, everything has changed. Thank you, little Gretchen."

Alina gently touched her chin, thought for a moment, and then smiled.

"Um……"

Gretchen was somewhat surprised to hear Alina's words. Clearly, her adorable little brain had considered many possibilities, but she hadn't expected this one, let alone such a comprehensive one…

"So... Sister Alina, what are you planning to do with that nasty snake?"

"Gresh, how do you know about this? Didn't you say you didn't know the effect of your painting?"

Upon hearing this, Alina's pupils contracted slightly, and then she asked somewhat nervously.

Having already known the original trajectory of her destiny, she did not want to involve Gretsch, the little angel, in the Black Serpent incident; that would be too dangerous.

You can't blame Alina for conspiracy theories, but in the original timeline... many things were interconnected, leading Talulah step by step into the abyss.

This made her suspicious of many things, including whether her death was orchestrated by Black Serpent and part of his plan.

So if possible, Alina doesn't want Gretsch to get involved in this. Although the little cutie has her knight protecting her, what if she encounters someone that even her knight can't beat?

Alina didn't want to gamble...

"What I saw in Tarua's eyes... a black snake, with a fierce look in its eyes. A painting made with everyone's colors, I really don't know what will happen."

Gretchen simply looked into Alina's eyes and began to explain slowly and deliberately.

Even without knowing the plot, she could still know of the Black Snake's existence.

Because it was so obvious, Gretchen saw it the first time they met... she saw the heavy black behind Talulah in addition to her own warm orange color, and she saw the black curse in her eyes.

"...You actually figured it out?"

Gretchen's answer startled Alina, who was looking tense, and she quickly realized what was happening and almost wanted to cover her face...

After a moment of helplessness, she earnestly instructed, "Alright, children shouldn't get involved in this matter. Let your older sister handle it."

"I'm not a child anymore, I can help everyone..."

Listening to Alina's seemingly coaxing words to a child, Gretchen gently shook her head, then continued, "Next, let me draw a picture for Tarua."

“Painting has a magical power, I believe it will help Tarua.”

P.S.: I wrote a bit slowly tonight. (This is the first...)

I'll try to finish writing and post Chapter 2 before midnight. I caught a bit of a cold today because of the big temperature drop, so please take care of yourselves too.

Chapter 14 The Patriot's Reminder

Finally, Gretchen got right to it and started doing it. From lunchtime onwards, she clung to Talulah... wanting to be dyed Talulah's color.

Alina did not stop it; instead, she adopted a supportive and spectator-like attitude towards the matter.

Because she also wanted to know what effect Gretsch's painting of Talulah would have, and whether it would change her best friend.

Then came the conversation before lunch today. Besides Gretchen learning what she wanted to know, Alina also asked and learned quite a few things.

For example, Alina now knows Gretchen's blank slate nature and understands that she did not intentionally imitate her at first, but rather that she became tainted by her own colors after spending a long time with her.

……

After Gretchen's efforts, she finally managed to get her hands on Talulah's color. Once she was dyed, she headed towards the tent without saying a word.

;?;

Alina, who had been watching Gretchen closely, silently followed behind her towards the tent after noticing the change in the little girl's demeanor.

Talulah was left standing there, watching the two figures leave with a puzzled expression.

Upon entering the tent, Gretchen eagerly sat down on the small stool in front of the easel... and began mixing colors on the palette while murmuring to herself.

"If justice requires more violence to be served, how can it be called justice?"

"..."

Alina, who had just entered the tent, overheard Gretchen's murmur and couldn't help but admire how well her little darling had imitated her...

After the murmur ended, Gretchen mixed the colors and made her first stroke on the canvas, completely immersing herself in the painting and ignoring the outside world.

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

"Sigh, little Gretchen didn't come at all today. She's not clinging to her older sister either; she's actually bothering Talulah instead."

Sitting by the rock by the campfire, Lois looked at the campfire not far away, which was now empty but had once housed Talulah and Gretchen, and said boredly.

"They're just kids, it's normal. If we have a chance later, we can go and get some fruits and vegetables, and then coax little Gretchen over."

“I agree. After all, it’s not easy to find a little guy who can be close to the older sister without getting hurt.”

Just as the conversation started and the Yetis were chatting about this and that, Wendigo, who had been silent all along, slowly raised his head.

“When you… are in contact with… that… child, please… be… careful….” A hoarse voice came from Patriot’s mouth, and he spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Hmm? What's wrong with little Greta?"

"Yes, Uncle, why should we pay attention to such a small child?"

Upon hearing their great-father's words, all the yetis in the area turned their curious gazes toward him, waiting for what he would say next.

Even Yelena felt the same way. Although she also noticed Gretchen's unusual behavior, she still wanted to hear what her father had noticed.

"She...is not...infected, and...her...origin is unknown. And...the feeling she gives me...is not...ordinary."

“Last night, she didn’t play around with me. Her aura changed, and I felt threatened.”

In front of the Yetis, Patriot explained what he had seen the previous night.

As a soldier, he always trusted his intuition. He was certain that he had sensed a similar, yet far more dangerous, aura emanating from the little guy last night.

However, because Gretchen is usually too innocent, and his daughter likes her very much... in addition, the dangerous aura around her dissipated quickly last night, so he did nothing.

If Gretchen had made any unusual moves last night, the Patriots would likely have already taken swift action to nip this destabilizing factor in the bud.

"What! Even Grandpa feels threatened!?"

"So cute, is it not just a simple imitation?"

"Could this be Gretchen's Origin Stone Technique?"

"Wait a minute, isn't the important thing that this little guy isn't infected? I didn't even notice!"

After hearing Patriot's words, the Yetis immediately erupted in chaos and began to discuss the matter animatedly.

?

However, Yelena was not so surprised, because she had also keenly noticed the change in Gretsch's aura the night before.

"And... there's also... I... suspect... that she... deliberately... bothered... Talulah... today..."

"Because she... also imitated... Talulah."

Patriot glanced at the Yetis who were in a frenzy and added.

After discovering Gretchen's unusual behavior yesterday, Patriots took every opportunity to quietly observe the little girl... to see if she posed a threat to the Reunion Movement.

Furthermore, Gretchen made no attempt to conceal her actions during her operation at noon today. Therefore, the Patriot witnessed her process of adopting Talulah's colors.

However, the reason why he didn't speak up or take action this time was because of Alina.

While observing Gretchen, Patriot also noticed Alina's behavior. He discovered that the fawn seemed to have noticed the little guy's unusual behavior as well, and might even know something.

"Oh, so that's why little Greta didn't come to play with her older sister at noon. She was imitating Talulah."

"So what exactly is this little guy's ability? Can he gain the power of someone just by imitating them? If that's the case, he's incredibly strong!"

"Now that you mention it, I also noticed something was off, and I have a feeling that Alina knows something. She even left with that little guy just now."

"If you ask me, Gretchen should imitate her older sister instead."