About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

After Orson wiped the sweat off his face, the two officially began their duel on the grid.

"So, you're checkmated. You're using your pawns a bit too hesitantly."

"Hmm... another plate."

Tallulah stared at the chessboard, her tone somewhat defiant.

The two sat across from each other in the tent, playing a simple chess game that Orson had sketched out on the spur of the moment. Although the chessboard and pieces were extremely simple, they held a unique charm.

Tallulah stared at the chessboard, the flickering, ever-burning fire in her eyes temporarily fading. Her body no longer tensed to maintain an upright posture.

All her ambitions, goals, and beliefs were set aside along with the greatsword. Tallulah was now nothing more than a girl racking her brains over a chess game, occasionally wanting to regret a move but unable to do so due to embarrassment.

Occasionally their eyes would meet, but this brief moment of panic would quickly disappear in the fierce snowstorm.

"... Another one?"

"Um"

It was unclear who suggested another game, or who agreed. The two simply played one round after another.

Whether it was Orson or Tallulah, they both knew that the tranquility at this moment was extremely precious and could not be obtained.

The living conditions of the infected were becoming increasingly deteriorating, and the health of those in the team who were seriously ill was also deteriorating. The crops harvested from the surrounding farmland were poor, and the threat of the patrols was always hovering over everyone.

In pursuit of the continent full of sunshine and rice that everyone desires, Tallulah has to deal with countless things, and the number will only increase.

But even so, even so, the two of them still tacitly wanted to prolong this short warmth as much as possible.

"General—I win this time, don't I, Orson?"

Tallulah moved the artillery, and after a brief moment of contemplation, she raised her head and looked at Orson with a smile.

"...Um, did you hear the sound of glass shattering? That was my pride."

There was a brief silence, followed by laughter from the two.

"Sister Tallulah, your learning talent is truly terrifying. After the revolution is over, it would be no problem for you to become a chess player."

Orson chatted while collecting the chess pieces.

"Chess player? That's a good option. But I don't think this revolution can be ended so easily."

"That's true."

Orson looked at Tallulah, and the white music score that symbolized her soul was finally no longer as tense as before.

"Then, next—"

"Talulah! The group of infected people who left the team earlier sent an emergency distress signal!"

Any happy moment is short and fleeting, and that is why happiness is so precious.

The information that Frost Star brought when he opened the tent completely broke this little moment of peace.

13. There is an internal guard

The situation was urgent, and Frost Star didn't even have time to ask "Why is this guy Orson in Tallulah's tent?"

"Based on the contact information, it wasn't a distress signal, but... a top-level warning telling us to flee immediately."

Frost Star's expression was solemn. She tried to contact back immediately after receiving the signal, but the resistance army itself lacked a reliable two-way signal transmission method. This group of infected people who left the team did not respond after sending the signal.

"What should we do, Tallulah? They've already severed ties with the Resistance, and we can choose not to respond to the signal."

Froststar asked the team leader about his decision.

"But they are still infected. I will lead a team to rescue them."

Tallulah put the greatsword beside her back on her waist and straightened her body.

She returned to the role of a fighter in preparation for the battle she might face next.

"Take me with you, my abilities might be useful."

Orson also checked the cold resistance of his clothes and volunteered to participate in this temporary rescue operation.

"……All right."

Talulah hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed to Orson's request. Orson's [Tuning] reconnaissance ability has a unique range in the snowfield.

"Count me in, too."

"No, Froststar, you've been putting too much energy into the Snow Monster Team's Originium device. Yesterday, you were also in charge of the trade with the village. What you need now is rest. Leave this matter to me."

Tallulah rejected Froststar, who obviously had some doubts about this judgment.

"We don't know the enemy's deployment, and we can't let you take such a risk—"

"It's not a risk. We need you to contact the Patriots. You know that the guerrillas are extremely short of communication equipment. We need the connection between you and the Patriots—induction?"

"It's the resonance of the Originium technique... Never mind, I get it."

Froststar sighed and then looked at Orson.

"Keep an eye on Tallulah, Orson. If you see anything suspicious, remember to retreat."

"Well, I'll ask Sister Tazi to protect me when the time comes."

"You guy..."

Froststar rubbed her eyebrows, while Tallulah smiled slightly.

After quickly and briefly organizing a team of six people, everyone immediately headed towards the location of the distress signal.

Along the way, Tallulah and the scout warlock didn't notice any signs of patrols or other forces. The snow on the ground was only covered by the wind and snow, with only a shallow trace. There was no sign of an attack at all.

“…something’s wrong.”

But Orson didn't think so. He frowned and turned on the wide-area low frequency. Although he didn't get any feedback, the anxiety in his heart still did not disappear.

Unlike those guys who think, "I always feel like something is wrong, it must be an illusion~", Orson knows very well that this strange feeling is definitely not an illusion.

"What's going on, Orson?"

Tallulah asked Orson seriously. She knew that although this young man sometimes seemed to forget to bring his brain when he went out, he would never bring up meaningless behaviors or topics at such times.

"I can't explain it, but there's something wrong with the [melody]. It's like white noise that keeps echoing around the area."

"White noise..."

Tallulah pondered for a few seconds.

"Scout Warlock, can you temporarily increase the strength of the Vigilance Warlock?"

Tallulah asked the infected person at the front of the team, but there was no response from the other party.

"Hello, Scout Warlock—Char?"

An infected warrior walked towards the unresponsive warlock in the front, put his hand on the warlock's shoulder, and then let out a scream of terror.

“Ugh—!? Dead, dead!? What’s going on? What’s going on?!”

The infected person fell to the ground in panic. At the same time, a spear suddenly extended from the neck of the scout warlock and pierced through his body.

"Damn it—enemy attack! Everyone, move closer to me and light the torches!"

Talulah immediately drew out her greatsword and threw out flames from her palms. Orson also took out the self-defense dagger he carried with him.

But before the lighting torches could touch the tongues of fire spewed out by Tallulah, the infected warriors were suddenly dragged into a quagmire and fell to the ground silently and stealthily - with their heads and bodies completely separated.

"...!"

In less than a minute, all the members of the search and rescue team except Tallulah and Orson suddenly died silently.

——What kind of enemy is this? How big is the enemy?

Tallulah's brain was racking its brains. There weren't many alternative answers for enemies with such abilities on the northern ice fields.

Orson turned up the detection frequency in an attempt to cover up the influence of white noise. This time the detection was very effective, and he immediately sensed a human figure right in front of his face.

"Well!"

Without any hesitation, Orson stepped back after finding out the opponent's position. At the same time, he felt a sharp pain near his throat.

"Orson!"

"I'm fine, just a scratch. Compared to those, I've analyzed the other party's frequency."

Orson protected his bleeding throat with his left hand and snapped his fingers lightly with the other.

Snapped!

The frequency opposite to the opponent's extended outward, and upon contacting the unknown enemy, it immediately made its outline emerge from the white blizzard.

As the enemy's position and figure were analyzed and exposed, the two saw this at the same time and almost wiped out the rescue team in an instant, and killed the enemies of the previous infected team.

It was a tall and strange being with a strange gas mask on his face and a well-made sword on his waist.

Just by the thing standing in front of Orson, Orson felt a surge of trembling and fear.

"...the Emperor's inner guards"

Tallulah frowned and stated the identity of the enemy in front of her in a serious tone. Although her tone was the same as usual, Orson could still hear the trembling and confusion in her voice.

"Yes, you were able to detect me and dodge the blow. You have a good chess piece at your side, the daughter of Duke Cosice."

"Who are you saying is whose daughter?"

Tallulah's rage was visible to the naked eye, and the originally cold ice and snow storm around her was also covered by a heat current.

Cosice?

I seem to have some impression of the name Orson, but I don't seem to remember it clearly.

"What are you going to do, the Emperor's inner guard? Is there anything worth plundering in this barren frozen land?"

"Assessing the current situation, it seems that the game for you and your infected team has reached its end. We need to confirm the benefits of continuing to let you go."

The outer being known as the Inner Guard spoke in a low and cold voice.

"Profits, a game? This isn't a game! I will gather those who have been abandoned by this land and the emperor you serve, so that they too can have a place to survive on this continent!"

Talulah roared and swung out a tongue of fire at the inner guard, but the seemingly surging heat wave was easily dispersed by the opponent.

"Immature and unrealistic. Young snake, if this is your goal, then perhaps the assessment should be lowered."

"How can you, the executioners, be qualified to judge others? The number of lives lost at your hands is greater than the number lost in a single local war!"

"Killing, yes. No matter how we try to disguise it, the consequences of killing remain unchanged. You and I are doing the same thing. So, daughter of Cosice, young snake, why are you so certain that your path is justice?"

"..."

Neiwei's words made Tallulah frown, but this time before Tallulah could open her mouth to refute, Orson's voice came out first.

"Because Sister Tallulah has never chopped off anyone's head over a disagreement. Is that a good enough reason?"

Orson stood in front of Tallulah, while this Draco was a little distracted by the scene in front of him.

How long was the last time I was "protected" by someone else...?

14. I am also a Stand user!

——Can you defeat this guy, Sister Tallulah?

"...?!"

As Orson began to speak, another voice rang out in Tallulah's mind.

——This is one of the uses of [Melody] that I tried temporarily, let’s call it [Resonance at the Other End]. Anyway, you are invited by me to enter this frequency band, and you can temporarily ignore the environment and communicate.

——Amazing ability. As for Neiwei, I might be able to contend with him alone.

Talulah was only briefly surprised, and then immediately used this ability to communicate with Orson.

——I understand, but unfortunately there are only two of them.

——……!

"Her ideas may indeed be childish and difficult to reach, but so what? The first person to become 'king' in this land, before his ideas are realized, will he be ridiculed by those around him?"