Chapter 270: Unfinished Painting

"Well - how's it look, little Griseo? I drew pretty well, didn't I?"

Pardofelis took back the paintbrush, moved her fingertips slightly, and held the paintbrush between her fingers. She turned her head and asked with a smile to Griseo, who was sitting next to her.

However, her movements seemed to be a little too big, causing some of the paint on the brush to fly out and stain Pardofelis's face and hair.

From the traces of paint on her face, neck, and arms, it was obvious that this was not the first time. I don't know if it was because she didn't remember it or because she was too used to it... or was it intentional? In short, Pardofelis looked somewhat cute now, and people couldn't help but smile.

In front of Pardofelis, there was a painting she had drawn. It depicted a street. The dim sunlight shone obliquely into the alley, illuminating the girl in the painting and the cats surrounding her.

Judging from the composition, the girl should have come to the street at twilight, bringing food and taking care of the stray cats around her. It was a very warm scene.

But the problem was... there were some issues with the details. For example, the girl's expression and eyes looked very strange. The two eyes were not looking in exactly the same direction, as if one of the eyes was a fake eye. The arc of the corner of her mouth that should have been slightly upturned had also been deliberately widened, giving a very subtle and funny feeling.

... how to say it?

The girl in the picture gives the impression that she is not very smart.

I won't go into detail about the cats around her; their bodies were somewhat... round and plump as if they were eating too well.

But apart from the details, the painting was still very beautiful, so Griseo responded very honestly.

"It's very beautiful, Sister Pardofelis, but... you don't look very smart in the picture."

Griseo tilted her head and spoke softly in an innocent tone.

"It's like... it's like... um... what's the word? Idiot? Or stupid..."

"Okay, okay, Griseo, I get it, don't say that word."

Pardofelis quickly covered Griseo's mouth to prevent this cute and innocent child from saying that vulgar word.

"Promise me, Griseo, that you won't say that word again, okay?"

"...Okay, Sister Pardofelis."

Griseo blinked and said very obediently.

"Huh... That's good. Otherwise, if Blanca asks me about it, I don't know what to say..."

Pardofelis patted her chest quickly and breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, she even forgot that she still had the paintbrush between her fingers and accidentally added a few strokes of paint to her chest... But Pardofelis didn't care about that anymore. Now she was more concerned about how Griseo knew that word.

After all, ever since becoming Griseo's playmate, Pardofelis had been very concerned about Griseo's daily life. Now that Nozomi, Mobius, and Hen had left one after another, and Blanca had become increasingly busy, she was almost becoming Griseo's nanny... No, she was almost becoming Griseo's sister.

And she was willing to treat Griseo as her younger sister, often playing with her, and occasionally trying to take her to play with other children... For example, there was another girl named Narcissa who got along quite well with Griseo... maybe?

There was nothing she could do. These two kids were quiet. But after they met, they loved being together, which made Pardofelis confused... But it didn't matter! As long as little Griseo could make friends, it was fine!

Oh, she had unconsciously regarded herself as an "older sister," but this feeling was not bad~ And Blanca didn't seem to have any objections and even seemed to be quite supportive, which made her even happier~

Because of this, Pardofelis cared about Griseo a lot, in every aspect, so...

"By the way, Griseo, where did you learn that word?"

Pardofelis asked softly.

If Pardofelis knew which person taught Griseo such a word, she would... she would...

She would tell Sister Vill-V! She would tell Sister Vill-V that the person was willing to be her magic show assistant!

"...Sister Danzhu was chatting with someone online before, and I saw that she seemed to be referring to stupid people."

There was not much change in the tone of Griseo's voice, only the lightness that belonged to a child.

"At that time, she seemed to be... confronting someone? Sister Pardofelis, what does 'confronting' mean?"

"Ahem, online chatting... I mean... chatting with people! That's right, chatting with people intensively on the Internet!"

Pardofelis coughed twice, first silently taking note of Danzhu in her heart. She planned to report it to Vill-V and Blanca later, and took the opportunity to warn Griseo, trying her best to prevent this lovely child from being led astray.

"Just Griseo, please don't use that word, okay?"

"Okay, Sister Pardofelis."

Griseo nodded obediently, her legs dangling in the air swaying slightly, and her white socks stained with a little paint attracted some attention.

After pausing for a moment, as if inspiration had struck her, Griseo turned her gaze back to the canvas in front of her, picked up her paintbrush, dipped it in paint, and then added a few more strokes to the unfinished painting.

"Griseo, you haven't finished this painting yet?"

Pardofelis came up to Griseo, watching her add new colors to the painting, and asked curiously... The painting in front of Griseo was exactly what she had drawn before, a cliff located in the coastal defense zone, with a "lighthouse" on the cliff.

However, compared to the previous painting, the current painting has a lot more things... For example, the sea, which was originally dominated by azure and dark blue, now had some strange elements like fish tail fins, as if many marine creatures were swimming in the sea, causing waves on the originally calm sea surface.

At the same time, Griseo had made some adjustments to the "lighthouse" on the cliff, making it look more... solid? The adjustment of color and brushstrokes changed the "lighthouse" from its original stone texture to a feeling closer to metal.

Moreover, Griseo had used more conspicuous yellow and white to draw a wide mark projecting from the top of the "lighthouse" to the sea surface, as if the "lighthouse" was illuminating the dim sea surface, with a little bright red in the center, like fire.

The dark rain clouds in the sky had also been adjusted as if they had dispersed a little, but the overall color tone did not change significantly, as if it had turned into night... and at this moment, Griseo added some white and a little yellow, dotting a few times on the part that belonged to the sky, depicting the stars in the sky.

...Okay, now Pardofelis knew that Griseo had really adjusted the dark rain clouds into the appearance of night, and the stars began to appear.

"...Not yet, Sister Pardofelis."

After completing this step, Griseo seemed to have just reacted and slowly responded to Pardofelis.

"This painting will probably take a long time to complete... There are too many, too many things to paint, and many, many colors to add, so... it will take a long time to finish."

"Is that so... It's okay! I'll stay with you! When you finish painting, I want to be the first to see it, okay?"

"...don't want."

"Why?"

Pardofelis made a sound filled with sorrow.

"Because... this is a painting for Brother Nozomi."

Griseo reached out and gently touched the "lighthouse" on the cliff. Her gaze remained on the bright red light that represented the light, and she responded in this way.

"Ah, this…"

Pardofelis didn't know what to say, so she could only open her mouth and finally put on a forced smile and told Griseo the truth.

"Griseo, Brother Nozomi is no longer with us..."

"No..."

Griseo shook her head slightly.

"Brother Nozomi is here; he has always been here..."

Her tone was firm.

"Just like Dad, they are all here..."

"......"

Now, Pardofelis didn't know what to say, especially when it came to Griseo's father, Hen.

After all, Hen had already sacrificed himself. In the previous Mu Continent incident, he was killed by the "Herrscher"...

Blanca and Pardofelis both knew that this news could not be kept secret and that Griseo would eventually know it, so... they finally chose to tell Griseo.

But it is not known whether Griseo did not understand the meaning of the word "sacrifice" or did not want to admit that her father had passed away. Griseo had always firmly stated that her father was not dead, just like she believed that Nozomi was not dead at the beginning.

Griseo's attitude and words once made Blanca worry about her mental state, but according to the diagnosis of the new psychiatrist named "Su" who came to "Fire Moth," Griseo's mental state was very stable... This made Blanca confused for a while.

However, in the eyes of others, Griseo's condition was somewhat worrying, so when Pardofelis was accompanying Griseo, she tried her best not to discuss Hen's affairs... Of course, she also rarely mentioned Nozomi and Mobius' affairs.

After all, they... are gone.

"Ah..."

As if she heard someone suddenly call her, Griseo was stunned for a moment, her back subconsciously straightened, and then she put down the paintbrush in her hand, jumped off the chair, and ran to the window with a brisk pace.

"Hey, Griseo, be careful... don't step on the paint again; your white stockings are hard to wash..."

"Sister Pardofelis they coming back..."

Griseo lay on the windowsill, looking up at the sky, and spoke in a somewhat happy and cheerful tone.

"They are back…"

"What?"

"That's Brother Nozomi and Aunt Mobius..."

Griseo blinked innocently as if she was saying something that was a matter of course.

"They are coming back..."

?!

However, facing Griseo's light words, Pardofelis could no longer listen, because there were more noteworthy voices falling into her ears and more noteworthy scenes coming into her eyes.

Tick-tock——

That was the sound of transparent water drops falling from the sky, gently landing on the outer edge of the window, leaving some traces of water.

Tick-tock——

Another drop of transparent water fell, and then there was the sound of rain that never stopped falling... This proved that the water falling from the sky was not the air conditioner dripping from upstairs... No! The air conditioner of "Fire Moth" did not have an outdoor unit! Where did the dripping water come from?!

This is the rain!!!

"…Griseo, follow me."

She gritted her teeth, suppressed the panic in her heart for the time being, picked up Griseo, and ran out quickly with her.

In front of Pardofelis, she needed to show the dignity of an "older sister" and remain calm.

What's more, for such a long time, facing the rain falling from the sky and the coming rainy day, Pardofelis already knew exactly what she should do at this moment!

She is no longer the same Pardofelis! She is now a reliable person!

…

"…Dear, are you feeling better?"

"It's okay, Mom. I just... feel sleepy easily."

Sitting on the bed, Eden looked at her mother beside her, smiled gently, and shook her head gently to indicate that she was fine. Then she turned her head and looked at Mei and Vill-V who were standing by and waiting.

"I'm sorry to have made you worried, Dr. Mei and Miss Vill-V."

"It doesn't matter. After all, it's all thanks to you that we were able to perfect the 'lighthouse' and those instruments. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to solve the 'song' problem."

Vill-V's tone was still so relaxed and happy as if nothing could affect her.

"Besides, your current situation is somewhat due to us, not to mention that you are also the publicity ambassador of 'Fire Moth.' It is reasonable for us to visit you more often, right?"

"If it's publicity, Sakura can do it, too."

"But you're obviously more popular~ But Sakura is really busy lately."

"Well... she's really worked hard. I have to thank her later."

Eden nodded and spoke softly.

"Well, back to the point, Miss Eden."

After seeing Vill-V and Eden finish their conversation, Mei finally spoke up and took the initiative.

"How do you feel now? How is your mental state? Are you still hallucinating? Did you have any [dreams] when you were asleep?"

"Well... I don't feel anything unusual. Mentally... apart from drowsiness, there seem to be no other effects. As for auditory hallucinations and [dreams]..."

Eden was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking.

"I still have auditory hallucinations, but they don't affect me that much. I can clearly hear some vague voices, but I don't feel any discomfort, and I don't reject these voices... This feeling is quite wonderful."

"Is that so..."

Mei was thoughtful.

"As for the [dream]... I just had one, and it was very clear. I still remember it now."

"What is it?"

Mei put aside her previous thoughts for the moment and asked.

"Things in the sea... seem to be flying? No, should they be swimming directly up? A group of jellyfish-like things floated from the sea surface into the air, and they also have gorgeous colors and... a striking green."

"Is that so..."

Mei lowered her head slightly and fell into thought again, while Vill-V, who was standing next to her, held her chest with one hand and her chin with the other, looking up at the ceiling, as if she was also thinking... but from time to time, a hint of annoyance and reluctance would flash across her pupils, as if she had heard some particularly bad news.

"…Thank you for telling me, Miss Eden."

As if she had figured something out, Mei nodded towards Eden and thanked her.

"Nothing, this is what I'm supposed to do... huh?"

Eden responded politely, but as soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to sense something and turned her head to look out the window in confusion.

When the others saw this, they subconsciously followed her gaze and looked out the window.

Then...

Tick-tock——

There came a soft sound of falling rain in their ears.

"...Vill-V! Contact the nearest defense line! Call for support from the fusion warriors!"

"You don't have to tell me!"

Mei, realizing something, immediately gave orders and turned around, walking out quickly. Vill-V was even more straightforward. She raised her hand, moved her fingers slightly, controlled the control panel that appeared out of thin air, input specific commands, and quickly completed the two tasks of sounding the alarm and calling for support.

"And Vill-V, take out the [Third Herrscher Core]... your [Divine Key] won't be in time!"

After briefly instructing Eden and her mother on what to do next, Mei, who was rushing back, spoke quickly.

"You want to... That's right, now is the only thing that can be used directly, and now is also a suitable time. If we succeed, we can touch victory... Although it is still difficult to hold it."

"Um."

Mei did not object to what Vill-V said.

"If... it succeeds."

"...Alright, I have already remotely controlled the Herrscher Core to temporarily get it out. Let's go get it."

Vill-V said this, and then, as if she was dissatisfied with Mei for not running fast enough, she grabbed Mei's hand and ran as fast as she could. After a while, they returned to Vill-V's studio.

Here, a gorgeous [Herrscher Core] flashing with arcs was sealed in a special container... Vill-V stuffed it into Mei's arms, pushed her out, then turned around and started tinkering in the studio, shouting at the same time.

"Go and activate the 'Blank Key' first. I'll make some plans here to give us a lay of the groundwork."

"Good."

Mei naturally had no objection to this and quickly ran towards the room where the "Blank Key" was stored with the [Herrscher Core].

However...

"Hello~"

When Mei unlocked the blockade and entered the room where the "Blank Key" was stored, a soft voice flowed into her ears.

Bang!

As he spoke, the door behind Mei closed, as if it was remotely controlled by someone.

"......"

Mei tried her best to remain calm, but she couldn't hide the surprise in her pupils.

He, the Herrscher, the monster in the skin of Nozomi... is in this room.

"It's been a long time, Dr. Mei."

But he just greeted her in such a soft voice, gentle as water and soft as wind.

It has never changed and never will change.