Chapter 453: Something Even Stronger Than Originium Arts
When Steven and Talulah arrived at a temporary village not far from where Talulah had been resting, and saw the girl smiling gently as she taught a group of children, Steven finally realized something.
He had been… very slightly played.
After all, from the moment the two of them appeared at the edge of the hastily built camp, the girl with the adorable deer horns and pure white hair showed not the slightest hint of unfamiliarity toward them. Her gaze toward Steven and Talulah was as gentle and calm as ever.
"So… I guessed the outcome correctly," Steven said, turning his head, "but the process wasn't quite what I imagined?"
Beside him, Talulah was desperately trying to suppress her laughter, her face turned away.
"I never admitted anything, you know," she replied. "I only said I used a tiny bit of Originium Arts on her—just enough to make her look more like an Infected. I never said I tampered with her memories."
Talulah finally turned back, unable to hold it in any longer. She flashed Steven a bright, carefree smile, then folded her arms proudly, clearly hoping to catch a glimpse of embarrassment on his face.
This was the first time she'd ever seen Steven misjudge something. Sure, he'd still gotten the result right—she really didn't want Alina dragged into all this—but the process?
Well… Steven had imagined her to be a bit more ruthless than she actually was.
She would never meddle with someone's memories, especially when it came to friends or family. Sometimes, that kind of thing was far harder to accept than any physical restraint.
"So," Talulah said teasingly, her eyes openly fixed on Steven, "does this mean someone was a little too meticulous? Or maybe… thinking a bit too much?"
If she'd had something on hand to record the moment, she absolutely would have. Seeing Steven make a mistake like this was a rare treat.
"Tch…"
"…Fair enough."
Steven took a deep breath, then let out a relieved smile and shrugged, nodding toward Talulah.
"That one's on me. I misunderstood you. But I suppose it also proves something—there are things I can't know. If you don't explain them, and I'm left to guess on my own, there's no telling what kind of conclusion I'll end up with."
Then, his curiosity resurfaced.
"That said, I am curious. If you didn't use that kind of Originium Art… how did you manage to make things turn out like this?"
Steven admitted his mistake openly. He'd never believed himself to be some omniscient, infallible god. He was human, and humans made mistakes—there was nothing to be ashamed of in that.
More than anything, he genuinely wanted to know how Talulah had persuaded Alina, a girl who was practically inseparable from her, to agree to be apart, even temporarily.
"You could just ask her yourself," Talulah replied. "But I'll say this much—I'm walking a dangerous path now, and the things I'll do in the future won't be any safer. If I can help it, I really don't want to drag her too deeply into all of this."
Seeing how straightforward Steven was about admitting his error, Talulah finally looked away, losing interest in studying his expression.
She hadn't gotten to see the flustered, tsundere reaction she'd been hoping for, and that left her feeling just a tiny bit disappointed.
What mattered more right now was that Talulah had only sent Alina here—she hadn't actually explained her full plan to her at all. And now that Steven had shown up, there was no way those things would stay hidden much longer.
"Oh, so you still didn't tell her everything, did you?" Steven said.
"Is it really not okay if I just… hide a tiny, tiny part of it?" Talulah replied, pinching her thumb and index finger together to indicate just a little. There was a faint trace of embarrassment on her face.
"You can ask her yourself whether that's acceptable. I'm staying out of it," Steven said with a chuckle. He gestured toward the Elafia girl who had just finished arranging the children's free-time activities and was now walking toward them, clearly leaving the explanation to Talulah.
"Hm? I feel like you were talking about me," Alina said softly.
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and greeted the two people she cared about most with her usual gentle voice.
She didn't seem surprised at all by Steven's appearance. To her, simply being able to see him again was happiness enough. How he returned, or why he returned, weren't things she found particularly important.
"It's true," Steven said, nodding at her. "Before I came, I was wondering what on earth could make you leave this one's side and let her struggle with all those worries on her own. For a moment, I even suspected you'd been taken hostage by an evil dragon. Looking at things now, though, it seems the situation is a bit more optimistic than I expected."
He smiled as he shared his earlier doubts, then glanced at Talulah, clearly indicating that she was the evil dragon he's talking about.
"Talulah would never do something like that," Alina replied. "And her asking me to temporarily leave her side and come here to teach the children was really just… one simple thing."
She pressed her lips together briefly, then took the initiative to step in front of Talulah—just like when Steven had first met them. She reached out and held Talulah's hand.
"She just held my hand like this and made the request. No extra explanations. No persuasion. She simply looked me in the eyes."
Alina smiled toward Steven.
"And then you just packed up and came here, honestly starting your teaching career without a fuss?" Steven teased.
"If it were you," Alina replied gently, "would you have been able to refuse her?"
Steven could only let out a helpless laugh.
Because for him, the answer to that question was exactly the same.
—Originium Arts that manipulate the mind are nothing more than illusions.
What truly changes a person's heart has always been sincerity.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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