Chapter 452: Does Your Intuition Really Have to Be This Sharp?
Seeing that Talulah had already arranged everything properly, Steven found that there was little left for him to worry about. That she could think things through to this extent was a good thing.
"Then… I've got one last question."
Steven glanced around the small room, carefully taking in his surroundings.
"Where's Alina?"
Yes, Steven had noticed it from the moment he arrived. That gentle, adorable little deer was practically inseparable from Talulah, like a pair of twins. More often than not, the two of them were always stuck together. Seeing only one of them was, frankly speaking, rare.
And if Talulah had truly run into such a troubling dilemma, the first person she should have turned to was undoubtedly Alina—her personal political commissar, so to speak—not him.
Following that line of reasoning, there was only one conclusion Steven could draw: at the very least, Alina was not by Talulah's side right now—or something had happened that prevented her from meeting that gentle girl.
"Discussing the whereabouts of another girl right in front of your girlfriend," Talulah said lightly, "isn't exactly gentlemanly behavior."
"She went to the Infected camp to teach the children as usual," she continued. "You know how it is—so many people, so many kids. Naturally, she doesn't have time to spare."
The moment Steven heard Alina's name, a trace of awkwardness appeared on Talulah's face. Her eyes flickered away, and her voice lacked the confidence it had moments earlier.
"That's not the answer I'm hoping for," Steven said calmly. "And you don't really look like someone who's good at lying."
"Let me guess," he went on, tapping his chin. "Combining this with something someone said earlier… could it be that a rather willful individual didn't want her best friend to experience the pain of becoming an Infected again, and so chose to distance herself—sending her friend somewhere safe instead?"
Steven was absolutely certain of one thing: Talulah would never harbor any intent to harm Alina. She would never hurt that gentle little deer. The only plausible explanation was exactly what he had just described.
Given Talulah's personality—one that could be downright willful in certain respects—this was absolutely something she would do.
But by the same token, it was also something Alina would never agree to. In other words, it went directly against Alina's own wishes. Steven even suspected that, under certain circumstances, Talulah might be capable of something as extreme as placing Alina under house arrest.
Especially now, when she had decided to take on something extremely dangerous. Locking that little deer away, keeping her from worrying herself sick… from Talulah's perspective, it was indeed a rather sound decision.
"…Seriously," Talulah sighed, seeing how Steven had practically reconstructed the entire process, outcome, and even her inner thoughts. "Does your intuition really have to be this absurdly accurate sometimes?"
"Her life right now is far more peaceful and safe than if she stayed by my side. Keeping her away from the affairs of the Infected—how is that not a good thing?"
"She didn't resist?" Steven raised an eyebrow. "Alina looks soft, sure, but when she gets stubborn, she's no less hardheaded than you. If you managed to make her stay somewhere far away from you without a fuss, I'm going to start wondering whether you did something… questionable."
Steven knew those two girls of the snowfields far too well. One hid softness beneath a strong exterior; the other carried unyielding strength beneath a gentle appearance. Them being best friends was no coincidence—it was only natural that their personalities would draw them into becoming the closest of friends.
That was why Steven was certain that if Talulah hadn't used some kind of trick, Alina would already be standing quietly at the side of the room, watching him and Talulah with her usual warm, gentle gaze.
"J-just some Originium Arts," Talulah said hesitantly. "The kind that absolutely won't hurt her. You don't need to worry about that."
Her eyes darted around, but when it came to insisting that Alina wouldn't be harmed, her tone was unwavering—completely sincere, without the slightest hint of a lie.
And Steven believed her. If anything, Talulah would rather hurt herself than ever do something that could harm Alina. In fact, protecting Alina from harm had been her intention from the very beginning.
"Mm. Like making her temporarily lose part of her memories?" Steven continued casually. "Or forget a certain someone? Now I'm actually curious—if I showed up in front of Alina as she is now, would she still recognize me?"
Hearing Talulah's explanation, the answer had already taken shape in Steven's mind. If Alina hadn't been harmed, yet was unable even to notify him, then simple confinement wouldn't explain it. The only possibility he could think of was memory alteration.
In other places, such a concept might sound absurd. But on this land—where all kinds of bizarre phenomena could be explained away as Originium Arts—it wasn't particularly special at all.
"…I really shouldn't have contacted you," Talulah sighed. "Your intuition is way too sharp. The moment you know even a little, you just keep pulling at the thread until you unravel everything."
She'd known it would be hard to hide things from Steven—but she hadn't expected him to come back without a word, leaving her no time to prepare, and no room to come up with a better explanation.
In the end, it was her own weakness. If she hadn't longed for his understanding and help, then even if he were to find out, it would have taken much longer.
"Alright, I'll take that as a compliment," Steven said with a small smile, before steering the conversation back to business. "So—where is she? And what exactly did you do to her?"
No matter what, the missing little deer needed to be found first.
"Can't we just leave her out of all this?" Talulah asked quietly. "Let her be an ordinary elementary school teacher?"
"Of course we can," Steven replied calmly. "But the premise is—you have to get her consent first, don't you?"
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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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