"Who is this big sister? Clara doesn't think she's seen her before."
"Hello, I am Theresia, from the sky." Dealing with you adults might be tough, but handling these little lolis is a piece of cake, right?
"The sky?"
Clara didn't understand what she meant by "the sky," and Natasha simply watched from the side.
"I have some rudimentary healing skills, and I probably know what those bugs are. So, I think I can still be useful."
"Ah, fine. But I'll have someone guard your companion. It'll be troublesome if something happens," Natasha, seeing she couldn't dissuade Tian An, had no choice but to agree.
"Seele will probably be angry again."
Natasha went into the clinic's side room and brought out a box of medical supplies.
"We are all compatriots belonging to the Underworld. We can talk about money later."
"Mhm!" Clara looked at Natasha gratefully, her eyes filled with admiration. It was hard to imagine such a young child carrying so many expectations.
Tian An's hand-petting addiction seemed to be acting up again. Although she knew it was impolite to randomly touch someone's head, she just couldn't resist.
And so, a fair hand came to rest upon Clara's head.
"Mm? Big sister?" Clara looked up, bewildered, at Tian An who had suddenly started stroking her head.
"Ahem... Clara is just too cute, so," Tian An said, but the motion of her hand didn't stop.
Their similar hair colors and the significant height difference really made them look like a mother and daughter sharing a heartfelt moment if viewed from afar.
Although it takes time for people to trust each other, it was clear that Tian An had already conquered Clara with her gentle aura (not really).
She had caught Clara's attention (yes).
The three walked along the path like this. Tian An and Natasha each carried a box. Clara offered to help but was immediately refused.
So now she was leading the way, her eyes occasionally drifting towards Tian An.
"Uh.... Clara, do you like Miss Theresia very much?" Natasha watched her glancing back every other step and asked with a smile from behind.
"Uh.... I just feel like Big Sister Theresia has a unique aura..."
"Can I ask Big Sister Theresia a question?"
Not this again, really?
Tian An knew exactly what Clara was going to ask without even thinking.
"Big Sister Theresia, do you have children?" Clara asked innocently.
Nope, sister, nope. I just turned 18, where would I get offspring?
For some reason, Theresia kept phasing in and out; her voice was gone again now.
"Mommy, Mommy, look, I picked a flower!" A little boy by the roadside held up a vibrant white flower, excitedly presenting it to a plain-looking woman.
"Hm?" The woman's face held a hint of coldness and a trace of disdain. She slowly turned around, her eyes fixed on her child.
"Is your homework finished yet?!" Her roar burst out, startling even Tian An over there.
"Mhm-hmm wuwuwuwu.... I just wanted to show you this flower, it's really pretty...."
"What damn use is pretty?! Look at that little girl over there and her mother! How come she's so sensible and helps her mother with chores, huh?"
"Answer me!"
Suddenly being called out, Tian An almost stumbled. Seriously? Even this involves me?
"Pfft.... I have to say, Miss Theresia and Clara are quite similar in some aspects," Natasha teased.
Clara, however, looked seriously at the big sister towering several heads above her.
"Mommy.."
"?"
———
FrostNova felt a trace of warmth, but it vanished almost instantly.
This feeling was like many years ago when Big Daddy took her in, that sense of gentle protection.
She remembered she should have died long ago from overusing her Originium Arts, but thankfully, she had chosen to join Rhodes Island in the end.
Then, she seemed to have entered this endless dream.
Until today.
She finally woke up.
Her greyish-white eyes slowly opened, squinting slightly against the sudden light.
FrostNova raised a hand茫然地 (blankly). She seemed to have never experienced this sensation before. She was clearly a dying person, yet she could still feel the signs of life.
"You're awake?" A deep male voice came from the other side of the bed. FrostNova clutched her head, sat up from the bed, and looked around in confusion.
"Where is this?" FrostNova's voice was chilling, yet held an uncontrollable fragility.
"This is the Underworld, Big Sis Natasha's clinic. I tell ya, you Overworld folks are all the same. Won't stay put up top where it's nice, insist on coming down to the Underworld to join the ruckus." The man had already categorized her as a noble young lady from the Overworld.
Hearing these unfamiliar terms, FrostNova was inevitably bewildered. She only vaguely remembered falling onto the snow, then hearing a voice... and then, ending up here.
"...Reunion?" FrostNova asked after a moment of silence, directing her question to the dismissive-looking man.
Her voice was always icy, naturally not endearing her to others.
"Reunion? What kinda 'reunion movement'? Miss, don't bring that Overworld stuff down to our Underworld. This is our territory."
FrostNova remained silent for a moment, realizing she wouldn't get any useful information from this coarse man, and decided to just go out and find answers herself.
"Hey hey, where do you think you're going? Natasha told me to watch you, you can't just run around," the coarse man took two steps as three, forcefully blocking the door.
"Then try and stop me," FrostNova said without a trace of fear.
"Well, well, little lady, don't come crying to me if you get hurt later, hah! I won't go easy on you." He clearly looked down on this "frail" little lady with the "strange" head ornament.
"You...."
A flurry of rapid striking sounds erupted from the clinic, accompanied by some heart-wrenching screams, attracting onlookers outside to stop and watch.
Crash....
The door was suddenly thrown open. FrostNova nonchalantly flicked off some residual saliva from her hand with a look of disdain, then followed the familiar aura and strode away.
"Mon.... Monster....." The coarse man lay collapsed on the ground, face bruised and swollen, with small patches of frostbite on his hands. A truly miserable sight.
"Mommy... I wanna go home..... Wuwuwu....." This big, burly man was actually lying on the ground crying. Having been beaten up by a little lady, he had lost all face and couldn't possibly face his comrades in the organization.
Look on the bright side, you can write in your work report that you were 'injured while fighting valiantly against a villain'. Guaranteed to earn you a third-class merit.
..