Earlier that morning, on the other side.
Courage can erupt in a burst, but if that momentary burst of courage and effort fails to bring about any change, it's easy to slide back to the starting point under the weight of frustration.
Take Seele, for example. After her initial attempt proved fruitless and she confirmed that there was indeed no child or adult named "Lin Wei" in this small orphanage, the clue was cut off from the very beginning. She fell into a deep sleep amidst frustration and anxiety.
The next day, when she woke up in the same room, on the same bed she had fallen asleep in yesterday, the ceiling she opened her eyes to was identical to her memory.
The frustration and anxiety that had weighed on her heart yesterday had faded by more than half, leaving only a hollow sense of confusion and bewilderment.
"..."
Seele sat up in bed, walked to the window, and reached out to wipe away the thick layer of condensation on the glass. The cold sensation that traveled from her fingertips to her brain made her shiver involuntarily.
She lowered her gaze and stared blankly at her wet fingers, then looked out at the wind and snow through the hazy glass, momentarily dazed.
"Hey, Seele, what are you thinking about?"
In the Stigma Space, Veliona didn't know what she was thinking and was still seriously helping her analyze the current mission status.
"Looking for someone you've never met in the Sea of Quanta is like finding a needle in a haystack! We can't stay in this orphanage for too long. Let's hurry up and find clues elsewhere. If we can't find any clues about that person here either, we'll have to find a way to leave this world bubble and continue our search in the next one. Hey, Seele, are you even listening?"
She found that no matter how much she said, Seele remained in a daze, and she couldn't help but become dissatisfied.
"Leave... here?" Seele murmured, her expression involuntarily showing some resistance.
Seeing her like this, Veliona immediately became anxious. "Hey, Seele, you're not really reluctant to leave this place, are you?"
"I..." Seele was even more confused. She knew this was just another world, not the real place in her memory. But she still couldn't let go, because everything here was so warm, so familiar...
Knock, knock, knock...
After a knock on the door, the thin wooden door was gently pushed open. Bronya walked in carrying a steaming tray. She was startled for a moment to see the empty bed, but then she saw the familiar figure sitting by the window.
The heart that had just leaped into her throat instantly settled back down, and she sighed in relief. "Seele, so you're here."
For a moment there, she thought Seele had disappeared...
"Bronya-oneechan..."
Hearing this familiar voice, Seele quickly came to her senses, stood up, and said, "Sorry for worrying you."
With her familiarity with Bronya's voice, how could she not hear the worry behind that sigh of relief?
"Hey, Seele!" Veliona was immediately displeased. "I just said so much to you, and you were too absent-minded to even listen. Bronya just called your name once, and you responded faster than anyone! What's the meaning of this? Am I that unimportant?"
"Sorry..." Having come to her senses, Seele also realized her mistake and quickly apologized in her mind. Hearing these two words, Veliona stopped talking. It was unclear whether she had calmed down or had gone to sulk in a corner of her consciousness...
"Seele, it's cold by the window. You just got better, and your body is weak. It's better not to stay there for too long." Bronya gently placed the tray on the table and said, "Come and eat breakfast. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
"Mm." Seele nodded obediently, lowered her head, and walked back to the table. She gently picked up the spoon, then looked up as if she had remembered something and asked, "What about your portion, Bronya-oneechan?"
"Me?" Bronya shook her head and smiled helplessly. "My portion... was just snatched by Sin."
"What? She's gone too far!" Hearing this, Seele immediately became anxious and, without thinking, pushed the tray in her hand towards Bronya. "Bronya-oneechan, let's eat together."
"It's alright, Seele. There's more in the kitchen. I'll just go get another portion later." Bronya shook her head, gently pushed the tray back, and explained, "Although Mother Cocolia is strict, she provides plenty of living supplies. We don't have to worry about going hungry even when the snow has sealed the mountains."
Bronya rubbed her head helplessly, unable to think of any words to describe Sin's boring prank.
"Mother... Cocolia?"
This name, which seemed to have been long gone, made Seele shiver. It was as if the pain she had experienced at that time had resurfaced from her sealed memories.
"..."
Noticing Seele's frightened expression, Bronya was taken aback for a moment. She reached out and gently stroked her face, comforting her, "Mother Cocolia isn't at the orphanage these few days. Rest well after you eat. You'll be fine."
"...Mm." Seele obediently lowered her head and swallowed the warm food bite by bite, but she couldn't taste it, her mind elsewhere.
Bronya sat quietly across the small table, watching her. After a moment, she couldn't help but call out, "Seele..."
"Hm?" Seele looked up blankly upon hearing her name.
"...It's nothing. I just feel like Seele has changed a lot..." Bronya shook her head and said, "Before, when Seele had something on her mind, she would always hide in a corner, not talking to anyone or eating..."
"I..." Seele was stunned, a baseless sourness welling up in her heart, but she didn't know how to explain.
"And, the old Seele would never have criticized Sin's actions so loudly," Bronya listed the changes she had observed and said happily, "You've become brave, Seele!"
"I..." Seele was dazed again. Could that be considered brave?
After she had delicately finished the last slice of bread and drank the last sip of milk, Bronya, while clearing the empty tray, asked, "By the way, that 'Lin Wei' you mentioned yesterday... is he someone important to you? I've never heard you mention him before."
"..." Seele didn't know how to answer for a moment.
He's important, because he's the reason I'm here. But since I've never met him, this 'importance' is baseless.
"Is that so? It seems he is..."
Seeing her dazed and lost expression, Bronya nodded knowingly and comforted her, "Don't worry, Seele. Mother Cocolia has been to many places and knows many people. Maybe she'll know his whereabouts?"
Seele was stunned for a moment.
"Or, even if Mother Cocolia doesn't know his whereabouts, we can ask her to help us find him, right?" Bronya comforted the frail girl before her with a gentle voice. Seeing Seele's absent-minded state pained her. "Do you still remember what he looks like, his height, his age, and where you were separated?"
"I..."
Bronya's questions were gentle and soft, but Seele almost cried. How could she possibly know what he looked like?
"...I see. I understand." Seeing Seele's expression, Bronya nodded knowingly and said apologetically, "Sorry, Seele, I shouldn't have asked you these things."
Obviously, this is a painful memory for Seele. Maybe that's why she never mentioned this name before? Bronya thought silently.
"I'm fine, Bronya-oneechan..." Seele quickly came to her senses and subconsciously wiped her eyes, only to find there were no tears, causing her face to blush slightly.
"It's good that you're fine." Bronya smiled and didn't press further. She picked up the cleared tray and turned to leave. At the door, she turned back and said, "Rest well, Seele."
With that, she gently closed the door and left. The faint sound of footsteps faded away down the corridor outside the door.
"..."
Inside the room, Seele stared blankly at the thin wooden door, once again in a daze.
"Hey, Seele..." Veliona's voice finally sounded again. "I have to remind you again—she is not your real Bronya-oneechan!"
"I know... I know..." Seele was still muttering to herself, lost in thought. After a long while, she came to her senses and said abruptly, "My other self..."
"...What is it?" Veliona's heart skipped a beat, having a bad premonition. Sure enough, Seele immediately said something that almost made her jump in rage.
"Can we... stay here, please?"
"What did you say?!" Veliona's nose was almost crooked with anger. I reminded you so many times, and you didn't listen to a single word, did you?
"I..." Hearing that the voice in her consciousness seemed to be angered by her, Seele couldn't help but tremble and try to find an excuse. "Bronya-oneechan said just now, maybe... when this world's Mother Cocolia comes back, we can find the clues we need?"
"Cocolia? Are you crazy or am I?" Veliona's head was buzzing with anger. "Did you forget what that woman did to you, to Bronya? How can you still trust her?!"
"I... I... Sob..."
The ridiculous reason couldn't convince anyone, including herself. Seele stammered for a while and finally couldn't hold back her tears. "I'm sorry, my other self... I know, I shouldn't be like this... but, I can't bear to leave..."
"..."
Veliona's rising anger was instantly extinguished by these tears. She knew she was telling the truth now.
"So, can we stay here for a few days, live a good life for a few days, please?" Seele begged with teary eyes. "Two days... no, one day, just one day..."
"...Tch, you're impossible. It's settled, just one day!" Veliona was so annoyed she was at her wit's end, and she yelled in a huff, "Let me make it clear, if you go back on your word tomorrow, I'll take over this body and go find him myself!"
With that, she angrily cut off the "communication" and went to sulk in the depths of her consciousness again.
"Mm, thank you, my other self..." Seele broke into a smile through her tears. She was already satisfied with one day.
...
Outside the door, Bronya walked down the empty corridor with the tray.
The main body of the orphanage was a small four-story building. Seele's room was on the third floor, and the kitchen was on the first. To return the tray to the kitchen, she needed to walk a short distance.
But she didn't find it troublesome. In this snowy season, being able to walk a few more steps was a rare form of exercise.
"Hey, Bronya..."
As she walked down the stairs and was about to turn on the second floor, she suddenly heard Sin's malicious voice from behind.
"Sin, what is it?" Bronya stopped and turned around to ask.
"How's that crybaby?" Sin leaned against the wall sourly and said indifferently, "Is she still being a crybaby over there?"
"Don't say that about her, Sin," Bronya said. "You know, she's not sick at all. She's just like you and me, we all went through the same test..."
"Tch, a crybaby is a crybaby, useless is useless." Sin snorted in disdain. "Isn't it just an injection of a little Honkai energy? I'm completely fine, but that one almost died!"
Sin was clearly speaking sarcastically, but Bronya didn't feel angry at all.
"Sin, you're worried about her safety too, aren't you?" Bronya said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone out hunting in the blizzard yesterday. You know Mother Cocolia never lets us go out on our own."
"Tch, don't be so full of yourself," Sin shot Bronya a look and yelled, "I already said, I was tired of the kitchen food and just wanted to get something extra for myself! I couldn't care less if that useless crybaby lives or dies!"
"But you clearly care about her very much." Bronya said innocently. "After Seele woke up, you never appeared in her room."
"She annoys me!"
"Isn't it because you're afraid your appearance will scare her?"
"Ugh..." Sin couldn't hold it in any longer. Her face flushed red, and she strode up to Bronya in a huff, clenching her fist and holding it up to her face. "If you say any more nonsense, I'll tear your mouth off!"
"Sigh..." Bronya tilted her head and obediently shut up.
"Hmph, that's more like it!" Sin proudly raised her chin, looking down on Bronya's submission, and stepped back a few steps in satisfaction. After a moment of silence, she said abruptly, "Now, the only ones who have passed that damn test are you and me, so..."
Sin looked down on Bronya arrogantly and yelled, "Bronya, don't even think I'll let you have it!"
"Let?" Bronya shook her head and calmly looked at the baring, heterochromatic-eyed girl before her. "Sin, do you really see it as some kind of opportunity?"