The next afternoon.
Facts have proven that there is often only a fine line between a "legal pick-up" and "perverted camping."
The crowd at the entrance of Arc City Elementary was like boiling water. Parents of all stripes were squeezed together, discussing cram schools and school district housing.
Su Yu stood at the edge of the crowd, hands in his pockets, his expression perfectly natural. Kiana stood half a step behind him.
She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled extremely low, covering almost half her face. Her hands were jammed deep into her pockets, her body tense, her back pressed against Su Yu like a secret agent ready to draw a gun at any moment.
"Relax," Su Yu leaned back nonchalantly, nudging her stiff shoulder with his back. "You don't look like you're here to pick up a child; you look like you're here for a clandestine exchange. That security guard over there has already glanced at you three times."
"I'm blocking the way at an elementary school gate; how can I not be nervous?" Kiana's voice was muffled, coming from inside the hood.
"I said it's a legal pick-up."
"Then why did you use the word 'camping' yesterday?"
"...I retract that word."
Kiana grunted and didn't pursue it further. However, her shoulders remained tight, and her spine was ramrod straight. The chatter of parents and the laughter of children mixed together, making her temples throb faintly. She bit her lip and fixed her gaze on the ground.
A crisp dismissal bell rang.
The school gate slowly opened, and children surged out like a tide. Su Yu's gaze searched through the flow of people and quickly locked onto a figure.
Pale blue long hair, translucent light purple eyes, a small figure holding a drawing board. Griseo walked very slowly, like a little ghost detached from the noise, her eyes empty as if watching scenery from another dimension.
Su Yu waved to her.
The little girl stopped. Her purple eyes turned slightly, seeming to confirm something, and then she walked over slowly.
"Brother Su Yu." Her voice was very soft, as if drifting from a faraway place.
"Griseo, school's out." Su Yu crouched down and naturally rubbed her head. "Kosma is obsessed with the mecha exhibition today. He won't come back until he queues up for that limited edition model, so he asked me to pick you up."
Griseo nodded without any suspicion.
Or perhaps, this child possessed the ability to distinguish others through their "colors." The people she knew had different colors, but they were all friendly. So, who came to pick her up didn't really matter to her.
Griseo's gaze shifted from Su Yu and landed on the figure behind him. The hood covered most of the face, but the exposed white hair tips were conspicuous.
"...This big sister," Griseo tilted her head. "Who is she?"
"Oh, let me introduce you. My friend, Kiana." Su Yu turned sideways to make room.
Kiana raised her head, revealing those heterochromatic pupils from the shadows of her hood. She looked at the little girl in front of her, at those pale purple eyes that were so clean they held no impurities.
A subtle sense of dissonance welled up in her heart. Such a clean child... was really the grandmaster who drew that mass of mosaics?
"H-Hello..." She stammered a greeting, standing there at a loss like an elementary school student called out by a teacher. "I am... Kiana."
It couldn't be helped; who could calm down after seeing that kind of manga! Don't look at how small this girl is—maybe she'd even have to call her "Teacher."
Griseo didn't speak. She just quietly looked at Kiana. There was no curiosity or inquiry in those pale purple eyes, only a kind of... focus, like looking at a palette.
"...Big sister's color," she said softly, "is very special."
"Huh?" Kiana froze for a moment.
Griseo didn't explain. She simply took out a small sketchbook from her schoolbag and held it up in front of Kiana.
"...Griseo wants to draw Big Sister."
"Uh..." Kiana subconsciously looked at Su Yu, her eyes written full of "Save me."
Su Yu shrugged, wearing an innocent expression that said, "You're on your own." Internally, however, he was snickering; it seemed the attraction between "materials" was mutual.
"...S-Suit yourself," Kiana said dryly, giving up resistance.
Griseo's eyes brightened for an instant before returning to calm. "Thank you, Big Sister."
She put the sketchbook back into her schoolbag, then looked up at Su Yu. "Thirsty."
"What do you want to drink?"
"Strawberry milkshake."
"Let's go, there's a milk tea shop ahead."
Su Yu stood up and naturally held Griseo's small hand. Griseo followed him forward, took two steps, and then looked back at Kiana, who was still standing in place.
"...Is Big Sister not coming?"
Kiana's footsteps stiffened. She could feel that damned one-meter restriction tugging at her, forcing her to follow.
"Coming," she whispered, stepping forward to catch up.
...
There weren't many people in the milk tea shop. Su Yu ordered a strawberry milkshake, a pearl milk tea, and an iced Americano.
Griseo sat by the window holding her milkshake, sucking slowly on the straw, her gaze occasionally falling on Kiana opposite her.
Kiana sat next to Su Yu, holding the pearl milk tea with both hands. She had already taken off her hood, her long white hair draped over her shoulders, her heterochromatic pupils appearing exceptionally translucent in the afternoon sunlight.
Scritch... scritch...
Griseo sat opposite, head bowed, the pencil in her hand moving rapidly across the sketchbook. When she painted, she was extremely focused; that empty look disappeared, replaced by the passion of seeing a favorite model.
Kiana felt a bit uncomfortable. She could feel the little girl's gaze landing on her face and collarbone from time to time. That gaze didn't feel like it was looking at a person, but rather dismantling a structure, a form of light and shadow.
"She keeps staring at me." Kiana scooted slightly closer to Su Yu.
Constrained by that 1.2-meter distance, they were sitting almost thigh-to-thigh. She lowered her voice, her tone awkward.
"Because she is analyzing you." Su Yu took a sip of his iced Americano, the bitter taste refreshing his mind. He looked at the small figure buried in her drawing, a gleam flashing in his eyes. "To her, you are not just a guest, but a material she has never seen before."
"I've never been a model."
"Then start being one now."
Kiana glared at him but didn't continue to argue. She took a sip of her pearl milk tea, biting the straw as her gaze drifted out the window.
Sunlight spilled in through the glass, casting warm spots on the table. Outside the window were pedestrians coming and going—office workers, students, young mothers pushing strollers.
Everything was so peaceful. So... ordinary.
She stared at those ordinary faces, an indescribable emotion welling up in her heart. In the world she came from, such a peaceful afternoon was already a luxury.
"Done."
Griseo stopped her pen and turned the sketchbook around. Kiana looked over carelessly, then froze instantly.
That was not an ordinary portrait.
In the picture, she was not sitting in a milk tea shop, but standing atop shattered ruins. The lines were messy and wild, as if carrying the howling of the wind. Her expression was no longer her current confusion, but revealed a desperate coldness and strength.
And behind her, Subspace Lances spread open like wings. That was... the shadow of the Herrscher of the Void.
"...How..."
Kiana's pupils contracted violently. She had never told this child about her past.
"This is... Big Sister's color."
Griseo pointed to the large swaths of black on the drawing, her voice remaining calm. "Very sad, very painful... but."
Her finger moved to the center of the picture.
"Here, there is still light."
Dead silence.
Su Yu looked at the drawing, a flash of admiration in his eyes. As expected of Griseo, who could draw the essence of the world.
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