Unbeknownst to them, two months had passed since Inaba Tsukiyo and Bronya arrived at Cocolia Orphanage. During this time, Inaba Tsukiyo and Bronya had gotten used to life there.
There was no initial defensiveness, no initial wariness. Cocolia had not broken her promise and had indeed given Bronya a home that could be considered warm.
In this war-torn Siberia, peace was a rare commodity, as no one knew if they would be shot by enemies from other units or hit by sudden artillery fire the next moment.
This day, following their usual routine, Inaba Tsukiyo and Bronya were exercising outside the orphanage.
This had been their habit for several years. To better survive the war, Bronya had asked Inaba Tsukiyo for this.
"You've been a bit lax lately, Bronya."
Catching Bronya's punch, she hooked her right leg, disrupting Bronya's balance, and pinned her to the ground.
"While I'm happy to see your smile more and more, I also don't want you to slack off. In a world like this, if you don't have the ability to protect yourself, you could die."
Bronya, pinned to the ground, struggled for a while. Realizing she couldn't break free, she gave up resisting.
She had lost count of how many times it had happened. In every fight with Inaba Tsukiyo, Bronya had never won, even knowing that Inaba Tsukiyo was never serious.
"Honestly, Big Sister Tsukiyo, you're always like this. And Big Sister Tsukiyo, your swordsmanship is so amazing, why don't you teach me swordsmanship?"
"To practice swordsmanship takes a very long time. Although you are also spending time practicing swordsmanship, I don't think you are suited to be a swordswoman."
This was also what Inaba Tsukiyo found strange. Given Bronya's talent and physical abilities, even if the cultivation of Un'yō was very difficult, practicing Pill Self-Manifestation Style was not impossible.
But in the subsequent rounds of training, the idea that Bronya was not suited for swordsmanship grew stronger in her mind.
Inaba Tsukiyo trusted her intuition very much. She felt that Bronya would definitely become stronger in a way she didn't understand in the future.
So she chose to train Bronya's physical fitness, allowing her to perform various actions with her petite body in different battles.
After Inaba Tsukiyo released Bronya, a figure who had been secretly watching them from a distance quickly ran over, holding a towel.
"Big Sister Bronya! Big Sister Tsukiyo! You've worked hard!"
"Oh? Seele. You're here. Honestly, I've told you before, if you want to watch, you don't need to hide so far away. It's fine to come closer."
Seele Vollerei, this was a cute girl with short, black-blue hair and azure eyes.
Inaba Tsukiyo had a very good impression of Seele. She was very caring towards them and a very kind girl.
"Hehe~ Seele didn't want to disturb Big Sister Bronya and Big Sister Tsukiyo's training. And Big Sister trains every morning, she's very diligent."
"Unlike you, I don't have much interest in so-called physics or chemistry. Nor do I have much thought about controlling Honkai Energy. Besides training, the only thing I can do is carving."
Inaba Tsukiyo rubbed her eyes. For her, besides training and carving, she really didn't know what else to do.
She wasn't very interested in the courses at the orphanage designed to better control Honkai Energy, so daily morning training was essential.
"Um... Big Sister Tsukiyo. Although Seele knows she shouldn't say this, carving doesn't seem like something you should be doing."
Seele scratched her face a bit awkwardly. She and Bronya were quite familiar with Inaba Tsukiyo's usual masterpieces in her room.
They looked like rabbits, but they were the kind that looked like they would eat people. If you looked at them for too long, they felt very scary.
"Oh? What's wrong? Carving is also a way to train oneself. Whether it's for mental aspects or arm exercise, carving is a very good training method. And... is there something wrong with my carvings? They are all good works of art."
"N-nothing wrong, it's just... well... they feel a bit too scary."
Every night when Seele went to check Inaba Tsukiyo's room, the rabbits displayed in the room seemed to have red eyes glowing in the dark.
"This can no longer be considered art; it's more like a monster, so terrifying."
"And, Seele, what I wanted to say wasn't actually about that problem."
"Then it's nothing. I assume you haven't had breakfast yet. Since that's the case, come with us. Before exercising, I made some simple food. Seele, you should come too."
"So… how can Tsukiyo make food? Can't she see?"
Even after two months of living together and their relationship becoming very close, Seele still couldn't quite understand some things about Inaba Tsukiyo.
How could Inaba Tsukiyo, who couldn't see, carve? And perfectly carve a rabbit, especially such a scary-looking one?
Now she can even cook. Is this 'can't see' thing a lie? It must be a lie, right?
Bronya patted Seele on the shoulder from behind and shook her head at her.
She had once been confused by these things too, but as their time together grew, Bronya gradually gave up, because it was a question with no answer.
Although Inaba Tsukiyo said she made some simple dishes, she had made egg dishes and octopus sausages, which didn't fit Russian cuisine at all, making Seele curious.
This seemed to be her first time eating Inaba Tsukiyo's cooking, which made Seele happy. She felt their relationship had grown closer.
She had eavesdropped on Inaba Tsukiyo's conversation with Cocolia earlier, and Seele was surprised by this person who dared to bicker with her mother.
In the following days, Inaba Tsukiyo exuded an aura that kept people at a distance; no one, except Bronya, was willing to interact with her.
If Bronya hadn't introduced herself to Inaba Tsukiyo, perhaps even now, she wouldn't be able to speak to Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Delicious… these are all so delicious. Tsukiyo is amazing."
How can she perform such surprising feats when she can't see? Seele had another question.
"Is that so? I'm glad you like it. I was a little worried you wouldn't like the Eastern dishes. If you like to eat it, that's good."
She nodded contentedly. Inaba Tsukiyo was somewhat satisfied with Seele's praise; having her cooking liked by others was the best reward.
"By the way, where did Cocolia go? I feel like I haven't seen her since this morning."
"Mother? It seems she left this morning for something and won't be back for a few days."
Chewing her food, Seele recalled that Cocolia would leave Cocolia Orphanage for a period of time every so often.
For Seele, who grew up in Cocolia Orphanage, Cocolia's departures were no longer uncommon.
However, for Inaba Tsukiyo, Cocolia's departure contained too many implications.
'That woman… although I don't know if I'm overthinking it, is she really doing something in secret? Is this person really conducting some kind of experiment?'
However, during her secret search this time, Inaba Tsukiyo found no signs of any secret laboratory in the orphanage.
Inaba Tsukiyo had absolute confidence in her hearing; even with soundproofing, if there was the slightest abnormality, it would never escape her ears.
But more than two months had passed, and Inaba Tsukiyo had searched the entire orphanage without finding any abnormalities. She could basically confirm that there was indeed nothing unusual here.
However, Cocolia's departure made Inaba Tsukiyo realize another possibility: that this person had a secret laboratory outside the orphanage.
"Tsukiyo! Tsukiyo! Tsukiyo!!!"
"Hm? Huh! Seele? What's wrong? Why are you calling me so loudly all of a sudden?"
"It's not sudden! Seele called Tsukiyo so many times just now, but Tsukiyo didn't react at all. Right, Bronya?"
Bronya, sitting on Inaba Tsukiyo's other side, nodded. Although her eyes were closed as usual, Inaba Tsukiyo seemed to be deep in thought, so she hadn't heard Seele calling her.
"Is that so? I was just thinking. I'm sorry, Seele, Bronya."
"It's not that easy to forgive you, Tsukiyo. Apologies need to be sincere, not just words."
It seemed that Bronya's personality had changed from her interactions with Seele; she was starting to have her own little ideas.
This caught Inaba Tsukiyo off guard. At Bronya's signal, Seele also knew that Bronya had said this intentionally, so she nodded, reached out, hugged Inaba Tsukiyo's arm, and laughed.
"Bronya is right. As an older sister, Tsukiyo, you have to do something to show your sincerity. If possible, Seele wants to hear Tsukiyo sing."
"Bronya hasn't heard Tsukiyo sing either. If possible, Bronya also hopes Tsukiyo can agree to our request."
Mimicking Seele's actions, Bronya hugged Inaba Tsukiyo's other arm, giving Inaba Tsukiyo a feeling of being embraced on both sides.
However, these two were clearly trying to make things difficult for her, but they were the only ones she couldn't put on an act with, which made Inaba Tsukiyo feel helpless.
"You two… you're not cute at all. Tricking your older sister, how mischievous. And I only know Japanese songs, not Russian songs. Aren't you making things difficult for me?"
Not every world had everyone speaking Japanese or Chinese. In this Russian-speaking country, asking her to sing was clearly making things difficult for her.
"Is that so? Hmm~ It's okay if we don't understand. Seele just wants to hear Tsukiyo sing, right, Bronya?"
"Yes, Bronya agrees with Seele. Tsukiyo, are you going to refuse us?"
"You two… I give up."
This was the first time someone had fawned over Inaba Tsukiyo. Although she was happy, she didn't know what to do.
Although she had never sung before, the sudden memory that appeared in her mind also contained some Japanese songs. This was a good time to use them.
Even though she had never sung before, under the influence of that memory, Inaba Tsukiyo felt no unfamiliarity. She took a deep breath.
"This melody you love the most"
"The sound of the harmonica echoes in the sky"
"Dancing angels lift the canvas framed by the window sill"
"Look, this landscape painting, isn't it beautiful."
Bronya and Seele looked at Inaba Tsukiyo with some surprise. Although they didn't understand what she was singing, Inaba Tsukiyo's singing voice was truly beautiful.
Listening to Inaba Tsukiyo's song, Bronya and Seele rested their little heads on Inaba Tsukiyo's arms, smiling.
However, this beautiful scene did not last. When Inaba Tsukiyo was about to sleep that night, Bronya burst in.
"Tsukiyo! Seele has been taken!"
"What?"
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