"Tribbie? Whatever."
Griseo waved the hand holding her paintbrush dismissively, her tone still carrying that coldness that severely clashed with her appearance. "Trespassing in someone else's 'experimental field' without permission... is very rude behavior. However, considering you are a precious specimen..."
Before she could finish, shouts and hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the other end of the corridor.
"Griseo—! Little Griseo! Don't run around! Come back!"
"Griseo!"
There were two voices: one anxious and lively, the other deep and brief.
Tribbie looked toward the sound and saw a girl with cat ears and a tail, and a serious, silent boy running toward them.
Hearing the voices, the cold expression on Griseo's face instantly retracted for the most part, though a hint of impatience remained.
She glanced at Tribbie, then at the approaching Pardo and Kosma, curling her lip. "Tsk, the troublesome ones are here."
As soon as she finished speaking, without any major movement, she suddenly turned around. With an agility that belied her petite frame, she vanished into the shadows of another corridor with a "whoosh," disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"Eh?!"
Tribbie stared at the empty space ahead, dumbfounded.
At that moment, Pardo and Kosma reached her.
Pardo stopped, panting, hands on her knees. She looked up to continue shouting but froze when she saw Tribbie standing there.
"Oh! You are...?"
Pardo straightened up, her cat ears twitching with curiosity as she looked Tribbie up and down. She suddenly clapped her hands. "Oh! I remember! You're that... one from the Golden Descendants! That Ti... Ti-something? I saw it in the files last time! The cute-looking one!"
Tribbie nodded a bit shyly. "It's Tiresias, but just call me Tribbie. You're Pardofelis, right? And Kosma?"
She recognized the two of them as well.
"Right, right, right! That's me, Pardo!"
Pardo immediately beamed and leaned in closer, her professional habit (?) seemingly acting up. "Tribbie, right? Hello, hello! First official meeting! Are you getting used to the Paradise? If you need anything, just say the word. My Pardo shop has all sorts of weird... uh, I mean, I have quite a few information channels!"
She caught her "sales pitch" catchphrase just in time.
Kosma stood behind Pardo and gave Tribbie a nod as a greeting, his eyes scanning the shadows where Griseo had vanished, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Thank you."
Tribbie smiled, then pointed toward where Griseo had disappeared. "Just now, Griseo..."
"Ah! Right! Griseo!"
Pardo finally remembered her actual business and slapped her forehead with a pained expression. "Kosma and I are looking for her. She vanished in a heartbeat! Did you see where she ran?"
"She... ran that way."
Tribbie answered honestly. "She didn't seem to want to be found."
"Sigh, what a pain."
Pardo sighed. "The influence of Dr. Mobius's colors can be big or small. We have to find her quickly to see if it'll fade naturally or if we need someone to handle it."
Then Pardo turned her attention back to Tribbie, asking curiously, "Tribbie, why are you here? Did Madam Herta send you?"
She remembered that the entrance to the Paradise was supposed to be controlled (if it was).
"I was just curious and wanted to come see for myself..."
Tribbie explained somewhat awkwardly. "Madam Herta mentioned the Paradise and the Flame-Chasers to me, and I... I wanted to pay a visit. I just saw Griseo and wanted to say hello, but..."
She looked at the direction Griseo had vanished, hesitated, and then asked, "Griseo... she seems a bit different? From what I've heard..."
Pardo and Kosma exchanged a helpless look.
"Don't even mention it."
Pardo sighed and lowered her voice. "Little Griseo accidentally got'stained' by Dr. Mobius's 'color.' Now her personality is a bit... well, leaning toward the Doctor's side. She's always appearing and disappearing, and she likes to talk in that tone. It's quite scary. Amo and I are looking for her, fearing she'll run off alone or get into trouble."
"Stained by color?"
Tribbie only half-understood, but she gathered it was some kind of special influence.
"Yeah, so we have to find her quickly."
Pardo looked at Tribbie and then at Kosma, her eyes darting. "How about this? Tribbie, this is your first time in the Paradise, right? Why don't Amo take you to the lobby first to meet the others? Sister Eden or Sister Elysia should be there. I have to keep looking for Griseo; that girl runs really fast!"
Kosma looked at Pardo, his eyes asking, 'Are you sure?'
Pardo gave him a 'don't worry' gesture. "It's fine! Tribbie looks like a good person! Besides, there's no danger in the Realm right now. You're reliable, Amo, so show her around!"
Kosma was silent for a few seconds before finally nodding. He looked at Tribbie and said succinctly, "Follow me."
Tribbie quickly thanked them. "Thank you, Miss Pardo! Thank you, Mr. Kosma! Then... Miss Pardo, please be careful and find Griseo soon."
"Alright! See ya!"
Pardo waved and nimbly chased after the direction Griseo had gone, soon disappearing at the end of the corridor.
The corridor became quiet again, leaving only Tribbie and the silent Kosma.
Tribbie looked at the cool-looking, silent boy before her, blinked, and took the initiative to speak in a light tone. "Um... Mr. Kosma, sorry for the trouble. Shall we... go to Miss Eden first?"
Kosma nodded again, turned, and started walking with clean, efficient movements, signaling Tribbie to follow.
Tribbie followed quickly, but couldn't help thinking to herself:
(The Paradise... just as the records said, everyone is very'special'.)
Their footsteps echoed in the empty space.
The boy leading the way said nothing, just maintaining a steady pace half a step ahead.
(It's so quiet... Does Mr. Kosma not like to talk much?)
Tribbie stole a glance at his calm profile, trying to find a topic to break the silence. "Um... Mr. Kosma, is the Paradise always this... quiet? I mean, aside from lively people like Miss Pardo."
Kosma didn't stop. He turned his head slightly to glance at her and replied briefly, "Not entirely."
"Oh..."
Tribbie nodded and waited, but finding no further explanation, she had to keep asking. "Then... what do the other Flame-Chasers usually like to do? I heard Miss Elysia is very enthusiastic, Miss Eden likes music, and Mr. Kevin seems... quite serious?"
"Mm."
Kosma hummed, seemingly thinking about how to answer this multi-part question with the fewest words possible.
After a few seconds, he added, "Sister Elysia, active. Sister Eden, piano, drinking. Kevin... training, or, staring blankly."
"Training and staring blankly?"
Tribbie blinked, finding the combination quite curious.
"...Before." Kosma added two more words, likely referring to Kevin's past habits. "Now, sometimes, wears sunglasses."
"sunglasses?"
Tribbie recalled Griseo's strange state earlier and vaguely felt that the 'daily life' of the Paradise might be a bit different from what she imagined.
"Mm."
Kosma didn't seem to intend to explain the sunglasses issue in depth; perhaps he didn't fully understand it himself.
Another period of silence followed.
Tribbie tried hard to think of a new topic. "Miss Pardo said you were looking for Griseo... Does she 'run away' like this often? Is being stained by 'color' dangerous?"
Kosma was silent for longer this time, seemingly organizing his words.
"Griseo, sensitive. Colors... affect her. Not dangerous, but, troublesome."
He paused. "Dr. Mobius's color, especially."
"Dr. Mobius..."
Tribbie recalled the image of the green-haired scientist with the dangerous smile from the records, gaining some understanding of Griseo's change.
"Then what needs to be done to help her recover?"
"Wait." Kosma was succinct. "Or, find Su, or Sister Eden. They, understand better."
"Mr. Su?" Tribbie didn't have much of an impression of that name.
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