At this moment, everyone split up to look for supplies.
Seele quickly came to a corner and found a brooch there.
She reached out, picked up the brooch, turned to glance at everyone, then withdrew her gaze. After that, she turned her head again to look at Bronya and said, "I found this. You take it."
Hearing that, Bronya walked over to Seele, took the item she handed over, and examined it carefully. "What is this… a brooch?"
Seele shrugged. "Natasha often taught us to do handicrafts. This is probably some kid's work."
Bronya blinked as she looked at Seele. "Why give it to me?"
Seele shifted her gaze off to the side and said, "Didn't you give that medal of yours to Eric? This thing isn't worth much, but it can count as a replacement."
"But… this was something someone worked hard to make, right…" Bronya felt a bit embarrassed to accept it, even though it was an 'ownerless item' found in a ruined orphanage.
"Just taking it like this…"
Seele frowned. "…You're really stiff. I told you to take it, so just take it."
While the two of them were talking, Sampo was searching for things not far away.
Sampo's ears twitched from time to time, and he would often turn his head to take a look.
Clearly, while searching for supplies, he was also observing the situation around him, but for now, this pair was the most eye-catching.
In another corner, Stelle shared some of her recordings with Nero. After watching them, he seemed very excited and showered Stelle with praise, praising her so much that her face turned red.
After that, Nero took out his phone again to snap a few photos, thinking he'd send them to Mr. Yang when he had the time.
After a while, the area where supplies were piled up in the orphanage had basically been searched through. Only one last spot remained, and Seele made a discovery there.
"Found it!" Seele's voice carried excitement.
"That's great, it's almost completely intact! Even Natasha probably wouldn't have expected that the supplies she stored here years ago would be preserved this well."
Bronya walked over as well and said, "Things like alcohol should still have their expiration dates checked. If they're expired, they won't be very effective."
Seele nodded. "Mm, that's true. Then I'll take a few bottles out to check… huh? What's this?"
While Seele was sorting through the alcohol, she dug out a crystal ball toy. Inside the crystal ball was a snow-white landscape, snow-covered ground, red-eyed rabbits, and a snow owl with its wings spread.
"Probably some kid's toy," Sampo walked over and said. "I occasionally find little things like this for the children too."
Nero and Stelle noticed the commotion and came over as well.
Bronya looked at the item in Seele's hand and frowned. "This is…"
In an instant, a flood of memories from the past surged into her mind, like a yellowed diary that had been buried under more and more things during the process of growing up, until now, when she finally noticed a curled-up corner with an accidental glance.
And so, she finally remembered that diary, pulled it out from the clutter, gently flipped open the wrinkled pages, and found those dust-sealed, forgotten moments of childhood…
"This is… something from when I was little," Bronya said.
Her voice… was startled, nostalgic, and certain.
Seele stared at Bronya, stunned. "Y-you, when you were little!? Are you sure…?"
Stelle thought for a moment and said, "Same model, maybe?"
Sampo wasn't particularly surprised by this scene. He turned his head to take a look and found that his little colleague didn't seem all that surprised either.
Bronya shook her head. "There aren't that many coincidences in this world. I remember now…"
"I used to live here, before the Architects took me away, before Lady Cocolia adopted me, I lived here! I… am from the Underworld."
Seele looked at Bronya in shock. "You're… from the Underworld? No, wait, you said Cocolia, you're the Supreme Guardian's adopted daughter? Then..."
Bronya nodded.
"Yes. I am the successor designated by the Architects. In the future, I will become the Guardian who leads Belobog."
"…." Seele was still in shock, her mouth open but unable to say anything.
Bronya, on the other hand, raised a hand to cover her head. "Why, why am I only remembering this now? My memories from childhood are so blurry…"
Stelle raised a hand to her chin, striking a thinking pose. Considering everything they had encountered since coming to Jarilo-VI, she felt there was reason to suspect that Cocolia had done something.
However, her thought was immediately denied by Bronya.
After that, Bronya recalled a few more things and briefly explained to everyone the selection rules for the Supreme Guardian's successor, as well as how she had been chosen at this orphanage and then taken to the Overworld.
Listening to Bronya's story, and combined with revisiting the old place, even Seele felt quite emotional now.
"Kids from the orphanage always came and went… I really didn't expect that among us there'd be a future Supreme Guardian! Does Natasha know about this? Could it be that she's been hiding it from me all along…"
"…I don't think she knows," Bronya shook her head.
"The selection of the Guardian's successor is an absolute secret. The chosen child must completely sever ties with the past."
Bronya lowered her head, her expression tinged with quiet sadness. "That's why I became Lady Cocolia's daughter, aside from being the next Guardian, I have no other identity. But I… I'm far too lacking…"
"Every day I witness Silvermane Guards sacrificing themselves in the Fragmentum, yet I can never bring myself to make up my mind to change Mother's thinking."
"I clearly know the Underworld is suffering, yet I can't help at all. My former home has become like this, and I was completely kept in the dark…"
"In the end, I couldn't protect anything. Why was someone like me chosen? How can I be worthy of it…"
"Hey, have you said enough already?!"
Seele interrupted Bronya's self-reproach.
"Sniffling and whining, so damn noisy."
"I…" Bronya looked at Seele, her eyes a little blurry.
Seeing Bronya like this, for some reason, Seele felt even more irritated.
"What, huh? Saying a few self-pitying lines and you think I'll sympathize with you?"
"You can hide in the palace and let your thoughts run wild, and even when you go to the front lines you don't have to gamble with your own life, but what about the people of the Underworld?"
"Some meals they have, some they don't. Being able to stay alive at all is already pretty good!"
"'Even if you're just a faint glimmer of light, you should still illuminate others.', that's what you said yourself, right? Didn't you want to protect everyone? Compared to crying here, don't you have something more important to do?"
Bronya let out a sigh and steadied her emotions again. "That's true. Self-pity doesn't solve anything."
Then, Bronya smiled at Seele. "Thank you, Seele. Usually when I fall into negative thoughts, all I hear are words of comfort. No one has ever dared to knock me awake so directly like you did."
"Hmph. I don't know how to comfort people, but I can knock you awake as many times as needed. …I could tell at a glance that you're carrying too heavy a burden. Why push yourself to that point?"
At some point, the relationship between the two of them seemed to have eased quite a bit.
In the back corner, Sampo squatted on the ground, watching this scene.
Suddenly, a voice came from beside him. "You like watching this too?"
Sampo nodded, then froze. He turned his head and saw Nero's face.
'Aha my ass! Since when did this little ancestor walk without making a sound?!'
For a brief moment, Sampo became cautious, then relaxed again.
"What a coincidence, I like watching it too," Nero said.
"Who wouldn't like a beautiful story?" Sampo said.
"Encounter, understanding, trust, support, working together with one heart… This is the meaning of fleeting lives within the long river of time."
"Life is long and bitter, and those little threads of sweetness within it are precisely the moments of joy that should be savored."
Sampo looked at Nero and narrowed his eyes. His always frivolous gaze seemed to sharpen at this very moment. "I like this story. Little colleague… what kind of story do the eyes behind your mask want to see?"
Nero's gaze fell on Stelle and the others as he smiled. "I like this story too… I'm actually pretty happy playing with you guys."
Then, the boy lowered his head and looked at Sampo. "By the way, I've got an Aha limited-edition selfie here. Wanna see it?"
"Huh? Eh? Ah?"
Sampo's expression changed again and again as he stared at Nero, confused and dumbfounded.
'No... the mood's already like this, and instead of following it up with a couple of lines, you tell me you've got an Aha selfie?'