"Linlin, you must remember what we agreed on. Don't be glum. Just act like you usually do."
Oro glanced at the distant, faint outline of Lamb House, stopped walking, and turned to give Linlin one last reminder.
"I... I'll be careful..."
Linlin sounded unsure.
Oro sighed inwardly. After a moment's thought, he patted her arm—the highest part he could easily reach.
"It's alright,Linlin. Gerd has already gone to find Uncle Leif. Uncle Leif's ship is very fast, and he'll be here soon with a whole crew of giant uncles to help us."
"It's not that..." Linlin's voice wavered. "Mother isn't as strong as me. I'm... I'm afraid that when I see everyone, when I see the mother , I won't be able to stop myself from crying... Oro, was I too weak? Mother was going to betray us all..."
Oro looked up at Linlin, whose eyes were already brimming with tears. He wished he could pat her head for comfort, but it was just out of reach.
"Linlin you've done very well. After figuring out mother Carmel was a bad person, you didn't just burst into tears or throw a tantrum. That was better than I expected. Linlin is strong."
"Really?"
Linlin stared at him,hopeful.
"Absolutely."
Oro didn't hesitate.
"Then... can you tell me, Oro, why did you really send Gerd away?"
"Eh?"
Now Oro was the one who hesitated. Was this still the same Charlotte Linlin whose world usually revolved around cakes and pastries? Had some savvy sister from another world taken over her body?
"Linlin, what makes you ask that?" Oro narrowed his eyes. If this was a case of meeting a fellow transmigrator, he'd have to be careful not to get a knife in the back.
"Ever since that time in the village, when you used those... golden threads to calm me down... I haven't cared quite as much about strawberry cake anymore. I still really want to eat it, and most of the time I can't help myself... but I also know eating too much will make me fat and I won't be pretty anymore..."
Linlin poked her index fingers together, whispering shyly.
"Is that so? Using gold filaments to create additional connections between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala has such side benefits?" Oro was genuinely puzzled. Brain science wasn't his former profession. All his neural manipulation techniques were derived from the giants' audaciously crude medical texts and repeated experiments on the intelligent beasts in Elbaf's underground caverns. He'd been worried that while it worked on giant beasts, it might turn Linlin into a simpleton. After all, Linlin wasn't Streusen. Based on his earlier intervention, even if the target didn't die, they'd almost certainly suffer a cerebral hemorrhage.
Had she actually become smarter? And now it seemed... she had. Was that right? That couldn't be right! On the night of her eating frenzy, he'd retracted the gold threads immediately after calming her down.
Unless... that part of her brain had never been properly activated before? Did his wiring job essentially jump-start Linlin's cognitive functions?
"And, Oro, you didn't even try to hide that you were sending Gerd to find Uncle Leif." Seeing Oro silent, Linlin continued nervously. "The safest thing would have been for all three of us to go find Uncle Leif together... Gerd understood that, too..."
"Gerd understood perfectly. That's why she left to find Uncle Leif without a word of objection." Oro snapped out of his reverie, adopting a relaxed tone. "Good. Not a transmigrator, then. Linlin, do you want to do something a little crazy with me?"
---
Time passed beneath a veneer of calm, and Linlin's birthday arrived.
At noon, under a bright sun, the birthday party began. It was a simple affair—just some extra fruit and the cakes and pastries Mother Carmel had bought on her last trip. The centerpiece was a "Samla Tower," a mountain of cream-filled breads called "Samla," piled even higher than Linlin herself.
"Let's have a tea party, Linlin!" a blond boy wearing a paper crown shouted.
"A tea party?" Linlin was puzzled by the unfamiliar term.
"A tea party is where everyone sits around a table, drinking black tea, eating desserts, and passing the time elegantly!"
"Wow! That sounds amazing! I want to do it! I want a tea party!" Linlin was so excited she danced in place, and the other children joined in with their own cheers.
"I'll make the black tea!"
"I'm eating until I'm stuffed today!"
"Let's have an eating contest!"
"Sister!Brother Oro! You should join too!"
A freckled boy noticed Sister Carmel and Oro standing on the periphery.
"Okay, okay~" Sister Carmel's response sounded more doting than ever.
"You all start first.Your brother Oro and I have something to discuss~"
"Okay!"came the chorus of replies.
"Woohoo!!Thank you, everyone!"
Linlin cried tears of joy, thanking everyone while constantly grabbing handfuls of "Samla" and stuffing them into her mouth.
"So delicious!!!"
Now that Linlin's mind is clearer, she probably won't go completely berserk like in the original story, right? Oro watched Linlin devour the food until she caught his eye and gave a subtle wink. Only then did he turn his attention, with a sense of relief, to Carmel.
"Let's go, Mother. We shouldn't let the children hear our grown-up talk."
"You're a sly one,Oro. You should be enjoying your childhood, not worrying about the troubles of others, don't you think?"
Carmel turned and walked towards the main building of Lamb House. The moment her back was to the children, every trace of loving expression slid from her face.
"My, how terrifying!"
"Mother,you already have enough wrinkles. Frowning like that makes them even deeper."
Oro grinned, immediately launching into sarcasm. Carmel acted as if she hadn't heard him, offering no reaction at all.
Click.
The sound of laughter and chatter from outside was sealed away as the heavy door shut.
"Orokam Oro..."
Carmel's voice was inexplicably metallic, hoarse, and thick with suppressed malice.
"What a clever child! But the world is never short of clever people. Cleverness alone is never enough!"
"Hehehe...Your soul must be fascinating. Perhaps it could become one of my most prized collections!"
"Soul Armament!"
Her withered hands suddenly clawed at the air, pulling on invisible strings.
Instantly, the tables, chairs, candlesticks, and even the stag's head specimen mounted on the wall shuddered to life! They twisted and expanded violently, transforming into a host of Homies burning with eerie blue soul-fire!
A tall, stag-headed knight brandishing a heavy spiked club.
A centipede-like creature with countless eyes,its mandibles dripping with corrosive mucus.
A pack of snarling hunting hounds,their sharp claws scoring the wooden floor.
With ferocious appearances, they charged at Oro from three sides, sealing off every avenue of escape!