About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

I am an old man who is about to die. I can no longer do anything. I can only lean on a cane and wait for death in the endless pure white.

But that young man…if there really are gods on Terra…if there really are beings who don’t take pleasure in torturing people, then please help, at least let that young man see the scenery beyond the North.

Old Leon prayed this in his heart, but what he didn't know was that his prayer was actually "answered."

------

Osen's destination is a forest farm about 5 kilometers north of the village. The trunk of the "coal lamp tree" here can secrete a resin that burns for a long time, which can provide long-term fuel for the oil lamps and fire starters at home.

"It feels like a lot of the things on the periphery have been collected. Let's go a little further in—Wow!?"

puff!

Orson, who was walking in the snow in the forest with tools in his hand, suddenly hit something with his feet and tripped and fell into the snow.

“Ugh… What is this—Wuwaaaa!?”

Orson got up from the ground and shook off the snow on his head. He turned around and looked at his feet, finally seeing the true appearance of the object that had tripped him.

It was a woman wearing strange clothes who seemed to have fainted.

"Are you okay? Um...still breathing—"

After simply detecting the other person's pulse and breath, Orson immediately stuffed the resin picking tools in his hand into his backpack, then temporarily built a small platform with the surrounding branches, and transported the girl back to the village as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, the girl, who was wearing strange clothes and looked at least a few years older than himself, was still alive when she was transported back to the village. However, the villagers who were able to provide accommodation said they did not want to help.

There was no other way, so Orson could only take her to his home and try to take care of her himself.

About a day or two later, the girl regained consciousness from her bed.

"You're finally awake! Um... I'm Orson. Are you a resident of the nearby village? I guess not, hehe, because your clothes look very strange."

"..."

After noticing that the other party had woken up, Orson immediately put down his work and greeted the "Doctor" lying on the bed, but the latter only responded with silence.

"When traveling in the North, you must wear more clothes. You should know that the cold here can easily freeze your blood. Your clothes are far too thin."

Orson spoke in detail about the "survival skills in the North" he had learned, but the doctor still had a dead look on his face, and later he even simply covered his face with that strange mask.

"Uh... Well, I'm nearby. Just call me if you need any help."

Orson didn't want to make things difficult for himself, so after confirming that the girl was not in danger of life, he took the initiative to leave the room, using this method to let the other party calm down slowly.

However, when Orson returned to his room after helping the village with work, he found that the bed was empty and the coat hanging beside it had disappeared as well.

"...!"

Orson instantly understood what had happened to the people in the room, and he immediately rushed out of the room and tried to identify the footprints in the snow.

Orson had complained more than once about why no one found the time to clear the snow outside the main roads in the village, but today he was very grateful for the snow that had only hindered his movements.

After all, having lived in the North since birth, Orson quickly recognized the footprints of the girl in strange clothes.

"Hmm... This seems to be the road leading to the Rift Layer."

Orson confirmed the other party's route of action, but his expression did not become happy, instead he became more worried.

The fissure layer is a relatively special environmental landform in the North. At first glance, the fissure layer is not much different from an ordinary snowfield, but if you look closely, you will find that those seemingly flat "white horizons" actually have subtle uneven gaps, and those slightly sunken snowfields are actually gullies of varying depths.

"Over there... well, don't go any further, it's dangerous ahead!"

Orson found the mysterious girl, but she seemed to be still unconscious and continued to move forward.

"Um...come back quickly!"

Orson didn't bother to try to persuade the other party. He quickly ran towards the other party while identifying the route under his feet.

"Boom!!"

The girl in strange clothes finally stepped on empty air, and just before she was swallowed by the deep pit, Orson rushed over, reached out and grabbed her.

“Wuwuwu…quickly…come up…!”

Although Orson is a generally strong Ursus, he is still not old enough to support the weight of a person with one hand.

"you--"

The brown-haired woman saw through her mask the expression on the face of the boy who was half-lying on the edge of the snow, desperately trying to grab her.

The other person's expression clearly showed the fear of death, but even so, his concern for his own safety overshadowed this emotion.

……

After a moment's silence, the girl stretched out her other arm, took the initiative to hold it on the edge, and together with the boy, struggled to climb out of the ravine.

"what are you doing!"

"..."

After rescuing the girl, Orson lost his temper for the first time. He stared into the eyes of the girl, who was about 20 years old, behind the mask.

"Life is a very important thing. Don't throw it away so casually like you did before!"

"..."

"Um... Sorry, I got a little excited. You must have your own difficulties. Anyway, let's go back, okay?"

"……Um"

The other party finally gave a brief response and nodded slightly.

Orson dragged the girl who fainted nearby back and took good care of her. He also noticed that she was haunted by nightmares for several nights, so after sitting by her bed and accompanying her silently, the girl's attitude towards Orson gradually softened.

After this, the girl slowly let down her guard. She no longer responded with silence as she did when they first met, but began to communicate with Orson slowly.

Although she was currently in a village in the northern border of Ursus that lacked any technological products, she still instinctively absorbed the surrounding knowledge and information.

The girl gradually realized that this boy who lived alone, got along well with everyone, and liked to greet others with a smile was not her enemy, and this place would not be interfered with by any force.

This was a village somewhere in the North that no one would ever visit. Even the notorious patrols would only appear here to collect food from the dukes of the territories. They would never show up here at other times.

Although I really want to contact Kal'tsit and ask her how she is doing now and whether the Tower of Babel survived the catastrophe in another way, these are all extravagant hopes.

There seemed to be some errors in the operation of the sarcophagus, or perhaps he simply did not understand how to use it. In any case, he woke up prematurely, and his injuries were not completely healed. He was in a state of slow collapse at any time, making it impossible for him to travel long distances.

It seems that perhaps this village in the north is his final destination. This situation is not good, but...

The girl glanced at the boy who was working not far away and smiled again.

But it’s not that bad either.

"Orson."

"what happened?"

The girl called the boy's name softly, and he quickly came over.

"Just call me 'Doctor'."

For the first time since Thearesia's death, the fall of Babel Tower, and the deaths of the operators he had personally commanded day after day, the Doctor smiled again.

"'PhD'……?"

Orson repeated the somewhat strange name and nodded.

"PhD."

"That's right~"

This is the very beginning.

25. The Oath in the Snow (End of this Volume)

"Orson...?"

"—"

"Orson...!"

"—"

"Orson!!"

"Wow!? T-Tallulah?"

In the wilderness of the north, Orson, lost in his past memories, was brought back to consciousness by the shock brought by Tallulah's shouts and shaking.

"What's wrong with you? You're suddenly squatting on the ground, motionless, without even a reaction... Are you feeling unwell?"

Is it because I was so embarrassed after my dark past was exposed that my brain went into shutdown mode? I get it, I get it. The first time I had to possess a male body, I walked into the women's restroom so naturally that I was silent for a long time.

"Black Snake, shut up. This isn't something you can say with such pride."

Tallulah interrupted the Black Snake's gloating complaints hidden in her consciousness. She was a 'cheap foster child' in a sense. Except for showing the majesty of the 'immortal black snake' during business negotiations, she was more and more like a fool who only added fuel to the fire and enjoyed the melon.

"I'm fine... Uh, my head hurts—maybe my old memories are accidentally loose again. I seem to have recalled some memories from the past just now."

Orson put one hand to his temple, slowly shook his head, and stood up and spoke.

Just now, it seemed as if I had glimpsed the past of myself and the 'Doctor' from the time we met to the time we got to know each other. However, these memories were like dreams after waking up in the morning, illusory and difficult to touch.

But even so, Orson still thought of something from Tallulah's confusion just now.

Mostima once told him to go to the "origin" of the North, and at that time Orson thought that this origin referred to his own origin.

But is it possible that this "origin" does not refer to the origin of Orson as an individual, but the origin of 'The Doctor' and 'Orson'?

Tallulah was right. It was definitely not something that he could do when he saw someone calling her "my wife". Although he had some memories about "Arknights" and knew the stories and past of many girls, this was definitely not a reason for him to call her his wife seriously.

What's more, those so-called "game memories" are gradually disappearing with the passage of time, and the boundary between virtuality and reality has long been blurred for Orson.

The only explanation is that the "Orson" who said these words at that time was not the real Orson, but a kind of incomplete existence with the remnants of the "Doctor's" personality and memories.

Dr. Kal'tsit said that there is a 'Doctor' in her body, so the so-called origin... must be the place where Orson and the Doctor disappeared but "reappeared".

The chains of memory loosened again. Although Orson was still a little confused standing in the ruins, he confirmed one thing - the place where he and the doctor had "fused" was here.

"...!"

"Orson?"

Orson seemed to have thought of something, and he immediately ran back to his original room, while Tallulah followed closely behind him with some worry and confusion.

That expression of his... is not good, my daughter. It's the expression one gets when one is confused about one's own cognition.

Black Snake's voice came from Tallulah's mind again, but this time it was not a tease or a tirade, but a real worry.

If something does happen to him, you must do something, Tallulah.

"……I know."

Tallulah nodded and followed Orson to this not-so-big room where traces of past life could still be vaguely seen.

"It should be some kind of cube... not very big, and..."

Orson closed his eyes tightly in the middle of the room. He rubbed the tip of his nose hard, trying to find the key, concealed information from his shattered memories.

This behavior of constantly digging out the deepest memories accumulated in his brain was like literally "digging up" his brain. The intense pain even made Orson break out in cold sweats on the northern ice field.

Although a certain thought hidden deep inside was gradually salvaged by Orson, at the same time, Orson also felt an indescribable feeling of strangeness and alienation.

As "that memory" gradually became clearer, Orson himself felt that his soul and consciousness were slowly splitting, splitting and tearing into two completely different individuals.

"Transcription module..."

Finally, before his soul was completely torn apart, Orson salvaged the most critical memory node from the sea of consciousness.

The cube with strange patterns engraved on it that has always been beside the doctor is the most important thing to him——

"Orson! Are you okay?"

Tallulah walked up to Orson, forcibly grasped his shoulders, and forced their eyes to meet.

It was at this moment that Tallulah discovered with some horror that the way Orson looked at her seemed extremely unfamiliar, even colder and more distant than when they first met.

“Tallulah…? Ugh! No, I’m fine, I’m really fine—”

Fortunately, after a brief trance, Orson shook his head vigorously, and his eyes returned to his usual gentle and reassuring look, and he wanted to rub his head.

"I've told you before, don't bear those things alone. I know very well that this place has irreplaceable meaning to you, Orsen, but I also hope that you know that I have always been here."

[And me, I haven't forgotten your promise, Orson. One day you'll kill me in your own way, right?]

"Black Snake, shut up..."