Even though this was the first time they met, Rorschach was absolutely certain that this little girl before him was his older sister.
"… Hello, I'm Rorschach. Nice to meet you. Compared to the first time we met, I was still rather confused and doubtful, but I think it's all that irresponsible bastard's fault. Still, Lori and I are both very happy to have such a cute older sister. Oh, I didn't mean to say that you're a little … Older sister, you're so beautiful when you smile. "
As Rorschach spoke, he changed the topic to the scene of his illegitimate daughter meeting his married children, which was quite awkward. However, this little girl used a gentle smile to dispel Rorschach's wariness.
She had light red hair with a rose hairstyle. She had a gentle smile, and she wore a dress with thorns embroidered on it. She also had bare white feet that were completely white. No matter how one looked at her, she appeared to be no more than eight years old. This was a little wood spirit that was rarely seen in the outside world.
"Hello, little Rorschach. I'm Rosa. Actually, we've met before, cute little Rorschach. "
The light red-haired little wood spirit laughed quite happily when she heard Rorschach say this.
"Rosa? That's just like my brainless father's style … You've met before? When? Could it be that you were secretly watching us … Ugh, that's not what I meant, I was just a little surprised. "
"Heehee, you're just like your father, with such a rich imagination. Still, my name wasn't as vicious as those pitiful little sisters of mine. Actually, I've held you before, when you were still babies. "
Rorschach's face instantly paled.
"… Could it be that she's the legendary public lover? Does my mother know about this? I knew that old bastard wasn't a good person. He even did such an enviable … shameless thing as having an affair. "
Rorschach turned pale with fright when he heard this. Meanwhile, Rosa was laughing so hard that she was about to bend over.
[I can't watch this anymore! Rorschach! Sister Rosa is our adopted sister, our father's adopted daughter!]
With Lori's help, Rorschach, who had already played out three seasons and thirty-nine episodes of ethical drama in his mind, finally got the situation right. With his sister's explanation, he finally understood the relationship between him and this wood spirit.
So it turned out that Rosa was our adopted sister. And this time, she was here as the representative of the Nature Elven Gods, acting as the judge for this Battle of the Gods … It seemed that something was off. For example, how could a judge possibly have any relationship with a contestant? However, the Silver Elf Gods would also send out a judge, so it was fine to just ignore her.
Since the so-called neutral referee was using the law of the jungle to decide who was right and who was wrong, it was unlikely to exist from the beginning.
However, there was another question. Rorschach hesitated for a moment before asking.
"… Then why do I feel a sense of kinship whenever I see you, as if I'm looking at a blood relative?"
Rosa laughed even more happily. She gently walked over, hugged her adopted brother who was taller than her, and intimately rubbed his cheek with her small face.
"Silly little brother, that's because you're both my family members."
Rosa let go of the red-faced Rorschach and lightly tapped the ground with her bare feet. Thorns unfurled, and the rose petals formed her own text.
Even though this was a text that Rorschach had never learned before, he was able to instantly understand it. This was one of the foundational abilities of the Divine Runes. And, this text was a blessing from an arrogant individual to an entire species … or perhaps, it would be more accurate to call it a curse.
"The blessing of Diligence? Ha, I only have a curse called Sloth here. Diligence sounds nice, but being overly enthusiastic about entering other people's lives will also cause trouble for them. Don't let others disturb your rhythm. Be content with Sloth. You are used to being cold and indifferent, so you don't need others' approval. Your wills will be as firm as a rock, and no illusions will be able to stop you from improving yourself. Your wills will be as firm as steel, and you will be able to live forever by yourself. "
"This is a blessing given to us by our race's creator, as well as the source of our talent for Virtue."
As Rorschach read this text, he suddenly recalled his own talent ability. In terms of appearance, it was quite similar to this so-called Sloth curse.
"I'm Rosa, Diligence of the Seven Virtues of the wood spirits. The entire Diligence faction is my family. When I learned that my father's twin was also my family, I was overjoyed. I even went to Earth to give you all my blessings and baptisms."
With Lori's explanation, Rorschach learned that the entire wood spirit species was actually divided into seven major factions. And, this little girl before him was one of the higher-ups who controlled one-seventh of the wood spirit species' power?
[… Sister Rosa was born during the War of Dawn. She experienced all the dimensional wars after that.]
As Rorschach saw this little girl's bright smile, he once again understood what it meant to not judge a book by its cover.
Rorschach now recalled that Lori's talent for Virtue was Diligence, which gave her unlimited energy and stamina. He originally thought that Rosa's talent was completely different from his. Could it be that they were two sides of the same coin?
"That's right. Perhaps outsiders won't be able to understand, but the wood spirits themselves know that the Seven Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins are actually two sides of the same coin."
Seeing that Rorschach was deep in thought, Rosa stood on her tiptoes and patted him on the cheek with her small hand.
"Don't think too much about it. Talent comes from your bloodline. Since it's a gift from the heavens, it's best to let nature take its course. I came here early in order to help you control your talent ability. Don't move. Let me see your 'honesty' … How interesting. This can no longer be considered a pure talent for Virtue. However, I should still be able to help you. Close your eyes, calm your heart, and accept my blessings with peace of mind. "
= = =
Rosa came quickly and left quickly as well. The only thing she left behind was the rose petals and fragrance of the thorny wood spirits.
"… Then, doesn't that mean that we have a powerful backer to rely on?"
[Can't you have some ambition …? But, Sister Rosa has always been my backer. Oops, I mean, she's been led astray by you. Yes, she's our backer behind the scenes, but don't count on her being able to do anything now that she's retired. Ansorenne is from another world. If it was useful to rely on someone, I would have done so long ago. Otherwise, I wouldn't have become like this …]
Rorschach shrugged, indicating that he didn't care. He never had any expectations from the very start. He knew …
"I know. Everyone has to rely on themselves. I'm just saying that. Still, I've gained quite a bit. "
Rosa had also received his adopted sister's blessings. No external item could compare to this foundational self-strengthening ability.
"One of the Seven Virtues, Diligence …"
Just as Rosa said, each Virtue talent actually had a corresponding Evil Virtue curse. These were two different types of curses.
The positive ability of Diligence was that it could give wood spirits a strong sense of curiosity and energy. However, it didn't seem possible for wood spirits to be as tireless as Lori.
Meanwhile, the negative curses of Diligence and the curse of Sloth were actually the embodiment of a wood spirit's independent will.
Any wood spirit who awakened this talent would always have silver light shining in their eyes. They would easily become the natural enemy of illusionists and psychological magic. Silence, fear, shock, and other such mental magic would be completely ignored by wood spirits. Deceiving wood spirits' senses was something that even the Gods would be unable to do.
As for Rorschach's "Honesty" talent, in Rosa's opinion, it was also a mutated version of this ability.
In that case, Rorschach should also be able to use Rosa's experience in studying, researching, and even strengthening the curse of Sloth.
A few books and a dozen memory crystals with video recordings were all invaluable … No, there was no other way to obtain such precious knowledge.
"It would seem that I'll have to stay up all night studying again."
Rorschach could already imagine that he probably wouldn't have a single day of rest before the God Battle Royale.
In the end, Rosa left Rorschach with a sentence that he repeatedly thought over.
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