Chapter 19: Birthday and outfit

My punishment is clear: I must stay away from both Doctor and Amiya for a year. While it’s unfortunate, it’s probably for the best since they need to focus on themselves right now. I’ve noticed how close Frostnova and Amiya have become; they seem to be together all the time.

This situation gives me mixed feelings, but perhaps it’s for the best. I can’t predict what will happen in the future now that there are people involved who weren’t even part of the original timeline.

My actions have significantly altered the course of events, so taking a step back might be wise. I’ve also considered helping Granni and Skadi, especially since Big Bob might not be around due to joining the Originium Saint Defender. However, I recall that Big Bob's gender was never revealed in the game.

This uncertainty makes it difficult to refer to Big Bob as a man. Everyone assumed Mudrock was male until she removed her armor and revealed she was female. It’s possible that Big Bob could be a woman too, but I secretly hope he’s a man because that would be cool.

Currently, I’m experimenting with my own transformation. Since Mon3tr became human, I’ve noticed characters with larger features due to Oripathy. I wondered if I could use Originium to customize my own body, perhaps to have lungs or transform into a Vulpo, since I like foxes.

Surprisingly, my experiment worked! I now have a pair of ears on my head and seven tails swaying behind me. It feels strange, especially since I still have my halo and wings, which I can’t get rid of.

Despite this, I consider it a success. Without realizing it, Projekt Red, the girl who loves fluffy tails the most in Arknights, started hugging and sniffing my tails. This unexpected attention gave me a strange feeling, as they’re more sensitive than I anticipated, but I suppose it's nice in its own way.

I was pinned down by Red until Ace happened to walk by and rescued me. He asked what we were doing, and after I explained, he sighed and patted Projekt Red's head while dragging her away. Yet, her eyes remained sparkling as she waved her hand in a motion that sent shivers down my spine.

Now, I understand Texas, Lappland, and a few others better, but I’m still intrigued by my wings and halo. I used Originium to cover them and make them invisible, which worked, though I can still feel them, creating a complicated sensation.

With that sorted out, I can go out without anyone recognizing me. I should probably make a mask or something, but this experiment has been fun and yielded results. I feel like I should keep this to myself, but I already told Ace, so it’s only a matter of time before Kal'tsit notices too.

It was just a fleeting moment of realization, but with each attempt, my mastery of art improves. I’m confident I can unleash fire art at the same level as Talulah. However, this comes with a significant drawback: in this form, I cannot use my third skill.

While it may seem random, I want to avoid Oripathy; my tails and ears are a sure way to doom me if my second talent suddenly becomes inactive due to my third skill.

As I walked to meet Kal'tsit—since I couldn't approach the doctor—I planned to help Granni. Although she hasn't been among my top favorites recently, she used to be one of them during my early days playing Arknights. Upon entering the command room, I was greeted by a surprising sight: nearly everyone was there.

A large banner read, "Happy Birthday, Alisia," and a table laden with sweets and food indicated that this was not the usual command room.

"Happy Birthday, Alisia!" everyone cheered.

What a surprise! But reflecting on it, I realized I had never really celebrated my birthday before. While Pastor Rucein acknowledged it with a visit to a restaurant, it was never a grand affair—unsurprisingly so, given that I was an orphan. This was my first big birthday celebration.

As I pondered this, I noticed everyone's surprised expressions, reminding me that I was still in my vulpo form. It felt too late to change back, especially when I saw Amiya's confusion mirrored in the others.

"It was an experiment, and it worked! Since Oripathy sometimes causes extra limbs to grow, I thought maybe I could transform Originium into something flesh-like, and it actually worked."

Upon hearing my explanation, everyone let out a simultaneous sigh, palm to face. I wasn't surprised; this wasn't the first time they'd witnessed my unusual antics. However, Kal'tsit wore a serious expression, deep in thought.

They would be even more surprised if they knew that the black crown had already taken the form of Theresa and now lived with her. It still puzzles me why it did that, but at least now I have a wide range of disguises to choose from.

In the end, though, I received a scolding from Kal'tsit for this whole situation.

I was standing in front of the mirror, wearing the Arthoria outfit from Fate. While my eyes may not be like Saber’s, I felt the outfit looked good; however, it didn’t quite accommodate my tail.

At the moment, I was hosting a fashion show for myself, trying on various outfits from the gacha games I used to play. As expected, Nero's outfit was great, complete with a hole in the back for my tail. The bride version was tricky to manage, and the same went for Tamamo as her outfit is easy for the tail as well, though I recall she doesn’t have a bride skin yet.

Next, I tried outfits from Honkai Star Rail. I really liked most of them. Fate has many outfits I enjoy, but I’ve forgotten the details of each one, making replication difficult. In Honkai Star Rail, my favorites are Feixiao and Aglea, as I use them frequently, along with Fugue, who is my favorite, even though I didn’t have her when I last played.

I then got distracted and decided to wear an outfit from Brown Dust 2. As expected from a game that is borderline hentai, the outfit was quite revealing, especially the one for Dalvi, my beloved character, as it barely covered my bottom.

Then I tried on an outfit from Senran Kagura, which left me confused about their design choices. They are ninjas, yet their outfits are so revealing. It’s no wonder they collaborate with many games. Speaking of which, didn’t they collaborate with Brown Dust 2 as well?

Currently, I was wearing an outfit from Girls Frontline, specifically from its sequel. The theme is similar to Arknights, which is set in a plague-ridden world, but the plague is different, and there are T-Dolls. I was wearing Nikketa’s outfit, which, upon closer inspection, was rather revealing. It was still better than Florence’s skin, which was just transparent shirt and some panties, though it had a significant effect on me since my breasts are larger than hers.

Next, I donned the Symphogear outfit, specifically Hibiki's, since she is my favorite. The long scarf was challenging to get used to, and I noticed that, because my breasts are larger than Hibiki’s, the outfit looked even more lewd than it should. I think any other character's outfit from this franchise would still appear lewd on me, especially since my breasts are slightly bigger than Chris's, who is the largest character in the series.

The Nikke outfit is also quite revealing, similar to those from Brown Dust 2. I was curious to see others’ reactions to me wearing Eleg Boom and Shock’s outfit. Since I hadn’t included the other accessories like her weapon and gadgets, except for her screen top, I slowly turned around.

The only response I got was Kal'tsit’s angry expression, likely because this outfit was too revealing for the beach. However, some operator swimsuit outfits are just as revealing, so maybe I could get away with it. This was intended to be my surprise outfit, but in the end, I had a hard time deciding which one to wear on this journey to help Granni.

Ultimately, I chose to wear the Awakened Horizon outfit from Counter Side. Even though my breasts are larger than hers, it still looked good, and I could easily replicate her weaponry. I could have chosen others, but I decided to save them for another occasion. Besides, the idea of floating around with two giant arms carrying a sword and gun seemed awesome in my mind, so I settled on this outfit.

After sending my message to Kal'tsit to ask about the map and the general direction to Granni, I headed there on Orga. Initially, I had planned to fly there alone, but Orga insisted on carrying me, so here I am.

Patriot wanted to join us, but I declined, suggesting they get familiar with how Rhodes Island operates. Since Patriot is now at peace with Frostnova, I wanted them to spend some time together as father and daughter without any worries.

At first, I thought Patriot would fight Amiya like in the original timeline, but he didn’t. He merely glanced at Amiya before walking away, which made me think that the prophecy he had seen in the original timeline had changed as well. Then I remembered that instead of Amiya, he had been fighting me; perhaps the prophecy had shifted to involve me instead. However, since I don’t always understand what he says, I hadn’t thought much about it.

I'm still surprised that Silence and Ilfrit have been inside Rhodes Island for a month. Considering the timeline, it’s not really surprising since I can see Mountain as well, which means he has already broken free from that prison. I haven’t seen Mayer yet, but I think it’s only a matter of time.

As I was thinking, Orga let out a shriek, reminding me that we were nearing Dewville, where Granni was supposed to be. I then spotted Granni and what appeared to be a Kuranta girl—probably Carol—running through the forest. I ordered Orga to fetch them, and he grabbed both of them with his talons.

"UWAAAGGHH."

"Granni, we're so high in the sky!"

Was Granni this type of person? Then again, considering this was probably her first time being carried off by an owl, it’s not surprising. However, we needed to find a safe place.

After locating a safe spot, I ordered Orga to land gently, ensuring they got off safely. Once Granni was on the ground, she turned around, readying her spear against Orga, but Carol stopped her, explaining that the owl had saved them. I could see that Granni was still fearful of Orga, so I decided to jump off.

"Are you okay? Since you were being chased, I helped out, but was it unnecessary? Oh, by the way, my codename is Orisa, and you must be Granni, correct?"

Despite my words, Granni remained on high alert. However, when she saw the Rhodes Island logo on my clothes, she let out a slow sigh, only to replace it with a worried expression—probably due to the outfit I was wearing. Recently, after mastering my fire and ice abilities, I became quite resistant to the cold. In fact, I could withstand the Karlan saintess trial without any clothes in the freezing mountains.

"Oh, I'm Mounted Police Officer Granni. Thank you for your help, Orisa. Sorry if I seem rude, but aren't you cold?"

"Not at all! I'm quite resistant to both hot and cold, so I'm perfectly fine. I can manipulate fire and ice pretty well."

As she spoke, I slowly conjured fire in my left hand and ice in my right, manipulating them effortlessly. Both Carol and Granni gasped in awe. I then turned to Carol, suddenly realizing I wasn't supposed to know her name yet. She noticed my gaze and bowed slightly.

"Ah, sorry for the late introduction. My name is Carol, and thank you for your help. We're looking for the knight's treasure buried in Mount Mortica, so I asked Granni for assistance since she's been searching for it too."

"It's okay! Oh, I almost forgot to introduce this big guy who helped you earlier—his name is Orga."

Orga let out a shriek that startled them a bit, but I smiled, thinking to myself that I was glad I had told Orga never to speak human language in public. It would be troublesome; it's easier if people believe he’s just a summon I control. We then began to set up camp as Carol started to share her story.