Poseidon in Arknights

"Croissant, why don't you sleep here?"

"Hmm?" Croissant, suddenly called out, looked at Exusiai with a puzzled expression, then shrugged. "I don't have any objections to that, but..."

Croissant looked at Exusiai strangely. Wasn't Exusiai trying to promote Yuuki and Texas's relationship at the hot springs just a few days ago? Why are they now at odds? Shouldn't she be rushing Texas to come here and sleep right now?

Exusiai understood Croissant's meaning, but calmly waved her hand and ignored her: "Alright, it's settled then. Sora will sleep with us tonight."

"Oh well."

As for Yuuzuki, she didn't sense the two undercurrents surrounding her. She calmly drank the coffee she had brewed and casually poured a cup for Texas, who was holding out her cup.

—————Rhode Island Deck New Year's Eve Party—————

"Amiya and the others are quite quick, aren't they?" Yuzuki looked at the sheds that had been erected on the deck after a day and a night. "They're actually quite well-made."

"Quick, quick, let's go join the fun!" Exusiai excitedly looked at the lively party in front of her and was about to reach out to pull Xiyue up when Texas interrupted her.

"Let's go, Yuzuki."

'Tch, quick on the uptake.' Exusiai, seeing that her side was blocked, was about to fall behind and go to the other side of Yuuki when Red just happened to come up to her.

"Mom!" Red eyes lit up as she tugged at Xi Yue's sleeve and pointed to a stall in the distance, "There's a really nice smell over there!"

Seeing Hong's eyes shining, Xi Yue pinched Hong's nose in annoyance: "Doesn't Mom usually cook you delicious food? Why are you so excited?"

Hong rubbed against Xiyue's arm, hehe~

"Alright, little foodie, let's go." Xi Yue raised her hand and patted the red head, then turned to look behind her at Croissant, who was carrying a large bag.

"Croissant, there's no need to push things at a time like this, is there? Why not just have some fun?"

"Xi Yue, you don't understand~" Croissant waved her hand and shook the large bag behind her. "This is the time to do business! I brought all the good stuff with me~"

"Actually, these are just some leftovers that we haven't sold yet, things that have already been sold." Kong, standing to the side, mercilessly exposed Croissant's true colors. "When we came, they just stuffed the whole thing into my backpack, and I didn't even see you pick anything out?"

"That just proves that all my stuff is good stuff!" Croissant's expression stiffened. She coughed lightly twice, then waved her hand and turned to leave. "Alright, I'm going to set up my stall. You guys go enjoy your party, or why don't you patronize my little shop now?"

"Forget it, it'll be hard to carry all those odds and ends later." Xi Yue squinted and waved her hand. Did she not know if there was anything good in that bag of croissants?

Sometimes, she even helps with packing up croissants and other items. She knows exactly what kind of things are sold in croissants.

"Alright~" Croissant waved her hand, turned around, slung her bag over her shoulder, and prepared to find a place to set up her stall. "Have a pleasant shopping day~"

"Seriously." Yu Yue shook her head as she watched Croissant leave with her bag. "Even at a time like this, they still haven't forgotten to set up their stalls?"

"That's how the croissant looks~" Exusiai walked ahead and shrugged, then looked back at Texas and Red on her left and right. Texas definitely couldn't win against them.

As for Red... well, Red probably can't compete with her either. She looks like Luper, but she's actually stronger than Croissant, who has a big hoof.

Before long, Yuuki and the others arrived at the stall that Hong had pointed out earlier. Yuuki was somewhat surprised to see the person cooking.

"What would you like to eat..." Gummy looked up at Yuzuki, who seemed somewhat surprised. "Ah, Miss Yuzuki!"

"Hello, how are you feeling?" Yuuki smiled at Gummy, then glanced at the name tag Gummy wore on her chest. "Have you joined Rhodes Island?"

"Mmm." Gumi nodded, then lowered her head to start frying meat in her pan. Her face was not just red from the heat of the stove, or perhaps it was just a simple blush. "Thank you, Dr. Yuzuki, for rescuing us from there."

"It's alright." Yu Yue watched Gu Mi's incredibly smooth chopping movements. "I'm just as happy that you recovered so quickly."

"Mmm." After chopping the side dishes, Gummy turned around and flipped the meat patty over. "Sonia and Anna will definitely want to come and thank Miss Yuzuki."

"There's no need for excessive thanks. It's my duty as a doctor. I think anyone with a conscience who saw what happened would have helped."

Watching Gumi's movements, Xiyue took out her wallet from her pocket. "How much is this meat pie set meal?"

Gumi packed the meat pie and handed it to Xiyue, then pushed Xiyue's wallet back down: "No, no, no, this is a small token of my gratitude to Miss Xiyue. Without Miss Xiyue, I might really have starved to death there..."

"Don't worry." Xiyue reached out and patted Gumi's head. "It's all over now. Thank you for the meat pie."

After leaving Gumi's stall, Xiyue handed the meat pie in her hand to Hong, her smile particularly bright.

Texas, standing to the side, turned to look at Gummy, who was still busy, and then glanced at Yuuki, who had a smile on her face: "Was he one of the ones you saved back then?"

“Yes~” Yuzuki turned around and looked at Gummy, who was busy but had a smile on her face. “It’s so nice, isn’t it?”

"Ah."

After saying goodbye to Gumi, Xiyue and her group strolled through the various stalls at the party. It has to be said that many people chose to set up a food stall.

This resulted in Xi Yue and the others carrying all sorts of snacks and treats.

"Hey, Yuuki, look at this!" Holding a box, the taller Exusiai suddenly tugged at Yuuki, "A super big teddy bear pillow!"

"Hmm?" Yuuki looked in the direction Exusiai was pointing. "It is indeed quite big."

"And it's a shooting game booth too~" Exusiai winked mischievously.

"Don't cause trouble for the stall owner." Seeing the mischievous grin on Exusiai's face, Yuuki knew what he was up to and decisively tapped Exusiai on the head.

"Don't worry, don't worry~" Exusiai waved her hand, "I definitely won't cause any trouble~"

As soon as Exusiai finished speaking, she turned around and headed towards the shooting stall.

"Sigh, really." Yuuki looked at Exusiai's back speechlessly, and quickly went over as well. Putting everything else aside, just the shooting thing, isn't Sarkaz's use of this pure cheating?

Chapter 101: The Party in Progress - Games

"Hey, isn't that Scout?" Exusiai approached the shooting booth and looked at Scout, who was sitting next to the booth with a somewhat bored expression on his face.

"Hmm?" Scout looked up at Exusiai upon hearing the voice. "Ah, it's you guys. Good evening, Exusiai."

"Hi, good evening~" Exusiai scanned the stall, which offered design tools, including slingshots, bows and arrows, and even a gun.

Exusiai pointed at the gun with some doubt: "Are you really that willing to part with it? You set up a stall and brought out a gun?"

Scout squinted at Exusiai and casually pointed to the pistol: "How could I possibly take out a pistol? It's one thing if others don't recognize it, but you, Sarkaz, didn't you recognize it?"

"Hmm~" Exusiai lowered her head and looked at the gun carefully, finally discovering the problem. "Oh, so that's it, a pneumatic toy."

“Otherwise what?” Scout shrugged. “I can’t possibly set up real guns just for a shooting stall. I don’t have that much money.”

"This thing was given to me by Kroos. It's difficult to reload and not very powerful. Apart from its appearance and its ability to compete for favor, it's a piece of junk. But as you said, it still has value as a toy."

“As long as he still has value, he can’t be called trash.” Xi Yue walked out of the crowd with Hong in her hand and looked at Scout. “Good evening, Mr. Scout.”

Scout sat up and looked at Yuzuki: "Good evening, Miss Yuzuki."

"Hey, never mind that." Exusiai patted the table and pointed to the giant hand-sewn plush bear. "How do we get that?"

“…It’s very simple.” Scout pointed directly to the various shooting props on the table, and then to the balloons tied to several iron rods extending out of the deck behind him.

"Without using Originium Arts, ten bullets will break twelve balloons."

"Wait, did I mishear or did you say it backwards?" Exusiai looked at Scout strangely. "Ten bullets to pop twelve balloons? Oh no, can't we even use spells?"

“You heard me right, 10 against 12 without using spells.” Scout nodded naturally. “I’ve tried it, and it works.”

"Hmm, let me see..." Exusiai looked up at the balloons floating on the four iron poles behind the stall.

The iron pole stretched out a long distance, and 30 balloons of different colors were tied to it, tumbling up and down with the wind generated by Rhodes Island's advance.

The iron pole was shaking violently in the wind, making it even more difficult to aim at the constantly tumbling balloons on it.

“It’s still challenging, but not a major problem; there’s a pattern.” Exusiai silently calculated as she watched the balloons tumbling in front of her. “If the wind were a little weaker, things might be a bit better.”

Yuzuki looked helplessly at Exusiai, who was deep in thought, and reached out to pat Exusiai's head: "Alright, Exusiai, you didn't even look at the sign when you came over."

"Hmm?" Exusiai looked in the direction Yuuki was pointing, and saw a sign next to Scout showing how to obtain the various rewards, as well as a note.

First Prize: One extra-large handmade plush bear: 10 dozen (12)

[Second Prize: Choose any two small plush toys (the plush bear doesn't count, you'd better play 12!): 10 for 8]

Third Prize: Choose any small plush toy (same as above): 10 for 5

[Consolation prize: Three breakfast vouchers (one standard breakfast for one person, I've already paid for them in advance): Just need to win one]

[Participation Prize: Two breakfast vouchers: If you didn't win, take them! Good luck next time!]

[Participation fee: 50 LMD per person, double for Sniper Operators, Sarkaz Operators are prohibited from participating! Prizes are limited, each person can only play once.]

Exusiai's eyes twitched as she looked at the last line, then she slammed her hand on the table twice: "Hey, what's the meaning of this last line? This is discrimination!"

"Ha!" Scout rolled his eyes at Exusiai. "With your angels' ability to hit anything you point at, my business would probably be emptied out by you guys in no time."

"That's your absolute prejudice against us Sarkaz..." Exusiai looked away somewhat guiltily, "We Sarkaz are not at the level where everyone can hit a target exactly where they want to hit it..."

Scout rolled his eyes at the guilty-looking Exusiai: "Take out your Guardian Gun and say that to me while looking at it?"

"Hmm, hehe~" Exusiai scratched her face awkwardly. To be honest, if it were like what he just said, shooting 12 balloons with 10 bullets wouldn't be too difficult for Exusiai.

As long as the angle is calculated correctly and the timing is right, this kind of thing is actually more like a game for Exusiai who has already obtained the Guardian Ingot.

"Hmm~" Yuuki looked at the huge plush toy again, "Would Hong like that plush toy?"

"Huh?" Hong shook her head as she looked at the giant plush bear, then glanced at the small figurines on the table and pointed to a few of them.

"I don't like the big one, Mom. Can I have the other three?"

“Okay, as long as you like it.” Yu Yue patted Hong’s head, took out her wallet from her pocket, and handed 100 LMD to Scout.

“Miss Yuuki is a medical operator, right? 50 will do.” Scout looked at the 100 LMD handed over, then at Yuuki. “I heard about how she single-handedly cared for an entire school of children a while ago.”

“I’m a medic, and that doesn’t conflict with being a sniper.” Yuuki shrugged and shoved the money onto the ground. “In the wilderness, medical skills alone aren’t enough.”

“That’s true.” Scout took the 100 LMD, then took out a 50 LMD from the box next to him and handed it back. “However, in my opinion, Miss Yuzuki is more suitable as a medic operator.”

"Is that so?" Yuuki put the money Scout had given her back into her wallet, picked up the bow and arrow on the table, pulled it slightly to check the draw weight, and nodded.

Scout, who was standing nearby, took out ten arrows from under the table and placed them on the table.

Xi Yue casually picked up an arrow, nocked it, and slowly pulled back the bowstring. In an instant, she suddenly released it. With a whistling sound of an arrow piercing the air, several balloons exploded.

"One shot, three kills. Impressive skill."

"Hmm, it seems the wind speed is a bit too high." Yuuki nodded, looking at her spoils. "Well, in that case..."

----------

Following behind the group, Sora looked at the plush toys being held in Red's arms. "Red still likes Luper so much."

"I'm glad Hong likes it." Xi Yue patted Hong's head. "It's still very simple."

"Hmm, but it's such a shame not to let Sakta go~" Exusiai walked to the side, glancing back every now and then, "That bear is quite cute too."

"Alright, let's stop worrying about that bear~" Yuuki patted Exusiai's head. "Besides, your Sarkaz are really just buying in bulk."

"If we release all the balloons, it might be a bit difficult for you, right?"