Arknights' Lock of Heaven

What they said is indeed true.

That means I can only choose one from local companies...

At this point, Maria and Koval's discussion also came to an end.

After learning that the armor she was wearing was indeed crafted by him and that its effectiveness was entirely due to Xia Yu's Originium Arts, Koval's curiosity was satisfied.

Although he had never heard of such Originium Arts before, what could he do when Margaret was his colleague?

It's only natural that you're capable!

His gaze toward Xia Yu was one of pure amazement.

"...Maria!"

"Here!" Maria sat up reflexively upon hearing Zofia's call.

As Zofia stroked the wine glass in her hand, she said to Maria with bleary eyes, "Don't be too happy yet!"

"Yes!"

"You need to consciously control your mindset—it's not enough to just maintain a calm attitude; you need to actively reflect on your actions and calm your emotions..."

Zofia nagged on, "...Arrogance and complacency are dangerous things. The more you think you lack something, the more dangerous it becomes. The consequences of victory are often beyond your awareness..."

"And this carelessness... will... lull you into a false sense of security!"

"Ming, I understand!"

Maria noticed something was off about her voice, so she walked over to her, looked at her dazed eyes, and hesitated for a moment.

"...Auntie? Are you drunk?"

She asked tentatively.

"I didn't!" Zofia instinctively looked up to retort, but she completely missed the mark and said to Xia Yu opposite her, "Also, don't call me aunt!"

Seeing this, Maria's lips curled up slightly, and she reached out to gently stroke her back.

"Okay, okay, I know. I'll call you Sister Zofia, right?"

“You…you two sisters…are both like this…” Zofia’s head slowly sank, and she said intermittently, “I’m only…five years older than you…”

"Only five years old..."

After stubbornly emphasizing the numbers again, Zofia finally collapsed onto the table and fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing this, Maria sat down next to her, put her hands together, and apologized softly to Xia Yu, "I'm sorry, Mr. Xia Yu, Aunt... Sister Zofia seems to be in a... bad mood today."

The girl said, quite distressed, "Did I behave too badly today?"

"Maria, what's this?" At this moment, Koval also came over and lowered his voice when he saw Zofia lying on the table.

"Zofia is probably drunk."

Maria answered softly.

“Maria…don’t call me Auntie…”

Even in her dream, Zofia kept emphasizing this point after hearing Maria's voice.

It seems she really cares about this.

Upon hearing this, Maria playfully stuck out her tongue.

Actually... I didn't mean it that way. It's just that I got used to my aunt calling me over every day when I was little.

Back then, everyone was still young and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Zofia was even proud of being older than her sisters.

But now that everyone has grown up, Zofia has started to care about this too.

Maria had tried her best to change her way of addressing her, but habits are not something that can be changed overnight.

"Oh...you're really drunk, that's rare."

Upon seeing this, Koval exclaimed in surprise.

"I...I didn't!"

Zofia, half-asleep, raised her head and retorted, but then, under the influence of gravity, her stubborn head returned to her warm embrace.

"Come on, Maria, carry your aunt to the sofa in the back and let her sleep for a while."

Seeing that she was really drunk, Koval instructed Maria to move her to another seat.

"Um...okay, okay, Aunt...could you please lift your foot a little..."

Upon hearing this, Maria quickly reached out as if to coax a child and carry her to the sofa behind her.

"Don't call me Auntie!" Zofia stubbornly insisted.

Hearing this, Maria was stunned.

Oh no, I've been led astray by Master Koval.

“Zofia, the ‘Whipblade’, also has another nickname here: ‘Thousand Cups’ Zofia… though she can’t compare to me.”

Watching Maria carry him to the sofa behind her, Koval couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, yes, yes, 'Ten Thousand Taels' Florentine, you're so smug after having a drink with the Yan people? Drinking with young girls, aren't you ashamed?"

Upon hearing his boasting, Old Ferguson mercilessly exposed his arrogance.

"She was under a lot of pressure... It was the first time she was watching the game as a coach, listening to that big-mouthed Mob rambling on and on."

Bald Martin sighed, "It's so nostalgic... Sigh, I always think like this after Maria wins. Am I getting old too?"

"What are you thinking? Aren't we peers?" Old Fu kindly comforted him.

"Then it seems I really am getting old."

"That's not very kind of Martin," said the bald man.

"Hey, you!" Old Ferguson glared at him, his beard bristling.

"How long has it been since I first saw Zofia take the field? Twelve years? Fifteen years?" Bald Martin tapped his head, recalling with a troubled expression.

As they began to reminisce about the past, Maria obediently took a glass of beer and sat down next to Xia Yu, listening intently as she drank.

"I have no problem with you getting old, you can't even remember the dates, but Zofia isn't that old..."

Old Ferguson rolled his eyes at him and said, "That was nine years ago. Blood Knight, Radiant Knight, Black Knight... three generations ago."

Upon hearing this, bald Martin couldn't help but recall that dark figure deep in his memory.

"The Black Knight... that Caprini, it feels like a name from the last era."

“After all, she was the same person for the three years before that. The media often regarded her as a ‘benchmark of the times’,” Old Fer shrugged.

Even as a warrior knight who had always looked down on competitive knights, he still vividly remembered the Black Knight's overwhelmingly powerful figure.

"Ah, was it that unprecedented three-peat?" Maria recalled.

The Black Knight, a name that can never be ignored in knightly competitions.

"Yes, ordinary knight titles don't use such broad terms, otherwise there would be repetition, which would be too troublesome to pronounce."

Koval sighed, "But that Letanian woman truly deserves to have the word 'Black' taken from her. She's a monster."

"I heard he's working for some foreign conglomerate now, tsk tsk tsk..."

“Yes, that’s how it is,” Maria listened intently as they recounted their past.

Ironically, due to her family background, this native of the Great Knight Territory had absolutely no knowledge of knightly competitions.

187. Can Zofia's hand be healed?

"Maria, has Zofia told you about her competitive career?"

Old Fu asked while drinking.

"No, although the Special Championship is recorded and documented every year, I've never heard her mention it herself..."

Maria sighed and said, "Actually, I'm quite curious too."

"I remember, I remember Aunt Zofia in the round of 16 that year..."

“He was seriously injured, yes,” Old Ferguson sighed. “His opponent was that ‘Rift’ Knight. Ha, speaking of which, did he participate in the competition this year?”

"...Hey! What's going on? Why is this victory celebration suddenly turning into reminiscing about the past?"

No one answered his words; instead, Koval rolled his eyes at him. "Anyway, none of these things were good, so let's not dwell on them!"

"I...I actually really want to know..."

Maria gripped her wine glass tightly, her eyes fixed blankly on the direction where Zofia was resting.

"Although we won, Zofia... doesn't seem very happy... She didn't say much, just kept drinking..."

“She must have thought a lot about me, and I don’t want to let her down… I want to know about her past, and I want to know what she’s thinking.”

“Oh…you are quite like your sister in this respect,” Old F sighed upon hearing this, “always keenly aware of the bad things and then trying to make things better.”

"Although she doesn't show it very obviously, Zofia really admires Margaret," Bald Martin chimed in, overhearing their discussion of Zofia. "She was originally just a servant, but she came to train with us old guys just to prove herself..."

"She competed, she won, she qualified for the Special Championship... but from beginning to end, she did not accept sponsorship from any company, nor did she ask anyone for help."