Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"That's true, but Sister Noah... you've always been quite slow. Maybe she's just interested in you." This was the first time Maria had been so aggressive with Noah. Sensing the sourness in Maria's tone, Noah smiled delicately. "You're smiling like that again? I'm not a child anymore. I won't be fooled by a few words from you!"

"Yes, yes, Maria is not a child anymore." Noah reached out and touched Maria's head. "Then Miss Maria, do you have so little confidence in your sister Noah?"

"...Of course I didn't mean that... Oh, you've changed the subject again." Maria sighed, her ears drooping. But in front of Noya, she had no choice. She knew Noya's excellence and naturally knew her appeal to others. Maybe Noya herself hadn't realized it yet, but those around her all had a good impression of her to some extent. "I just think, Noya, you are not sensitive to this kind of thing..."

"Alright, alright, let's leave this topic for now." Noah clapped his hands, and just like in the past, he placed a finger on Maria's forehead and gently pushed. "I'll talk to you next time, Maria. I'm going to go find Kuro."

-

After arriving in Rhodes Island, Kuro has been staying in the training room, practicing with Sharp. Indeed, in the entire Terra, Kuro can't find many equally matched opponents. Sharp is one of them, so naturally he has to take the opportunity to practice more.

With the help of Maria, Noah came to the training room in a wheelchair. Listening to the screams of people around him and the sounds of fists and feet colliding in the field, Noah almost understood that the battle was now in a white-hot state.

Kuro wielded twin maces, facing off against Sharp's Sargonian court swordsmanship. Both were pragmatists, and both were top-tier warriors. In the past, when Kuro was a Black Knight, she had seen many schools of fighting, and all of them had been defeated by her. As a natural warrior, she could always find the flaws in the schools and break them down. Initially, the fight was quite even, but later on, Kuro could almost end the fight with a single blow.

Because it has lost its entertainment value, it has been restricted by the Business Federation. After all, if the entertainment value of the competition cannot be guaranteed, the golden signboard of the knight competition will sooner or later fall.

But when facing Sharp, she felt the long-lost feeling of meeting a worthy opponent. If all the elite operators of Rhodes Island were of this level, then perhaps Rhodes Island would be even stronger than she imagined.

Kuro kicked away Sharp's Rhodes Island standard short sword and broke free from the fight again. Sharp was already breathing slightly. It was also the first time that he felt that his moves were being cracked like layers of onion.

It was like being sucked into a swamp. Even though I knew I might lose, I still had to keep struggling.

It wasn't a good feeling, but Sharp couldn't break free and was drawn in. If Kuro hadn't taken the initiative to distance himself from the fight, the two of them would probably still be locked in an endless exchange of attacks.

"Excellent technique—practical swordsmanship. You've transcended the limitations of Sargon's court swordsmanship and reached a new level." Kuro's lips curled up in a smile. "Be proud! Even among my opponents, you are exceptional."

"Should I say I'm deeply honored to receive praise from the Black Knight, the triple champion of the Casimir Knight Championship?" Sharp breathed a sigh of relief. In the battle just now, the pressure he was under was actually much greater than it seemed. Every time he parried those two special weapons, he would consume a lot of his energy to stabilize the knife in his hand. Now his wrist has begun to hurt. It is no exaggeration to say that if he does not break away from the fight, his knife will probably be knocked down.

I have to say that Kuro's strength is indeed above his own.

"I've long since given up on that title. I was simply praising you." Kuro smiled. "Although I really want to continue fighting, it's just that now isn't the time."

"...I see." Sharp followed Kuro's gaze and looked to the side. Seeing Noah in a wheelchair, he nodded in understanding. "Okay, let's stop here for today. I think those guards should have come to their senses as well."

This battle with Kuro was not only for the two sides to learn from each other, but also to set an example for the guards in training. A top-level warrior like Kuro, her combat record was excellent material that could inspire the guards, and if they were perceptive enough, they could even learn a few moves.

But since the other party has other things to do, let's end this exercise here.

After finishing the drill, Kuro slowly came to Noah's side. Noah had already prepared a wet towel and handed it to Kuro naturally, saying with a smile, "Are you happy with the fight?"

"Yeah." Kuro took the towel and wiped the sweat off her body. She had only been wearing a tight-fitting tank top, and even the muscles on her arms were clearly visible. Noya had also activated the God's Eye while observing the battle between the two sides. From the perspective of the God's Eye, every detail of the battle was clear, from the techniques, the direction of the muscles, even the flow of blood.

There is no doubt that Kuro had the absolute upper hand in this battle. Sharp was indeed powerful, but when facing Kuro, in front of this master who was familiar with all the schools of Terra, his fighting style based on Sargon's court swordsmanship was almost completely analyzed by Kuro. It was like facing a predictive machine that knew what your next move would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for Sharp to fight.

Of course, experts see the details while laymen see the excitement. If Maria on the side were to give any comment, it would probably be - the fight was very exciting.

In fact, Noya was also thinking about how to cause trouble for Kuro if he was to face him. Although his swordsmanship was not bad, he still felt a little out of place in front of Kuro, so he had to use some tricks. A head-on sword fight with Kuro was obviously not advisable. Therefore, if he was to face a warrior like Kuro, the best way might be to play defense and counterattack.

Actively attacking will expose one's weaknesses to some extent, and in front of a grandmaster, such weaknesses are enough to be fatal.

So she should actively let Kuro attack her, then after receiving his moves, observe and counterattack. Of course, she was just thinking about it, as she couldn't enter any arena right now, let alone spar with Kuro.

"I wonder who would win if my sister and Kuro met in the ring..." Maria muttered to herself, stroking her chin. Naturally, this soliloquy couldn't escape the ears of Noah and Kuro. Noah raised the corner of her mouth slightly, and said teasingly.

"It's hard to say. Although Margaret should not be able to beat Kuro before, but now--" Noah was not lying. Margaret's strength improvement speed has always been very exaggerated. Maybe when she won the championship again in the Knight Competition, Margaret was still some distance away from Kuro, but now, after defeating the Blood Knight, Noah clearly felt that Margaret's aura was more restrained. This was one of the signs of entering a new realm.

The more you fight, the stronger you become. This is the talent that comes with the bloodline of the Golden Pegasus.

Therefore, it is hard to say what the current situation is like between Margaret and Craw if they have never fought.

"It's meaningless here. To fight her in her prime, the time, place, and situation must be right. At that moment, victory or defeat between us means life or death. However, that moment does not belong to me." Kuro replied succinctly, "Margaret Linguang's strength is not just in combat, and I am just a warrior. Our paths are different. Unless she becomes an enemy of Noah, we will not have a true life-and-death struggle—"

"...Ah... Is it that serious? Isn't it just a sparring match?" Maria blinked. She hadn't expected Kuro to think so highly of her sister. She had assumed her sister and Kuro were rivals in love, and wouldn't be so high-minded, if not derogatory. But now it seemed Kuro actually thought highly of his sister and recognized her abilities, even going so far as to say, "Victory or defeat is a matter of life and death."

This means that she has no way of holding back in the battle with her sister. This is a situation that is only possible when the strength of the two is very close.

So if she wanted to see her elder sister in her prime fight against Kuro-san in her prime, she probably wouldn't have the chance in her lifetime. However, she did have a new idea. "What if it's against Noah-san?"

"..."

"..."

At this moment, Noah and Kuro fell silent almost simultaneously, then looked at each other. To be honest, Noah was just a little surprised, while Kuro really began to examine Noah's abilities. After a moment, the two gave their answers.

"do not know."

"I'm not so sure either."

"...Huh?" Maria hadn't expected this. She'd assumed Noah was modestly admitting she couldn't beat Kuro, or Kuro would say he wouldn't resort to violence against Noah. Unexpectedly, both Noah and Kuro gave a simultaneous, rather serious response.

"If it's a ring fight, I'll win." Kuro nodded, "Because ring fights have many restrictions, it's more advantageous for me."

"But if it's a life-and-death battle, even if I use all my trump cards, I still have a chance of killing Kuro." Noah also said bluntly, "So far, no one has been able to make me use all my trump cards."

"...Wow..." Noah's earnest words and Kuro's unrefutable attitude proved that, in Kuro's mind, Noah could indeed kill her. Furthermore, Noah didn't mention defeating, but killing, indicating that their battle was a situation where they couldn't hold back.

Maria then realized that Noah, who usually did not show his edge and sat in a wheelchair, was once a twin of Casimir together with her sister.

Kuro hadn't quite finished her explanation. If it were just Noya, she'd be confident of defeating her in the ring. But Noya... there was a phantom somewhere. This phantom had easily caught a heavy black iron arrow, even discarding it like trash. If that phantom attacked, Kuro wouldn't be sure. After all, the threat she felt from it was no less than that of the Glory Knight—perhaps even more terrifying.

Noah's actual strength has not been weakened too much because of her disability. She has a very high level of attainment in shadow magic, and she has the difficult-to-defend telepathic Originium skills as a supplement. Even her own combat intuition is top-notch among the top.

Noah leaned over Maria for a while when she was in Casimir, and Kuro had assessed Noah's level of combat instinct at that time.

It's no exaggeration to say that Noya, returning to the battlefield after such a long absence, showed no signs of unfamiliarity. Her judgment was precise, coupled with meticulous tactical thinking. Such a person was truly formidable. She calmly analyzed everything on the battlefield. It's no exaggeration to say that if those two Sarkaz hadn't been drugged, Noya could have even prevailed in a one-on-two fight. And that was thanks to her use of the Light Originium technique, which she wasn't particularly adept at.

The Shadow Arrow that Noah had originally intended to unleash on the field did have the power to kill either of the two Sarkaz—

Noya's combat effectiveness was largely limited by her disability. Kuro couldn't imagine how much stronger she would be if she were completely healthy. If that were the case, Margaret Linguang might have a formidable opponent.

So the two gave uncertain answers. Noah had too many cards up her sleeve, shadow spells, telepathic Originium skills, absorbing emotions, planting spiritual seeds in the opponent's body, controlling the opponent's emotions, making the opponent make mistakes, and even the final means of taking over the opponent's body. These things were cards that Noah would not use easily. In fact, she also had a move to directly pour emotions violently into the opponent's body. This was different from the one she used on Mandela. If it was a desperate state, Noah would not consider the opponent's ability to bear it.

It is no exaggeration to say that although that move is not a so-called "killer move", it is estimated that not many people can withstand it.

After all, not everyone can withstand a massive influx of malice pouring into their hearts almost instantly. It's like facing a natural disaster. Few people have the resilience to withstand such a surge of negative emotions. If one can withstand it without going crazy, their temperament will likely change drastically...

However, fortunately, Kuro and I will never become enemies——

Noah smiled, after all, they were the best partners.

Chapter 3: Viviana's Poem

After Kuro was taken away from the training room, Noah's bodyguards changed from Maria alone to Kuro and Maria on both sides. When the three of them were walking in the corridors of Rhodes Island, they would occasionally receive friendly greetings from the operators passing by. Some of them knew Noah in the past, and some were complete strangers.

Noah also intuitively felt that Rhodes Island had been making continuous progress in the years since he left.

When she'd heard about the attack on Rhodes Island, she'd been worried for a moment, but it didn't seem like there had been much damage. No... not that there hadn't been much damage. According to Dr. Kal'tsit, the biggest problem with Tallulah's prison break was that Rhodes Island's stance had become particularly ambiguous. Originally, they were using Tallulah as leverage, but now they were in trouble.

But Noah had no other choice. After all, she couldn't help with the things that happened before she returned to Rhodes Island.

Noah didn't blame herself, she was just worried about Rhodes Island.

"Sometimes I really feel like I could help, but unfortunately..." Noah muttered to herself, "I have my own troubles one after another... I can't stay on Rhodes Island for too long."

"Rhodes Island's troubles have nothing to do with you. There's no need for you to be upset about it," Kuro said. "I believe the people of Rhodes Island wouldn't want this either."

"That's right, Sister Noah, there are some things I can't help with even on Rhodes Island..." Maria, who had experienced a prison break before, quickly advised. "Just being there doesn't mean I can help..."

"What are you thinking?" Noah rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I'm just saying that I want to help. I don't want to feel guilty for not helping before... Don't you two think too highly of me?"

"Hehe, Sister Noah is just that kind." Maria nodded immediately. "And my sister also said that Sister Noah tends to overthink things, so she asked me to talk her down more whenever I get the chance."

"Margaret... mind your own business first." Noah's face flushed, and she said unhappily, "Casimir's matter hasn't been resolved yet, and she's meddling in mine. Who does she think she is? Does she have so many powers that she wants to take care of everything?"

"Sister is just worried about you, Noah. Besides, Noah is someone who tends to take on everything herself. I think she's right to worry." Maria thought her sister's worries were completely justified. "Besides, I want to help Noah, too!"

"Okay, okay, who's the one from your Linguang family, Kuranta or Pero... They're both so clingy." Noya was helpless. Why were all the people from the Linguang family so clingy? But she couldn't complain. If it weren't for this, she wouldn't have gotten together with Margaret in the first place.

It was like this with Margaret back then, and it is like this with Maria now. Maybe it’s just in the genes.

This group of people from the Linguang family are the natural nemesis of me, the eldest daughter of the Kirilet family. Perhaps they can be considered my natural enemies in a sense.

Speaking of the people around me, aren’t there too many blonde characters?

Noah couldn't help but think that Kuro had blonde hair, Maria had blonde hair, Margaret had blonde hair, Viviana also had blonde hair, and strictly speaking, even Lavishini had blonde hair that was closer to blonde than white hair.

Could it be that I will attract blondes?

Noah shook his head and threw his messy thoughts out of his mind, "Hey, how is it possible."

"What's impossible?" Maria asked curiously.

"It's nothing, Maria." Noah extended his hand affectionately and scratched Maria's chin like petting a cat. Although he couldn't see her expression, the comfortable sound of her voice proved everything.

Kuro said nothing, only letting out a faint smile. Noya had time to let her thoughts wander, which meant she truly felt safe. This was one of the few times during this journey where she felt Noya completely relaxed. She was, of course, happy for Noya. She wanted him to be relaxed and happy rather than having him all to herself.

On Rhodes Island, Noah was indeed much more relaxed.

Noah was not wandering around aimlessly. She came here at Viviana's invitation. However, she was not very familiar with the dormitory branches in Rhodes Island. She asked several people before finding Viviana's dormitory address. Noah politely rang the doorbell, and soon the other party opened the door, as if they had been waiting for a long time.

"Noah... uh, who are these people?" Viviana's smile froze instantly after she saw Kuro and Maria behind Noah, but she quickly adjusted her expression.

"Excuse me!" Maria certainly couldn't leave Viviana and Sister Noah alone, so she had to get involved even if it meant being shameless. "I'm also interested in that poetry appreciation meeting! Sister Viviana, you shouldn't mind, right?"

"...No, how could that be?" Viviana subconsciously sensed the hostility, but she maintained her smile, glancing at Noah, who shook his head helplessly before accepting it. "Welcome, the more people come to appreciate it, the better. I might not have prepared any, so it might take me some time to prepare tea for you."

"I don't mind." Maria blinked and said seriously, "I'm also interested in poetry and other things! It's like..."

"Ahem, Maria is just interested." Noah could only interrupt Maria's attempt at self-humiliation. After all, showing off her literary accomplishments in front of Viviana was not something she could possibly do. "As for Kuro, you should know why she's here..."

Kuro glanced at Viviana. Indeed, it was normal for her to be here. She basically would not leave Noah for too long.

Although she didn't talk much, she was obviously the one who spent the most time with Noah, so Viviana wasn't surprised that she followed. But Maria was indeed a surprise...

However, this time, she didn't really plan to do anything to Noah, and she wasn't lying when she said it was a poetry appreciation meeting... No, that couldn't be said. If that were the case, why would she specifically ask when Kuro was going to the training ground for training... She had indeed invited him with the mentality of just in case they could be alone together.

Alas... She is becoming less and less frank, but in front of Noah, she always seems to lose her sense of proportion. Maybe it is because Noah always trusts her without reservation and will go to appointments without hesitation. She always wonders why Noah is so good to her. If it was because they were both fans of Margaret at the beginning, then what about now?

Viviana asked herself honestly, her feelings towards Margaret were more like admiration, and after fighting with Margaret, she was more inclined to admire and worship her, but as for other feelings...

She wasn't sure, but her heart would beat fast when she saw Noah, especially when she smiled at her.

Well, no matter how much I try to hide it, at least I really hope to be alone with Noah... or at least have Noah to myself for some time.

However, this hope was completely shattered by the appearance of Maria, and she could only give up this idea for the time being. But at least now Noah will not leave Rhodes Island in a short time, so she still has many opportunities, right?

"Alright, alright, please take a seat, Viviana. I'm sorry... Maria insisted on joining, and I couldn't help it." Noah still sensed a hint of regret coming from Viviana, so he could only smile to smooth things over. "That's all for today. Next time, I'll definitely come alone."

"Ahem..." Kuro beside him coughed lightly, and then Noah could only change the subject and say, "Maybe... besides Kuro, someone else can come."

"I can guard the door while you two are alone together," Kuro added, "I'm only doing this for Noah's safety. Please forgive me."

"...I understand. I'm not against spending time with Miss Kuro. I just..." Viviana quickly explained, "I don't have any plans... Never mind. Let's just leave it at that for today."

Feeling that she was making things worse the more she explained, Viviana sighed and decided to get to the point. While Noah was away, she had unexpectedly been inspired and had written many poems. However, there was no one in Rhodes Island with whom she could share these poems, so she had been holding them in until now, intending to seriously and completely bombard Noah, the only person she could confide in.

It must be said that when Maria saw Viviana constantly taking out poetry books, she started to panic.

From childhood to adulthood, apart from various books on industrial craftsmanship, the most she read were chivalric novels. She didn't have the endurance to sit here and read poetry for an afternoon.

To be honest, she was beginning to think that coming here might have been a bad idea...

But before she could back down, Noah picked up a book at random. This was a Braille version specially prepared by Viviana. Although she could also read it through the Eye of God, considering the quantity, she decided to just read a little.

Although she was not without patience, poetry was different from writing. It was not meaningful just because it was written. She had told Viviana before that poetry could not be written by practice. The most important thing about poetry was the part that touched people's hearts. However, Viviana was still too methodical. It was like filling her own ideas into a framework. But for poetry... where was the framework?

So Noah didn't have too many expectations, but this time, she might have guessed wrong.

After touching it with her fingers, she recited the poem belonging to Viviana in her heart. After finishing, her brows were slightly frowned, but she did not say anything in a hurry. Instead, after reading the entire book of poems, she breathed a sigh of relief and her face flushed slightly. She organized her words. To be honest, this feeling is hard to describe.

Compared with before, there is indeed a lot more emotion in it. Compared with those special poems in the past, this time it is finally not a forced expression of sadness just for the sake of writing new words.

But... but...

Very strange...

It’s really strange that the emotions in these poems seem to be the same.

It's like missing a lover who has traveled far away, missing every little bit of the past, and looking forward to the joy of meeting him/her again. It's like a young girl in love, but also like sadness, with the emotion of missing him/her in my heart.

Very good...very good, but...poetry is ultimately about expressing what's in people's hearts.

Viviana was suddenly able to write these words. Could it be that... she and Margaret had made some progress while I was away?

Noah didn't know why, but he felt a little sad, and it didn't seem so unexpected.

Both Margaret and Viviana were excellent knights. It was no secret that Viviana liked Margaret. It was because of Margaret that she and he met.

But... Margaret did that to her when she was at Shelag... and she had an unclear relationship with Viviana...

Noah gritted her teeth. For some reason, she suddenly felt unhappy.

But she couldn't show it in front of Viviana. After all, Viviana was not wrong. She just admired the Knight of Glory. What was wrong with that? Noah suppressed her inner uneasiness and praised with a smile.

"It's a very good poem. You've made considerable progress while I was away—" Noah tried his best to make his tone sound calm, with a slight rise. Sure enough, Viviana didn't notice anything and she smiled.