Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"...Really?" Noah was stunned. "It must be your illusion, right?"

"I don't think so. Since you woke up from the accident, in addition to regaining your vision and mobility, your style of behavior has also begun to change... becoming a little strange." Kuro looked at Noah worriedly, or rather, at her still gentle eyes.

"Many times, I felt that you were a little strange. Especially when the doctor appeared in front of you, didn't you notice it?" Kuro's words made Noah fall into deep thought, but she still didn't want to believe that she had been changed so much imperceptibly.

"Maybe... it's just because the Doctor saved me that time, so I want to repay him..." Noah said, feeling a little unsure. "So far, I don't think my behavior is out of line..."

"I just want to remind you, Noah, that your recovery shouldn't be something that comes without a price. And this price may be being paid without you even realizing it."

"I know..." Noah nodded, "I'll pay attention. Thank you, Kuro."

"Between us, there's no need to say thank you." Kuro shook his head. "Besides, no matter what you become, you will always be my Noah Kyrielight. This will never change."

"Pfft...are you confessing your feelings to me again?" Noah scratched his cheek shyly, "But..."

She leaned closer to Kuro and kissed her cheek, "I just wanted to thank you for always being there for me, Kuro."

Chapter 33: Transformation

Noa had reflected on herself, but considering her closeness to the Doctor, a closeness that felt like a bloodline, and the natural attraction and protectiveness she felt for him, she might have dismissed it as a major issue at first. But when Kuro pointed it out, she realized she'd been too close to him lately, even to the point of wanting to repay him.

No matter how I look at it, I feel like they're planning to have the Doctor marry into the Kirilet family...

Ah, they are all girls, so it shouldn’t be considered as marrying into the wife’s family, right?

Could it be that even after my physical recovery, my spirit was also slightly affected? Could it be that being energetic also caused this strange debuff?

Alas, there is no point in thinking about it now. I will consider other things after seeing the doctor again.

After making up their minds, Noah, Kuro, Kal'tsit and the others planned to disguise themselves and enter the city, following the path Amiya had taken. However, Kal'tsit's original plan was not perfect, after all, she had not considered Noah's participation at the time.

"Yes - could you please let me through?" He used the Originium skill naturally, causing the Sarkaz soldiers in charge of the inspection to completely ignore the lack of entry documents. With Noah's gentle smile, he let several people into the city in a daze.

How should I put it... As long as it's a city guarded by people, Noah is sure to sneak in -

This is how your Originium skills should be used. As long as you are willing, you can become one of "their own" in the eyes of everyone.

Although she was still worried about the Doctor, Amiya, Horn and others, she also knew that the most important thing now was the consistency of actions of both sides. She couldn't just run all the way to meet up just because she was worried. She still had her own things to do.

After entering Londinium, Kal'tsit first contacted her informant, codenamed Heidi. Rhodes Island's forces, having made their way into the city, weren't limited to Kal'tsit and her team alone. They also included the elite Operator Misery. Kal'tsit's first contact was this world's finest scout. It's no exaggeration to say that if Misery was willing, no wall could stop him.

Even the seemingly impregnable Londinium could not stop the invasion of this elite operator.

However, there was both good news and bad news in Kal'tsit's contact. The good news was that Misery had successfully invaded and was collecting sufficient intelligence.

The bad news is that Heidi has lost contact. Judging from the current situation, Heidi is very likely to have been captured by the Sarkaz Military Committee. If this is true, then their first priority will change from reuniting with the Doctor and others to rescuing Miss Heidi first.

In order to convey this message to the Doctor, Kal'tsit can only pin her hopes on Noah. Now it seems that the reunion will probably be postponed.

However, Noah was given the right to move freely temporarily. Dr. Kal'tsit just told Noah to be more careful. After all, Noah has now recovered his ability to move and has Craw by his side. There are only a handful of people in this city who can catch Noah.

While Kal'tsit was investigating Heidi's news, Noah and Kuro quietly appeared on the streets of Londinium using shadow magic.

There were few pedestrians on the streets here. Although the street scene was still prosperous, there was no sign of life. The two people who concealed their figures with shadow spells looked at the street and couldn't help but sigh.

"I thought I'd have a very interesting itinerary when I came to Londinium—" Noah muttered to himself, "I didn't expect to see Londinium this way."

"Actually, you're not surprised, are you? Or rather, you should have guessed it before entering this Sarkaz-controlled city," Kuro replied. "You should have anticipated the situation here."

"That's not true. I still believe seeing is believing." Noah shook his head, denying the story. "Only by seeing it with my own eyes can I be sure... who our enemy is."

"Enemy? Sarkaz?"

"No." Noah shook his head. "The Sarkaz did nothing wrong."

"...?"

"Although, perhaps, we are indeed fighting against the Sarkaz entity, if you look at it from the Sarkaz's perspective, they are discriminated against and hated by the nations of Terra. They have been rejected since birth. In this situation, shouldn't they be allowed to fight back?" Noah explained. "So, I believe that the Sarkaz's counterattack is legitimate, even just. When justice cannot be achieved through legitimate means, then seemingly unjust revenge is actually an extension of justice."

"Justice..." Kuro had never been comfortable with the topic of justice. Even as a Knight, she had never pursued so-called justice. "But you're still here, and you intend to stop the Sarkaz's revenge. So..."

"Honestly... I'm not sure either." Noah shook her head. "Preventing the Sarkaz's revenge was never my goal. My goal from the beginning was simply to protect as many innocent people as possible who might be affected by this turmoil. In the game of nations, the last thing to be considered, or rather, the last thing to be considered, are innocent civilians. As for stopping the Sarkaz's revenge... that depends on the specifics of their revenge plan."

Perhaps Kal'tsit and Amiya's idea is to stop the Sarkaz's crazy plan, but Noah is a little different. She wants to know the core of these plans.

She doesn't even mind helping the Sarkaz...

From the beginning, Noah's position has never changed.

Victoria is not Noah's homeland, nor is it Rhodes Island. She has no reason to fight for Victoria.

"...Noah, from the beginning, I felt that your point of view was a bit strange."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"No, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your point of view, but if it were you in the past, you wouldn't look at everything so rationally. You're almost like you're looking down at a chessboard, with your perspective very high up," Kuro explained, squinting her eyes as she looked at the girl in front of her.

The two stared at each other for a long time, and finally Kuro gave in.

"No... maybe it's just my illusion."

"..." Kuro's slightly unfamiliar look made Noah feel a little uneasy, but she didn't think her behavior just now was any different from the past.

She just did what she was supposed to do... didn't she?

Did I do something wrong?

Noah closed her eyes in pain, feeling that she had been getting headaches very often recently, sometimes lasting for a few seconds, and sometimes for about a minute. However, she did not tell the whole story, as an intuition told her that now was not the time to tell it.

"I...I don't know either." Noah sighed, "Maybe it's because I've been through so much, I can feel my own powerlessness."

Casimir, after years of scheming, only managed a narrow victory, with herself as a sacrifice. In Kjerag, she collaborated with the Doctor, resorting to risky tactics, only to force Enthiodis, who had initially refused to fight them, to relent. In Hill County, she felt even more powerless. Even playing the nameless harp couldn't prevent what was about to happen. She failed to stop the bombardment, and Hill County was still devastated.

A narrow victory, a compromise, a failure——

Noah seemed to have gradually changed during this period.

Especially the tragedy in Xiaoqiu County, which made Noah seem to understand that she could not always create miracles. All she could do was to prevent the situation from getting worse.

This time, when she arrived in Londinium, she set her sights low. She didn't even consider saving the city. Unconsciously, she had already determined that she couldn't save everyone. I don't know if this change is a sign of growth or cowardice.

If Margaret was here, she would definitely choose to save him, but... she is no longer a knight, and she would unconsciously calculate the gains and losses.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she was gradually becoming the person she hated.

"Perhaps, Kuro, you're right." Noah looked at Kuro seriously. "It's just that I can't save everyone, I can't save this city. My abilities are limited, and I can't fight against the game between countries. But I promise you, I will do what I want to do - or rather, what I can do."

After saying this, Kuro finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was no doubt that Noah would say this.

Her doubts gradually dissipated. Perhaps it was really just the failure of Xiaoqiu County that made Noah change a little. Although she still liked the girl who worked hard for her goal in Casimir more, how could she blame the current Noah?

No one is entitled to be someone else's savior, and saviors will also get tired.

"I'm sorry, Noah," she apologized earnestly, "I shouldn't have doubted your resolve."

"It's not your fault, Kuro, and... we don't have a traditional master-servant relationship, do we?" Noya didn't mind Kuro's questioning at all. "Rather, I welcome your opinions. As long as they are Kuro's opinions, I will consider them carefully."

"As you wish." Kuro finally returned to his normal state, and Noah began to look at the city again.

Close your eyes and listen to the voice of the city, as if you were listening to the voice of Kjerag, or Casimir.

This iron fortress, this city that will never fall, now wails like the groan of a sunset giant.

After listening for a long time, she slowly opened her eyes.

A new melody was slowly woven in her heart.

A movement that belongs to Victoria.

-

Londinium, Sadian district, underground structure.

"We're here." Fester brought the doctor to an isolation door. It can be seen that the pipes here should be the crystallization of the Victorian Golden Age. They are sturdy and durable, and the structure is also quite sophisticated. But Lucille took a lot of notes along the way.

In the wild age of technology, many flashes of inspiration were not recorded. This does not mean that these flashes of inspiration were not good, but simply that history did not choose to remember them.

What Kulusier did was to collect the flashes of inspiration from these craftsmen and select the best parts from them through the eyes of modern engineers. The entire Londinium is simply a sophisticated big toy for engineers.

To use Gundam as an analogy, it is like when I am used to playing HG, and suddenly after seeing the details of the Disassembled Craftsman Machine, I deeply feel the simplicity of HG.

Probably no one could understand how touched Kulusier was right now.

"Who is it?!" After the isolation gate was opened, the resistance soldier in charge of guarding the gate immediately raised his weapon with sharp eyes, but from his clothes, it could be seen that he was just a civilian who was forced to take up arms.

"Old Bill, it's me. I'm back." Fester said quickly. As the team leader, he still had some face here.

Seeing Fester's face, Old Bill finally put down his weapon.

"So it's you, kid. I just saw Luo Luo. Didn't you two go on a mission together?"

"Uh, she came back early for something." Fester felt that it was a bit difficult to explain. He couldn't just say that they had quarreled again, right?

—Wait a minute, they usually quarrel a lot...

"These people you brought...wait, Sarkaz?!" Bill examined the people Fester brought with him and instantly became alert. After all, everyone was allergic to Sarkaz.

"Don't, don't, don't do it—" Fester quickly grabbed Old Bill, "They might be the ones the commander is waiting for!"

"...Isn't the commander waiting for help? If it's help, why are they a bunch of demons?" As soon as Old Bill said the word "demons", Lucille didn't show any anger yet, but Amiya was a little dissatisfied.

However, the doctor on the side held her back and asked her to wait and see what happened. After all, this was someone else's territory, so it would be better not to speak carelessly.

"Old Bill, please spare me. Where is the commander? I'll go see her right away." Fester finally explained that this group of people were harmless and that the name of Rhodes Island played a role.

"..."

"Please, do me a favor. Do you think there's any chance I could be a traitor?"

"...Not really. Everyone here treats you like a brother in the family."

"Lolo asked you to stay here, right? Call a few more people and take us with you."

"...Okay, I'll listen to you." Bill's vigilance remained undimmed; his trust in Fester simply prevailed. Lucille felt like he might give her a good smack at any moment.

Alas, there is really nothing to defend this time. What the Sarkaz of Tracys did here makes it reasonable for them to hate me.

"As for you, don't even think about doing anything rash. We'll keep an eye on you, Sarkaz."

Klushier shrank her head. After the excitement of looking at the pipeline had passed, she finally felt the pressure from others.

"Uh...Amiya, it seems like we're more unwelcome than ever."

"I feel the same way, but... let's just take it one step at a time. This mission is much more difficult than I imagined."

Chapter 34: The Demon King

"I'm sorry, everyone's been a little jumpy lately. Believe me, they're usually pretty easy to talk to." Seeing what happened to Amiya and the others, Fester could only sheepishly apologize on their behalf. "Everything will definitely get better once the commander gives the order. Come with me, they're having a meeting right up front."

Amiya and the others had no objections. It was rather that they had already prepared themselves mentally before coming to Londinium.

But before they got close to the meeting room, they heard a violent argument.

"Didn't you hear? They bombarded the entrances and exits with city defense cannons! We can't stay here any longer! The risk is too great!" One of the voices sounded a little anxious, as if he was going to overturn the table and leave in the next second. It seemed that the news of the Sarkaz using city defense cannons had spread here and caused many people to feel uneasy.

After all, no matter how complicated the pipeline system is, it will be easily wiped out in front of the city defense artillery.

"But if we leave the Sadien area, it will be difficult for us to come back to rescue people." A gentle female voice sounded, seeming to hold an opposing opinion.

"I want to save them, too. Do you think I don't? But do you know where our people are being held? Do we want our soldiers to go to the Sarkaz and search room by room?" The man's voice clearly still couldn't understand. After all, in front of the city defense artillery, or in the face of survival, other people's lives really weren't that important. "To save others, you have to ensure your own survival first, right?"

"Fester and Lolo have been trying to gather information." The gentle voice seemed to believe that Fester and Lolo would bring good news. "Wait a moment, we can't abandon our comrades."

"Too slow! The situation has changed. The base we built with great difficulty may be blown to pieces by the Sarkaz at any time!" The man's voice was obviously not a determined person. He was just worried that the base would be directly destroyed by artillery fire, making all his efforts come to nothing.

This was not the first time they had been besieged by the Sarkaz during this period. Their base had never been exposed, allowing them to survive to this day thanks to their understanding of the pipeline. Could it be that this was because the Sarkaz were unable to find their base?

No, it's not worth it.

It is not cost-effective to launch a search for this group of rebels with limited destructive power.

But now that there are more cost-effective and efficient options, it is hard not to believe that the Sarkaz will directly start to bombard the city defense artillery. What base is there? It is really like paper in front of the city defense artillery.

Generally, the Sarkaz call it efficient—

"The base is dead, but people are alive." However, the person who held the opposing view was of course aware of his concerns. She also understood that this place was no longer safe. But she still insisted on her own idea.

"That's easy to say! Anyway, the people who built this place bit by bit weren't businessmen like you!"

This quarrel was accidentally heard by Amiya and others who had just arrived here, "Did we come at the wrong time?"

"Disputes of this magnitude are common here. It's okay, Commander, I won't mind." Fester waved his hand, signaling that Rhodes Island and the others didn't need to worry. "Our team has very different backgrounds, and sometimes we disagree, but we all have a common purpose."

"And no matter how much the argument gets, as long as the Commander is there, there will always be a resolution," Fester added. "The Commander is like a stabilizing force."