Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Noah handed W an address and said, "You can meet... my other self over there. We can act separately and each understand the other's purpose. Besides, Amiya must miss you too."

"...Mind your own business." W rolled his eyes as he took the address from Noya. "Are you planning on climbing up the ladder step by step like this?"

"...I was planning to do this at first, but since Mr. Hedley is one of us..." Noah paused, "I think I can come up with a faster way."

"Hedley won't easily believe that you're one of his own." W warned, "Be careful of being sold out."

"...I know my limits." Noah took a deep breath. "So, Miss W, what are you going to do next?"

"Disarm the mines around your camp."

"……what?"

"I was planning to blow you up if you were really from the Sarkaz side," W said matter-of-factly, "but it seems you still have value in life."

"...So what I heard earlier was the sound of you installing mines." Noah was speechless. "How many did you install?"

"That's enough for the entire camp to take off." W said with a smile, "Why? Want to see a fireworks show?"

"...Your fireworks display is too grand. I can't bear it." Noah took a deep breath. "I hope you have fun defusing the mines. Also, remember to contact Mr. Hedley as soon as possible. I think you two should be old acquaintances."

"More than that, we are—" W counted on his fingers, "Anyway, we have known each other for a long time."

"That's good... maybe it will be helpful for me to connect with Mr. Hedley." Noah nodded. "Speaking of which, do you have any token, or something that can make Hedley trust me?"

"This... is real." W scratched his head, clapped his hands, and gave Noah a small... potato.

"……This is?"

"Potato."

"what?"

"Anyway, if you show this potato to Hedley, he should be able to confirm that you and I are related." W didn't explain too much and just raised a thumbs up. "Believe it or not."

"...I...I'll give it a try." Noya was uneasy, even suspecting the potato was actually a bomb. But she decided not to overthink it and hid it close to her body, lest her teammates mistake it for a real potato and cook and eat it. "Miss W, I wish you a safe trip...and don't forget to defuse the bomb."

"I'll never forget it." W smiled and left the tent. "Kid, if you have any information, tell me!"

"I understand." Dealing with W felt like chatting with a flammable and explosive bomb. It felt like he could be physically blown up to the sky at any second. Noah calmed down and went back to his tent.

Although there was a small episode, at least he knew that his allies in the city did exist.

W who likes playing with bombs, and Mr. Hedley who has been confirmed to be one of our own, it seems that the Sarkaz have also been infiltrated... I wonder if the Sarkaz commander would faint from anger if he knew about this.

Noah remembered that the Sarkaz commander Manfred and Hedley had a very good relationship, even close friends. If she knew that Hedley was actually a traitor to Rhodes Island, she would probably be devastated.

Well, it’s just my own little arrangement. Noah closed his eyes and entered standby mode again.

Noah fell asleep, but W couldn't sleep. To be honest, when she heard that Hedley had joined the Military Membership Association and killed Inès as a token of his loyalty, her first reaction was disbelief, but her second reaction was... if he really did that, then Hedley could just wait to be hunted down by her.

But after learning from Noya that Inès might have faked her death, she seemed to have returned to - haha, I knew Hedley's mentality of not wanting to kill Inès.

But the joy didn't last long before I heard the news about Theresa...

Theresa... Her Highness...

Tracy, how dare you! Whether it was creating a fake, manipulating Her Highness's corpse, or even truly resurrecting Theresa... no matter which possibility, it would be enough to become Tracy's death star.

"...Your Highness..." W lowered her eyes. No one knew, and no one would know - how sad she was.

Chapter 44: Stripping

Regardless of W's thoughts, Noah had finally found a way to connect with Hedley. Although such a connection was fraught with danger, even if the other party was truly a spy, after such a long period of lurking, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't have other intentions. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and double agents were not uncommon on Terra.

Not to mention double agents, triple agents, and even quadruple agents are not uncommon.

It's more rare for someone in this profession to stay clean. But to be fair, Noah is definitely not discriminating against the position of spy.

After all, Noah is now a spy, he can't even scold himself.

But it's always better to be cautious. Noah decided to test it out first, and he had a ready reason.

It’s about time to return the books I borrowed before.

"Captain Hedley, I have read all these books and benefited a lot from them." After Noah handed the book to Hedley, he looked up to observe his reaction, but the other party did not seem to care about it. He just hummed and continued reading his book.

This Mr. Spy is so calm that it's scary... Although Noah felt that her behavior might be somewhat presumptuous, she still took the initiative to ask.

"Was Mr. Hedley also a mercenary in the past?"

"I guess so." Hedley did not hide his past intentions, "Mercenaries are the fate of most Sarkaz. This is not surprising. I am the same."

"I'm a bit special. I haven't been a mercenary for long, so I'm curious about the life of a seasoned mercenary." Noah started with her mercenary career, trying to find out something, but soon, Hedley gave her an answer that she didn't expect.

"Life? It's betrayal and the next betrayal." Hedley responded, "As a mercenary, my job is to maximize my profits through betrayal. That's what a mercenary is. How is that? Does this answer satisfy you?"

"...It's a bit blunt, but I understand." Noah originally thought that he could find out something, but the other party's answer turned out to be the truth... and it couldn't be more sincere.

The life of a mercenary may sound simple, but in reality it is something that most mercenaries have never figured out in their entire lives.

It is no exaggeration to say that among the Sarkaz mercenaries, the best ones do not have a bad life, and can even be called comfortable, but most of the Sarkaz mercenaries really live on the edge of a knife.

Not only are they living on the edge of a knife, most Sarkaz mercenaries have no way of deciding their own fate and may even die at the hands of another Sarkaz mercenary.

The shadow of death is a threat that accompanies mercenaries throughout their lives. Only one in ten Sarkaz mercenaries can survive to a good end, and it is almost impossible for them to retire.

This is the Sarkaz mercenary——

And Hedley was the one who came back from such a hell, and paid the price of an eye.

"You are lucky not to have entered the world of mercenaries. Now you have the opportunity to serve the Sarkaz. You should cherish it." Hedley closed the book and said as if giving instructions, "Also, there are not many Sarkaz willing to read books now. If you need, I am willing to lend you other books."

"...Thank you for your attention." Noah didn't expect that he would be lectured instead.

But the other party did not lie. It was very difficult to tell lies in front of her. She was very familiar with the feeling of guilt, but that was where the problem lay.

She is good at getting the truth out of lies, but what if the other person is telling the truth?

Temptation? Who is testing whom?

Noah shook his head. The other party was clearly more cautious than he had imagined, even prepared for every possible scenario. Not only had his probing been recorded, but it was likely all true.

It is very difficult for me to find some unreasonable entry point. Unless I am very shameless and directly invade the other party's emotions, I probably won't be able to find the other party's flaws.

Noah could only sigh. If he met someone of this level, he would have to admit defeat.

Yes, he must be quite capable to have managed to stay in the Sarkaz Military Council until now.

"...Actually, when I was a mercenary, I met a friend... who couldn't really be considered a friend. She gave me something and told me to give it to you if I saw you." Noah could only take out the potato that W had given him from his pocket.

When Noah took out the potato, Hedley didn't react much. He just nodded, took it, and rubbed the dirt off it with his fingers.

As the soil peeled off, the corners of Hedley's mouth slightly raised.

Obviously, he already knew the secret code that only he, W and Inès could understand.

"...This is not the time to talk. Come inside first." Hedley looked around and motioned Noah to follow him. After entering the inner room, he asked, "Who do you pledge allegiance to?"

"...I can't say I'm loyal. But I have a good relationship with the little rabbit from Rhodes Island. For the time being, I'm considered a member of Rhodes Island." Noa shook her head. "Currently, as a friend and as an operator of Rhodes Island, I'm helping her with some intelligence work."

"I see. Then what kind of information do you want? And what is your purpose?" Hedley nodded. After learning that the other party was connected to W, he also dropped his disguise. On the surface, there seemed to be no change. But emotionally... he felt much more relaxed.

"My goal... is to get in touch with Manfred, and later, Tracy, or rather..."

"Theresa." When Hedley said this name, the air in the room seemed to get a little colder, as if the mention of this name itself was enough to make the air freeze.

"Right..." Noah nodded. "So, is that really the resurrected Theresa?" Noah asked, but Hedley did not give a direct answer.

"I only saw Her Majesty once from a distance. I can't be sure that she is the Theresa..." Hedley shook his head. "Manfred told me that it was Theresa, but I still can't be sure of the answer."

"...Theresa is dead, that's the information I got. Or is there something else going on?" Noah asked doubtfully, "Can the dead really be resurrected in this world?"

“…I can’t answer that question, but what I can tell you is that Theresa did die in the past. She is no longer the same person she was before.”

Hedley's words were somewhat heavy, but they also revealed a message.

——There might really be a way in this world to bring the dead back to life.

If there really was a way to resurrect the dead...if it were really possible...

Then my own parents... my own grandfather... my own home...

Noah really wanted to grab Hedley's collar and interrogate him, but she quickly came to her senses. Reversing life and death is not an easy task, and it may even lead to worse consequences.

But...how could she not think about it?

If she could reverse life and death, then she wouldn't have to worry about the pain caused by the mineralogy.

Taking a deep breath, Noah forced himself to calm down. "I understand. This information is very important. I will pass it on to the doctor and the others as soon as possible."

But perhaps because her emotions had just fluctuated too much, she started to have a headache again.

If Amiya were here, she would definitely feel Noah's emotions going up and down like a roller coaster. Such intense emotional fluctuations were rarely shown by Noah in the past.

Fortunately, she calmed down, and at this moment, her consciousness suddenly became blurred. Then when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the ancient black gold palace.

This was the first time she contacted this ancient temple after she fell into a coma in Rhodes Island, and this time, the one who appeared before her was still the old Herhunzoren.

This time, he effortlessly composed a complex magical melody, and the entire sky was flashing for him. The amount of information contained in this complex melody was enough to make people dizzy even at a glance.

“…Teacher, what on earth are you…”

"Shh..." Helhunzollen raised a finger. "Now is your only chance. Listen to your inner voice, find the noise, and remove her."

"Noise?" Noah was stunned for a moment, but still closed her eyes as Herhunzollon instructed. This time, with Herhunzollon's help, she really felt that there was a part of her emotions that did not belong to her - a strange will.

This will did not forcibly change her consciousness, which would obviously be discovered by herself. She was just changing herself little by little imperceptibly.

Just like a silkworm will actively build a cocoon for itself to facilitate its metamorphosis, this strange will is gradually allowing its own will to be manipulated and influenced by the construction of the cocoon.

This method is much more advanced than one's own spiritual seeds, and it can even reach a terrifying level.

Noah started to break out in cold sweats just by realizing how many times this thing had affected her during this period of time. In other words, it was not Helhunzolan who took the initiative to cut off her connection before.

Instead, it was this will that forcibly isolated Herhunzollon, preventing his teacher from telling him the fact that he was being influenced.

If it weren't for this emotional fluctuation, Herhunzollon would probably need some time to forcibly pull his disciples into his own space.

But when Noya tried to start peeling it off, she felt the stubbornness of this emotion, like a maggot on the tarsal bone, which was difficult to remove even with the help of Herhunzollon.

Rather, if it were not for Herhunzollon's unprecedented talent in magic, it would be almost impossible to construct this space that could temporarily isolate the other party's will.

In other words, only in the Ancient Black Gold Palace could Herhunzollon do it.

There is no common sense in this space, and almost everything can change according to one's will. In a sense, anything can happen in this black box-like space.

It was precisely because of this that the Witch King used his own power to construct this dazzlingly complex sorcery to forcibly help his disciples fight against the terrifying will of the Originium. His technique was almost perfect, but it was still not enough. In the face of the will of the Originium, it was impossible to completely isolate themselves.

So now, he is buying time for Noah——

"Play your music, use everything you have to play the nameless harp--" Herhunzollon's words finally made Noah wake up. If his strength was not enough to strip away this strange will, then he could only seek another way, playing the nameless harp.

Play—play with all you have…

Noah was terrified and angry that this will had always resided in his body and was even influencing him in order to take away his own independent will.

If you really don't notice anything, will you still be yourself after the other party succeeds?

Will Noya eventually become the shell of some monster? Will she, having acquired all of his memories and emotions, completely replace his existence?

Noah began to tremble all over just by imagining it.

Replaced, devoured, completely transformed into someone else.

And this fear guided her fingers as she played on the nameless harp. The keys were trembling, and Noah could feel that the will of the source stone rooted in her body began to struggle and resist. However, she had been stripped of her main body by the magic of the Witch King and was nothing but rootless water. After all, she could not resist the power of the nameless harp and was pulled out of her body bit by bit. The nameless harp was like a greedy glutton, taking this will into its body, making a creaking sound that made one's teeth ache.

Noah was sweating all over. When her will was stripped away, she felt as if she was being tortured. The pain came from the bottom of her heart.

And when everything was settled, her hand finally slipped off the nameless harp. She really had no strength left.

"This is only temporary. I've isolated your mind from the outside world, so you can do this now—"

The Witch King's voice was very soft, and he was being pulled by countless silk threads, as if sitting on a golden throne. The will that had been stripped away was suppressed under his throne.

Although he didn't say it out loud, his actions proved everything. As a teacher, he would help his student suppress this will that she couldn't resist yet, until her growth was strong enough to resist this will.

"……teacher……"

"Go." Before Noya could even begin to speak, the Witch King's commanding voice ushered her out of the Black Gold Temple. As the door closed, a dark-haired woman in a researcher's coat appeared before the Witch King. The two stared at each other for a long moment, before the dark-haired woman, a faint smile on her face, vanished.

She doesn't care.

What she wanted, fell into her hands—always.