Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"Oh..." It seemed that this was not a good topic. The young village chief tried to find other topics awkwardly, but he couldn't find any. Fortunately, Skadi was also a taciturn person. The two looked at each other in silence for a long time. Fortunately, Noah seemed to notice the awkward situation here. He came over and took Skadi away on the pretext of having something to do. But Kolor looked at Skadi in amazement as she was taken away obediently. She even looked quite happy. She couldn't help but have some new guesses about the relationship between the two.

Of course, Skadi had no idea what Carol was thinking. Even if she knew, she would probably just smile. After all, to Skadi, Noah was truly a special person. Putting aside the memory loss, the fact that Noah was still willing to be her partner even when she was feeling the most down was enough to move her.

Noah brought Skadi to the temporary base that had just been cleaned up. The place that Lol arranged for them was quite large. These houses had no owners, so they could be transformed at will. The Rhodes Island operators in the engineering department had already started working enthusiastically. At this time, Noah always thought of Maria. If she were here, she would probably be as enthusiastic as them. It was a pity that Maria and the others should be in the Grand Knight's territory now. After all, her status was different now. She was now the young director of the Howling Guards, and there was no need for her to prepare a new workshop for her. She was now an independent person.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s homesick, but Noah has felt like he’s in another world since he set foot on the land of Casimir.

It's only been over a year since I left here, but it feels like a long, long time has passed...

Margaret, Maria, Zofia, Mainna... they have long been his family. Except for Mainna, who he met a few days ago, it seems that he has not seen the others for a long time.

But... maybe even people can't stand the nagging. Noah had just walked into the house, and before she could react, a pair of hands suddenly attacked from behind and covered her glasses.

"Guess who I am?!"

"...Maria?" Noah could say at first that he had let down his guard because he was a little sad, but when the other person's hands covered his eyes, there was no need to guess at the familiar smell. This smell definitely belonged to Maria, similar to a mixture of motor oil and perfume. This smell was definitely only possessed by Maria. As a result, she was exposed all of a sudden, and Maria was a little dissatisfied.

"Guessing so quickly is pointless..." Maria was dissatisfied, but also somewhat relieved. Noya knew it was her without even thinking. If she wasn't familiar with her, she wouldn't have guessed it so quickly. This shows how important she is to Noya. As expected of her, she could accurately guess her identity even after being away for so long. "I came all this way here, and luckily someone tipped me off. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know you were here."

"Tip it off? Who?"

"Keep it a secret~" Maria smiled and hugged her sister Noya, almost greedily breathing in the air that smelled of Noya. The familiar feeling returned, as if they had never been apart for such a long time. "I missed you so much, sister Noya."

"Me too..." Noah wondered how Maria had suddenly changed from a promising young director back to her pitiful little Pegasus, but she was very happy. After all, this was the little Maria she was familiar with, the one she regarded as her own sister. To her, Noah had almost infinite tenderness and tolerance. As the saying goes, children who act like spoiled children have the best life, and Maria was definitely a master who knew how to act like a spoiled child to her sister Noah.

At the beginning, Noah really followed Maria's lead in everything. She did whatever she wanted. She even sponsored her participation in the knight competition and spent a lot of money on it.

Compared to Margaret, Noah is more like her real sister.

But Noah quickly came to his senses. Since Maria had come over, there was no reason for Margaret not to have heard the news... Could it be?

"...Where is Margaret?"

"Sister, can you not be so clever? There's no surprise at all." Maria's face fell. "I clearly promised to give you a surprise, but you guessed it. Now the surprise is gone. Sigh..."

"I'm so familiar with you. You couldn't have come here alone. If you were here, Margaret must be nearby." Noah reached out and pinched Maria's nose. "Don't I know your thoughts well?"

"Gu...wasn't this a surprise for you?" Maria's voice changed because her nose was pinched. "Sister is waiting for you in the room. Hey, if you had guessed it later, I could have had you all to myself for a while longer, Noah. Damn it."

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm really happy to see you." Noah smiled and let go of Maria's nose. "Skati, I'm sorry, I have to leave you for a while. Could you please stay with my troublesome sister for a while?"

"Hmm..." Skadi looked at Maria who was confused and nodded silently, "I understand."

"What do you mean by worrying? I'm obviously very obedient!" Maria retorted dissatisfiedly, "Aren't you just afraid that I'll ruin the atmosphere of your long-awaited reunion? Who cares?"

"Okay, okay, since you don't want it, just wait here obediently. Margaret and I have some things to discuss—" Noah said with a smile, "Also, Mace should be here soon. Just tell her I'm going to see Margaret. That's it. Bye~"

Noah smiled and waved to Maria and the others. Indeed, she wanted to see Margaret very much. She hadn't seen her childhood sweetheart for a long time. She pushed the door open impatiently. Before she could call out Margaret's name, she was pressed against the door panel by a force. When she looked up, she saw Margaret's slightly melancholy eyes, who seemed to have just taken off her armor and was only wearing a thin layer of clothes.

Her hand had naturally fallen on Noah's waist. Margaret was slightly taller than Noah, so she only needed to lower her head slightly to appreciate Noah's slightly panicked expression. Under normal circumstances, she would definitely not attack so suddenly, but at this moment, she seemed to be holding back a rage in her heart, a rage that she had never thought of... possessiveness. In fact, when she heard that Rhodes Island and Noah were going back to Casimir, she was very happy, so happy that she couldn't suppress the smile on the corner of her mouth. But when she heard that she didn't plan to return to the Great Knight Territory, but settled in the border village of Dishui, she seemed to immediately understand Noah's plan.

"I thought you would come to me first..." Margaret's voice seemed a little aggrieved. "You've already returned to Casimir, why didn't you just send someone to inform me?"

"...I'm not going back to the Grand Knight Territory..." Noya's heart was beating rapidly, and she subconsciously avoided Margaret's aggressive gaze. She rarely saw Margaret so aggressive, and her usual gentleness and proper manners seemed to have been thrown out of the window. "Besides, I'm here for a reason... It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just... there's really no need."

"No need..." Margaret's eyes darkened, "...Forget it, you must have your own ideas... No, I should understand your thoughts..."

Margaret reached out and cupped Noya's long white hair. "You just don't want to put more pressure on me, and then you're worried that I'll keep you...right?"

"..." Noah didn't say anything, but that was her tacit agreement. Margaret had guessed correctly. Although she was happy to see Margaret, she was also worried that Margaret would force her to stay, and then she would no longer be able to control the situation. She sighed softly, "Let's not talk about this, okay?"

"...Okay, I'll listen to you." Margaret let go of Noah. Because she had used too much force just now, Noah's clothes were wrinkled. Noah straightened his clothes and looked at Margaret with some complaints.

"Have you been secretly reading Maria's knight novels lately? I've always said that kind of behavior won't make girls happy."

"...No." Margaret was indeed holding back some anger at first, but after seeing Noah, the anger quickly disappeared, especially when she saw those melancholy and slightly angry eyes, she immediately surrendered. Alas, she still didn't want to force Noah, especially at this time. They finally met, why couldn't they be considerate of each other? Margaret was originally a gentle person. She retreated to a safe distance, like a child who had done something wrong. "It's been a long time since I last saw you. I really missed you."

"...Don't make me sound like a heartless person..." Noah curled her lips, "Don't learn from Maria. Her coquettishness works, but it won't work for you."

"That's not necessarily true." Margaret smiled. "Your heart must have been beating faster just now, right?"

"...I'm ignoring you now, okay?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong." Margaret apologized quickly, but she still wanted to stay by Noah's side, even if it was only for the time Noah was staying in Casimir. "I've already left my work to come to you. I'm sincere."

"What about work?"

"Uncle recently returned to Casimir." Margaret ruthlessly said that she had sold her uncle out, as if to show off. "So I can come out and see you now."

"...Uncle Manna will definitely come after you when the time comes. He hates working overtime." Noah couldn't help but feel that Margaret seemed to have changed a little, but he didn't know whether these changes were good or bad. "But...as I said before, I'm very happy to meet you, Margaret."

"Me too." Margaret also smiled. "Being able to stand with you is the greatest fortune for me."

Chapter 71: Bounty Hunter

Margaret's arrival had clearly caught Noya off guard, but she didn't mind her involvement. For one thing, the Kirilet and Linguang families had been close friends for generations, a relationship so intertwined they could almost be described as one in the other. Noya also had some Golden Pegasus bloodline. Technically, there might even be ancestors of the Linguang family buried in her family cemetery.

After meeting Margaret, she was in a good mood, but besides being happy, she also felt a little complicated... From Margaret's eyes, she could sense aggression, or rather... a kind of possessiveness.

It was difficult for her to understand why Margaret had such a so-called possessiveness towards her. She once thought that the person Margaret liked should be the Shining or the Nightingale. She had considered many possibilities, and of course she had also thought about herself, but at that time she was like a gambler, a gambler who was holding the rest of her life as a chip. She hoped to sacrifice herself in exchange for a better future. She hoped that Margaret could achieve great things, and Maria could become an engineer as she wished, and she also hoped that everyone around her could have their own happy ending.

At that time, these were the only things in her eyes. She worked tirelessly and stayed awake day and night, all for such a simple purpose. She planned everything and exiled herself from her hometown.

In a sense, all this can be considered as self-abandonment. At that time, she never thought that she could survive, let alone that she would end up in her current situation.

But when she calmed down, her actions in Casimir... instead seemed like a heavy black history, and she even felt a little suffocated...

Margaret... She had confessed her love to me, but at that time I didn't want to delay Margaret, and I also had some... Margaret didn't want to tie me to her side in this way so that I wouldn't give up hope or something.

The so-called girl's mind actually has much more to do than many people think. She has considered countless possibilities. When it comes to what kind of person Noah is, many people cannot come to a relatively unified conclusion, but... there is one thing that should be recognized.

Noah is someone who has a hard time thinking about himself.

In other words, a person who cares too much about others.

Perhaps this kind of altruist is too stupid in the eyes of many people, but Noah always maintains this habit, considering others first, considering others' future, considering his own behavior, but not considering his own interests.

Or rather... receiving gratitude from those who were helped was the happiest thing for her.

But... in front of Margaret, her theoretical cycle that had always been successful seemed to no longer hold true.

In other words, I am always helpless in front of her.

In those eyes that seem to be shining with stars, I can always easily break through my defenses... After all, that is what I have longed for since I was a child, the bright starlight.

Noah reached out and touched Margaret's cheek. Although such an action was somewhat abrupt and ambiguous, Margaret did not react at all and accepted Noah's touch quite calmly. She even reached out and held Noah in her arms. Noah did not resist, or there was no reason to resist. It was only when she was completely locked in Margaret's arms that she realized belatedly that she had just been in a trance. It seemed that she was thinking a lot, but also that she was thinking nothing.

But she did miss Margaret...she had to admit.

In that hug just now, she had to admit it.

"Noah, I..." Margaret closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the girl in her arms, "I love you."

"..."

Noah did not respond, and could not even say anything. Her little heart seemed to be filled with a passionate emotion called "I love you", so full that she was a little breathless.

However, Noah cannot accept this love.

"I'm sorry, Margaret."

Noah whispered, suppressing the sadness in her heart, and she slowly pushed Margaret away.

"I..." She just opened her mouth, wanting to explain everything about herself and the mace. She wanted to explain it clearly, to make Margaret understand her feelings. She repeatedly tried to formulate her words.

"I actually..."

"Hey! I forgot to prepare a stove for you. You need it to keep warm at night--"

Just as she was about to say it, the village chief, Carol, opened the door and walked into the room carrying a stove. However, as soon as Carol entered the room, she sensed something was wrong. She first looked at Margaret, then at Noah, who had just left Margaret's arms. She gasped, her mind racing. "Am I... coming at the wrong time?"

"...No, um...Thank you for the stove." Noah, for some reason, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and took the stove from Carol's hand. "Margaret is my childhood sweetheart. She came to catch up with me. There's no need to panic. She's here as a person, not on behalf of the Grand Knight."

"Is that so?" Koror's face remained smiling, but her back was already drenched in sweat. Had she stumbled into some strange, horrific situation? And this... Miss Margaret, wasn't that the Brilliant Knight of the Grand Knight Territory... the Two-time Champion? Why would this great god suddenly appear in tiny Dripping Water Village, and how could the village chief be completely unaware of it?

The knight novels she had read as a child came in handy at this time, and she quickly guessed some of the story plots through her imagination.

For example, Miss Noah, you can tell at first glance that she is from Casimir. She speaks fluent Casimir, is extremely beautiful, and has very decent manners. She is most likely a noble lady. And Margaret - Miss Margaret is a real knight noble, the kind with a title. So, this is most likely a romantic story between a noble lady who ran away from her family and her childhood sweetheart, the guardian knight!

I never thought…the scripts written by those playwrights would actually happen! Scriptwriters! It’s truly terrifying!

But wasn't it a bit unnecessary for a mere Dishui Village Chief to get involved in the feuds and hatreds of the Casimir upper echelons? Although she was very excited and wanted to know the consequences and the truth, for the sake of her own life, Miss Chloe, the Dishui Village Chief, decided to play her supporting role and pretend to be as calm as possible. "Well, I didn't see anything. Miss Noya and the knight who looks very much like Miss Margaret, you guys continue. I'm going to deliver lights to the other rooms."

Carol walked out of the room backwards carefully, closed the door on her own initiative under the awkward gazes of the two men, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"...Huh... I'm so scared..." She was genuinely scared. She never expected to see Lady Margaret in such a place. You know, Lady Margaret is a spiritual idol-level existence in the entire Casimir. It is no exaggeration to say that if Miss Margaret were to hold a book signing event, the people queuing up could stretch from the Grand Knight's Territory to the Dripping Water Village. This is Margaret's popularity in Casimir.

This figure enjoyed genuine support from the common people and the knights. Aside from the merchants, who might not like her, Margaret received unprecedented attention and support. It was rumored that Margaret was very likely to take over as the leader of the Knights of the Expedition. If nothing unexpected happened... she would likely become the true leader of Casimir in the future. This was not someone a small village chief could afford to offend.

It's just that Miss Noya... Miss Noya seems quite familiar... Who is she...

Carol, who was far away from the real capital's business district, did not have a deep impression of Noah, but she knew that people who could be related to Margaret were mostly extraordinary people.

As the mayor of tiny Dishui Village, she was afraid her bones would be chewed to pieces if she got involved. Dishui Village suited her best; there weren't any complicated issues. Ke Luoer finally escaped the Shura Field and instantly felt how beautiful the world was. The air was so fresh, even walking felt a lot easier. Sometimes people are just mean. After relaxing, Ke Luoer began to wonder what exactly happened between these bigwigs, but she didn't have the courage to go back and eavesdrop, so she could only imagine it in her mind.

For example, Margaret and Miss Noah were childhood sweethearts, but they were actually destined to be together for life early on, but their elders on both sides disagreed because they were both girls. This type of story is actually quite common. Generally, the old-fashioned elder is the boss, and the knight becomes successful, but the eldest lady runs away from the family. After the eldest lady returns from traveling to Terra, Margaret hears about Miss Noah's return and immediately gives up everything to pursue her true love.

Congratulations! Congratulations!

Or maybe - in fact, these two were originally a perfect couple, but there was a conflict of ideas between Miss Noah and Miss Margaret. Although they truly loved each other, they had opposite ideas. Love and hate were intertwined, which led to Miss Noah escaping from the marriage with the Knight Margaret before entering the marriage hall. However, although Margaret and Miss Noah had different ideas, they also loved each other sincerely, so they both gave up their positions and families and fled here together - about to embark on a new life.

Yes, yes, that’s the taste.

The young village chief walked forward while grinning foolishly at the story he had made up in his mind. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, with two moons hanging in the sky. By this time, almost everyone in Dishui Village had gone back to their houses to sleep. There was not much entertainment in the countryside. Most people were farmers who worked hard in the fields, from sunrise to sunset. Even though they had undergone a wave of development and had escaped poverty, these farmers did not have much ambition.

Dishui Village is on the border of Casimir. Few people come here. Apart from the tax collectors, there are probably only some passing travelers left.

The village chief, Chloë, didn't actually think that having so many people disturbing the village was a good thing. After all, those bounty hunters had left a bad impression on her. But she also knew that the village couldn't remain closed forever. Rhodes Island's arrival was an opportunity and hope. If she wanted to continue to ensure the villagers' peace and prosperity, she must seize this opportunity. However, while the village chief's intentions were pure and positive, that didn't mean everyone would share the same view...

Before the village chief had gone far, a chilly wind blew past, and Korra felt a chill run down her spine. She subconsciously looked toward the wheat fields nearby. Under the night sky, the wheat fields were completely silent, without even the sound of insects...

Huh? Why isn't there even a chirping sound?

Just as Carol reacted, several shadows rushed out from the wheat field, covered her mouth, and then raised their hands and feet to kidnap her.

With such professionalism, even if a real kidnapper came, he would probably be stunned for a few seconds.

Carol had never encountered such a thing before, and she immediately wanted to struggle and call for help. Unfortunately, she was just an ordinary little girl, and with her mouth covered, she couldn't make any sound. The mysterious man in black who had captured Carol also lowered his voice and warned, "Hush, we just have some questions for you. If you behave, we won't kill you."

"Wuwuwuwu..." (How can I answer the question if you cover your mouth?)

"…What is she talking about?"

"I don't know. Don't you know lip reading?"

"You covered her fucking mouth. How can I read her lips? Are you stupid?"

"Oh, yes, yes, my mouth is blocked and I can't say anything back."

Although the two men in black spoke fluently, after this conversation, Luo Luo even had the illusion of listening to a crosstalk performance. She was led to a deserted area with a confused look on her face. The two men in black finally let go of her mouth. She didn't dare to shout, so she could only say, "What are you doing, my two heroes? I'm just the village chief of a small village. I don't have much money or anything."

"Who wants to kidnap you? I'm here to ask you, I heard that Noah Kyrielight has come to your village, is this true?"

"..." The village chief was stunned. "...The Noah Kyrielight you mentioned... Is she powerful?"

"It's not a question of whether she's powerful or not... No, you're changing the subject. Tell me! Is she in your village?"

The man in black was about to respond when he realized the village chief was trying to change the subject. He grabbed the village chief's neck fiercely and threatened, "If you don't tell me, I will..."

"...No...No...I'm just a small village chief. Did I provoke you..."

"Alright, alright, don't worry. We're civilized people. We just want to know Miss Noya's exact address and her security details." The man in black, who seemed more approachable than the impatient one, finally spoke up. "You know, we bounty hunters are all about the money. We wouldn't kill unless we had to."

Bounty hunter... Why another bounty hunter...

The young village chief was in tears. Was he destined to fight a bounty hunter in this life?

Chapter 72: Famous Double Standards

To be precise, when Noah entered the country, some people had already set their sights on him.

Although Rhodes Island concealed Noah's identity, the bounty hunters' spies still noticed Noah's existence, and this information unexpectedly spread very widely in the bounty hunter circle, as if someone deliberately spread this information. However, most bounty hunters naturally could not resist this temptation. Noah Kyrielight, Casimir's wanted criminal, and because of his special identity and status, he has always been among the top bounties in the bounty hunter circle.

Previously, Noah had attracted considerable attention simply because he was both a businessman and a descendant of the declining Kirilet family. Now, it was due to Casimir's bounty and a legend among bounty hunters. The origin of this legend is unknown, but its content has led many bounty hunters to take risks. The story is that Noah had accumulated such a huge fortune in such a short time because her family had a hidden treasure. Although Noah seemed to be stirring up trouble in the business world, in reality, all she did was launder the family treasure through legal means.

Although such legends are widely circulated, most of the bounty hunters who dared to deal with Noah Kyrielight were basically beaten by his guards and became unable to take care of themselves. In addition, after being wanted by Casimir, there was no news of Noah Kyrielight for a long time. When Noah appeared again, he became the acting general manager of Columbia Rhine Life. Naturally, the bounty hunters did not dare to act against the general manager of Rhine Life, but they soon learned that Noah had resigned as general manager and disappeared again.

This time he disappeared for a long time, and when he appeared again, Noah Kyrielet had become Agor's messenger.

Honestly, by this point, most bounty hunters had given up on Noya. No matter how much money they had, they couldn't really go against someone like that; it would be sheer desperation. But after the highest-ranking members of this industry had largely given up on Noya's pursuit, the newcomers were different. They were astonished to discover that a young woman, labeled disabled (no word of Noya's recovery hadn't spread widely), without a family to protect her, was actually worth so much. Coupled with the legends surrounding Noya, and the news of her arrival in Casimir, a small number of bounty hunters felt they had struck it rich.

As a result, the small Dishui Village naturally welcomed another wave of bounty hunters.

"Hey...Brother, do you think we'll run into a lot of fellow travelers? I heard the No-Horn Alliance is offering quite a lot of bounties..."