Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

Marna looked around, trying to search her memory.

After a moment, he locked onto the direction again and breathed a slight sigh of relief:

"We have entered the territory of Tsvonek. There is a village ahead. We can go there to purchase some supplies."

"Wuhu, the hard times are finally coming to an end!" Qi Yan cheered.

“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have had to suffer like this, nor would we have been delayed for so long,” Marna added mercilessly.

Qi Yan's cheers faltered for a moment. He scratched his head and gave a dry laugh, explaining:

"The meaning of a journey is not the destination, but the journey itself..."

"I'm not here as a tourist."

Marna directly shut down Qi Yan's sophistry.

Qi Yan: "..."

He smacked his lips, his ears and tail drooped down, and he obediently followed Marna, traveling quietly.

As it turns out, Marner's navigation skills are beyond question.

Soon a village came into view, along with a group of knights in armor.

“They are war knights.” Marna said with some doubt, “Why would they appear outside a village in the wilderness?”

"To protect the village and drive away the bandits," Qi Yan said casually.

Marna had intended to make a sarcastic remark, but then he remembered his position and the presence of a friend, and he readily accepted Qi Yan's answer.

The two men made no attempt to conceal their presence and were quickly discovered by the patrolling knights.

The knights changed direction and rushed towards the two.

Upon approaching, the leader of the knights clearly recognized Marna and suddenly quickened his pace, rushing to her side.

A slightly surprised voice came from under the knight's helmet.

Marner nodded: "Chesper, long time no see."

The knight removed his helmet, revealing a handsome face. His black hair was slightly disheveled from the action of removing the helmet, but it still could not hide the determination and heroic spirit in his eyes.

Chesper looked Marner up and down a few times, then smiled.

"I never expected to see you here. I've heard about the Grand Knights' territory, so... I suppose the person next to you must be Mr. Qi Yan."

"Hello, hello, I've heard so much about you." Qi Yan rubbed his hands together and stepped forward to shake hands with Chesper. "Mr. Chesper, the black spear that can shatter starlight, the knight who charges against natural disasters, the commander of the Knights of Conquest, you are much more handsome in person than in photos."

Chesper was clearly a little dazed, and a little ashamed of those two ridiculously childish nicknames.

“I never expected that someone as insignificant as myself would be known by Mr. Qi Yan.” Chesper chuckled twice, then looked at Marner. “I thought you would head north, so I’m quite surprised to see you here.”

However, we'll have to wait for another opportunity to catch up; I've been incredibly busy lately.

"Because of the war?"

“Well, but we were just caught up in it.” Chesper smiled bitterly. “Because war might break out, and this place is on the border, the people are in a state of panic, and some unscrupulous people are acting recklessly.”

As a knight-errant, I cannot turn a blind eye to this.

Qi Yan chimed in with a grin:

"Do you need help?"

“…If possible, I actually hope that the two of you will not get involved,” Chesper said earnestly.

"I have no objection, the key point is my uncle's attitude."

Chesper was taken aback by Qi Yan's way of addressing Marner.

Marner was too exhausted to argue anymore. She pursed her lips and said calmly:

"I try my best."

Despite receiving an ambiguous answer, Chesper seemed quite pleased:

"You seem to have turned back into the same wandering knight you used to be. If something happens, I think you will definitely stand on the side of justice."

Maena: "..."

Seeing his silence, Chesper touched his nose and turned to look at his fellow knights who had followed.

"Let's stop this small talk for now." He put his helmet back on. "Judging from your direction, your destination should be Tsvonek. I hope we'll have a chance to meet in the city and catch up then."

After saying this, the leader of the conquering knights turned around cleanly and led his troops away.

Marner turned to look at Qi Yan, frowning as she said:

“They’ve already gone quite a distance. What are you still looking at? You seem quite interested in Chesper?”

“Uncle, what you said is ambiguous.” Qi Yan spread his hands. “I was just judging this guy’s attitude toward the current situation in Kazimir.”

These words made Marner frown even more.

Qi Yan did not continue the topic, but started walking towards the village.

Upon arriving at the village entrance, before the two even entered the village, an old man came to greet them.

The old man's eyes, as he looked at Marna, clearly held a mixture of reminiscence and joy at their reunion.

"Sir, I never expected to see you again. Are you embarking on your chivalrous journey once more, just like back then?"

“No, I’m just here to find someone, two golden-robed knights of conquest,” Marna asked. “Have you seen them?”

The old man shook his head: "Most of the knights who have appeared in recent years are armed with silver spears and silver armor. Are there any other distinguishing features?"

"No need. Anyone who has met them will remember them well, and there's no need for further description." Marna wasn't disappointed; she simply ended the topic casually.

The old man seemed a little regretful that he hadn't been able to help much.

He straightened his clothes and said warmly:

"In any case, I am happy to see you again. I have nothing to offer, but I would be honored if you would accept a cup of hot tea."

Over the years, I have always remembered your kindness.

Maena: "..."

Seeing Marner's expression, the old man suddenly understood and explained:

"It seems you don't remember me. I am actually a Letanian. Back then, in the group of refugees you rescued and led, everyone else called each other in the regional dialect of Kazimir, but I couldn't. You saw my predicament but didn't point it out, instead tacitly allowing my existence."

"Ha, you don't remember anything I said, and you weren't surprised when you were recognized... It must be because you've saved many people like that."

Marna carefully examined the old man.

The old man wore a peasant-style hat, but his exposed hair was already as white as frost. Although he claimed to be a Letanian, no Caprini or Erafia horns could be seen on his head.

Noticing Marner's gaze, the old man touched his hat and explained:

"To disguise myself, I had long ago cut off my horns and gotten used to living like Kuranta. Back then, under the rule of that king, I was forced to flee to this foreign land. I thought that king's magic would forever relentlessly pursue me..."

But now, I, a schoolteacher with no physical strength, have lived peacefully in this small village for over twenty years.

As Qi Yan listened to the old man's rambling, he stroked his chin and silently called upon the Witch King to come out and greet the old man.

The Witch King merely responded with a cold snort.

This left Qi Yan somewhat disappointed.

Marna and the old man had no idea that they had just narrowly escaped a huge scare.

After listening to the old man's story, Marna noticed a notice in the old man's hand that he was about to post.

"Do you need any help?" Marna asked.

“No need, this is just a simple safety notice,” the old man explained. “A knight came specifically to warn us to be careful of the thieves who have been roaming around lately, but in a remote village like ours, even if we were to be robbed, who would care?”

The fact that the knights were so solemn made me feel uneasy.

In recent years, the behavior of the War Knights has become increasingly strange, and I understand it less and less. They've actually started to care about the lives of ordinary people.

“Nothing strange about it, it’s what he should do.” Marner clearly had great trust in Chesper’s character.

The old man nodded, offering no further comment on the topic.

Just then, a lively girl from the village came running towards them. When she got close, she noticed Marna and Qi Yan and quickly stopped running.

"Teacher Sommer, I've finished posting the notices on the other side of the village." After reporting, the girl couldn't help but look at Marna and the other girl with curiosity, "Who are these two?"

Upon seeing this seemingly impetuous young girl, the old man couldn't help but smile kindly.

“This is a remarkable knight, and… his companions.”

Upon hearing this, Aiva's eyes lit up immediately:

"Welcome, welcome. Are you two knights here to inspect the land?"

Some time ago, the big shots in the city liked to buy land outside the city for vacations. Although they stopped going out so frequently after hearing that war was about to break out, we still hear from time to time that some people have bypassed the blockade to come outside the city.

We haven't experienced any natural disasters here, and there are no infected people in the nearby villages either; it's very clean.

And there's more...

Old man Sommer suddenly coughed twice, interrupting Aiva's unbridled words: "Little Aiva, I have a letter here. You're fast, go and deliver it for me."

Aiva puffed out his cheeks, but still took the letter, turned around, and ran away in a flash.

After Ava left, Sommer explained somewhat awkwardly:

"I'm sorry, but the young people in the village always yearn for the city. They hope that someone will buy their land so that they will have the capital to move to the city."

“…Absurd.” Although Marna wasn’t displeased, she didn’t give him a pleasant look either.

"Yes, what a ridiculous expectation."

Sommer said wistfully, “I’m old now and don’t have those expectations anymore, but young people always need something to look forward to.”

Not everyone harbors those lofty ambitions, and I am no longer the erudite scholar who once spoke eloquently at Letanian noble banquets. For many, life is simply about the mundane details of daily existence.

Looking at Sommer's dejected expression, Marner shook his head:

"I'm not accusing anyone, I'm sorry."

If possible, I would like to purchase some supplies and rest briefly in the village.

“Of course, no problem. Speaking of which, sir, do you need a car? I can provide one for you here,” Sommer said enthusiastically.

Marna glanced sideways at Qi Yan, who was becoming excited again, and said coldly:

"Yes, quite a few things have happened in Kazimierz recently."

Qi Yan sat on a wooden chair in Sommer's yard, holding the newspaper Sommer had given him, and commented: "For example, Toran has been active in the area recently. In a place called Leishi Village, he has returned to his old profession as a bounty hunter, helping people complete commissioned tasks."

Oh, and there's also a little girl named Destreet, a lawyer, who's also going to Leishi Village to handle a business dispute between Gale Industries and Leishi Village regarding the sale of land.

Oh, and...

"Are you sure these things are in the newspaper?" Marner asked irritably.

"Tell me if they're news or not," Qi Yan said with a grin, glancing at the newspaper. "Chesper also arrested Toran's bounty hunter companion."

Upon hearing Qi Yan mention Chesper again, Marner could no longer suppress her doubts:

"Qi Yan, tell me, what exactly happened to Chesper that you're so concerned about?"

"Who knows? Anyway, there's nothing new happening on this land. It'll probably just be some old clichés."

Qi Yan stood up and waved to a girl who was peeking into the courtyard from the gate:

"Here, here, Marna is here!"

Maena: "..."

The girl at the courtyard gate was startled.

But she still came in eventually.

Marna frowned as she looked at the gray-green-haired girl. She wore elegant square-framed glasses, her short hair was tousled, and her lawyer's uniform seemed out of place with the surrounding village buildings. In particular, the high heels on her long legs in black stockings made one worry about how she would manage to walk on the rough roads of the wilderness.

"Mr. Marner, it really is you!" The girl exclaimed with delight as soon as she entered and saw Marner.

Marner took a deep breath and asked:

"You're Attorney Descartes?"

“You still remember me!” Destreet exclaimed, even more excited.