About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"—What's wrong, Lyudmila?"

Alina rushed over in a panic, only to find Miss Lyudmila leaning against the manhole cover, almost crying and almost falling into the pit.

"..."

Well, it must be a coincidence.

54. I need to regroup my troops!

"Don't move, police!!"

At Peterheim Middle School, when Orson, who had just resolved the terrorist attack by the Sarkaz mercenaries, was about to leave the scene, the police who had received intelligence from the Baikal faction in advance had already rushed into the gymnasium.

"Tsk, you got the intelligence so you caught those lackeys rushing in at this very moment. Do you want me to help you kill them all?"

W played with C4 in one hand and asked Orson jokingly.

At this point, the Sarkaz mercenaries were inside the gymnasium, which had been punctured with holes. The Ursus police who had arrived immediately blocked the exits. Any attempt to flee the scene would only result in concentrated crossbow fire.

"Assaulting a police officer is a felony. Just use that shit stick you used on the mercenaries."

Orson sighed. He didn't think he could continue to be a good citizen just by using non-lethal weapons. He figured that after this operation, no matter the outcome, he would definitely be the center of attention in the police station, the kind where he would be pinned to the ground if he asked if a watermelon was ripe.

"Wait a minute! Stand down!"

Just when the situation was at its most tense, one of the detectives noticed W with the highlighted hair and suddenly signaled to the others around him not to open fire.

The other party's actions made Orson and his group frown, and they were confused about what the other party was going to do.

"You—you are the Sarkaz mercenary who got into a fight with others on People's Street earlier, right?"

The policeman recognized W and asked hesitantly.

"Ha, what's going on? Did I accidentally kill your brother? If you want revenge, just come on—of course, I won't give you that chance."

W said nonchalantly, but the police officer's next words were completely different from what W expected:

"My name is Luo Ban. You may not know me, but the point is - I saw you save my daughter, right?"

"--ha?"

W was stunned for a moment.

"My daughter was held hostage by a mercenary at the time—that lovely girl with red eyes and short brown-gray hair! I saw it clearly from the surveillance footage. To save her, you deliberately detonated the grenade prematurely, and you even bravely charged towards the enemy's attack..."

"I'll save that nonsense for when I'm dead and talk to the God of Death. Anyway, what are you going to do? Are you not going to arrest us? I'll prove you wrong, okay?"

W interrupted the policeman with a mocking attitude.

Although this behavior was extremely arrogant and rude, and even had a sense of active provocation, Orson on the side noticed it keenly. When W heard the police officer recounting what he had done before, he almost dug his feet to find a three-bedroom apartment (metaphorically, meaning very embarrassed).

"W, it turns out you are a living Bodhisattva!"

Orson said with an expression of "So you are a good comrade too!" and sighed that W's return to the right path was worth more than gold. Then, he was blown away by a bomb from W, who rarely showed an embarrassed expression.

----

"What if I didn't use the rest to block it, I would really die..."

"Wouldn't it be better to die~?"

After the riot, Orson and W were finally released by a policeman named Loban. Loban was well aware that a considerable force was involved in this matter, and all he could do was to secretly release Orson, who looked like a student, and W, the arrogant mercenary who saved his daughter.

But those Sarkaz mercenaries, because the police in Qie City do not have the ability to accommodate these dangerous mercenaries, these mercenaries can actually be said to be reserve forces waiting for W's orders.

As for the Bear Group, although Lin Dong chased Orson and asked who the other party was, because the situation was urgent, Orson could only fool them with vague answers and asked Roban to take care of these students.

"It's a rare occasion to be praised for doing something good. Is it really that hard for you to get used to it?"

As the two walked towards the Rostov family's house, Orson asked W why he reacted so strongly at that time.

"Ha, stop joking. I'm not a good person in the literal sense. I'm not even close to that, okay?"

W shrugged and responded sarcastically.

"Hmm...it looks like you, W, need to be corrected by Alina as well."

Orson concluded.

"Alina?"

"It's the beacon of our Reunion Movement, but it seems to be gathering intelligence on Baikal—Ah, Alina!"

Orson was halfway through his words when he returned to the mansion and immediately noticed the gentle little deer that exuded a calming light.

"Orson? It feels like we haven't seen each other for ages. Have you been eating well lately?"

When Alina saw Orson, she greeted him with a smile, and the long-lost power of Yasasi immediately caressed Orson's whole body.

"The food was pretty good a few days ago, but after the chef left, it's mostly canned food and takeout... Hmm? Who's that girl over there?"

Orson noticed that there was a girl next to Alina who was wearing ill-fitting, baggy clothes and had short red hair and furry, drooping ears.

"This is Lyudmila, the girl I brought back from the Grand Duchy of Baikal. Unlike her appearance, she is very strong."

Alina explained with a smile as she looked at the mercenary girl with cockroach hair next to Orson.

"Ha, so you're the Alina Orson was talking about? You exude an air of innocence and innocence, and you look like you could treat anyone with kindness. Really..."

When W was halfway through the taunt, I found that Alina seemed to have a sense of Theresa, and even the cockroach hair on the single push radar on her forehead reacted.

What's so good about this little deer that looks like a country girl at first glance?

Hmm... take another look.

Humph, you absolutely lack the leadership to lead the Sarkaz people!

But I still want to take another look.

In short, W kept stealing glances at Alina awkwardly, and this action, which was in sharp contrast to W's "battlefield veteran" appearance, made Alina smile.

——Damn, it looks even more funny when I laugh. Where on earth did this little deer come from! ?

Solo pusher W is being tested.

"Orson, W, I'm glad you've returned safely. I heard from the nobles connected to the police that the incident at Peterheim Middle School has been resolved. But I also have some bad news for you—a large number of unified frequency movements have been detected in the city. If nothing unexpected happens, Duke Baikal has decided to go to war... Orson?"

Tallulah walked out of the conference room and explained the current situation to Orson, but Orson, who usually responded immediately, completely ignored Tallulah this time.

At this moment, Orson was...

"Wait... wait a minute...! Ugh - what are you doing... stop rubbing my ears!? Tail, not even the tail...!! My clothes are going to fall off!"

Lyudmila, who had just been rescued by Alina and put on Natalia's clothes that were not suitable for her flat body shape, was now being rubbed and kneaded by Orson with great intensity.

"It's even smaller than I thought. Is it because you haven't grown yet? It always feels so good, Junjun. Hehehehe, I used to have 114514 ways to torture you. Rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub~~~"

Finally, he saw Junjun, who could replace his (persecuted) mascot status. Moreover, Junjun was even smaller than in the original work, only about half a head taller than Sasha. Orson immediately pounced on him and rubbed him hard.

In fact, Orson used to have a hobby of rubbing Frost Star's ears and tail, but he stopped doing so after being beaten half to death several times by the Patriot.

Tallulah's tail... After rubbing it, I guess I will turn into a flaming fist.

Alina's antlers...the result should be similar to the previous one.

Ino’s ears… Damn, I’m not a bronze man!

After a while, it seems that Junjun is the only one who can satisfy Orsen's dream of having a good rub.

"Alina, you... don't think you have enough competitors?"

Tallulah frowned at the scene in front of her, then asked Alina beside her.

"I'm sorry, from now on I will devote all my energy to helping Ms. Lyudmila find a suitable home."

Alina responded with a smile.

"Elaphia over there, can you... uh, well, fix the door?"

"...?"

W hesitated for a long time and then asked a completely incomprehensible question.

55. I live a sad life. I open the city and crash into the Dragon Gate city-state.

"Why do I feel like every time I see Orson, you always have some wounds on your body that don't look like they were caused by the enemy?"

In the conference room, Zaolu asked Orson, who had a bump on his head, with some curiosity.

"I've rubbed the girl too much...don't ask."

There were injuries on his face from being burned, hit by deer antlers, C4, and bitten by a dog. Now that he has calmed down, Orson has an expression of regret.

"Anyway, Duke Baikal has already begun dispatching his troops to launch a direct attack here. According to communications, the advance guard of the Reunion Movement has already arrived in Che City and is currently evacuating civilians and deploying troops. They should be here soon."

Tallulah drew the detection results of the frequency reflection array made by Orson on the whiteboard, which showed that at least four troops were advancing here. It was obvious that this group of troops with consistent rhythm was the army group deployed by the Baikal faction inside the city of Che.

"Their target is Natasha and me. As long as the heir and the head of the family are dead, the Rostov family's assets can be slowly dealt with, right?"

Zaolu's father asked Tallulah, who shook her head.

"I'm afraid it's more than that. Prince Rostov—Alina—once noticed a strange blueprint while exploring the territory of the Grand Duke of Baikal."

"According to my subsequent investigation, that blueprint is probably the propulsion equipment of Qiecheng."

Alina expressed her judgment.

"Che City... Wait, do you remember what Anna said at that time? 'The lord of Che City, Marquis Boris, fled Chernobog.' Why do you think Baikal let go of the lord who wanted to occupy the city?" Orson frowned and thought, a bad conclusion had already emerged.

"Because he is no longer needed as the city lord, or maybe Qie City is not Baikal's target at all?" Zaolu looked at Orson with some disbelief.

Everyone originally thought that Baikal's goal was to seize the rights and benefits of Chernobyl, but now it seems that it is not just that.

"Koschei once said that the old nobility's dissatisfaction wasn't just directed at Chernobog; their dissatisfaction was directed at present-day Ursus. This group of corrupt officials, who made their fortunes and consolidated their positions through war, perhaps weren't seeking the interests of Chernobog at all, but rather the wars Ursus had endured in the past, and—the bullets with which to wage them."

"This group wants Chernobog itself. They want to use this territory belonging to Ursus to collide with another country—like Longmen—in order to trigger a national war."

After Orson finished speaking, he rubbed his eyebrows. Although he didn't want to admit it, this was the only answer that could explain the current situation.

— Damn, is Che City a bike-sharing city?! Why does everyone want to drive out and crash into the goal?!

"Starting a war... then what should we do? Emperor, should we try to contact him? Such a ridiculous thing will definitely not be allowed, right?" The head of the Rostov family asked with a frown.

"No, the current emperor hasn't yet completely unified the internal political system. If a territorial conflict really breaks out between Che City and Longmen, regardless of the outcome, the old nobles will seize this opportunity to confuse the public and mobilize the masses and the army. Or rather, Ursus has always done this, but back then, these actions were personally ordered by the late emperor."

Tallulah answered seriously. She had heard too many ridiculous war "fuses" from Koschei. Ursus was like a dry powder keg. No one cared where the "spark" came from. Everyone only knew that this powder keg was waiting to explode.

"There's no point in looking for that guy right now. If we successfully stop this group of true lunatics, we can consider asking him for credit or saving our lives to avoid a reckoning. But what we need to do now is still the same as before, just kill those idiots."

W hugged his neck with both hands and spoke carelessly.

"Although the army will follow the command of the old nobles, it is not a monolithic entity. In fact, if my guess is correct, the majority of soldiers in the army do not want to fight, but are forced to do so by the guidance of the old nobles."

Alina recalled the soldier's complaints in the dungeon.

After all, Ursus is not a naturally warlike nation like the Sarkaz. Many veterans understand that war will not bring them any gains, but may lead to liquidation after the war.

War sacrifices oneself and one's brothers, enriches the nobles, and there is no justice at all. Many people within the army group are probably already dissatisfied with those "leaders".

"Then - it's the same as the original plan, but our enemy this time will not only be Grand Duke Baikal. The one currently leading the Third Army... is Viscount Kerk, and he must have planned this action together with Grand Duke Baikal." Tallulah mentioned another goal.

"And the ones who used it as a glove to activate the city of Qie should be Garson and the group of "orthodox Sarkaz" behind him, a bunch of idiots who are eager for war." W added.

The situation was analyzed almost clearly by everyone in an instant. This was not a robbery carried out by Duke Baikal against the Rostov family because he coveted their property.

Instead, he joined forces with the Sarkaz mercenaries and Viscount Kerk, deputy commander of the Third Army, to create a war fuse.

"Decapitate the person involved... Let's not even talk about whether this could prevent the disaster. Do we really have the ability to do so? They're the Third Army, after all. They're not something a single individual could contend with, are they?"

Zaolu asked with some concern. In her impression, the regular army of Ursus was basically synonymous with "victory". No matter how bad the conditions were, no matter who the opponent was, the Ursus army had never been stopped.

"Who knows? But at this point, we can only try. Ultimately, politics exists to circumvent the use of force. If we lack the force to override politics, then nothing else can be done."

"So, to sum up—I'm going to reunite with Froststar Patriot right now, and leave Viscount Kerke to me. Between Froststar, Patriot, and me, we should be able to put even the regular army of the group to the test."

Orson directly took on the task of fighting against the army, which also seemed to be the most impossible task to accomplish.

But in the same way, the origin of the title "Silence of the North" is not false.

"...Saying 'don't push yourself' now is a bit too hypocritical, Orson. We have to survive, don't you understand?"

Tallulah looked at Orson, who nodded and prepared to leave, but was suddenly stopped by the head of the Rostov family, who said he had a "gift" for Orson.