Ancient Dragon in Arknights

Tap-tap-

There was a knock on the door, but the occupant of the room did not respond.

Boom--boom--

“Zzz......”

Boom!

"Losiri!?"

"Wow!"

Because she didn't get a response to her knocking, Rita kicked her roommate's door open. Although this behavior was extremely rude and offensive, considering Losilly's dazed state yesterday and her current loss of contact, Rita thought of many bad things.

Wearing her pajamas, Losley sat up abruptly in bed. She stared blankly at Rita, who looked at her with concern.

"Rita?"

"That's great... What's wrong with you today?"

Rita knew her roommate's character very well. Although she was sometimes mysterious and liked to play pranks, she was very disciplined in terms of her daily routine.

She might occasionally sleep in during her holidays, but she would never do this.

"what time is it now?"

It's noon...

Rita had been worried about Lorily when she woke up in the morning, so she had kept an eye on her, and Lorily was still asleep then; but now—she had finished lunch, and Lorily was still asleep! Even though it was a holiday, this was far too unusual!

"These on the ground?"

"Don't look!"

Lori jumped out of bed and shoved Rita out of the room. Rita, respecting her roommate's privacy, didn't resist. But at the door, Rita took a deep breath and slowly asked:

"Losili, what exactly are you doing behind my back? Promise me—if it's dangerous, you must ask me for help, and I will definitely help you."

"Thank you, Rita, you really are my best friend. But I didn't do anything dangerous, I was just bothered by a troublesome guy."

After getting rid of the suspicious Rita, Losley finally began to face herself.

"I went to all the trouble of investigating... and then I got saved by someone... Sigh—I need to apologize and express my gratitude."

Lothiri decided to confront Nesario. Now that they were in the same boat, exchanging information might offer a chance to escape from the Duke's watchful eye.

But first, let's eat—Losley felt her stomach was about to burst!

......

What should I have for afternoon tea today? Black tea with macarons seems like a good idea...

As Lori emerged from the dormitory, she had regained her usual enigmatic demeanor. A smile played on her lips, a smile that made anyone who saw it feel as if she had tricked them.

"(A cheerful whistle)!"

"..."

Lori slowly turned her head and saw Nesario emerge from under the shade of a tree in front of the girls' dormitory with a wicked grin on his face.

"hello?"

"Good afternoon, Miss Spy who's playing dumb—is it fun to lurk in the shadows and spy on me?"

"Um... will I be forgiven if I apologize?"

......

How did Nesario manage to catch Losilly?

This is thanks to the help of many factors.

Firstly, during their brief encounter yesterday, Nesario noticed that besides the refreshing fragrance of a clear spring, she also possessed a sweet scent reminiscent of the sun—that was Rita's fragrance. This gave Nesario a clue—the two might know each other, and perhaps even have some daily contact.

So, after returning to school, Nesario made a point of taking a stroll around the girls' dormitory. Sure enough, amidst the various perfumes, cosmetics, shampoos, and other scents, he detected a similar fresh spring fragrance. This woman was actually his classmate!?

Secondly: Vina suddenly sent a message, warning Nesario to be careful; the Norbert district's outpost said that someone visited today, seemingly to investigate her, and afterwards, Norbert district was thrown into a lot of trouble.

Vina didn't know the details of the matter, but Nesario did—the person Vina described was clearly Lothiri, who had even made connections with the Glasgow Gang.

The third point: and also the most crucial clue.

"Fischer, I need your help."

Black Draco once again latched onto blue Vayvan, who was used to it.

"Say it. I won't do anything too troublesome."

"It's simple—help me find out about someone, or more precisely, a classmate. She's a film actress, and her appearance is roughly..."

As Fisher listened, a strange expression appeared on his face, as if to say: Are you making fun of me?

“Losili – Class 1, Intelligence Department, is my classmate.”

"?"

"If you choose her as your partner during your heat cycle, I don't recommend it. This woman is dangerous; don't mess with her."

Do I look like I'm in heat?

"So what are you planning to do by hiring me to investigate this woman?"

"Hmm... to hear her apologize to me in person?"

"?"

Fisher discovered that one of the reasons he befriended Nesario was probably because of this unique unpredictability; other people's actions were too predictable in Fisher's eyes, and guessing them too often would lose their appeal.

But Nesario is different; he can come up with something new every day.

......

Nesario waited outside the girls' dormitory at eight o'clock in the morning, thinking he would catch Losilly soon.

As a result—even when he was being pointed at and talked about by a group of girls, the big green cat still didn't appear.

Ultimately, he was forced to run away with Rita, who had already left the house. This left some of the girls who were ready to make their move feeling quite disappointed. As for Rita herself... she did not refuse Nesario's invitation.

Nesario caught a faint, sweet scent emanating from Rita—it was definitely Losili's.

So, after lunch, he went back to continue his stakeout.

Even a pig needs to get up and eat lunch, right?

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Miss Spy—Got it!

"I see, I understand now. You were worried that Rita was being deceived by me, so you started investigating me. Is that it, Miss Perverted Stalker?"

"Don't say that name again! Besides, what you're doing now is indeed contrary to Rita's ideals, isn't it? The White Wolf family won't sit idly by and watch the gang oppress the people, much less collude with such people."

In a secluded corner of the campus, Lori was munching on dessert while bickering with Nesario.

Nesario caught Losilie and originally planned to "torture" her, but her stomach rumbled first.

There was no way around it; even someone as ruthless as Nesario couldn't resort to such a treacherous tactic as cutting off food. Having eaten an excessive amount since childhood, he knew very well how uncomfortable it was to go without food.

So he let Losley have lunch first, and even paid for it!

The two exchanged information, with Nesario revealing his connection to the Glasgow Gang and details about the "big bomb" within the gang; he even told Losilly about his two instances of being exposed.

Lori then revealed her motives for investigating him and her identity—she had no choice; Nesario had probably overheard it yesterday, and rather than deceive or conceal it, Lori preferred to establish absolute trust.

"The Victorian military... is different from the private armies of nobles; it's a force directly controlled by the council. In other words, the military represents those merchants and emerging nobles?"

"That's one way to put it, but they probably disliked Drak and Aslan even more than the dukes did."

"The Duke still has some old friendships, but these guys... wish they never had a king over them, so they could use the council to amassed all the wealth except for the eight duchies."

"So...I'm a threat now?"

"(nod)"

Nesario thought he had found an ally, but he didn't expect that there was also a force behind this ally.

Within the Victorian military, there may be royalists like the White Wolf family, but the upper echelons are undoubtedly mostly merchants and nobles who despise the king; otherwise, the White Wolf family wouldn't have ended up in this predicament.

"If my affair with Aslan is exposed, do you think you'll be commended by the military, or will you face complex political disputes and ultimately die somewhere?"

"...probably the latter."

"So—welcome to the Great Escape Team. Congratulations—(applause)."

"Ah... I'm so happy! Waaaaah..."

Lori knew that her easy, poetic life was over, and what awaited her next was a storm that could sweep across the entire Victoria.

"Don't look so gloomy, think positively. If one of us pulls off a miraculous comeback, you'll be the hero. Getting a dukedom isn't out of the question, is it?"

Nesario now looked just like a conman from Lungmen—"I am the True Dragon of the Great Yan, transfer 300 Lungmen Dollars to me and I will appoint you as the Founding General."

It's no wonder he was like this. After all, before she met him, Lori was a bad woman. Look at her now—Miss Felin is about to lose her little pearl.

Is it really that fun to bully girls without being disliked?

Nesario finally understood why so many boys had wanted to "bully" Saria since childhood; it turned out that male genes were stirring.

Although afterwards, she was beaten out of her inner femininity by her own sister's pair of enamel iron fists.

"So, what should we do now? Escape Londinium?"

“No… Because of the pact between the King and the Dukes, the Dukes cannot openly establish themselves in Londinium; that would be considered treason. Currently, the eight Dukes are mutually restraining each other, and I believe none of them will take that risk. But once we leave Londinium—do you think our land vehicles will be faster, or our high-speed warships?”

Losley had suddenly found herself in such a dangerous situation, and it seemed she hadn't fully grasped her predicament.

"So...our biggest crisis right now is that nobleman in the Ottocrig region?"

"Yes. I don't know much about the aristocracy in Victoria, so I need you to investigate who she is."

"Understood, leave it to me."

Given that Lori was able to enter the military at such a young age, her abilities and efficiency were naturally guaranteed. Nesario was very glad that he had tied such a helper to his pirate ship.

"By the way... do we need to explain things to Rita?"

It's clear that Losley and Rita are truly best friends; she's still considering Rita's feelings even at a time like this.