Arknights' Lock of Heaven

The most crucial thing is that they are weak, lacking the kind of power that would make someone slap them across the face if they dared to do something dangerous, showing them what they can and cannot do.

Having grown accustomed to caution over millennia, she now faces a savior from another world, and well, she doesn't seem so confident.

After all, if Xia Yu wasn't lying, then he's no ordinary big shot...

To conceptually treat the entire history of civilization as a demon that has burned out like fuel... is that something any human being can face?

According to Xia Yu, the savior named Fujimaru Ritsuka managed to reclaim human history from the face of a demon after the world had been burned to ashes...

If such a person and their deeds were in Terra, they would be achievements that even Kal'tsit would want to kowtow to.

If Terra had someone as formidable as him, would he need to be so exhausted?

Just cling to someone powerful and you'll be fine!

"Besides, it was you who made the suggestion," Xia Yu rolled her eyes when she heard this. "Why did you become restless after Amiya arrived?"

“…You don’t need to put me down with your words. You should know what I’m thinking,” Kal’tsit said helplessly after a two-second silence. “I know nothing will happen, and I know you won’t harm Amiya.”

"But I am..."

"You lack confidence, right?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow, interrupting her. "What, do you think I'll go back with them, just like Amiya?"

“…That’s your hometown after all,” Kal’tsit said in a low voice. “I think I know what kind of person you are. You probably won’t leave, but we will feel guilty.”

“…I remember telling you my story,” Xia Yu paused for two seconds after hearing this, and then continued, “I woke up in Babylon without knowing anything.”

"Just like when I opened my eyes on Rhodes Island."

"I see," Kal'tsit said with a sigh of relief. "I understand."

Are you at ease now?

"I'm sorry, it was my useless emotions that affected me..."

Instead of apologizing to me here, you should make good use of your network and discover more talented people.

"What I lack most right now is talent."

Especially those talented people who have lofty ambitions and are eager to accomplish great things!

“There’s been a new Drak on Rhodes Island recently,” Kal’tsit whispered as she heard this. “Victoria is… not very stable.”

"News has come from Iberia... We now have an opportunity to understand the true reason for the Great Tranquility."

"Also... everything is fine with Letania for now, but Nian... she's been mentioning you to me lately, whether intentionally or unintentionally. It seems you made some kind of promise to her."

"Latland also sent us some signals through the Sakota on the ship. The current Pope Ivangelista XI seems to know some very secret things, and they are seeking our cooperation."

"Kasimir has been very stable recently. The information exchange channels brought about by the developed commerce have made many people aware of Kasimir's current policies towards infected people, and quite a few infected people have chosen to come here."

"This even includes Letania, who has always prided herself on being very tolerant of those infected."

“Speaking of Letania… our sales channels have been hampered there,” Kal’tsit said, somewhat speechless. “Not by the Twin Queens, but actually by the one in black who is very interested in our medicine.”

"But we have encountered resistance among many noble groups, for reasons that are currently unclear, and the two empresses have turned a blind eye to it."

"This is very unreasonable, especially after news of what happened in Ursus spread throughout Terra."

The implication is that no one expected someone to be so stubborn.

“Sargun… sigh, to be honest, it went even better there than in Kazimir. It was only one chieftain who died, while Kazimir lost far more people.”

"It really is like a storm brewing," Xia Yu sighed, rubbing her forehead. "We haven't even finished dealing with things on Ursus yet, and one problem after another keeps popping up."

"Speaking of which, where's that Doctor guy?"

“He went to Sherag and Karan to discuss business,” Kal'tsit said helplessly. “At first, I was going to have Amiya go with him, but that child is just too stubborn. It’s also my fault… I was too strict with her in the past, which has made her so stubborn now…”

“Stop, stop,” Xia Yu said with a strange expression. “Please, can you go back to your usual self? The way you talk always gives me the feeling of a nagging old woman complaining about her disobedient child.”

"This is not the Kal'tsit I know."

"...I'm just stating the facts," Kal'tsit said softly. "Under the threat of the past, I was forced to make Amiya mature prematurely, teaching her things she shouldn't have known at this carefree age. Now, seeing her so mature, I really..."

"So you admit you're a nagging old woman?" Xia Yu couldn't stand it anymore. Why were they all suddenly so sentimental? "The Kal'tsit I know would never be bothered by this kind of thing."

"That means your understanding isn't deep enough."

"...Prepare a copy of the intelligence on Iberia and Victoria for me," Xia Yu sighed. He knew why Kal'tsit was going through all this trouble.

"Once the situation in the snowfield is over, I'll see which side is worse off."

“Okay,” Kal'tsit replied crisply, “It will be delivered to you within three days.”

Hearing this, Xia Yu sighed helplessly.

Sigh, I've already said I won't leave, why doesn't anyone believe me... Besides, even if I wanted to leave... never mind, I don't want to think about it anymore.

He could completely understand Kal'tsit's situation.

It's like two people starting a company together, with Xia Yu holding the majority stake. Everything is planned out, the products are being launched, and the prospects are bright—they're just waiting to go public. But then, at this crucial moment, hey, something happens to the major shareholder's family. How could Kal'tsit, as a partner, not worry about him, the major shareholder, withdrawing his investment?

You have to understand, this isn't as simple as starting a company; it's about putting all of Rhodes Island's and her years of hard work into it. Once she gets through this, she can say goodbye to that awful world of the past.

If Xia Yu suddenly quits now... ha, there's no real tiger under the tiger skin, and the hungry wolves around can devour everything Rhodes Island has now.

It's understandable to be worried, but Xia Yu thought that Kal'tsit would directly express her concerns and ask her opinion in person, given her style.

Although this old woman was always a riddle-maker, she wouldn't dare to mess around at such a crucial moment.

Riddles are selective in who you ask them to. You might be sarcastic and cynical all day long, but with Xia Yu, you'd practically lay your heart bare for him.

It's purely because the Doctor is weak, pitiful, and helpless, while Xia Yu can really do whatever she wants.

-

Kal'tsit was quite certain that she had been fooled by Nian.

Sitting in her office, recalling Nian's smug expression, she just couldn't understand how she could have listened to him in the first place...

Perhaps this is what happens when you care too much and lose your composure.

“Master, I always feel…” On Storm Border, Amiya looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka, hesitant to speak.

“Amiya, you must remember that adults don’t necessarily want to see children mature, especially when they mature at an age when they shouldn’t.”

"To be honest, I don't know your past, nor do I know why you were raised in this way, but you are a smart kid. Since you have no resentment towards the people who raised you, it means that they must have been genuinely looking out for you."

There was really no other way.

It's like when you wake up from a daze and find yourself facing a sea of ​​fire in Fuyuki.

How cruel it is to have no choice.

"So, I don't care what you think, I care what I think," Fujimaru Ritsuka said with a smile, tapping her forehead with her finger. "As someone who's been there, I have much more experience than you. Trust me, there won't be any problems!"

"But...won't this be too conspicuous?" Amiya looked at the confident Fujimaru Ritsuka, then turned to look at Mash, who was fully armed with a huge shield, on her left, and then to look at the cold, unsmiling young man on her other side.

Karna, Amiya remembered that this was the name of the person who looked like this...

In just a few seconds, the cold expression on the young man's face instantly fell. He looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka with great interest, "Ritsuka, Ritsuka, do you think I look good in the costume?"

"Want to hear the truth?" Fujimaru Ritsuka raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"truth!"

“Going in the opposite direction, completely different, a poor imitation…” Fujimaru Ritsuka crossed her arms in front of her and said seriously, “For the sake of the costumes and props, I’ll give you an eight out of ten?”

"A ten-point system?"

"Out of 100!"

"That's a bit much. No matter how similar it is, it shouldn't be in the single digits, right?"

“Don’t believe me? Ask Mashu!” Fujimaru Ritsuka declared confidently. “If you saw him from afar, you would immediately think it was Karna, but once you’re face to face, everyone who has seen him can tell the difference!”

“That’s true,” Mashu nodded and said earnestly to Xia Yu, “Mr. Karna… is a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside.”

“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look like me,” Xia Yu shrugged upon hearing this. “Anyway, no one in this world can expose me.”

“…Why don’t you just change back to your own face?” Seeing him with Karna’s face and acting like he was giving up, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt that her impression of Karna had been tainted.

"Stop fooling around, we have serious business to attend to," Xia Yu rolled her eyes at her.

Upon hearing the serious matter, Amiya immediately shuddered, "Mr. Xia Yu, wouldn't this be...?"

As he spoke, he looked toward the Storm border behind him.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Xia Yu said, flashing a bright smile at her with Karna's face on his back, and giving her a thumbs up. "Even if something happens, they can't beat me."

"Seriously, change it back!" Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't take it anymore. "Don't ruin the image of Little Sun in front of me!"

"Okay, okay," Xia Yu pouted upon hearing this, then snapped her fingers and instantly reverted to her classic skin. "But I'll have to switch back when we get there."

“It was up to you then,” Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed. “Seriously, you really really know how to use the Holy Grail and Class Cards in a creative way. Even Leonardo da Vinci himself was full of praise for your ideas.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Xia Yu shrugged upon hearing this. “It’s because I have so few capable people under my command.”

"And Amiya, don't worry," he said gently, looking at Amiya. "It's just a delivery trip; nothing will happen."

“No, I know nothing will happen,” Amiya said, looking back at the Storm Border. “But is it really safe to use a ship like this to transport goods?”

"My master told me they made an emergency landing in the snowfield, right? What if something happens to the Storm Border...?"

After being enlightened by Fujimaru Ritsuka, she changed her mindset and is now only worried about whether this will have a negative impact on her master's ship.

Logically speaking, it's impossible that the fact that the master and the others had just escaped the pursuit of a terrifying god and then crash-landed on the snowfield wouldn't have had any impact on the ship.