Hello, Arknights

The float bobbed and swayed on the water's surface with the ripples, occasionally disappearing beneath the waves. The autumn wind stirred the grass and leaves along the lakeside, revealing that this body of water was larger than Ling had imagined.

“It’s true that fishing requires quiet, but it’s too quiet,” the white-haired count said, his gaze never leaving the water. His gesture of breaking the awkward silence was as casual as plucking a dead leaf from a roadside tree. “Then what’s the point of two people fishing together?”

"Hmm... feeding the mosquitoes twice as much?" Ling Dengxian slapped the back of his hand, leaving a small "blood cake," seemingly indicating he had been bitten, but he didn't pay much attention. The sun rose, and sunlight shone directly through the shade of the trees. He pulled on the straw hat he had hastily put on before leaving, covering his eyes.

Beside the clear lake, two figures sat on an elegant chair and lay on a simple, flattened patch of grass. Scamanderos's attendants stood at just the right distance atop the hill behind them, intently watching their every move.

The count leaned back on his folding chair, enjoying the bright autumn sunshine and the lingering coolness – truly a beautiful day.

Scamanderos neither agreed nor disagreed with his words. Although he hadn't considered the mosquito problem, his entourage had, and the insect repellent was used exactly where it was needed.

He could tell that the "Viscount" originally wanted to act like a proper host, but from his perspective as a guest, after hearing the sounds of feathered beasts flying and leaping from the second floor, the man, carrying a fishing rod and with slightly messy, water-drip-glowing hair, calmly suggested, with a hint of evasion, that they go fishing for scales:

"After all, it seems I can't eat breakfast anymore for the time being."

That guy clearly said he'd shower quickly... and he didn't even lock the door. When Shuangye went in and saw a stranger, both of them had a chain reaction of stress... Sigh, at least she was wet enough to take a shower right away. If he hadn't dodged in time and had been splashed with water by "If You Are the One," he would have had to meet the guest looking like a drowned rat.

Although it wasn't completely avoided.

The chaotic situation was handed over to Mostima, who was partly the culprit. As for public opinion... he could only ignore it as long as he was upright.

He vaguely remembered there was another guest, but he didn't look closely. He could only express his gratitude to Count Scamanderross for his kindness.

Wait.

“Count, I just remembered, your surname is Scamanderos?” Ling Dengxian suddenly stood up, his straw hat slipping off in front of him.

The White Wolf Earl had gradually become accustomed to his various offenses. Perhaps it was because the other party was special, or perhaps it was because he hadn't encountered such casual social behavior without malice in a long time, or perhaps it was a combination of both that led to the current delicate situation.

"Should we say that Viscount Ling is genuinely kind, or just excessively oblivious?" The man sighed and said seriously, "Grant Scamanderos, if you find the pronunciation too complicated, you can just call me Grant. Of course, if you don't want to, you can just call me 'Earl,' since I'm the only Earl in Caraton."

“Mr. Grant,” Ling scratched his head and tentatively asked, “May I ask what your relationship is with the Horn… uh, the Stormtroopers’ Horn?”

He vaguely remembered that the bagpipes had told him that the trumpet's surname was very special, something like Scamanderos.

"...Why didn't you ask her yourself?" Grant was really looking at the young man this time, wanting to see if he was just teasing him.

"?" Ling Dengxian was also puzzled. The two looked at each other, but then the autumn wind stopped for a while, and even the sound of grass rustling fell silent, making the situation extremely awkward.

“You little rascal,” Grant chuckled, a hint of exasperation in his voice, “wasn’t Rita the one who got to the living room before me?”

"Who is Rita?" Ling Dengxian had two question marks above his head. He did remember that there was someone in the living room, but without looking closely, he didn't really connect the person with the horn.

"Bell... That's the code name she used in the army, right? You worked with her, and she never told you her real name?"

Ling waved his hand casually: "No, no, no, Mr. Grant, I have never worked with Horn, and I am not a soldier. We fought side by side before, and I am more familiar with her team members."

“I see.” Grant seemed to understand what Rita cared about. He gave the easygoing Ling a deep look. Sure enough, the problem still lay in that war. As someone who had been through it, he now fully understood the reason for Rita’s dejection.

"So you're her father?" Ling Dengxian had guessed it, but he still asked, just in case.

Grant didn't speak, his gaze returning to the water; his silence was a nod.

Now that the relationship was cleared up, Ling Dengxian relaxed a lot. He treated the other party as a friend and father, and casually said, "Horn is so outstanding, Mr. Grant, you must have made a great contribution."

"Heh... I was the person she couldn't understand the least, so I guess I've fulfilled my most basic teaching duties." Grant squinted as the float bobbed up and down, sat up straight, and gripped the rod.

Ling Dengxian dared not respond. His intuition told him that the relationship between the father and daughter was not as harmonious as he had thought.

When the silence spread again, a silver scale broke through the water's surface, becoming the opportunity to break the deadlock. However, it wasn't Grant, who had prepared in advance, who caught the scale, but Ling, who was quite ordinary.

"Whoa, where are you going!" Ling Dengxian stood up and took control of the scale pole. Grant lifted his own scale pole, realized that he had misjudged the situation, and couldn't help but sigh slightly.

Perhaps it is true that young people have more opportunities.

“It’s a large scale.” Attracted by the cool voice, his gaze returned to the water’s surface, and he commented with interest, “Scales are plump in autumn, but it’s not late autumn yet, and scales of this size are rare.”

"Hey, should I put it back and let it fatten up a bit more?" Ling paused in his actions.

"Won't you regret letting such a big fish get away?" Grant raised his voice upon hearing this. "Can you guarantee you'll ever catch such a big fish again in your lifetime?"

"If we're destined to meet, we can catch it again," Ling said casually.

"Violet scales are also famously delicious in Caraton, and there is a quota for fishing during this season every year."

"Oh, so will there be any problems if we come fishing without permission?"

Grant chuckled: "You mean, whose county is Caraton?"

"Then I'll take it..." Ling Dengxian hesitated for a moment, and a fat scale was pulled onto the lakeside grass. He took off the scale hook, grabbed the big scale, sighed that the scale was indeed quite big, and then threw it back into the lake.

Grant stared at him and said slowly, "Are you serious?"

"You are a viscount, it's just fishing for fish, why would I make things difficult for you?"

"Let's skip that. We should follow the rules. I really don't want to become a real nobleman." Ling put away his fishing rod, but seeing that the count was unmoved, he couldn't do anything about it, nor did he have any reason to ask anything of the other party. It would probably just end on bad terms.

“You are indeed very different.” Grant smiled. This was the first time Ling Dengxian had seen him with such an expression. The Rupert man gestured for him not to leave and slowly said, “Of course, you have to abide by your own rules when governing your own land. I’m not a short-sighted old man, and I’m not that stupid… Quota fishing is quota fishing, but Violet’s quota is for unique species. The one you just caught wasn’t; it was just a common species.”

"But that head, wow, I've never seen one this big before."

Before Grant could finish speaking, a huge splash erupted in front of him, and the remorseful man dove into the water like a high-speed warship at full throttle. This sudden turn of events almost made Grant jump out of his chair, and he couldn't help but shout and laugh in exasperation: "What are you doing, you brat!"

Unexpectedly, the water splashed bigger and bigger, and Grant had to step back to avoid getting his fancy coat wet. A moment later, Ling crawled ashore like a half-dead sand monster. As soon as half of his body touched solid ground, he spat out a mouthful of water and coughed violently to expel the water from his respiratory tract.

"Cough cough... Gao Fei, I got too excited and forgot I can't swim..."

Well, it's normal for a "high-speed warship" to sink to the bottom after taking on water.

"..." Grant felt he had never been so speechless since becoming an earl.

"It's not worth it." He shook his head.

"Who said that?" Ling Dengxian raised an eyebrow, threw a large fish ashore, and said smugly, "We can have an extra meal today."

"Wow." Even Grant was amazed. He went over to take a look and saw a large scale about two feet long with its scales shimmering with dazzling golden light. Its unwilling tail fin struggled fiercely, leaving streaks of water on the shore. Its plump body made people want to fry, steam, boil, roast, or stew it.

Judging from memory, this really does seem to be the scale that Ling Dengxian just put back.

"How was it?" Ling Dengxian grinned, though he looked quite happy despite being a drowning beast.

"I've really learned something today," Grant couldn't help but exclaim.

At this moment, with such a commotion, the Earl's entourage also rushed over. Although it wasn't Grant who had the problem, they kindly provided Ling with suitable clothing.

Grant showed no sign of heading home, so Ling Dengxian had no choice but to continue keeping him company. The large scales were caught in the net, and the lakeside finally returned to calm. Just as Ling Dengxian began to drift off into thought, Grant spoke up: "...Rita hasn't talked to me much since she came back. Can you tell me what happened to her?"

Ling Dengxian looked up at the gray-haired man beside him. Grant didn't look at him. He thought of his father and couldn't help but say, "Wouldn't it be much better if you just asked her directly, without being too frank?"

“If we don’t communicate properly, we’ll really regret it.” He had noticed before that the father and daughter’s relationship wasn’t very harmonious, but now he could see that they still cared a lot about the bugle.

It's not appropriate for an outsider like him to get involved in this kind of thing; if he were to gain favor with the authorities, he'd be finished.

He didn't think that Horn would simply develop a greater liking for him because of mediating the father-daughter relationship. The problem was that, considering what Grant said and the disbandment of the Stormtroopers' second division during the Blood War, even someone as slow-witted as him could guess Horn's current situation after retiring and returning home.

His intervention at such a crucial juncture is etched in memory.

"...No need. I'm just looking into it. If you don't want to, just pretend I didn't ask," Grant said calmly.

“…You two really have it.” Ling Dengxian’s eyes twitched. How could he really do nothing? He was just relaying the changes, which should be fine. Thinking of this, he sighed slightly, sorted out his thoughts, and began to recount the crimson memories of the horn to Grant, starting from the Battle of Longspring.

Like fish on a pole, words are propelled forward by the flapping of their tails.

When the retelling ended, he could roughly understand some of the pain of the bugle call. It was indeed necessary for someone to guide her and communicate with her properly, but it was best if it wasn't him.

However, it's not something to be ashamed of; Bagpipes is far more suitable to be the one to appear at this juncture.

After listening to his recollections, the Rupert man remained silent, his eyes fixed on the lake. The sun was high in the sky, the water shimmering. His expression gradually faded into the shade of the trees, leaving only his emerald green eyes, the same color as the Horn's pupils, reflecting his inner turmoil. In the end, all his words amounted to a sigh.

"Just as I thought..."

Ling Dengxian didn't know how to respond, so he simply put away his fishing rod.

"...Let's go back. A good haul." As if nothing had happened, Earl White Wolf, feeling uninterested, put away his scales.

The return journey was peaceful. The two people at the front did not speak, and the other accompanying personnel did not try to make their presence known. The atmosphere was quiet and just right.

Ling Dengxian was still concerned about the horn incident and was thinking about how to communicate with the bagpipes later. Before long, they returned to his mansion.

Before he even entered the door, the first thing he saw was White Owl, which made him very uneasy. After all, this guy had taken Surtr out early in the morning, and who knew if this bastard had gotten him into trouble again. Before he could ask, White Owl noticed him and immediately waved at him expressionlessly.

"Good morning, White Dove."

"It's getting late, White Owl," Ling said with a casual smile. "My dear Joyce, where's Surtr? Skadi said she saw you two leave early this morning. I hope you two didn't cause me any trouble? We have guests today..."

By the way, he still doesn't know if Mostima has resolved the "If You Are the One" issue...

A hint of confidence shone through White Owl's calm and composed face: "Operator White Dove, please rest assured, White Owl will always be White Dove's most reliable logistics partner—Miss Surtr, you may come out now."

Under the watchful eyes of Grant and the others, Ling Dengxian prepared for any possible mishaps and warmed up by grabbing the White Owl at any moment to prevent her escape. However, as the White Owl called out, the Sarkaz girl who appeared slowly did not look directly at anyone.

“…Welcome back—no, seeing this guy’s shocked expression, I can’t bring myself to say those lines.” Surtr was originally calm, but after being stared at by Ling Dengxian’s incredulous gaze for a while, she couldn’t help but subconsciously grab the hem of her skirt, clench her teeth, and her ear tips unconsciously turned red. Seeing that Ling hadn’t recovered yet, she couldn’t bear the embarrassment brought by this novel experience, so she turned around and ran away decisively.

Once Ling had recovered, he immediately grabbed the white-faced owl and asked expressionlessly, "Where did you get this maid outfit?"

"And you even made her wear it?"