Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Arknights, but the sickly beautiful girl starts out Author: Purple Haired Social Animal

The one before you is—Casimir's wanted criminal, the witch of betrayal, Kjerag's honored saint, Victoria's protector, the acting governor of Rhine Life, Agor's distinguished guest, Iberia's candidate for sainthood! Terra's recognized white moonlight!

—Miss Noah Kyrielight!

Volume: Linguang

Chapter 1 Maria Linguang

Dongdongdongqiangqiangqiang——Dongdongqiang——Kabang~

"Oh……"

The blonde girl, who accidentally hit her thumb with a hammer, blew on her fingers, revealing a somewhat distressed expression. Lately, she's often lost in thought while working. There's nothing she can do about it. As a young girl, she has a lot more things on her mind than her peers.

What should we do with the family debts? My elder sister has been gone for so long and there is no news. She has hardly sent any letters back... Basically everything that can be sold at home has been sold. For Maria, she is so young - she is so young, and although she is from the Linguang family, which is quite famous in the whole of Casimir, she is even about to lose the title of knight because there is no chief knight in the family.

Back when my elder sister was still around, she had earned the title of Radiant Knight through her own abilities. Unfortunately, she was later diagnosed with oripathy and had violated competition regulations. While she wasn't stripped of her title, she was expelled. While I can't blame my elder sister anymore, the Linguang family is truly without knights now. The Linguang family is now in shambles, a shabby house that could collapse at the drop of a hat.

Is there anyone who can help at this time? Maria thought of some people's names in her mind, but finally shook her head.

"No... If I continue to rely on others, my knighthood will be stripped away sooner or later..."

Sighing, Maria's fingertips slowly shone with the light of her Originium Skill. While this light was clearly inferior to her sister's flashbang-like brilliance, healing her fingers was still within her grasp. Gazing at the shield and sword hanging on the wall, Maria revealed a rather conflicted expression.

——If it really doesn’t work, even letting yourself do it is still a solution, right?

But if she told him, her uncle would definitely tear her head off and kick it like a ball. And it wasn't just him; she felt like anyone she told would be scolded and warned to give up the idea. Maria found a place to sit down, feeling rather helpless. She didn't care how much oil and dust covered her. She just felt that in her sister's absence, she should do something—no, she had to do something.

That being said...but I also need to have the ability to do it...

At times like this, it's only when you need to learn that you regret not having learned enough. Ever since her sister left, her uncle hadn't shown any interest in letting her participate in knight training. Although she had learned some swordsmanship and various skills required for knight competitions from her aunt, she couldn't just straighten her back and say that she was the next generation of Glory Knight. It would be better to say that she had indeed been inferior to her sister in every aspect since she was a child...

Maria sighed, looking at the application form on the workbench. She thought about the few pieces of furniture she had left at home. If she didn't think of a solution, she might lose her bed. Was she really going to live with her aunt?

Perhaps her sighs finally attracted someone, but when Maria sat down at the workbench and was about to sign the application form, the door of the workshop was pushed open.

"Maria? Are you there?" A pleasant voice woke Maria up from her dream. She suddenly raised her head and subconsciously put the application form in her arms, hiding it in her arms. "Rent... can you give me a little more time to pay the rent?"

"I'm not here to collect rent."

The person, with a creaking sound, reluctantly pushed the wheelchair to Maria's side. She looked about the same age as Maria, having barely reached adulthood. Besides the conspicuous, custom-made wheelchair, her most striking feature was her long, straight, black hair. Without a doubt, even if all the women Maria had ever met were lined up like mannequins in a street shop window, the girl before her would stand out. With her long, jet-black hair and doll-like features, she often wore simple dresses, favoring a black and white palette. She wore little color, yet never looked too rigid.

There was a smile on her lips, which seemed to have become her standard expression. If she stopped smiling one day, Maria felt that she would be doomed - because either she had gotten into trouble, or she was in a very bad mood that day.

The only flaw was that she was disabled—despite her stunning beauty, she couldn't walk or see. Sometimes Maria wondered if her beauty and kindness meant she had to have these flaws, and that since there was nothing they could do, they had taken away her sight and legs.

"Sister Noah, why are you here?" Maria hurried forward to help push the wheelchair, then realized her hands were covered in motor oil. She froze there awkwardly. Fortunately, Noah had already smelled the grease and smiled and shook her head. "No hurry, go wash your hands first. I'll wait."

After getting Noah's approval, Maria hurried to the bathroom and scrubbed her hands thoroughly with soap, wrinkling them before rushing back. Noah waited there, tapping the wheelchair armrests with his fingers, as if playing a wonderful piece of music. Only when she heard Maria's footsteps did she smile and say, "Are you clean?"

"Yes, it's clean." Maria nodded rapidly. The person in front of her was probably the closest person to her in the whole of Casimir besides her sister and aunt - Noah Kirilet, the eldest daughter of the Kirilet family. Her ancestors were also famous knights, but now they have transformed into a business family with several companies under their control. They are also members of the Business Federation. Noah herself is also the main controller of several of these companies. In a word - rich, very rich, extremely rich.

Important things should be said three times -

Noah is a wealthy woman, and also a very loyal one. Even when Margaret was driven away and her grandfather passed away, she still stayed with the Linguang family. Unlike other families who were eager to help the Linguang family fall, she can be said to have done her best. If it weren't for her uncle's unwillingness to accept donations from others, the Linguang family would not be considered to be at the end of their rope.

——When Maria was thinking about finding someone to help, the first person that came to her mind besides her aunt was Noah.

Chapter 2: Kuro

But thinking about it, Noah had already helped her a lot. If she had to trouble him with this matter, even if Margaret herself came, she might not be able to speak up. However, Maria's hesitation seemed to have made the girl in front of her realize something, and she smiled helplessly.

"No money again?"

"No, no, no! Not this time! And... I haven't paid you back yet from last time."

"I told you not to worry about the money from last time. The insurance has already paid me, and rebuilding it is my responsibility." Noah shook her head, indicating that it was nothing serious. The previous explosion nearly destroyed the workshop, but for Noah, the workshop was a minor matter; Maria was her most important priority. When she heard about the explosion, she rushed to the scene in a hurry. But... According to those who were with her at the time, Maria's most serious injury was her hair being permed when she fled from the fire, holding a prototype.

Is this the highly resistant body inherited from the Linguang family? I'm really envious.

Anyway, since there is insurance, Noah really doesn't think it's a big deal, and has never thought about asking Maria for compensation. However, Maria herself is very stubborn. Even if the Lin Guang family compensates her now, it may not be enough to make up for the reconstruction costs.

Before Margaret left Casimir, she had told me to take good care of Maria. But after so many years since she left, I've become more like Maria's sister than she ever was. Now, I have to discipline Maria when she does something wrong, and I'm the first person she thinks of when she achieves something. Every day, she'll come to me to help me tinker with little inventions, like the wheelchair I'm sitting in right now, which was specially made for me.

It had to be said that Maria did have some talent as a craftsman. If she truly didn't plan to continue being a knight, then working for her company wouldn't be a bad idea. After all, there were no more knights in Casimir anymore. The knights of today were more like gladiators seeking fame than honorable warriors. The real knights were now on the frontiers. The Great Knight Territory had no knights—just like a wife cake without a wife.

"So what's your idea? Tell me about it. If I think it's suitable, I won't be stingy with the sponsorship fee."

“…Well…”

Maria's mind raced through several prototypes. She had indeed been tinkering with some interesting things recently, but most of them, like the fully automatic noodle machine or the semi-automatic hair washing machine, were often dismissed by Noah as having commercial value. However, no matter how outlandish Maria's ideas were, Noah would always listen to them from beginning to end, offer his own suggestions, and ultimately reject them.

After all, it's a good thing to have ideas, but there's no need to become the Minister of Justice - especially when a semi-automatic shampooing machine requires you to stand upside down to use it. Just thinking about it can make you feel the threat of cerebral hemorrhage.

However, Noah still didn't like to undermine Maria's self-confidence, so she always spoke more tactfully. If there was really something worth mass-producing, she would have led Maria out of poverty and into wealth long ago. Who knew that Maria didn't have a single idea of ​​making money in her head, but a lot of naughty ideas, so many that Noah wanted to suggest that she just open a channel to make some videos of useless little inventions.

Maybe this is more popular than making something seriously——

"That's not an idea... I... I actually want to discuss something with you, Noah." Maria suppressed the urge to show off her latest useless invention. After all, that wasn't the main topic today. "I... I want to participate in the knight competition."

"..."

"..."

Noya fell silent, the smile gradually fading. The entire workshop suddenly fell silent, the only sound being the pounding of Maria's nervous heart. In Maria's eyes, Noya was truly her half-sister. If she was even denying her, then she really needed to reconsider her approach. After all, Noya not only knew her own strength, but had also witnessed the true genius of her sister.

Furthermore, as she was one of the sponsors of the Knights' Tournament, her assessment of herself could be considered objective. Although Maria knew her skills were at best mediocre compared to her sister's, let alone the best knights of the time, she was likely to be eliminated in the first few rounds. After all, she couldn't even beat her aunt with a single hand, and she had only made it to the top 16 of the Knights' Tournament.

Noah took a deep breath, as if he was considering what to say. Maria's heart tightened, and she closed her eyes silently, waiting for Noah's scolding.

“…Isn’t that good?”

"...I know I'm a little fanciful—but...eh?"

"Ok?"

"Sister Noah, you...what did you say?"

"I think it's good, young people, to try other avenues." Noah smiled sweetly and replied gently, "But have you discussed your plan to participate in the knight competition with your aunt? Most importantly, have you discussed it with your uncle?"

“…Well…”

"Okay, I get it." Noah knew her little sister so well that she sighed silently. "I'm glad you told me this right away. It shows you trust me. But I also want to make it clear that your current strength doesn't allow you to... make it into the top few."

"You think too highly of me."

"...But you're from the Linguang family. People in your family are always full of surprises. Who knows, maybe you'll be a true dark horse," Noah said with a smile. "Now that you've told me... I'll try to talk to your guardian, Uncle Maenna, but I can't guarantee I can convince him."

"Sister Noah!" Maria was so excited that she hugged her directly. Although she was suddenly attacked, Noah still tried her best to maintain a dignified posture, with a gentle smile on her lips. "Thank you!"

"If I don't support you, who will? I promised your sister to take good care of you." Noah patted Maria on the back. "But you have to promise me not to be stubborn, okay? I don't want to wait for Margaret to come back and find you in a wheelchair like me."

"Hehe, no, that won't happen. Besides, if my sister and I really end up in a wheelchair together, then we'll be wheelchair sisters! Then we can start a wheelchair racing competition!"

"Pfft..." Wheelchair racing, this kid really has audacity. Noah couldn't help but laugh out loud. However, Maria's participation in the knight competition needed to be carefully considered. He definitely couldn't just rush into it blindly.

Even as a professional knight competitive player, one needs to have excellent logistics and a good coach - and Noah just happens to have a good candidate.

"Kuro, can I ask you for this?"

"...As you wish." Caprini, hiding in the shadows, nodded and replied without thinking too much.

Chapter 3: Bathing

In reality, Noah's feet weren't completely useless. They had a slight sense of sensation, sensing warmth and cold, but they couldn't move. Specifically, from the hips down, they had only sensation, not movement. After an examination by a specialist doctor, they diagnosed a spinal injury. Despite the high cost, they ultimately could only manage to prevent further atrophy. They constantly had to take medication and avoid excessive emotional activity, which led Noah to develop his current calm demeanor.

Many people say that she is resolute and courageous, never shows her emotions, and is shrewd. Some even call her a smiling tiger.

But in fact, she is just not good at expressing her feelings with facial expressions. She is like a mirror. Anyone who looks at her smile can always see some implied meaning. Even if she herself does not mean that, the other party can always imagine something.

After all, she was a merchant who had almost reached the top of the city of Casimir at the age of twenty, and she also had the famous surname of Kirilet. Even though she was no longer a knight, she still had a bit of nobility about her.

And now, this noble young lady, the smiling tiger who never shows her emotions, the new upstart of Casimir - Noah Kyrielight is in a very embarrassing situation.

"It hurts...don't be so hard...Qraw."

"Ah... there's no need... my waist, ahhh... I told you not to use too much force, my legs are not your toys."

"That's almost it! Ahhhh... not right there!"

From within the boudoir of the eldest daughter of the Kirilet family, lewd sounds were heard, enough to fill the pages of the Red Wine Newspaper with several reports, and the culprit was—

"If it's not this far, there's no point." Noya, sweating profusely, lay limply on her bed, her clothes disheveled and her face flushed, a complete loss of her outwardly dignified demeanor. Above her, her masked attendant, a blonde woman known as Kuro, was fiddling with Noya's legs, kneading them upwards from her ankles, pressing acupuncture points and helping Noya exercise.

Of course, what just happened was not some secret affair in the bedroom, but simply necessary exercise to prevent muscle atrophy. It's just that the intensity that Kuro prepared for his young lady was a little bit high. However, it was not the first time that Kuro had almost completely ignored Noah's screams. Even she had to admit that when she heard Noah's screams for the first time, her calm heart was shaken.

"...Can't you be gentler..." After finally finishing today's muscle training, Noah dragged herself to the center of the bed with her hands, and lay there powerlessly. No matter how many times she exercised, she could not get used to muscle training. Her lower body had lost sensation for so long, and she could maintain her current state entirely thanks to Kuro who played with his legs every night.

It would be fine if she were completely unconscious, but the pain and aching she felt was the worst. Although she had experienced many things that ordinary people couldn't endure, she was still terrified of pain. She was someone who would never choose an injection if she could take medicine. She hugged her favorite pillow and took a long time to calm down before speaking. "Kuro, do you think this kind of muscle training is really effective?"

"I don't know either." Kuro's answer was concise and clear, "But at least this will prevent your legs from being completely useless in the future."

"...Okay." The girl rubbed the pillow in her hand as if to vent her anger. As someone who couldn't see everything around her, she was more of a tactile person, very particular about the material, but not so much about the shape. The pillows on her bed were basically collected from various places. As she grew up, she had long outgrown the pillow figurines, and many of them she had grown tired of had been thrown into the storage room next door.

The house she lived in was one of the largest villas in the territory of Great Knight Casimir, but only Kuro and she lived there. On the one hand, it was because she didn't like having too many people serving her, and on the other hand, it was to leave herself some private space.

Every time she left the house, she was followed by countless people. Some were reporters looking for entertainment news, others were speculators eyeing her vast wealth. Her whereabouts, what she did, what she liked to eat, and even her habits were all being studied and exposed. Besides the privacy of her own villa, she truly couldn't find anywhere else to settle down.

It hadn't been like this before, but since she gained this previously unimaginable wealth, she had to bear this price. It was one of the troubles of being a public figure, but today was an exception. She had a date.

"Kuro, please take me to the shower." Noya felt it would be rude to meet her best friend in such a sweaty state, so she held out her arms to Kuro, who had just finished his massage, and gestured for him to pick her up. As I've said before, she didn't like having so many people serve her, but her body wouldn't allow her to do it on her own, so most of the care was left to Kuro. It was remarkable that this man, who usually wielded a sword, could be so competent in taking care of herself.

However, Noah did not rely entirely on Kuro. As long as it was something she could do, she basically insisted on doing it herself. Although it was Kuro who carried her to the bathroom, Noah took a bath by herself.

He took off his clothes, secured his body with a special seat, and began to turn on the hot water from the specially low handle, scrubbed his body, applied shower gel, rinsed off the foam, and finally supported his body with his hands. He struggled to throw himself into the bathtub that was already filled with hot water, and after holding the specially repaired handles on both sides of the bathtub and adjusting himself to a position where he could enjoy the hot water without slipping, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it is difficult, as long as you become proficient, practice makes perfect. Relying on your arm strength, what you can do is actually beyond many people's imagination.

While enjoying a soak in the tub, Noah pondered the matter of Maria Linguang. Although at first, she had simply been caring for her best friend's sister, after spending so much time with Maria, she had begun to sense in her the same straightforwardness and kindness she had experienced in Margaret. Over their time together, she had come to think of Maria as her own sister.

After all, the Kirilet family is famous for its single-line lineage. In his generation, he has a daughter. Unless someone is willing to marry into the family, the Kirilet family will probably be extinct after this generation. That's why many people are eyeing Noah's family. As an only child, Noah doesn't think having more sisters is a bad thing. Besides, Maria is so cute——

Chapter 4: The Past

However, Maria's desire to participate in the knight competition was originally within Noah's budget.

After all, the Linguang family hadn't had a long knight since Margaret left, so the title of knight family would be abolished. Although this rule was a bit strange, it was also a trick used by the business association to force the Linguang family.

It wouldn't matter if Uncle Mainna could take on the responsibility of the long-distance rider, but Mainna is obviously too lazy to care about the insects in the Knights Association now. He doesn't know how long it has been since he last wielded the sword, and he has become a weathered office animal.

Even if I were to mediate, the rules were the rules. Now the only way for the Linguang family to keep their knight title might be to let Maria take over.

This is weird. This is the Linguang family - Cyril Linguang, the descendant of a figure who defeated the Ursus Legion in the Battle of Casimir and was considered the soul of Casimir's army. Now he can't even keep his title of knight. However, in today's Casimir, such things seem to be common.

But letting Maria participate in the Knights' Competition... the Knights' Association would definitely agree to something like that. After all, they want attention, attention, and more attention. Noah would probably see headlines like "The Return of the Radiant Knight," "The Rising Star of the Linguang Family," and "The Return of Pegasus" the next day after the registration form was submitted. Radiant Knight's sister, Maria Linguang, was a highly valuable knight. Even now, the flash cards of the Radiant Knights fetch exorbitant prices.

While the price of the Casimir Knight Tournament trading cards isn't a good indicator of Miss Brilliant Knight's worth, it does at least demonstrate Margaret's commercial value. After all, he was such a handsome guy... Noya recalled seeing Margaret's face when she could still see. Though still young, there were certain qualities about her that remained unchanged throughout her life.

That kind of awe-inspiring aura, that kind of gaze that makes you feel the sincerity of the other person from the inside out just by looking at you. It's not surprising that there are so many fan girls...

However, since she became blind, she no longer had the chance to see what Margaret would look like when she grew up. She could only imagine her through a limited number of touches.

-

Margaret Linguang, accompanied by her parents, hurried past Noah to help her sister, Maria, who had accidentally fallen to the ground. At the time, Noah simply thought the blonde girl looked "handsome" and even thought she was a boy. Noah was standing behind Aunt Russell, and it was through Aunt Russell that she introduced Margaret to him.

Margaret Linguang, Linguang, the surname itself represents so much. As the eldest daughter of the Kirilet family, Noya's upbringing was filled with legends about the Linguang family: golden steeds, knights among knights, brimming with glory, like a second sun on the horizon. But Noya's first impression of that overly handsome girl was somewhat negative.

There is no other reason, it's just jealousy.

After all, the last long knight of the Kirilet family, Noah's grandfather, died early, and she had no one to protect her. If it were not for Ms. Russell's protection, she would have lost the Kirilet family business long ago.

Margaret, on the other hand, had both parents, a sister, a house, and the respect and praise of countless people. Unlike her gloomy self, she was like a little sun, while Noah was like a weed by the roadside.

Jealousy was natural—but for Margaret, jealousy was pointless.

After all, she was a true genius, a Pegasus with outstanding achievements, a knight among knights. She had the potential to be arrogant, and she had the confidence to be arrogant, but she never looked down on others. Perhaps it was her good upbringing, but she was different from the wild and unruly young lady herself. After they met, they met several more times in social occasions. Ultimately, they were just nodding acquaintances, but in Margaret's eyes, she seemed to have become her friend without realizing it.

Noah Kirilet still couldn't remember what had happened. Suddenly, she received a letter from Margaret, inviting her out of town to see the flowers. She read the letter, hesitated, and finally agreed to go. She didn't really enjoy seeing flowers, nor did she particularly like Margaret, but considering the relationship between the Kirilet and Linguang families, she had to go. She dressed up, choosing the clothes she'd most reluctantly worn, and left home looking like a little princess.

When they met Margaret at the agreed location, she was already a head taller than him. This girl had grown up much faster than him. With her blond hair, she stood straight before the knight statue in the Grand Knight's Territory. In the sunlight, she stood even taller than the knight statue. Noah subconsciously looked away, to avoid being burned by her radiance. She regretted agreeing to go out with him.

I don’t know why this girl invited me. If she was willing... No, not even if she was begging her, the street would be filled with people who wanted to go out of town with her to see the flowers, right?

She seemed to notice Noah holding the umbrella, turned around and smiled, and while she was still dazed, she appeared in front of Noah, took the girl's hand, and seemed to say something... But at that time, she didn't listen carefully, nor did she want to. She just responded and looked away, not wanting to look at Margaret any more.