Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

She had done some good things, though. At least she had used Priss's blood sample to save Noa, which had allowed Priss to notice Noa's uniqueness. But merits are merits, and faults are faults; there's no such thing as redeeming one's sins. Merits and faults never cancel each other out. Kal'tsit's attitude was even clearer. Although she was a creation of a previous civilization, she had spent most of her time within Terran civilization, and under the influence of her surroundings, she had long since established her own beliefs.

She is the guardian of civilization, and she watched the Terra civilization grow. Compared with the previous civilization which was just a small part of her life, the Terra civilization was the one that truly shaped Kal'tsit's existence.

The time Theresa spent with her completely changed Kal'tsit, who valued responsibility more than life. She began to truly become an idealist, or in other words, she inherited Theresa's will. She would never change her position because of Priss's awakening. She is Terra's Kal'tsit, and will only be Terra's Kal'tsit. Even if the former civilization and Terra civilization officially go to war, she will firmly stand on Terra's side.

Although the meeting was not pleasant, after the meeting was dismissed, Noah and Precious returned to their residence. Their next destination was Dripping Water Village, which was located in Casimir. Although there was no evidence, it was estimated that Noah's ancestors withdrew from Victoria for the experimental facilities in Dripping Water Village, gave up the title of Protector of the Country, and came to Casimir. The secret of the experimental facilities was passed down from generation to generation until Noah's generation. Because of the special identity of Noah, her grandfather did not tell her the secret that the family had guarded for generations.

At the beginning, the Kirilet family was not only guarding the experimental facilities, but more likely guarding Creation Zero - Noah himself. However, after Noah and Creation Zero became one, there was naturally no need for them to continue to spread this secret.

Noah also told Precious about her guess. Although Precious had never paid attention to where the so-called Dripping Village was, after all, most of her attention was on the pieces of Original Source Stone on Terra, and then on the sarcophagus of Chernobog where the doctor was sleeping. As for the Heaven's Fulcrum, the Deep Blue Tree, and even the Preservator Project, she had no great interest in them, so she basically ignored them.

Although Prisseth is omniscient and omnipotent, she was weakened after regaining her body - after all, the body has its own limits, and she can no longer use the power of Originium as before. Of course, even so, she can be said to be the strongest Originium user in the history of the entire Terra civilization.

Yes, an Originium user.

Unlike a warlock, she is the will of the Originium, and what she can drive is the Originium itself.

The general meaning is that if everyone uses C or C++, then Prissus can directly use mechanical language, that is, binary, to communicate and control Originium. This concept is completely different from those warlocks.

The current Precious is so terrifying that even giant beasts would tremble in front of her...

"Ama-10, when she was born, the doctor called it a miracle." Precious sat on the bed, took off her shoes, and leaned back awkwardly. The quilt, folded into a tofu block behind her, was pressed down by her weight, like a large square pillow, supporting Precious's waist. However, this position also highlighted the shape of her breasts. This body was created entirely according to Precious's understanding of herself, so it was basically the same as the body in the previous civilization. This is the perfect support for Precious's soul. In other words... in the previous civilization, Precious already had this level of capital. "I never thought that one day we would face a counterattack from our own relics."

Perhaps noticing Noah's gaze, Precious suddenly exerted force from his waist, flipping over and covering his chest. "What are you looking at?"

"Look at the quality of my handmade graduation project." Although Noya's eyes were dishonest, he immediately found a reason to justify his actions. "After all, I sculpted your body with my own hands, and you were completely naked at the time. What's the point in covering it up now?"

"Heh—do you think I'm shy?" Precious curled her lips. "Unlike the doctor, I'm not interested in beastgirl characters like you."

"Really?" Noah rolled her eyes. "I'm actually quite satisfied with the way I look... Besides, Precious, we're not some beast-eared girls. We're human beings just like you."

"That's not necessarily true. You're simply affected by the Originium, showing human physical signs." Precious had no intention of giving Noya face. Or rather, she was willing to give her some face in front of others, but in private, she was blunt. "You can only be called subhumans at best. And Terra's original inhabitants were the Tikaz. You little animals must have come from somewhere else."

"I know that human cognition has caused Originium to change Terra," Noa shrugged, sighing, "but we don't actually have any grudges against the previous civilization, right? To be honest, the Originium left behind by the previous civilization has caused us quite a bit of trouble."

"Without Originium, you're still living on raw meat and drinking blood. Aren't you demihumans also benefiting from Originium? Originopathy... I admit we didn't consider your existence back then, and we didn't know you were allergic to Originium. You can't blame us for that, right?" Precious retorted, "But you, you occupied Tikaz's land and almost wiped them out. So, you're not bad, are you?"

The two looked into each other's eyes for a long time before they relaxed.

"There's no point in us arguing... Precious, you're talking so much today. Are you also provoked by Dr. Kal'tsit?" Noya asked curiously. After all, before, Precious often said nothing all day, not even a good morning, let alone an argument. He spent his days either reading or experimenting with how far he could control Originium. His talkativeness was already considered abnormal.

"...It would be a lie to say no." Precious shook his head. "Ama-10, yes, that's your Doctor Kel'tsit. I've already explained clearly what she did to you. She betrayed us and even the entire Garden of Eden. I can never forgive her."

"I don't think she needs your forgiveness." Noah looked out the window. Rhodes Island was running in the smoke and dust. Outside the window was the floating sand and the dim sunset color, shining into the warehouse, bringing an indescribable feeling. This may be because Noah has found his roots and understood his mission, so he is more determined. But Precious is different. She still seems to be high and mighty. In fact, Noah can see that after having a physical body, Precious is recovering some of her original shadow.

That... that little girl in the Garden of Eden who was hardworking, motivated, and even would secretly hide in the bathroom and cry when things didn't go well.

Everyone in Eden was a genius. Even someone like Precious could not stand out among this group of geniuses. In order not to be left behind by everyone in Eden, Precious was probably the most diligent one among them. In the administrator's memory, there was once an experimental error in Precious that caused the entire experiment to fail. She blamed herself and even submitted her resignation to the administrator after the experiment, and then disappeared.

The administrator searched for a long time before finding Precious in the dormitory bathroom. She was reluctant to leave. The administrator tore up her resignation letter in front of her and told her that Precious was an indispensable part of the future that the administrator saw. It was this sentence that made Precious finally decide to stay. She cherished her life in Eden very much, and it was after this opportunity that her relationship with the administrator improved.

Of course, it is impossible for the doctor and others to become disillusioned with Priss because of an experimental error. The essence is that this child is too worried about gains and losses.

Noah could understand it very well - when there is a dazzling enough person around you, you will always think that you are not worthy of being with that person. Noah had a similar mentality at the beginning, and she also knew how much pressure such thoughts would bring to herself.

After losing the entire Garden of Eden and failing her salvation plan, Precious became a part of the Originium. Through her own authority, she became almost omniscient and omnipotent. However, time gradually eroded her humanity.

Losing one's physical form has a profound impact on the soul and may even completely change a person's soul.

Fortunately, Precious hasn't reached that point yet.

"This is so troublesome... Noah, if, I mean if, can you help the doctor recover his memories of the Garden of Eden? Or just make a copy of my or your memories of the Garden of Eden and put it into the doctor's brain? In this way, we can start from scratch and bring everyone back." This was not the first time that Precious had mentioned this idea, but Noah had never made a formal statement. On the one hand, she didn't know the doctor's situation at the time, and it was irresponsible to give him hope without authorization. On the other hand, she was actually struggling... Her ability could transcend the boundary between life and death, which was a very terrifying power.

She has this power, but she is not yet ready to use it.

Initially, the administrator planned the capabilities of the Project Zero product to become humanity's ark to survive destruction, but now... did she really have to try to rebuild the previous civilization?

There are probably very few souls of the previous civilization that can be retrieved. In the entire Terra, there are probably only two people who can be called people of the previous civilization, Priss and the Doctor. Noah is actually a [creation] like Kal'tsit.

Judging from the information Noya has learned so far, Friston, who has completely transformed into an AI, is unlikely to be able to extract any soul fragments. There is almost no way to revive him. Luo...it's hard to say whether Luo is still alive, and there is no news about Ed at all...

"I've already answered this question. I don't know." Noah shook his head. "The doctor's situation is very complicated. Essentially, my ability is to nourish the soul and repair it, not to repair memories. I can't do anything about erasing memories. If, as you say, we reconstruct all the memories of the Garden of Eden, while theoretically feasible, they are our memories, not the doctor's... It won't change the doctor back... It might even cause memory disorder, which could be even worse."

Precious knew how Noah would answer, but she still had this idea and looked forward to realizing it.

After being rejected once again, Precious turned around and lay down on the bed as if she was throwing a tantrum. "I'm going to sleep, you can do whatever you want."

"...The sun hasn't even set yet, aren't you going to eat?"

"Don't eat food, eat Originium."

"..." Noah watched as Precious casually pulled a pure Originium from his pocket and chewed it like a candy bean. He felt a little overwhelmed. Originium wouldn't harm pre-civilized people, so they could actually consume its energy directly. The taste, however, was far from impressive. "Alright, you go to sleep. I have other things to attend to. I'm leaving now."

Noah helped Precious close the curtains before turning to leave. However, when Noah left, Precious was sleeping on her side facing the wall. When Noah opened the door, she turned over and looked at Noah's back as he left. She subconsciously called out, "Administrator!"

"..." Noah paused and sighed, "I'm not an administrator, I'm Noah Kyrielight. Don't try anymore, Precious."

Chapter 63: Intensity Anxiety

After Noah left the room, Jian followed Noah. In fact, she had been worried about Noah's situation, especially now that she seemed to have taken on new responsibilities. If possible, Jian certainly hoped that she could take on some things on Noah's behalf, but after all, her ability had reached a very embarrassing situation. If Jian could handle what Noah was facing now, then Noah would basically have no worries, but the problem was... now Noah's troubles were no longer something Jian could solve.

Unlike the time with Casimir, Noya was too weak back then, so weak that she had to be closely protected by Mace. Although Maenna later helped her, it was Mace who stayed with Noya the longest. But the Noya now was no longer the same Noya. She was stronger than Mace, both in spirit and in strength. Although Mace was happy to see this, she also wondered if her presence at Noya's side was no longer necessary.

With such concerns, she has been following Noah. Noah can feel Jian's mood and naturally knows what she is worried about.

When they were together, Noah would always express how important Jian was to her, and even if Jian wanted to do something, she would agree after being shy. However, this way of getting along might not be a good thing for a proud person like Jian.

Martial arts are different from Originium skills. They cannot be improved overnight and can only be improved through long-term training. The mace has reached a bottleneck... It is difficult to train and improve it through ordinary methods.

Mace is definitely not a weakling, but now, Mace can no longer keep up with Noah...

The first time Jian realized this was during the battle with the Blood Demon Lord. Even with the transformation into a demon, she still found it difficult to break through the Blood Demon Lord's blockade. This was the limitation of martial arts. Pure physical means would always be restricted by various means, and Jian could not really break all the magic with one force like the characters in the novels. In this case, it could even be said that she could not keep up with the version updates.

Of course she had thought of a solution, but because of her physical condition, she couldn't improve herself through Originium techniques like Margaret did - she could only slowly build up her physical strength.

She absolutely did not want to become Noya's weakness, so... when she couldn't intervene, she would always choose to withdraw from the front line...

"Mace?"

"……Um?"

"I always feel like you're in a bad mood. Did I do something wrong?" Noah stopped and said, "Did I push myself too hard? Did I not take enough rest? Or is it..."

Noya seemed to be blaming herself for the situation, but Jian knew she had done nothing wrong. She had simply been following the original agreement, nothing more. Jian was the one worrying about nothing… Ha, the phrase “worrying about nothing” had never occurred to her that it would be so fitting. Jian almost wanted to laugh. Of course, she couldn't say that in front of Noya… So, she reached out and embraced this considerate and attentive girl.

While she was still shy, Mace spoke.

"I just feel like it's been a long time since you and I..."

"...Can we talk about it tonight..." Noah seemed to realize something, his face red as a boiled shrimp, "After all... during the day..."

"Pfft... I was just kidding." Mace laughed. Although it was just a harmless joke, Noah didn't refuse her. He even seriously considered when to comfort her. This was enough. "You go do your own thing first. I have some things to do too."

"My own business?"

Noya blinked. It was quite unusual for the mace to leave her side on its own initiative... No, it was a good thing. Noya didn't want to keep the mace tied to her side all the time, so she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll go check on Dr. Kal'tsit first. Precious's appearance must have made her very uneasy, and I need to talk to the doctor about this—" Noah explained her whereabouts so that Mace could come find her later. Then she spoke hesitantly. "Actually... Mace, if you have anything, you can tell me. We can discuss anything, right?"

"Of course, but this is just my personal matter. Noah, go do your thing first. I'll catch up with you." Mace nodded. Her personality was decisive and quick, and after explaining the situation clearly, she turned and left. However, perhaps sometimes it was just coincidence. At the corner, Skadi leaned against the wall, cautiously poking her head out, looking at the two people at the end of the corridor. For some reason, she hid after seeing them. She watched them separate. Noah went to Dr. Kal'tsit's office, while Mace went in the opposite direction. If Skadi remembered correctly... that should be the training ground.

Skadi pushed her glasses up, seemingly lost in thought. A voice seemed to echo in her little head...

She clenched her fists, encouraged herself, and patted her cheeks before jogging out around the corner.

"Ms. Noah!" Skadi pretended to meet her by chance and followed Noah from behind. She didn't slow down until she was shoulder to shoulder with Noah. Her cheeks were a little red with shyness. "Where are you going?"

"I already told you that there's no need to add me—" Noah smiled, "Let's go see Dr. Kal'tsit. What about you, Skadi?"

"I... me too," Skadi lied softly. She'd originally come to look for Noya, but since she seemed busy, she decided to just tag along. "Um... is Miss Noya's business done? Agor said we can head to the lab anytime. They've already prepared the infiltration ship."

"Well..." Noah smiled a little embarrassedly, "I still have some things to deal with. Regarding the Deep Blue Tree Laboratory, can it be postponed a little longer?"

"Of course no problem." The information about the Deep Blue Tree Laboratory was provided by Noah, and the planner of the entire exploration plan was also Noah. She has absolute dominance over the entire exploration plan. Let alone postponing it, even if she now designates other people to explore, there will be no problem. After all, the whole thing is basically carried out according to Noah's wishes. However, Noah is not the kind of person who has the final say, nor is she a willful person. So when Skadi mentioned it, she would also consider her own situation and Agor's mood, so she said this - in fact, she also took Skadi's difficulties into consideration.

As an ambassador between Agor and the mainland, Skadi was under considerable pressure. After losing her power as a deep-sea hunter, she began to work on clerical tasks, but she had no real talent and was a complete mess. But practice made perfect, and she was gradually getting the hang of it. With the second captain occasionally visiting the mainland and offering assistance, Skadi could handle the job without any problems on her own.

It’s just that I haven’t seen Miss Noah for a long time... I miss her a little bit.

The memories of the past have faded, but she can never forget the duet dance under the moon that day...

She just wanted to get closer, closer...close enough to see Noah clearly...

It would be great if her memory could be restored. The appearance of the legendary deep-sea hunter Skadi is now blurry and unclear... Is the so-called weakening of body cells really irreversible?

If possible, Skadi would rather stay by Noah's side as a guardian...

"Ms. Noah... what do you think? Should I continue training... Maybe one day I can become a deep-sea hunter again?" Skadi asked, somewhat bewildered. "The captain said that my body cells are weakening and I can no longer be a deep-sea hunter. But it's only my sea-born cells that are weakening. Why can't I train myself... until I no longer need them?"

"..." Noah paused, "I don't object to your personal efforts, Miss Skadi. It's just... Skadi, you don't need to do something you don't want to do just because you're worried about falling behind..."

"...How did you know?" Skadi looked at Noah in surprise. She thought she was pretending well. She had been busy with paperwork and had never told anyone about her feelings.

"...I had the same concerns in the past." Noah smiled. "I was in a wheelchair before, and it wasn't long after I recovered."

"That's right... I've read the records you left behind." Skadi nodded. "So, what were you thinking at the time?"

"If one road is blocked, try another. If the road is truly blocked, change direction. If you can't even discern the direction, rely on your willpower to break through," Noah said. "Of course, these are just nice words now, but that's what I really thought at the time. I'm not as strong as you think. I just don't want to give up. If I give up, there really is nothing I can do."

Indeed, Noah had thought of everything, but it seemed that the only thing he had not thought of was giving up.

Obviously, she was disabled at the beginning. Compared with normal people, her level was not even 0, or even negative. But she kept working hard, and with God's mercy, she finally made her own way. She even walked on a tightrope while disabled and became the spokesperson of the Chamber of Commerce. These were all her own efforts. She used everything at hand and even surpassed most normal people with her disabled body.

"So, I support you, Skadi. You can do whatever you want, but don't worry about gains and losses... Don't change your lifestyle just because you feel uneasy." Noah persuaded. "Actually, I want to say the same thing to Mace, but she's different from me. She's a very proud person. If I say this, it might only make her more eager to change her current situation... Who knows. But gaining power is not that easy..."

"Ms. Noah, you... really care about Miss Mace... Could it be that you... are already a couple?" Skadi noticed the subtle change in Noah's tone and asked indirectly. "Then... I should be congratulating you."

"...family." Noah smiled. "But it's true that there's some strange relationship between her and me, but she hasn't let me announce it. I'm thinking of announcing it one day."

"...Is that so..." Skadi felt a little disappointed. This disappointment was for no reason, but she could indeed feel a sour feeling in her heart, as if something important had been stolen. "Ms. Noah, you have already...established that kind of relationship with someone else."

"Skadi? What's wrong?"

"No...nothing." Skadi quickly cheered up, "I'm so happy that Miss Noah has someone she can rely on."

"...I think you're worthy of your trust, Skadi." Noah smiled. "Skadi is a very powerful person. I've known that for a long time."

"..."

What Skadi actually wanted to say at this moment was that the Skadi you are talking about is the one you know... and it seems to have nothing to do with herself, or rather, with herself who has lost the memory of being with you.

For the first time, she longed to regain her power, the power of the deep-sea hunter... so that she could rightfully become Noya's guardian, she could pick up the sword again and it would stay by her side.

Even if the price is becoming a monster...

This impulse lasted only a moment, causing his heart to beat faster for a few seconds. Noah seemed to sense something and looked at Skadi beside him with some confusion, but Skadi seemed to have returned to her normal state at this time, making Noah feel that it was an illusion.

She withdrew her gaze and continued, "If you want to start training again, you can actually talk to Jian. She probably has similar troubles as you... maybe you can become good friends."

"No... I don't think Miss Mace and I can be friends." Skadi shook her head regretfully. "It's just that we're not compatible."

"That's a bit regrettable..." Noah didn't have the habit of forcing others, so he could only nod and say, "Regarding the matter of the Deep Blue Tree, I will move forward as soon as possible. Well... I'll go discuss some things with Dr. Kal'tsit and the Doctor first. Miss Skadi..."

"I'll go with you. It's okay. Miss Doctor has given me the right to participate in the meeting at any time."

"Okay, if the doctor agrees..." Noah nodded, "Then I'll trouble Miss Skadi to attend the meeting with me."

Kal'tsit, Doctor, Skadi, Noah, and Amiya, this lineup can be said to be the most important representatives of Rhodes Island. Now, they are all gathered together in the conference room. During the meeting, Noah saw an unexpected person, and she subconsciously called out the other person's name.

"Roland? Why are you here?!"

Chapter 64: Onlookers

That's right, the person who appeared in front of Noah was Roland, who had not appeared for a long time - but this time, Roland only maintained the appearance of a white-armored knight for a few seconds, and then, she transformed into a look that Noah was very familiar with.

—Clovasia, the unicorn who appeared as the leader of the self-defense army in Victoria.

"Long time no see, Noah."

She said with a smile, the grin on her face like a child who had pulled a successful prank.

Roland and Clovisia were actually the same person, or rather, the same beast master, the former Protector of Victoria and a symbol of the Kirilet family's reign as Protector of Victoria many years ago. Clovisia had originally appeared in Casimir to rescue the Kirilet family's only descendant, and she had only appeared as Roland to avoid suspicion, given her status as Protector of Victoria.

However, after Victoria was liberated, Clovisia quietly left after carefully testing whether Vina, the King of Advancement, was qualified to sit in that position.

On the one hand, Vina had Gawain by her side, and she and Gawain were old acquaintances. It was somewhat unnecessary for the two beast masters to stay in the same place. After putting aside the matter of Victoria, Clovisia naturally became concerned about her outstanding descendant of the bloodline. As a result, after searching for a long time, she found that he had run away to Agor. Although there were ways to go to the sea, because of the relationship between Haisi and the giant beasts in the sea, Clovisia finally decided to stay in Rhodes Island. While helping Rhodes Island, she also contacted her old friends and waited for Noah's return.

This time, she dropped all her pretenses to Noah, revealing her true identity. She was Roland the White Knight, Victoria's Protector of the Nation, and Clovisia, the leader of the Self-Defense Army. Although she had many names, she preferred Noah to call her "Clovisia." This was her favorite name and identity. After all, when she was the leader of the Self-Defense Army, she truly felt that the most energetic and promising people in this country were with her.

Clovisia will probably be the only name she uses for a long time.

"I see... You're kind of my ancestor, then." Noah nodded, finally understanding why Roland had become Clovisia. "I initially thought that even though you claimed to be a member of my father's Knights, you were the only one. Turns out you were just slacking off..."

"It's not really just slacking off, I came to see if there's anything wrong with my descendants." Clovisia said confidently, hands on her hips. "Besides, Gawain is watching over there, so I have nothing to worry about. Vina is also a very outstanding person."