Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"Ah."

"I like Noah, too."

"Ah."

"Then... I'm out. Shouldn't you be happy?" Viviana pointed at herself. "I'm your love rival."

"...Um...why?" Margaret tilted her head. "The girl I like is so outstanding, but she attracted someone else. Should I be unhappy?"

"...You have a really big heart." Viviana suddenly felt a little discouraged, "This time, even your broad mind can't compare."

"You're flattering. And... to be honest, you said I'm the right fit for Noah." Margaret paused, "Actually, I think you're more suitable for Noah."

"Ah?" Viviana felt like she had said "ah" more today than she had ever said in her life. "Why?"

"...If I really want to explain, it might be a bit long." Margaret smiled awkwardly, "And it involves Noah's privacy. If you want to ask, it's better to ask Noah."

It wasn't that Margaret was deliberately keeping things a secret; after all, these matters involved Noah's physical condition and her mineralogy. Margaret knew Noah's condition, and she understood why she kept such a distant attitude; she was preparing for what was to come.

Or to put it more clearly...she was preparing for her own death.

The life of a girl named Noah Kyrielight has long entered a countdown that requires careful planning.

It was precisely because of this that Margaret understood that even if she really told her her feelings, she would directly reject it.

In order not to hurt their relationship, she could only keep her feelings to herself, because once she said it out loud, Noah would definitely distance himself from her.

It's not even because she doesn't like herself. The reason she does this is that she doesn't want to delay herself.

If she said it out loud, she would lose the chance to even be with her, so she could only keep silent.

Margaret understood Noah, and precisely because of that understanding, she had to hide her thoughts. Even Maria probably had some idea of ​​her thoughts, but she didn't dare to tell Noah.

All she could do was stay by her side, and even that companionship... probably couldn't continue forever.

Noya had told herself that when this was over, she would leave Casimir, travel around Terra, write a travelogue, and use her final moments to experience everything she wanted. She wanted to feel the warmth of snowflakes melting in her palms, experience the most eclectic city of Longmen, visit friends one after another, and spend a day basking in the sun on the deck of Rhodes Island.

These wishes...are destined to prevent her from staying by his side.

Margaret Linguang, she is not someone who lives just for herself.

So, she would stay in Casimir and Noah would leave.

So let me ask myself, if I can't even accompany Noah, how can I be considered suitable for him?

Chapter 150: Helping a fallen girl, isn’t it a problem?

"I was wrong, I was wrong! I was so wrong." Cintrea was now forced to sit across from Noya. Kuro even grabbed Maria, who had already run away, and threw her next to Noya. Only after confirming that Maria hadn't suffered any wounds, not even a scratch, did Noya finally feel relieved. Cintrea could only beg for mercy. If she'd just been caught slacking off, it would have been fine. Noya, with his good character, probably wouldn't have minded.

But what I did was an attempted crime. It is no exaggeration to say that abducting a minor will result in imprisonment.

Xintelaiya is sweating profusely now. Although she used to call herself an outlaw, she now has a proper job. Naturally, she can't feel at ease pretending in front of her current boss. The identity of the boss does bring with it pressure. Xintelaiya now feels like she has done something wrong and was caught by her mother. She is silent in front of Noah. She hasn't been so humble for many years.

"...What's wrong with you?" Noah should have been blind, but when those dark eyes stared at Xinteleya, they carried a kind of intimidation. When she spoke, the intimidation was even greater. "Speak clearly, how could I not know you were wrong?"

"...I...I was wrong to abduct Maria. But I didn't hurt her..." Cintrea said cautiously, "And this was the order of the board of directors...I had no choice, right?"

"Board of Directors..." Noya frowned. She hadn't expected this. Indeed, the fact that Sintrea could receive orders directly from the board of directors meant she must be a cadre within the No-Horn Alliance. However, she and the No-Horn Alliance cadres seemed to have only met once, a lapis lazuli named Roy. But judging by their strength... Sintrea was clearly not going to try to seduce Roy. She was most likely a platinum, below the lapis lazuli.

The Platinum position... I didn't expect Xinteleya to be so powerful that she could climb to the Platinum position in such an organization.

Although the Platinum title may not be a proof of strength, it at least proves that Xinteleya is a team leader who is quite good at team combat.

Of course, Xinteleya didn't know that Noah had noticed so many things from the order of the board of directors. She just felt that even if Noah asked her to tell her how old she was when she stopped wetting the bed, she would subconsciously say it out loud.

For some reason, compared to his two superiors, Roy and Monica, although Noah's strength is definitely not as good as Qingjin's, his oppressive power is far greater.

"Yeah, it was those pigs on the board... ahem, those guys gave the order, and there was nothing I could do... If I disobeyed, I might be the one left dead on the street tomorrow," Cintrea explained. "This is just a compromise. I kidnapped him, but I mean no harm. And I was planning to let him go after a quick fight, but I didn't expect it to be you, the boss, who would chase me down..."

"Miss Xinteleya is telling the truth." Maria beside her also hurriedly helped to explain, "Miss Xinteleya really has no intention of hurting me."

"Maria, shut up first." Noah's tone suddenly turned cold. "I haven't said anything to you yet, but who told you to follow them so foolishly? Fixing the water pipes? Why didn't you trust them to take you to fix the mecha?"

"...Huh?! There really is a mecha? Wherever it is, I'll definitely go."

"..." Noah felt that he might have said something wrong. He slapped his forehead and was silent for a moment before speaking, "What I mean is, you can't just believe everything others say. Although Xinteleya is not a bad person, it doesn't mean that all the people you meet are bad people."

"Oh..." Maria also lowered her ears obediently. After all, Noah didn't even smile now. As everyone knew, once Noah stopped smiling, basically someone would be in trouble.

——Oh, there is one possible exception.

That is, if she was so angry that she laughed, then it would not be considered bad luck.

"Ms. Xinteleya, as your boss, I must tell you..." Noya took a deep breath, "Your behavior has seriously violated the employee code of conduct."

"Huh?" Cintrea looked up. "Employee rules?"

"The first rule of the employee code is to seek help from your supervisor if you have any difficulties. You shouldn't try to solve it yourself, you should come to me directly." Noah said, "I understand your difficulties, but your behavior is still not easily forgiven."

"...Gu." Cintrea lowered her head again. "I understand. I'll accept any punishment."

"...Okay, let's leave it at that for now. And... Cintela, do you want to continue staying in the Heroless Alliance?" Noah's expression finally relaxed, but the next sentence made Cintela suddenly react.

"Ah...what do you mean?"

"I'm asking you, do you want to leave the No-Horn Alliance?" Noah said this in a different way, but the meaning remained the same. "If you really don't want to stay in the No-Horn Alliance, then I will try to negotiate with them."

"...Huh?" Cintrea blinked. "Boss, what do you mean?"

"I'm the spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce now, after all. My words carry some weight," Noah propped up her chin. "So, just tell me what you think. If you're willing, I'll call Roy right now to formally discuss things."

"...Why?" Cintrea blinked. "Why are you helping me?"

"Well, I'm used to helping girls who have fallen on hard times." Noah finally laughed. "I've done some research, and you didn't join the No-Horn Alliance on your own. You once debuted as an idol knight, but were involved in a match-fixing scandal, which forced you to retire. In the end, a series of unforeseen circumstances led you to join the No-Horn Alliance. If that's the case, and I have the ability, why wouldn't I help you?"

"but I……"

"You just need to tell me whether you want to leave the No-Horn Alliance or not." Noah said with a smile, "Xintelaiya, you signed a contract with me in black and white. You are my employee, right?"

"I... I want to leave the Helmetless Alliance." Xinteleya couldn't believe it. She thought that her life would be doomed in this hellhole of the Helmetless Alliance. She didn't expect that her target, the person she wanted to assassinate, would choose to help her.

"That's fine..." Noah nodded. "Alright, get up. But you can't let this matter go. Since you've left the No Hero Alliance, and being the front desk girl is a bit of a waste of your talent, how about this? From now on, I'll ask you to protect Maria. How about that?"

"Ah?" Noah's words stunned Xinteleya. "Me? Protect Maria?"

"correct."

"Did I just kidnap her?"

"Then, Maria, tell me, are you willing to be protected by Sintrea?" Noah turned to ask Maria, and at this time Maria naturally knew what to say.

"Okay, please take care of me from now on, Miss Xinteleya."

To be honest, Maria wasn't surprised at all—after all, she was Noah.

Chapter 151: Stars

When Noah brought Maria back to Zofia, Zofia, who was almost crying, immediately went forward and hugged Maria. After holding her for a while, she hurriedly checked whether there were any wounds on Maria's body. Of course, she found nothing and then breathed a sigh of relief. However, the warm stage almost ended here.

"Maria!" Noya silently turned her head away. This time, she wouldn't help Maria. After all, being kidnapped so easily wasn't a good thing, and a lesson to learn wouldn't be a bad thing. Sintrea, standing beside her, also looked guilty. To prevent Zofia from attacking her, Noya decided to keep the matter a secret for now. On the one hand, she could sense Sintrea truly felt she was wrong this time, and on the other, it was Maria's decision.

Although it seems like only a short period of time, the relationship between Maria and Xinteleya seems to have made great progress. Maybe they found some common topics?

Noah guessed that, after all, apart from common topics, the only thing that could quickly bring two people closer together was probably love at first sight, right?

As for whether Maria and Xinteleya fell in love at first sight, Noah didn't think so, and even if it was true, Noah didn't think it mattered.

All of this depends on Maria's own decision and is not something she can influence.

While Maria was being tortured by Zofia, Noah called Margaret to inform her of her return, and the kidnapping incident ended quietly. Zofia was suspicious for a while about Maria's excuse that she had simply gone to someone else's house and forgotten to tell her family, but she didn't say anything. After Margaret returned, Noah found an opportunity to explain his intention to pull Sintela out of the No-Head Alliance.

Margaret and Noah had the same idea: people always make mistakes, and as long as they can be brought back, giving them a chance isn't a bad thing. However, she said with some concern, "Aren't you afraid you'll be attacked if you go there yourself?"

"I have Kuro by my side..." Noah said with a smile, "With her here, I guess not many people in the whole of Casimir can touch me."

"That being said, I still think you should be careful. After all, your status is special, and it's not just the No Clan Alliance that's targeting you—" Margaret warned. It would have been better if she hadn't said it. When Margaret said this, Noah's face darkened slightly. "That's right... After all, that incident back then... it was surprising that someone from the Knight class was involved."

"... Judging from the current situation, the enemy isn't just the Commerce Union." Margaret sighed. The original incident had of course been thoroughly investigated, and as the truth soon emerged, they discovered a group of knights and nobles in the country who were colluding with the remnants of the Witch King of Lethania. The kidnapping of the two people seemed to be organized by this group. Not only the kidnapping of Noah and Margaret, but also the trial of the Conquering Knights in Casimir.

This matter involves the affairs of my uncle's generation...

The darkness in Casimir is not limited to the Commercial Union. The so-called knight class and knight nobles are also not clean.

If someone else had said the same thing as Margaret about reviving Casimir's chivalry, Noah would definitely not have believed it, but after all, it was Margaret who said it.

Leithnia and Casimir are neighbors, so mutual infiltration is perfectly normal. Recently, Leithnia has quietly begun to accelerate its development, with a subtle momentum to surpass Casimir. It remains unknown how many people in Casimir are Leithnia's spies, and how many remnants of the Witch King have infiltrated.

The incident with the Howling Guards was by no means an isolated case, and even to this day, Noah had been the target of several assassination attempts—but they had all failed.

There was a group of people who saw Noah as a thorn in their side, and they wanted to kill her as soon as possible. Before Margaret's return, Noah had been holding on by herself, and she had become accustomed to it.

While she easily copes with others' ill will, she's less adept at handling kindness. Her perception isn't particularly strong, and compared to Amiya's telepathy, it's even more subdued. Furthermore, it can't be turned off at will, only failing when she's unconscious. As long as she's awake, she can sense others' emotions unimpeded. If she could, Noya wouldn't want this ability.

But after losing her sight, she had to rely on this ability. Often, even she herself sighed, perhaps this is what they call God closing a door for you and opening a window for you, but he just won't let you close the window.

"Okay, don't worry. As long as I'm by your side, they can't hurt you." Margaret reached out and warmed Noah's palm. Her hands had always been cold, perhaps because she was weak, but it didn't matter. Margaret's hands were always warm. With her by her side, her hands wouldn't feel cold. "Trust me."

"Alright, alright, you're not a child anymore. You need to be careful about the impact." Noah blushed and pulled her hand away. "If Maria sees, she'll misunderstand again."

"Maria is too busy to come over right now—" Margaret pressed on, grabbing Noah's hand as she tried to escape, and said with a smile, "Besides, it's okay if we're seen, right?"

"Use your seductive skills on other girls, my great knight." Noah was helpless, but he had no way to wrestle with the people from the Linguang family. He could only let Margaret warm his palms, and his face turned slightly red.

Indeed... Only when I am with Margaret do I feel at ease.

Perhaps it is because there is still some shadow of Yolanta in Margaret. For Noah, Yolanta's daughter has almost become her second mother. Margaret also has Yolanta's honesty and gentleness, which makes Noah unconsciously try to rely on her.

Margaret seemed to possess this kind of magic, making people unconsciously trust her and rely on her, like planets attracted by a star, revolving around her. Her light and warmth would warm everyone around her equally.

Noah had just closed her eyes, feeling the tenderness from Margaret, when she heard someone calling Margaret's name in the distance.

That voice...should it be Margaret's partner outside, Miss Nightingale from the Apostle Squad?

Noah was very good at memorizing other people's voices, so she subconsciously squeezed Margaret's hand. "Miss Nightingale is looking for you. Go and see if there's any trouble."

Chapter 152: Promise

Noah's impression of Miss Nightingale was limited to what Margaret had introduced and what Kuro had told her: a black, crescent-horned Sarkaz with limited mobility but no problem walking. She didn't look well, but had outstanding medical skills and a gentle voice.

However, when they first met, Noya felt that they had some similarities. She also had someone like Kuro around her, a white-horned Sarkaz named Shining. She and Miss Nightingale must be sisters... well, that's what she guessed. But that was the only similarity. After all, Nightingale was neither blind nor like herself...

However, she also had a vague feeling that Miss Nightingale's background was probably not good, so when she heard Miss Nightingale calling Margaret's name, her first reaction was to ask Margaret to go and take a look. Margaret listened to Noah's words and only then heard Nightingale's call. She glanced at Noah and hesitated for a while before saying, "Okay, I'll be back soon."

"...I have other things to do soon, let's talk later..." Noah didn't know what he was thinking, and subconsciously refused, then added, "Go quickly, it won't be good if I wait too long."

As the footsteps faded away, Noah finally breathed a sigh of relief. When he was with Margaret, his heart always beat very fast. He was usually a calm and composed person, but it seemed like he was so out of control when he was with her.

"Liz? What happened?" Margaret followed the voice and came to Nightingale. Nightingale turned around when she heard Margaret's voice and said, "Didn't you get a minor injury during the game today? I wanted to come over and help you with treatment. But I couldn't find you."

"I can handle this level of injury myself." Margaret shook her head. "You don't need to worry about me so much."

"It's not just me. Shining is worried about you too. She says you always hide your injuries. Your Originium technique can numb the pain, but it can't make your wounds disappear—you still need proper treatment." The Sarkaz named Liz grabbed Margaret's arm and said worriedly, "You've returned to the people you wanted to protect, but that doesn't mean we'll abandon you, Margaret. You promised."

"...Yes, I'm sorry, Liz. It's my fault for making you worry." Margaret was finally persuaded by Liz, so Liz reached out and mobilized her Originium skills, as if stroking the strings of a musical instrument. Nightingale's Originium skills were very special. Unlike most healing Originium skills, her Originium skills were very advanced in soothing pain and healing the body and mind. Under Nightingale's Originium skills, the tiny wounds on Margaret's body began to heal. Her treatment was very careful, not letting go of a single bit, and even the most deeply hidden injuries could not escape her eyes.

The treatment lasted about ten minutes. When Nightingale withdrew her hand, Margaret felt that her shoulder, which was still a little sore, was much more comfortable. She stretched her shoulder and thanked her. "Thank you, Liz."

"There's no need for such formalities between us." Liz shook her head. Then she turned her head and looked in a certain direction, asking, "That... lady who has been looking at us, is she an acquaintance of yours, Margaret?"

Margaret followed Liz's gaze and saw that it was Clow staring at her from the second-floor French window. Her gaze was cold, and even through two layers of glass, it chilled Margaret's heart. After being discovered, Clow turned and drew the curtains, but Margaret felt that her gaze seemed to have a deeper meaning. However, she felt that now was not the best time to ask.

"Kuro? What's wrong? Why are you pulling the curtains?" Noah was sitting in the room and noticed that Kuro suddenly pulled the curtains, and asked curiously.

"It's been cloudy and not sunny today, so I pulled up." Kuro's words were flat, like he was just talking about what he had for dinner last night. If Noya hadn't sensed her displeasure, she'd probably have been fooled. Noya didn't say much, though, assuming Kuro was upset because she'd let Sintelaiya off today. She didn't think Sintelaiya had made such a big mistake, though.

Well, it was mainly because she was actually quite honest. Noah thought she looked quite pitiful, and it was really pitiful that she was tied up by the No Helmet Alliance.

As the spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce, Noah had the power to issue orders to the Helmetless Alliance. Although Roy fell into deep thought when he heard that Noah wanted Xinteleya to change jobs, he originally thought that the other party would definitely refuse sternly or make him bleed heavily. But strangely, Roy just chuckled and asked Noah why he did this.

After Noah expressed her opinion without hesitation, Roy spoke up, "He kept the Platinum Throne of the No Heroes Alliance with him. Is our spokesperson such a careless person?"

"...This has nothing to do with you." Noah's response was a little cold. "For you, this deal isn't a loss, is it?"

"That's what I said... After all, it's just the Platinum position. If Pegasus doesn't want to do it, naturally someone else will take it." Roy's words were tinged with sarcasm. "Besides, the spokesperson said so, I have to give him some face, right?"

"...Then please tell your immediate superior, Sintreya, I want it."

"Don't worry, Ms. Noah." Roy on the other end of the line stopped Noah from hanging up and said something meaningful. "I hope you understand that after the competition, you will no longer be the spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce. And the Chamber of Commerce will not ignore your abuse of power."

"Is that all you want to say?" Noah asked. Roy's smile froze for a moment and his tone changed.

"Do you really think we can't touch you?" This was already a naked threat, but if Noah was afraid of this, then she would not be Noah.