Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Maenna: “?”

Suddenly, the entire garden training ground fell silent. The three of them stared at each other in amazement. Maria was the first to react. She reached out and grabbed Maina's arm. "Then let's go to that family restaurant that Sister Zofia recommended! It's delicious!"

"Ah."

"... Never mind. One more pair of chopsticks won't hurt." Zofia had originally wanted to kick Mainna out, but seeing Maria's happy expression, she could only sigh. "Come on, why don't you just stand there and wait for me to treat you?"

"..." Maina didn't say much, but was just pulled away by Maria. Speaking of which...how long had it been since they sat down to eat together? Maina couldn't remember.

I usually work overtime, and by the time I get home, Maria is usually asleep, so I need to get to bed early to prepare for the next day's work. Maria and Zofia have a good relationship, and for a reason. Compared to me, an uncle I barely see, Zofia is clearly more like a parent to Maria. After all, I'm not Snitzer; I'm not as considerate, and I can't handle the family relationships well.

But maybe it's not as complicated as I thought...

At least Maria is willing to accept herself... A smile finally appeared on the corner of Mainna's mouth.

-

drop by drop...

Noah's personal terminal, who processed documents with great efficiency, rang, and the sound of a text message being read rang in Noah's headphones, who had just finished processing a document.

"Sister Nuoya! Uncle got off work on time today and even had dinner with us!"

Noah paused before initiating the voice command. "Voice reply, reply: That's great! Let's have a good chat. We're family, so what's there to talk about? Remember not to make Uncle Maenna angry. Maybe he'll eat with you more often in the future."

After all, I am Uncle Mainna's boss, and I can let him go off work whenever I want!

It seemed like her actions weren't completely meaningless! Noya smiled gently. The relationship between Uncle Mainna, Maria, and Zofia had always been strained, and she had always wanted to mediate. However, Mainna, as the breadwinner of the family, often had to work overtime. So after recruiting Mainna to her company, the first thing she decided to do was to try her best to get Mainna to work less overtime and come home on time for dinner.

Many family quarrels, or family discord, are basically caused by lack of communication. Now Noah is giving Mainna and Maria Zofia a chance to communicate and eat together. For many families, being able to eat together can reduce many conflicts. Although the cost may be that he may be busier, it is still worth it compared to the result of making the atmosphere in the Linguang family a little better.

In a sense, today is also a day worth remembering...

In Noya's heart, Zofia and Myrna, Maria and Margaret are more like her family than her parents who left Casimir long ago and went to Leithania without a trace.

Noah shook his head, then changed his tone and spoke. "Kuro."

"Ok?"

"You're my family too."

"..." Kuro was silent for a moment, then asked with some confusion. "Why are you saying this suddenly?"

"I just wanted to say that." Noya blushed slightly, feeling a little awkward and shy, but she still pretended to be working on the documents seriously and said it casually. "Thank you for always being by my side, Kuro."

"..." Kuro didn't respond for a moment, but she knew that she couldn't hide her feelings in front of Noah. Her smile had become even brighter. She could only close her eyes and shook her head helplessly, "As you wish, my lady."

"What's there to be shy about—" Noah had already obtained the information he wanted from his perception, and nodded with a smile, "I'll have to work hard on you from now on, Kuro."

"Ah."

Kuro answered concisely, and through the mask, her eyes fell on Noah's bright smiling face.

It would be nice if I could see such a smile every day.

——Drip drip drip——

At this moment, the personal terminal rang again

"I know, uncle is just not good at getting along with us! Ah, enough talking, the food is almost served. Sister Noah, you should remember to eat well too."

Chapter 26: Breakfast

“…Seriously?”

Cintrea, or Platinum, froze when she saw the message pop up on her personal messages.

Allowing me to approach Noah, in other words, means the No-Horned Alliance hasn't given up on their plan to assassinate Noah? But even if they haven't given up, could you please find someone who can match them? Mainna and that woman named Kuro are clearly not someone I can handle at my level.

This wasn't just hitting a wall; it was pure mayfly trying to shake a tree. Forget about assassinating Noah. I was afraid I'd be pinned to the ground the moment I even had the slightest killing intent. I didn't want to experience being pinned to the ground and having my face rubbed against it!

Although giving up the mission was not something Xinteleya liked to do, strictly speaking, she would rather try to assassinate a war knight, which might have a chance of success.

Forget Kuro, whose true strength was unknown. But Mainna was from the Linguang clan, a power rivaling that of the long-lost Snits Linguang. Snits Linguang's exploits were still fresh in my memory. Even Xuantie wouldn't have been able to defeat him, let alone me. How could I, a mere Platinum Rank, attempt to take down someone protected by Mainna Linguang? Was I being too proud of my own longevity?

"I understand... This mission is for me to commit suicide."

Cintrea took a deep breath, suppressing the rage that threatened to provoke a question mark response. She began to reassess the order. After calming down, she realized it didn't necessarily require the assassination of Noah Kyrielight... "Close"—how close was considered close? Was it to steal intelligence?

If it's just about stealing information, maybe it can be done... As long as I don't let myself face that terrifying Mainna, everything will be fine.

Humans have their limits. Bai Jin feels that his limits are almost here. He should do as much work as he can. If it exceeds his ability, he should forget about being dedicated to his job. That is not called being dedicated to his job, that is called being ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.

No matter what this order meant, Platinum had completely given up the idea of ​​dealing with Noah Kyrielight.

Besides...they still owe me a meal, so at least wait until I have the meal before talking to them, right?

A smile appeared on Bai Jin's lips, and for some reason he felt suddenly much better.

But how to approach her was a big problem. Her current identity in front of Noya was a receptionist at the Source Stone hand sanitizer shop who had been promoted to a sales representative. Although she had left her contact information, she couldn't say she was fired the moment she returned. That would be too obvious.

Then I have to work on other things. Anyway, let's first investigate Noah Kyrielight's daily schedule. Just pretend it's an accidental encounter.

Xinteleya took off her plain glasses and let down her long hair that was tied with a hair tie. After returning to her original appearance, she looked around to see that there was no one around. She jumped over the wall and climbed onto a low building. Then, using the building as a springboard, she jumped a few times and disappeared into the steel jungle.

-

Noya didn't know any of this. She'd slept in the office last night. To make it easier to work, she kept a dedicated room next to her office, with two beds: one for Kuro and one for herself. When they first started their business, they'd often slept together, but now they had two beds. She'd been working on paperwork late into the night, and not wanting to go home, she'd simply rested on this makeshift bed.

But Kuro always gets up earlier than Noya. Whenever Noya gets up, Kuro is awake...

Noah considered giving Kuro a vacation, but Kuro refused. She explained that she wasn't really busy—after all, she mostly just had to be with Noya. Aside from a few early blunders, Kuro's reputation had spread, and anyone who dared to attack Noya had to think twice. Right now, Kuro was completely idle—that was the power of his reputation.

The guys who had tried to attack Noah seemed to be quite formidable in secret. After they were easily repelled, most people knew that Noah had such a powerful figure by his side, and few people actually took up the task of attacking Noah. It was simply because the price was too high. Those who were repelled by Kuro either had their legs twisted or their hands broken, in any case, they did not recover completely.

For this group of people, disability is much more painful than death——

They were most reluctant to face an opponent who wouldn't kill them but would definitely cripple them. Furthermore, no one had managed to gain any advantage against Kuro so far, and most had calmed down. The fate of the few who had stood out was enough to prove everything.

Kuro is also responsible for adjusting Noah's life, so he will prepare breakfast for Noah early, and even provide wake-up service occasionally.

What does it mean to feel safe?... If there really was a perfect and elegant head maid, Noya would definitely vote for Kuro. While she wasn't a maid, she was a combination of bodyguard, maid, and trusted assistant. Noya felt that no matter how much she offered Kuro, it wouldn't be enough to cover his dedication to her. Even if she offered him more, he would refuse...

"Are you daydreaming again? Get up and have breakfast first." While Noah was still in a daze, Kuro's voice came from her ears. She turned her head and showed a gentle smile.

"Thanks a lot."

"Have breakfast first. It's okay to work later. Mainna will be here soon." Kuro didn't seem to respond. To outsiders, Kuro looked a little cold, but in Noya's eyes, Kuro was the kindest person in the world.

"Kuro, why do you always get up so early?" After getting up, Noah would always find a topic to talk to Kuro. There was no other way, Kuro was indeed a taciturn person. If she didn't find a topic to talk to her, she would not say a word all day.

"No." Kuro shook his head. "I just got up according to my habit."

"It's early enough for me... I feel like I've never seen you sleep before." Noah felt something was wrong as he spoke, "Oh, yes, I didn't see it either."

"..." Kuro was silent for a moment, but Noya could sense that Kuro's emotions had indeed fluctuated slightly because of this somewhat hellish joke. "We'll see eventually. Rhodes Island also said that your eyes are not irreversible."

"That will take forever..." Noah shook his head, "Besides, I'm used to it. It doesn't bother me."

"..."

"Okay, I was just kidding, don't be angry." Noya quickly ended the topic when Kuro stopped talking. "I was just joking. If you can see it, of course I will be happy."

Chapter 27: Original Aspiration

It seems that every time Noah jokes about his eyes, Kuro will be unhappy. To be honest, Noah himself doesn't care anymore.

But in Kuro's opinion, no one could play tricks on his eyes, not even Noah himself. Perhaps this was part of the other party's desire to protect him, but his heart was not so fragile.

Just like that time when I received the glasses as a gift, I wasn't angry, but Kuro was so angry that he almost crushed the glasses.

Noya never thought it was wrong to have people make fun of her eyes. As long as she didn't take it personally, it was fine. But if someone else laughed at Zofia's left hand, she'd be angry too. Noya couldn't help but reflect on herself once more. Ultimately, she understood the principle of not doing to others what you don't want done to yourself.

At most next time... I won't tell such jokes...

But one should be more optimistic and think of some jokes next time that won't make Kuro feel angry. Kuro rarely laughs and acts like an ascetic. Noah just wants her to laugh more.

After finishing breakfast, Noah just sat back in his office when he heard heavy footsteps approaching from afar. It was obvious that the other person was a tall person. Noah, who was already familiar with the footsteps of people around him, started to greet him before the other person opened the door.

"Good morning, Uncle Maenna."

"……morning."

Well, this guy is also a legendary taciturn person... Noah couldn't help but feel a little helpless. Why are there so many taciturn people around him? Or is it that experts don't like to talk much?

Maina glanced at Kuro, who was standing behind Noya. She didn't know why, but Kuro felt a little strange today. Although he had only glanced at her, there was something else in that look. This was obviously a bit strange for Kuro, whose emotional fluctuations were not very obvious, but she didn't think much of it. Perhaps Kuro was just in a bad mood today? He sat down at his original desk, intending to process the documents left over from last night, but suddenly realized that they had already been processed.

Judging from the signature and official seal, these were all handled by Noah himself.

Mainna was stunned at first, then looked at Noah, and her eyes suddenly became a little subtle.

"Ok?"

Noya, sensing Mainna's gaze, turned around and tilted his head.

"What's wrong, Uncle Maenna?"

"No...it's nothing."

Mainna suddenly understood why Kuro suddenly treated her like that. It seemed that all her work had been done by her boss overnight. In order to give herself time to deal with family problems, Noah could be said to have taken great pains.

Mainna, who secretly noted this matter, did not say any words of gratitude, but instead devoted himself to his work again, but with greater care.

-

"Okay, that's about it for this morning."

After a while, after Maina and Noah had each finished their work, Noah heard her alarm go off—she was going to the opera with Viviana today. Or rather, for Noah, it was the opera. To prevent herself from getting lost in work and forgetting the time, she set her alarm early.

"I have to go out this afternoon... Uncle Maina, I'll trouble you with the rest of the afternoon's work. I'll catch up when I get back," Noya said in a negotiating tone. Although there was no need to discuss this with Maina, as a personal assistant was supposed to handle the tasks Noya couldn't handle personally. However, since he was her elder, Noya still treated him with respect.

"Leave it to me." Mainna nodded. "Have a safe trip."

"There's no need to force yourself. Just leave when it's time to get off work." Noah instructed again, "Absolutely no overtime!"

"...Okay." Maina nodded, agreeing. However, Noya still felt a little uneasy, and after repeated instructions, she and Kuro left the company.

On the way, Noah said to Kuro with a bit of distress, "I always feel that Uncle Mainna is still a little uncaring... Isn't the time spent with family more precious? I won't deduct his salary..."

"……Um."

"Kuro, you think so too, don't you? Uncle Mainna rarely interacts with Maria and the others. This won't work."

"……Yes."

"I'm just worried that Uncle Mainna will still be working when I get back. It won't be a big deal if I work later." Noah complained. In her heart, repairing the relationship between Mainna, Maria and Zofia was much more important than work.

"…Maenna has her own ideas. Perhaps you are too impatient."

Kuro spoke, but he did not agree with Noah's idea, but put forward his own idea.

"Adults have their own ideas. Just because you think something is good doesn't necessarily mean it's good."

"You're right, but..." Noah paused, "I just... feel like there were some things Margaret couldn't do at that time."

"That's their business." Kuro's words were a decisive blow. "It doesn't really have that much to do with you, right?"

"..."

Noya fell silent. Logically, that was true; it was someone else's family affair. While she and Maria were as close as sisters, and Margaret was a close friend who could trust each other, meddling in other people's affairs wasn't a good idea. She'd rather just create an opportunity, and that would be all she could do. But she still wanted to do more, perhaps at least ease the tension in the Linguang household before Margaret returned.

It wasn't like this originally... The Linguang family originally had a warm family that I envied...

But when she returned from Rhodes Island, everything had changed. Margaret was gone, the Linguang family's grandfather, Cyril, had passed away, and even Snitzer and Yolanta had disappeared. She hadn't been away for long, but the moment she returned, everything had changed.

She still remembered the moment she saw Maria again, she cried and threw herself into her arms. For Maria at that time, Noah was the first person to return to her after leaving her. But Noah could only helplessly hold Maria as she threw herself into his arms, unable to utter a single word of comfort.

Probably from this time on, Noah has always had a knot in his heart.

She didn't want to be so powerless all the time, didn't want to be powerless to resist when her surroundings were changed, and wanted to salvage something...

She just wished she had that kind of power.

This is also her original intention.

Chapter 28: Date

Although Noah was a little upset by Kuro's words, he didn't say anything more because he knew that the other party was only doing it for his own good.

Kuro was right. No matter whether she cared about the Linguang family or how much she hoped that the Linguang family could return to its original state, she was ultimately an outsider.

But she quickly composed herself. After all, she went out to see Viviana today. If she appeared so worried, it would be bad if it affected Viviana.