Man on the ark, forced to become king

Kal'tsit glanced at Warfarin, hesitated slightly, and finally nodded in agreement.

For some reason, although she had agreed to go to Iberia, she had a bad feeling. Just to be on the safe side, it wouldn't hurt to bring Warfarin along.

This guy is usually a bit quirky and unconventional, but he's actually quite reliable when it really matters.

"...Can I not go?"

Hearing Kal'tsit agree so readily, Warfarin suddenly felt a chill and didn't want to go anymore. Staying in the office to work on the documents seemed just as good.

However, this time she was met with Kal'tsit's cold gaze and a single word.

"roll."

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"...This water should last until the next supply point."

On the desert of Kazdel, a knight in full armor shook the water pouch in his hand, seemingly wanting to drink some water, but after hesitating, he couldn't bear to part with it and continued walking forward.

The temperature in the desert was very high, and the knight's armor was so heavy that every step he took left deep holes in the sand. It's not hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to walk in the desert wearing such equipment.

But the knight seemed to enjoy it, and even the faint mist that could be seen drifting out from the gaps in her armor did not stop her from walking.

"Hey! You over there! Want to walk together?"

Suddenly, a sound from not far away stopped the knight in her tracks. She turned her head and looked in the direction of the sound. Her golden ponytail drew a semi-circle in the sunlight, and her eyes, wrapped in a headscarf, were fixed in that direction.

Over there, a tall figure was waving in this direction. Judging from their attire, they were probably fellow travelers trekking through the desert.

Of course, this person was not wearing heavy armor, but rather light, tawny clothing, carrying a bulging knapsack on his back. Like most travelers, his head was wrapped in a headscarf, with only his eyes showing.

"Would you mind if we traveled together?"

The knight did not respond, but the beckoning traveler had already run over on his own, acting as if they were old friends, and even reached out to pat the surface of the armor that had been scorching hot from the sun.

"You walk around in this kind of place dressed like this? It's a good thing you ran into me, otherwise you'd probably have sunburned to death on the sand. My name is Huang, what's your name?"

"...Near Light"

The knight responded sullenly, his eyes flickering.

She had never met such an enthusiastic traveler. Was it really that kind of personality, or did he have ulterior motives?

However, apart from the armor she wore, which was somewhat valuable, she didn't seem to have anything else that would make her stand out.

"Near Light, then I'll call you Near Light."

Huang nodded, grabbed Lin Guang's wrist, and pulled her down the sand dune, laughing as they walked, making Lin Guang's back feel a little uneasy.

Her wrist was being pulled, and she could easily break free without much effort, but Lin Guang didn't. She just let Huang pull her forward, crossing the sand dunes. There was a large rock standing upright in the sand, blocking out a lot of sunlight. Under the rock was a single tent, covered with a lot of gravel, which was obviously not something that had just been pitched.

Behind the tent, a three-wheeled motorcycle painted in brown camouflage was parked there. The tires were somewhat unusual, seemingly designed specifically for sandy environments.

Lin Guang didn't do much research on this and could only guess based on his existing knowledge.

However, all the signs combined didn't seem to match the robbers she had encountered before.

So all the preparations were useless. That's fine, as it saves some energy. Otherwise, Lin Guang wasn't sure if she would have enough energy to reach the next town for supplies after a battle.

"I can't see your face, but I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, I'm not a robber."

Huang patted his chest, laughing heartily, and then pointed to the open space in front of the tent.

"Please sit there for a while, I'll get you a bottle of water. I really don't understand why you would wear this kind of metal can to suffer in a place like this."

"……Thanks."

Why would someone wear a metal can and go into the desert to suffer? Nearl has the answer to this question.

She wasn't some ascetic with unique hobbies, and if she had a choice, she wouldn't want to plunge into the desert wearing such heavy armor.

But the truth is, she had no choice.

When she escaped from Kazimierz, she was only wearing this suit of armor, and underneath that was her close-fitting clothes. She had only a little money left, which had to be used to buy essential food and water. How could she possibly have the means to change into something more comfortable?

With no other option, she had to walk into the desert wearing this thing.

As far as she knew, this desert wasn't very large, and with her physical abilities, she should be able to get through it. Once they reached a normal place, the armor wouldn't be so inconvenient.

"Hey, everyone has their down times, right?"

Huang walked over with a bottle of water, removed the headscarf covering his face, revealing a slightly heroic-looking face.

When the topic of misfortune came up, she seemed to empathize deeply, her face full of emotion.

"Thank you."

After receiving the clothes, Lin Guang thanked her again, and then saw Huang crawl into the tent and pull out another set of clothes, which seemed to be the same color as what she was wearing.

"Here, take this. My motorcycle happens to have a cargo bed that can hold your armor. Change into this suit. This desert is huge. It will take us a whole day to get there by motorcycle. If you're still wearing this tin can, you'll be steamed alive by the time we get out."

"how come?"

Lin Guang had just raised his head when he heard this, and looked up in astonishment, seemingly in disbelief.

"When I came here, I heard that this desert was very small, and that it could be crossed on foot in half a day. How could this be..."

"Huh? You must have misheard me."

Huang scratched his head and pulled out another map to show Lin Guang.

"Look, this whole circle is the desert, it's huge, how could we possibly walk out in half a day?"

"..."

Lin Guang could read a map and knew that Huang was right. In such a vast desert, even if she took off her armor and ran at full speed for half a day, she wouldn't be able to get out, let alone walk while wearing the armor.

Her physical abilities were excellent, far exceeding those of ordinary people, but they were not limitless. Due to a miscalculation of the size of the desert, crossing it became extremely difficult.

The best course of action right now seems to be to hitch a ride with this traveler.

"Thank you."

This was the third time Lin Guang thanked her. She carefully took the clothes, crawled into the tent, and soon after, the sound of metal clanging could be heard inside.

A moment later, Lin Guang, having changed his clothes, emerged from the tent dragging a stack of armor.

"That's right. Everyone has their down times. Don't be embarrassed. You can pay me back when you have the money."

Huang put down the water bottle in his hand, casually stuffed it into his large pants pocket, and picked up the stack of armor on the ground as if it were an empty cardboard box, placing it very lightly into the sidecar of the motorcycle, much to Lin Guang's surprise.

Surprised? Isn't that normal?

Huang clapped his hands, turned around, and met Lin Guang's surprised gaze. He smiled and smiled.

"If I didn't have some skills, how could I dare to do good deeds in a place like this?"

This makes a lot of sense, leaving Lin Guang speechless.

Indeed, since Huang dared to stop her directly and call her over, he must have felt that he was strong enough to defeat her, although that may not be entirely accurate... but his strength was certainly not small.

"Once I pack up the tent, we'll set off. By the way, where are you going? If it's too far, I might have to drop you off in the nearest town."

Huang skillfully disassembled the tent while asking questions.

Lin Guang didn't answer the question immediately. She thought about it for a while, until the tents were all dismantled and ready to be loaded onto the truck, before she came to her senses and shook her head.

"I don't know, let's just leave it in the nearest town."

"You have nowhere to go either?"

For some reason, Lin Guang suddenly felt that Huang's gaze was more intimate, as if he had seen a long-lost friend, which was very strange.

"Come on, get in the car first, we'll talk on the way."

"Ah."

Not knowing what was going on, Lin Guang was pulled into the back seat of the car in a daze.

The three-wheeled motorcycle, carrying the armor tent and all the supplies, started up and moved slowly across the sand. It gradually accelerated, and once it picked up speed, Huang had some free time. He stopped focusing on controlling the motorcycle and brought up the topic from before they got on the vehicle.

"I've been in your situation too. Being chased and hiding, with nowhere to go, that feeling is awful. Were you also chased and had to escape?"

"Ah."

Lin Guang responded with a sound of agreement, without saying anything more.

She really wanted to deny it, because it would make her look very embarrassed, but the code of chivalry wouldn't allow her to lie on such matters.

So she admitted it, and then remained silent.

"Don't worry, everything will pass. Look at me, I'm doing just fine. If you really have nowhere to go, I can introduce you to a job, but only after I finish my mission."

Huang turned around and comforted her, his voice loud enough to be clearly heard even with the interference of the motorcycle engine. It had a strangely heroic quality to Lin Guang's ears.

"What job?"

She continued speaking in response to Huang's words, not just casually agreeing, but genuinely interested.

Her past glories and honors are all in the past. Now she is penniless and can only rely on herself. A job is exactly what she needs.

Moreover, if she finds a job, she can quickly replace the things she owes Huang.

"Like me, are you considered an unofficial member of the military? Anyway, I don't really know, you'll understand when you see for yourself."

Huang spoke vaguely, then skipped the topic and said in a low voice, "Pull up your headscarf. It's very windy up ahead. Be careful with your breathing and don't open your mouth."

……