Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"I'm here." The wall slowly shifted, and Latatos emerged from her hiding place. This house had many secret rooms like this. Her father had built it, and he loved these so-called trap rooms. In the past, Hulus and Latatos had also enjoyed playing hide-and-seek in these rooms; it was a childhood pastime.

"Do you think what he said is true?" Xu Lu frowned, still thinking about what Nosis said. It must be said that she was somewhat convinced.

"Didn't you have any doubts before he said that, my sister?" Latatos sighed. "What you just said... couldn't you be sincere?"

"That's not right! But the Saint is on our side. Ensioudis's plan must have failed!" Xu Lu Si immediately retorted, "At first, Ensioudis thought that by making his sister the Saint he could control the situation, but the Saint turned against him. Now that things have turned out like this, what right does he have... Can he really still give up his sister..."

"Don't be silly, Xu Lu Si." Latatos frowned. "He wouldn't care about so many things. People like him will do anything to achieve their goals and despise faith. I wouldn't be surprised if he led his troops up the mountain to surround Manzhuyuan."

"...But the Saint is his sister."

"Do you know why his sister became a saint?" Latatos asked, "Do you know what it takes to become a saint? Do you think any girl can become a saint?"

"...I...don't know." Xu Ruth's voice suddenly dropped. "I just think...no matter how cold-blooded and heartless a person is, they should...at least be considerate of their fellow brothers and sisters, right?"

"Perhaps in the early years, but ever since he came back from Victoria, I can't understand him anymore." Latatos sighed. "Back when they were as close as brothers and supported each other, I thought he was a man of love and loyalty. Later, I realized I was wrong. He forced his sister to become a saint. You know, the first requirement to become a saint is to climb the mountain alone without any protective equipment. Many people were left on the mountain during the trial and never came down."

"...Ah, this..." Xu Lu Si finally understood why her sister said that Enthyodis was a cold-blooded man. "He sent his sister to this...place?"

"Hehe, maybe it was really the outside world that changed him. Anyway, I really can't understand it now." Latatos once helped Enthiodis return to the Council of Three Clans, but now, she feels that she may have made a wrong decision.

It's like releasing a lion among a flock of sheep...

"So... what Nosis said is true?"

"Don't worry, my sister." Latatos shook her head. "There's another possibility. This guy is in cahoots with Enthyodis."

"why?"

"We're trying to convince Enthiotis that he truly has ulterior motives, in retaliation for his dismissal and slander. Or perhaps he's using someone else's knife to kill, giving Enthiotis an excuse to start a war? Either way, we'll be entangled." Latatos sneered. "But I'm not that foolish. I won't act rashly until I'm certain of the information's authenticity."

"Then... how are you going to judge, sister?"

"Here's a bait I've put out. Let me go and see what it tastes like." Latatos clapped her hands. "Come on, I'm going to Perlochi's house to meet that wanted criminal from Casimir."

Now Latatos really began to take an interest in the idle chess game played by Enthiotis. If Enthiotis really had any plans, instead of offering this bait, it would be better to try to see if there was any breakthrough.

Perhaps Enthiotis is a flawless monster, but the same may not be true for others.

"First, let's check Nosis's background, then I'll go meet Noah, and finally - Xu Ruth..."

"Ok?"

"You don't have to do anything."

"Can……"

"Don't do anything. This is an order." Latatos said, displaying the authority of a patriarch. "Whether it's contacting the Edweiss children or doing other things, leave it to me. You don't need to get involved."

"...I understand." Xu Lusi wanted to say something, but under the pressure of her sister's eyes, she gave up. "...Be careful on your journey."

"This is my good sister. I'll be back soon." Latatos finally smiled, turned around and left the living room. Only the sad figure of Xu Lu was left in the living room.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Lusi felt a blanket on her shoulders. She turned around and saw Mo Xi covering her with the blanket. "Mo Xi, you..."

"You've been standing here for a long time. I'm worried you might catch a cold." Mo Xi lowered his head and whispered, "I know the master doesn't like me, so I came here just now."

"Don't worry about that girl... Hey, she is... the head of the family." Xu Ruth quickly comforted Mo Xi, "She doesn't believe you, but I do. Okay, my good Mo Xi, let's go back first."

"Yeah." Mo Xi hid the guilt in his eyes and nodded with a smile.

Chapter 15 Compensation Plan

"This is a proposal for building a factory in the valley, this is a proposal for reallocating working hours in the mine, and this... this..." Noah was flipping things out one after another like Doraemon taking out a treasure bag, which stunned Enya who was originally just planning to rescue people. But she still opened one of them and looked at it carefully. The data was detailed and the changes were reasonable. Although the original plan was already very sophisticated, it did look more concise and clear with Noah's subtle changes.

If the previous business plans had a kind of arrogance that was difficult for mortals to understand, Noah's business plan was written in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. Even Enya, who had not yet had detailed experience in similar management work, could give it a very high evaluation.

"Noah, how long have you been here... and you've already made so many things?" Enya asked in surprise, "You made all these things in just half a day?"

"Part of it is an adaptation of an idea I had in Casimir. It was quite effective there, so I wondered if I could replicate it. The rest is just a last-minute idea. There will definitely be loopholes, but at least it can temporarily stabilize the situation. Once I've thoroughly examined it, I'll give you a detailed report," Noah replied. "Stability is the most important thing right now. And according to Enthiotis, we don't need a perfect long-term plan right now, do we?"

"...That's true." Enya put down the plan, and her eyes changed slightly as she looked at Noya. To be able to come up with an idea and combine it with actual data in such a short time was truly remarkable. Although it was only a short-term plan, it was true that if the arrangements and allocations were made according to the plan, it would at least help calm the miners and factory workers before the wave of layoffs hit, and prevent chaos.

"Can I ask you... why do you care so much about this?" Enya asked curiously, "You seem to care a lot about those employees who are likely to be laid off or laid off..."

"Because they've already put in the hard work, they naturally deserve to be rewarded," Noya responded. "Furthermore, the wave of layoffs isn't just forcing these people back to being Kjerags; it's stripping them of their very identity. Do you know how many Kjerags are employed by the Shivaash family's factory? They've become accustomed to their status, to the routine of being rewarded for their hard work. If you announce management changes at this time... it's likely to cause them unrest. Failure to appease them will only lead to further chaos."

"I understand, but... will he accept this? This will affect the factory's profits. The compensation mechanism you provide to workers is too much - if they are fired, the company will pay them three months' salary, and even cover their pension for a period of time." Enya felt that such compensation would damage the factory's interests just by thinking about it. "This..."

"...That's the only point I don't want to give in on." Noah shook his head. "The power games of the upper echelons have nothing to do with those at the bottom. They're not at fault—but they have to bear the consequences and aftermath of this power games. At the very least, they should be compensated. I know this plan will be difficult to pass Enthiotis's review, but what if you were the one bringing it?"

"……What's the meaning?"

"I'm sorry, Enya. I hate to do this either... but I'd like to ask you to bring this plan to Enthyotis and do your best to get him to approve it." Noya lowered her head, completely ignoring the surprised look on Actor's face. "I know this may be hard for you to accept, and I know you two are having issues right now, but I believe he'll agree if you step in."

"...There's no reason for that." Enya didn't object immediately, "And that's not why I came here."

"No, this matter is more important." Noah shook his head. "Mr. Actor, if you're worried, I can give you all the plans for review, but I hope it won't be too slow. I want this plan to appear on Mr. Ensiotis's desk as soon as possible."

"...I'm not that narrow-minded." Actor frowned. "I will conduct an inspection, but I have to get the Saint's consent..."

"Ms. Noah, can I ask you something?" Enya put down the project plan and said to Noah, "Since you came to Kjerag, what do you think of this place?"

"..." Noah could sense that Enya was indeed wavering. She cared about the people just as much as he'd thought. In fact, when he'd pointed out that the power struggles at the top were ultimately affecting the common people, she'd reacted strongly. "This is a pure place."

"……purely?"

"Well, that's my opinion of Kjerag, pure and simple," Noya replied. "I've only been here a short time, so I don't have any further comments. I'm sorry."

"Is that so...Okay, I agree." Enya finally nodded. "I will hand the project plan over to Enthyotis in the name of the Saint."

"...Is that so? Fine." Noah knew this was a refusal to deliver in person, but delivering it in the name of the Saint... was probably Enya's biggest concession. He probably thought too much about letting these two meet privately, Noah sighed. But there was nothing he could do.

"These documents will be reviewed by the Perlochi family and then brought to Mr. Enthiotis by my servant, Ya'er." Enya looked at Actor and said, "Is that alright?"

"I will follow the orders of the Saint." Actos did not refuse. Instead, he looked at Noah with a complicated look. He didn't know why, the other party was obviously using this method to force him to bow his head, but he didn't feel much disgusted. Although he still had some doubts whether these documents conveyed some kind of message, but according to the above content, Noah actually cared about the workers and miners in the factory?

...This doesn't seem to fit in with her fugitive persona, does it?

However, the saint had given Perlochi face, so he naturally couldn't refuse. So he nodded and instructed others to take the documents for inspection. If no problems were found, he would let the saint take them away.

"Is that all you want to say?" Enya looked at Noya, seeing the smile on her face, and asked again, "I might only give you that one chance."

"Well, that's enough. Thank you for your help, Miss Enya." Noah nodded. "That's all I want."

"...Okay." Enya originally wanted to come and rescue someone, but ended up being a messenger and asked the saint to be his own messenger... Noah is really a whimsical guy.

Besides, would that guy really agree to the proposal just because it was submitted by him?

Looking at Noah's confident look, Enya had an urge to make her lose face...but it would be better if she could really pass.

After all, it is not those people who should pay the price.

Chapter 16: Nightfall

The Perlochi family's inspection was swift, quickly confirming that the documents contained no content that could be detrimental to the Perlochi family or threaten the handover ceremony. They primarily addressed issues concerning livelihoods and maintaining stability, and even the proposals themselves were significantly detrimental to the Shivaash family's business. However, this absence of any issues made them appear so suspicious. Actor felt something was amiss after hearing the report, but he was too embarrassed to order a re-inspection. Instead, he handed all the documents to the Saint's handmaiden, Miss Ya'er, and let her go.

Enya also left early. This time Noah refused her rescue. Although Enxia was puzzled, she was still forcibly taken away by Enya. Enya also specifically told Enxia not to come to Perlochi's house for no reason, even if it was to see Noah.

This is also to protect Enxia. If this little girl gets involved... she probably won't be able to get out.

However, all these situations were seen by one person, that is, the head of the Brontao family, Latatos, who had just visited the Perlochi family.

Now the Brontao family and the Perlochi family are allied, so she did not encounter any obstacles. She even participated in the review of the documents, but could not find any clues on them. This made Latatos even more curious about who this guy named Noah was.

As soon as she arrived, she attracted the saint, and even at the beginning the saint's attitude was quite obvious - as if she came just to rescue someone, but later the saint gave up taking Noah away, and instead took away a document, and also wanted to send this document to Ensiodis in the name of the saint.

Ha—could it be that this girl still believes that Enthiotis will consider the relationship between brother and sister?

Latatos, who thought she knew Enthiotis's true nature well, couldn't help but shake her head. If Enthiotis agreed, it was only because of the Saint's orders, and he couldn't disobey them at this moment. This plan was simply absurd, absurd to the extreme. If Latatos were to review it, she would definitely reject it immediately and even demand that the person who proposed it go to the Finance Department to settle their wages the next day.

Although it is not a bad thing to care about the people, when you are in this position, you must consider yourself and your position.

This is the most basic of the basics.

By the time the Perlochis had finished their inspection, it was already night, and Latatos had a chance to grab a meal. Noa's meals were delivered separately, and Latatos met with Actor at the table alone.

"Your little prisoner seems to be more boisterous than we imagined, and there are quite a lot of visitors here. Won't it be troublesome with so many visitors, my warden?" Latatos' words were tinged with sarcasm, but Actor frowned, as if deep in thought. After a long moment, he spoke.

"That guy, is he really considering the people?"

"Huh? You weren't really fooled by that kind of document, were you? Are you okay?" Latatos was a little confused. "You wouldn't even fall for something this sham, would you? This is just a secret exchange we haven't detected. I don't know exactly how much they know, or what they know. Anyway, you've already lost the first round, don't lose the second. Get hold of something on her and deport her."

"I know what I have to do, and I have no reason to accept your orders." Actos fixed his gaze on Latatos. "The Perlochi and Brontoji families have joined forces solely to protect Kjerag's faith and to ensure Kjerag remains Kjerag. If we didn't suspect Shivaash of selling out Kjerag's interests to other nations, do you think we would cooperate with an old fox like you?"

"Yes, let Kjerag remain Kjerag." Latatos sneered. "But what about now? Is it Perlochi who represents Kjerag in the outside world? No! It's Kalan Trade, representing Shivaash. We've already lost the initiative, so we can't make any mistakes."

"You don't need to tell me, Latatos." Arktos still maintained the dignity of the Snow Region's former largest family. "But I think what that girl said is right... The power games of the upper class shouldn't be borne by the lower class."

"...Then what can you do?" Latatos asked. "You, as the former largest family in the Snow Region, what can you do? Can you come up with such a large sum of money to re-employ those who will be laid off due to this turmoil? Or do you plan to provide corresponding jobs? You can't. The Perlochi family was only the strongest family in the past. Now, the strongest is Shiva Ash. If there is a family that can afford this expenditure, it is only Shiva Ash."

"I just feel that as a person from the Snow Region, I'm not as caring about the people as an outsider..." Actor frowned, "I'm very unhappy."

"...Come on, do you think you're the only one who feels bad?"

Latatos and Aktos were silent for a while, but their quarrel was almost over. Aktos frowned and picked up the weapon beside him. He just felt a murderous aura.

He stood up and said to Latatos, "Stay here and don't move. Something is coming this way."

-

A horn suddenly sounded in the night wind.

It was a voice from ancient times, and swaying in the night were the banners of that army—

A series of dark footprints were left on the snow. In the night, a nightmare walked alone, staring at the mansion where the person he was supposed to protect was imprisoned.

Night is the realm of nightmares.

In this dark night without neon lights, nightmares will be invincible.

But before he could continue, someone stopped him. It was a gentle-looking woman, dotted with jet-black feathers, with eyes a deep blue. Like two gemstones, they shimmered faintly in the night. Perhaps it was Tora's imagination, but after her appearance, even the biting cold wind was suppressed.

"Young Nightmare, please stop—" she began, like a spring breeze melting winter's day. "Your master is very safe now. This is her will."

"..." Tora knew that the woman in front of him was not as harmless as she appeared to be. Even if he tried his best, he might not be able to move her.

But he won't stop—unless.

Yaer sighed and finally took out the token in her hand, which was a piece of mask fragment.

"That's it for tonight."

Chapter 17 Blessing

The cold came quickly and went away quickly.

Axtos waited at the door with his weapon for a long time, until the murderous atmosphere dissipated, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He instinctively sensed that the other party was coming for Noah. He had never imagined that his imprisonment of Noah would attract so much attention. He couldn't help but wonder who was the person who helped the Perlochi family stop the other party this time.

Of course, these were all things in his mind.

Noya, sensing Tora's presence, couldn't help but sweat. She obviously didn't want to have a conflict with the Perlochi family at this time, so she gave the fragments of the mask to Ya'er and asked her to help stop Tora. After the presence disappeared, Noya breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, she had made arrangements in advance, but Miss Yaer had to work hard. Not only did she have to help her deliver the letter, but she also had to help her stop Tora and tell him not to be impulsive.

I must remember to compensate Miss Yaer for her hard work in the future...

"Actually, if you want to make amends, you can do it now~" At this moment, a voice rang in Noya's ear. Kuro reacted immediately, but because Ya'er appeared so suddenly, she only had time to pull the sword out of the sheath an inch before Ya'er held it down with a finger. "Don't worry, don't worry, I just came to check on you."

"...Ms. Ya'er, why are you so elusive?" Noya was terrified. Her hearing and her emotional perception were her two magic weapons, and they had always been very useful, but in front of Miss Ya'er, it was as if they had failed. "You scared me to death."

"Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to give you a surprise. The kid was really worried about you." Ya'er put Kuro's sword back into its sheath before saying with a smile, "As for what Enya said, it's not that I'm angry. She's just like that. When she thinks of her brother, her tone can't help but get a little harsh. So don't take it to heart."

"Well, I understand. I also wanted to repair their brother-sister relationship this time. In fact, I knew from the beginning that Enthiotis would agree to my proposal, even if Enya didn't go in person," Noah said frankly. "But after all, a good face-to-face chat can always solve some problems. But Enya seems very resistant... This is the only way."

"Hey, don't worry. I didn't say 'In the Name of the Saint', but 'In the Name of Enya.' That kid, Enthyoides, seemed to understand what I meant and agreed to it without hesitation." Ya'er seemed very reliable at this point, giving a thumbs-up. "At least it's much better than before. I think you did a great job, too."

"That's all your credit. How dare I boast?" Noah knew the woman before him was probably the strongest he'd ever met. After all, her teleportation alone was astonishing enough. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that this single move was enough to kill many people. The assassination techniques of the No Helmet Alliance were nothing compared to this teleportation—even his own hearing couldn't detect Ya'er approaching him, let alone others.

"Hmm, you're quite modest, that's good. Speaking of which... Little Noa, have you ever considered that being dragged into this situation by that Ensioditis kid... is actually quite excessive? Actually, if you don't want to get involved, I can help you leave here. And I can even help you get Kjerag out directly. Do you want to come with me?" Ya'er asked curiously. "After all, for you, instead of getting involved, it's better to leave this troubled place as soon as possible, right?"

"Then, Miss Yaer, do you want me to stay?" Noya asked. "It's true that I can stay away from this mess, but Kjerag can't. This farce has already begun and it won't stop easily. For Miss Yaer—is this the situation you want to see?"

"Don't answer a question with a question—really, kids these days always say things that give me a headache." Ya'er shook her head. "Of course, I want you to stay and prevent the worst possible outcome. Those involved in this farce aren't bad people, but there are still some misunderstandings between them... and these misunderstandings may not be resolved with words."

"...Then I won't leave," Noah replied. "If Miss Ya'er also thinks this situation is dire, how about you form an alliance with me? Rather than being Enthiotis's pawn, I'd rather make the next move on my own, but I don't have the resources right now. So..."

"Eh? You're treating me like a pawn? How bold of you." Ya'er immediately understood what Noah meant, but she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll help you for a while. But don't treat me like an idiot, I'll keep a close eye on you."

"Of course not..." Noah sighed. However, with Ya'er's help, she could indeed use her subjective initiative more. "Well, first of all, Miss Ya'er, can you help me find someone?"