Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

Solana was quite tough, though it was really just a ruse.

Communication is currently disrupted. This matter should have been handled by the team leader, but we can't get in touch with him. However, this matter cannot be known to the somewhat suspicious person in front of us.

So they had no choice but to use the delaying tactic to buy time and see if the captain could return ahead of schedule.

"Just because there are infected people in need of treatment inside the 'fortress'."

Unless you don't actually exist to treat those infected.

This is also a test for The Shining.

Neither of them could fully trust the other.

The most tragic thing about humanity is that it cannot learn any lessons from history and still cannot understand each other.

fortress?

Just when the two sides were deadlocked and the negotiations were about to break down.

The tavern door was suddenly pushed open!

Where are the infected people who need help?

A deep male voice echoed through the pub; it belonged to Scout, who was wearing sunglasses.

It seems that he also realized he had lost contact and came looking for him as quickly as possible.

·············

P.S.: Aaaaaaah! I need 120,000 words to achieve perfect attendance every month, and I'm still 20,000 words short! Aaaaaah!

I want to cry. There are only 28 days in this month! I still have to cram 20,000 words into this in three days! *sobs*

Chapter 133, Section 138: The Puppet

Fortress is just a code name.

A military base built during that war.

However, it was later abandoned for various reasons.

The local army also lost contact towards the end of the war and eventually became a heavily armed private army.

In other words, warlords.

···············

"Doctor, this is today's..."

As the sun was about to sink below the horizon, its crimson rays bathed the Tower of Babel ship, which stood atop the horizon, in a rosy glow.

Because the kitchen staff was temporarily short-staffed, he used his shoulder to press the button on the office door and then carried the plate into the control room.

Kal'tsit often stayed here, so Theresa naturally came here to find her every time.

This time as well, because the kitchen was short-staffed, the princess personally brought dinner here, intending to give Kal'tsit some food.

This is something that would never be seen among members of the royal family.

However, Kal'tsit was nowhere to be seen here.

The person who appeared before Theresa was not Dr. Kal'tsit, who was supposed to be there.

Instead, she was a young woman with long silver hair, wearing a blue-black uniform belonging to the Tower of Babel.

He wasn't even wearing pants; he was simply covered up by an oversized version of the Tower of Babel uniform.

It's clearly a coat, but it looks like a dress on her.

but···

They are people I've never met before.

At least, they were people Theresa had never met before, after all, it was she and Kal'tsit who discovered the Tower of Babel back then.

Therefore, she was very familiar with everything on the ship and naturally knew everyone on it.

However, the girl was a completely unfamiliar face, and Theresa couldn't recall any information about her no matter how hard she tried.

After all, she wouldn't easily forget someone with such a dressing style.

But the uniform didn't look like hers, nor did it look like an outsider.

Who is she?

Interestingly, the child didn't react at all to the sound of Theresa opening the door; he simply sat there, staring at the chessboard in front of him.

To avoid startling her, Theresa gently knocked on the door.

The abrupt sound of fingers tapping on the door frame failed to attract the child's attention.

They're really focused.

Theresa had no choice but to carry the plate into the house.

Only when you look closely can you see the girl's profile.

She's a very beautiful person.

His black eyes were fixed on the chessboard without blinking.

Chess was a sport reserved for nobles; after all, it was just a way to pass the time. However…

The black and white sides are now clearly locked in a fierce battle on the chessboard. Unfortunately, Princess Theresa is not very knowledgeable about chess games. After all, she considers herself not as intelligent as Dr. Kal'tsit, so she doesn't play this kind of game much.

Knowing just a little bit of the rules is enough.

But it really is...

That's incredibly focused.

At first glance, when Theresa saw the person from behind with a coat draped over their shoulders, she thought they were just wearing a large coat over their clothes, covering up what they were wearing underneath. But she never expected that.

This child was really only wearing a Babel Tower uniform.

The buttons were loosely fastened. The dress was more than one size too big for the girl, but it fit perfectly, covering her entire upper body. Her bare legs were exposed to the somewhat cold air.

He just sat there looking at the chessboard, completely silent except for his faint breathing.

"Girls can't go without wearing nice clothes."

The princess waved her hand in front of the girl's eyes. Suddenly, something blocked her vision, causing the girl's pupils to refocus. She slowly raised her head to look at the owner of the hand.

What came into view was a strange white-pink hair color, and beneath the ends of the hair were a pair of pink eyes, and a woman smiling gently.

Looking down, no name tag was found on the other person's clothes.

A stranger.

Unfamiliar clothes, and names I don't know.

Seeing that the person who came was not her owner, the girl stopped looking at him and instead continued to observe the chessboard to see where the next move would be placed.

However, the woman in front of him was inferior to Kal'tsit in some ways.

—Even more unreasonable.

Before she could even look back at the chessboard, she felt her chair being turned so that it was facing her.

"It's not appropriate to dress like this in the morning. There are a lot of male operators on both sides. Girls should pay attention to their appearance, even though they are so cute."

Theresa spoke fluently and without pause, while the silver-haired girl watched expressionlessly as her hands buttoned up the coat one button at a time.

And the woman who bent down to button her clothes.

"Are you a new student? I've never seen you before."

Theresa, who has no racial characteristics, doesn't have the habit of asking others about their race, since she believes all people are equal.

"One hundred and eighty-three days."

Suddenly, the girl gave a somewhat puzzling answer.

"Ugh?"

"I have been here for 183 days."

No thanks, no further response.

As if it were an emotionless machine, the girl tiptoed and spun the chair back to the chessboard.

The girl, wrapped in oversized clothing, appeared unusually thin compared to the garment itself.

Theresa's hands froze in mid-air.

After a long while, the princess slowly straightened up.

This is indeed a laboratory, but it's no longer Kal'tsit's place.

Clearly, this is an error of empiricism.

Dr. Kal'tsit's office isn't here; It's just that Theresa uses this place as both her office and her residence because she frequents this area.

But this is not the case here.

Upon closer inspection, one will discover that many things that were not there before have been added here.

The potted plant that I had grown and placed with Kal'tsit was gone.

Some picture frames have also disappeared, but because they have been there for a very long time, even though the items have been taken away, the dust marks remain.

After losing the traces of human life, the things that were originally there became cold, lifeless medicine packaging, bandages, and some clothes scattered haphazardly.

The place has lost all trace of life, or rather, all the little bit of life that existed here has vanished without a trace, leaving it devoid of any human warmth.

All that remained was coldness and the sound of the server unit's fans.

It seems that Kal'tsit has cleared this space.

Did you leave it to her?

But who is this child?

She had never seen her on the ship, though the Tower of Babel itself was not small, it was not impossible that she had never encountered her.

unless····

She never left this place.

Indeed, Theresa recalled that she hadn't been here for a while because she could see Dr. Kal'tsit around.

So she never left this place?!

Stay here forever?

Looking at the girl's pale, even bluish, skin and her thin body.

She didn't even react when people saw her in this state of exposed skin.

There was no emotion whatsoever.

It's like... a doll.

"..."

Without saying anything more, Theresa turned and left the house.

She needs to consult Dr. Kal'tsit about something...

She now wants to know the answer to her question.

P.S.: I originally planned to write from both perspectives, but I felt the second one was more engaging. As a result, the second perspective ended up filling up the word count for the story [collapses]. I'll write the first half in the next update [collapses and cries].

Chapter 134, Section 139: The Land of Sin

The local army also lost contact towards the end of the war and eventually became a heavily armed private army.

In other words, warlords.

However, this group of people seemed to be like reclusive monks, and few people outside the community had ever seen them.