Arknights, but the Family Has Fallen into Decline Again, Again, Again — Episode 33

Their child could sleep until tomorrow. What did I care whether she woke up or not?

Was I supposed to feed her?

This was because they still didn't understand Kal'tsit.

If they understood Kal'tsit well enough... they would only understand Theresa even less!

Oute's playful side emerged. He lifted Amiya under her arms and spun her around and around. "Amiya is the best!"

"Doooooc-ter!" Little Donkey giggled and kicked her legs, drawing out the words. "Put-me-me-me down!"

Watching this heartwarming scene, Closure felt a lingering fear. Good thing I didn't actually sell him the treadmill!

She sighed.

Even though he had lost his memories, Oute was just as difficult to deal with as before... or rather, just as ruthless.

He was no longer stingy with warmth toward the warriors under his command, yet he still intended to bring winter down upon his enemies.

Winter... enemies?

Closure glanced at the pneumatic gun.

Then should this series be called "General Winter"?

No, no, having every soldier carry a general in their hands would be too weird...

"Winter Soldier"?

Not bad!

Foul-Mouthed Beautiful Girl, W! Arrives!

Life aboard a landship was inevitably noisy.

The tracks rolled over barren ground, whether flat or muddy, crushing rocks, whether hard or fragile... Along with the furious heartbeat of the power core, these rhythms joined throughout the landship into a constant background hum.

It was not until the aircraft took off, replacing the landship's background hum with its own, that Oute suddenly realized he had left Rhodes Island.

"Doctor! It'll still be a while before we reach Lungmen. You can absolutely get some rest! I fly this thing incredibly smoothly!"

The pilot, Dylan, boasted.

It was actually a good idea, since Oute had other matters to deal with.

"Thanks."

"Huh?" Dylan froze for a moment.

He wasn't even speaking through the headset!?

It seemed the strange rumors had already spread.

"My lord..." The nun caught the word "rest" and looked at Oute with barely restrained anticipation.

Oute let out a long breath. Since he could not deal with Rhodes Island's internal affairs, it was time to have a talk with W. Besides sharing intelligence and using her as an external brain, he had other things to entrust to W.

More precisely, other people.

He nodded and lay down on Specter's fair, soft thighs.

This was his first time enjoying a lap pillow while awake. The scent of soap tugged at Oute's heartstrings, while his cheek could feel a different kind of softness and firmness.

As Kal'tsit had requested, Oute had brought a tactical squad with him, most of them "newly promoted operators" in uniform.

Meteorite, Frostleaf, and Jessica had also brought several prototypes of the Winter Soldier Musket, each based on a different concept, and joined Oute's security detail.

Specter still stayed by Oute's side as his patient, while Blaze had been sent by Kal'tsit to prevent "possible harmful behavior by Specter."

To be fair, Kal'tsit considered that somewhat necessary.

But not everyone knew what an "Abyssal Hunter" was.

This caused Blaze, who had never met Oute, to develop a rather subtle misunderstanding.

Gossip about Oute and Kal'tsit had been a hot topic these past few days. Specter had been inseparable from Oute ever since his return, and someone had deliberately spread word of what happened on the night of the twenty-third...

It was only natural for people to get the wrong idea.

The big cat widened her eyes, glanced around, and agonized over whether she should begin carrying out her "sacred" duty of "preventing possible harmful behavior by Specter."

I advise you, buddy, don't meddle in things that aren't your business!

But then again, did this count as harmful behavior?

Meanwhile, in Chernobog.

A Reunion Movement caster contacted W. "W, while you were reorganizing those Sarkaz mercenaries, a logistics unit responsible for clearing the battlefield defected."

"Fine, I got it."

"Fine? What do you mean, fine? The squad we sent to pursue them vanished without a trace! As the mercenaries' new leader, I hope you can give us a reasonable explanation!"

W curled her lip and thought, What bad luck!

Garson had died early this morning.

"Apparently," he had stirred up public outrage and caused quite a commotion before being beaten to death with the fists of mutinying Sarkaz mercenaries.

As for how those small fry had managed to force Garson into such a situation...

W suddenly felt like whistling.

Anyway, it didn't seem to have anything to do with Hedley's group.

After losing their leader, the Sarkaz mercenaries descended into extreme chaos. Some believed that since their captain was dead, everyone should go home and find their mothers; some thought that since there was still a benefactor paying them, they could simply reorganize on the spot; others figured that since Garson was dead, nobody was in charge, so they might as well rob the Reunion Movement before making a run for it...

Almost as if it were inevitable, quite a few Sarkaz immediately began fighting among themselves.

This created even greater chaos—and directly ensured that all traces of Garson's death disappeared completely.

Destroying was easy. Building was hard.

That saying still held true for a violent organization.

The moment the chaos began, W had no choice but to restore order. On top of that, her sleep last night had been far too active, leaving her with abysmal rest efficiency... Now, she could fall asleep within two seconds of closing her eyes.

And don't ask how she had been able to reorganize the mercenaries so quickly. That question would be rather disrespectful to Garson.

"Your body is extremely fatigued right now. Considering your health, the more sensible option would be to push this work onto Hedley or Ines," Oute transmitted.

"I did say 'fine,' but that doesn't mean I want you, you freak, commenting on this and that inside my head!" W said.

The caster on the other end snapped, "W! Becoming the leader of the Sarkaz doesn't mean you can insult me whenever you want!"

Insult you?

Who the fuck are you?

Oute's amusement traveled through the psychic link with his words. "You didn't disconnect the communication, W. He thinks what you said to me was directed at him."

Fuck!

"You already agreed to let me in. Now, all you need to do is think, and I can 'hear' whatever you want to say."

While lying on Specter's pale, plump thighs, Oute had sent W a handshake request.

And W had boldly accepted it outright!

Since his body was quietly enjoying the lap pillow, Oute did not even need to divide his attention. He could focus all his energy on W's side.

W tried thinking, Then can I hear your thoughts?

"You're hearing them right now."

Then can I stop you from hearing my thoughts?

"In theory, yes."

Oute, you idiot!

W paused. Seeing that Oute did not respond, she happily said to the caster, "How the fuck did I insult you? Get to the goddamn point already!"

A Sarkaz girl's happiness was just that simple.

"I haven't slept all night! I'm annoyed! Keep talking nonsense, and you can handle it yourselves!"

The other side gritted their teeth. "The enemy has a highly dangerous male Sarkaz! A swordsman! Tall and heavily built! Requesting support!"

"Why the fuck didn't you say that earlier? Did you have to waste time talking nonsense to me!?" W cut off the communication and said to the other Sarkaz mercenaries, "Those useless idiots can't even beat our logistics troops!"

"Notify every squad. Prepare for combat and move to the outskirts! Let's see who doesn't want to work for me!"

Oute transmitted, "For a beautiful girl, you use a little too much foul language."

A beautiful girl...?

W's breath caught, and she panicked a little.

Her heart skipped a beat.

But the Sarkaz girl patted her cheeks and muttered, "Staying up late is bad for the body. Does pulling an all-nighter hurt it too?"

"There is indeed someone who got hurt pretty badly. He's already cold," Oute transmitted.

"You didn't used to talk so much nonsense."

"I hate the way Kal'tsit talks, but she wasn't wrong last night."

Last night?

Last night, to prevent the amnesiac Oute from accidentally revealing any highly sensitive intelligence, Kal'tsit had answered W's question in advance.

Why had Oute never used his Originium Arts on W before?

Kal'tsit's evasive answer had been: W wasn't qualified.

Oute put it more tactfully. "At the time, you were probably some distance away from me."

W flew into a rage. "You motherfucker!"

I Gave You My Body! Take Responsibility!