Hello, Arknights

Chapter 419 "Distance"

"...What is it?" The white-haired Wopper girl's calm eyes swept over Ling, who was trying to cover up her intentions, and she still looked a little angry.

Just now, Ling Dengxian desperately signaled that she wanted to talk to him alone, and the two of them, under the pretext of scouting ahead, distanced themselves from the three of them.

"Well, although it might be a bit ambiguous to say it like this, I'm actually quite happy." Ling Dengxian originally wanted to go around in circles and talk about it again, but Shuangye seemed to have an aura of "if you talk about it, he'll never talk to you again."

"Are you saying you're happy when I'm unlucky?" Shuangye's face suddenly turned cold.

"No!" Ling Dengxian immediately explained, "I'm really sorry I didn't listen to you properly before, but... I'm really happy that someone is thinking of me..."

Shuangye glared at him, then turned her head away. Her fox ears twitched unnaturally as she tilted her head slightly, using her sideburns to shield her view and silently observe his expression.

"...Who told you that? The house isn't warm, and you're not the only one freezing."

But that doesn't include you, right?

Ling wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud. Although Shuangye had changed a lot since following him, she was still not used to being the center of attention. He recalled the first time he met Shuangye on Rhodes Island. Her suffocating indifference was completely different from her current lively "indifference." As he thought about it, he unconsciously pictured Shuangye's gradual transformation into the vibrant person she was now, and he couldn't help but show a look of joy.

Frostleaf immediately gave her a disgusted look: "Um, Captain, this is a bit disgusting..."

"Oh no, how is it disgusting?! I... I'm just relieved that Xiao Shuangye is so sensible, she has a brighter future than me." Ling Dengxian awkwardly touched his face and scratched his head, feeling somewhat lost.

"...It's just that this mentality is a bit...I can't quite put my finger on it, but we're not that far apart in age, right? Does it make you seem older? But what you said is true, especially the second half." Shuangye sighed slightly, raised her eyelids, and said calmly, "Fine, since you said I like...um, speaking like a human being, what's wrong? Call me."

Are you calm now?

“I won’t calm down until the fireplace is lit.” Frostleaf glanced at him. “But that’s a personal grudge, and you’ll see what happens.”

Despite saying that, anyone could see that Shuangye had accepted Ling's apology. Seeing that her attitude had softened, Ling asked about Melansa's situation, but did not mention that it was Melansa who reminded him of the reason Shuangye was angry.

As Shuangye listened, she gradually revealed an "I see" expression and couldn't help but sigh.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?" Ling Dengxian said helplessly.

“I thought you realized it yourself,” Frostleaf rolled her eyes at him, “but I’m surprised that Melantha would tell you on her own.”

"She must trust you a lot, but you took the initiative to cut off her only contact with you. Who wouldn't be disappointed if not her?"

Ling was puzzled: "We're still friends, at least. How can that be our only connection? Is a title really that important?"

“…For some people, it’s important, Captain. You’ve helped and saved so many people all along, but you may not have noticed…” Volper stopped and looked at him. Because of the height difference between them, she looked up at him with a somewhat reverent posture, her voice melancholy, “Even if you turned down and didn’t set foot in those positions, because you took on so many responsibilities and became more and more committed to the charge, you unknowingly walked to another position that we have to look up to.”

"..." Ling suppressed his urge to speak. Shuangye seemed to have thought about it seriously for a long time. Not long ago, she might not have been able to speak at all because of the curse. But now, although she was still a little hesitant, he could feel her worry.

"You completely threw yourself into this disaster. When you rushed into Victoria, you were still injured. When we saw you again... you couldn't see or hear clearly, and your injuries were even worse than when you left. And here... although you didn't tell us, while you were recovering, Dr. Kal'tsit and the Doctor had to deal with many people every day, and the Rhodes Island trip was repeatedly postponed. But if you stayed, everything would proceed smoothly..."

“These…are all increasing the distance between us.” Shuangye looked at him. When the two stopped, the three behind them did not stop. Ling Dengxian wanted to move forward again, but Shuangye did not move her feet.

“You did say that friends are important to you, but in your view, you yourself are not important to your ‘friends’.” Shuangye stared intently at him. Avoidance was tantamount to running away, and she didn’t want him to run away. “One-sidedly doing what’s best for your friends, yet always bearing the sacrifices in places your friends can’t reach… If you don’t realize it, this distance will always exist.”

"Perhaps we haven't had enough experience, or enough time together... But if Texas, Mostima, and Bagpipe can overcome the superficial distance, we want to do something in return for your efforts... But you don't seem to have expressed much what you want..."

After speaking, Wolper rarely spoke so much at once. These were thoughts she had pondered for a long time. She was slightly out of breath after conveying them to the person in question, mostly due to her nervousness.

"Frosty Leaves".

Having grasped what the little fox cared about, he felt a pang of emotion. But just as he hadn't noticed, Frostleaf didn't fully understand him either, otherwise...

The voices of the three people who were approaching could already be faintly heard, and Shuangye couldn't help but focus on waiting for his answer.

“I didn’t come to Victoria because of the Blood War, well, actually it was because of the Blood War, but I’m actually here to find the bagpipes.” Ling Dengxian gave a helpless smile and looked in the direction of the girl, Waifan, and the others. The three of them quickly noticed him, and Waifan waved to him.

“I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I leave that guy alone, after all, it’s so dangerous… I like her.” Ling calmly expressed his feelings, somewhat surprised to find that it wasn’t difficult.

“In my opinion, she is more important than the whole of Victoria, and I will not turn a blind eye to what she loves.”

Shuangye opened her eyes wide and opened her mouth, about to say something, but was abruptly cut off by what Mouling said next.

"But I've also confirmed these past few days that she knows I still like Texas."

Frosty Leaf's brain suddenly went blank.

"What are you talking about?" Bagpipe suddenly pounced over and climbed onto Ling Dengxian's back. The pressure from her arms around his neck almost made him lose his balance, while the warmth of the Vyvan girl rubbed against his face.

“Fiona? Liz, she—” Ling turned around with his back to her. Now it was Melantha who was pushing Nightingale. Facing his gaze, one of them lowered his head slightly and the other raised his face.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't be careless about something like this," Bagpipe said, perching on his shoulder. Her bright eyes flashed as she noticed Frostleaf's unusual expression. "Hey, what's wrong with you two?"

"Um... I made some arrangements for the work later. She was a little upset that I'm only now paying attention to the fireplace issue. I'm apologizing to her." Ling Dengxian was too embarrassed to repeat what he had just said, so he didn't mention it.

“That’s good—okay, Xiao Xian, I’ll carry Nightingale up the mountain later, and you’ll have to work hard for my share~” Bagpipe jumped off his back and winked at him playfully.

“No problem.” Ling Dengxian had no objections.

The mountain path was winding, but it couldn't stop Vayvan's songs; the autumn wind was chilly, but it couldn't dampen Sarkaz's joy. Bagpipes carried Nightingale along the mountain path as if it were flat ground, rushing excitedly to the front. Firewood was easy to gather, and chopping dry branches with a wood-chopping knife wasn't difficult, but the repetitive movements still made his limbs ache. Felin wiped his face alone, slightly out of breath. The bright autumn sun shone through the forest. Further back, he felled dry branches, gathered a few pieces of dry vine, and tied them into bundles, placing them by the path he had come from. He continued walking, tying bundles as he went, with Frostleaf silently following beside him, doing the same work as Melantha.

Amidst the crisp sounds of machetes and axes cleaving through withered branches, Ling Dengxian managed to glean a rough understanding from Shuangye.

Melantha felt powerless because of her own weakness during the Blood War, while Ling Dengxian fought bravely despite his injuries and shone brightly. She was grateful to him, admired him, and wanted to continue to study under him more rigorously.

"So that one day... I won't feel so helpless anymore, and I'll have the ability to protect my family and uphold justice."

"...He is my teacher, not my only teacher, but he is the one who inspires me the most...I...am far from being worthy of his pride, and I want to become like him."

Shuangye paused for a moment, then continued, "Based on my own experience, I can understand what she said in the first part, but the second part... do you even know that you're such a good person?"

"..." Ling Dengxian glanced at her awkwardly and remained silent, but Shuangye didn't let him off the hook: "I also think it's enough for her to just learn from that outstanding scoundrel in her impression, but you went directly... Melantha is very sensitive, what do you think we should do now?"

"It'll be fine once the misunderstanding is cleared up." Ling Dengxian finally spoke, taking a deep breath and turning to Shuangye. The latter looked at him, then at herself, casting a wary glance at him.

“…What do you mean…” Ling Dengxian covered his face.

"Nothing, what are you trying to say?"

"Come to my room tonight."

"what?!"

……

Ling, who had almost been reported by Shuangye, finally managed to explain his meaning. Only then did Shuangye put down her gleaming axe. The two were speechless for a moment. Ling's eyes twitched: "You're a minor, after all. Who would have thoughts about a minor..."

"Don't make me say it the... the many times, you're not that much older," Shuangye said expressionlessly.

"Oh right, that reminds me, didn't Kal'tsit assign you some homework?"

“Yes, and I’ve never been educated before, my level is very low, I can’t even recognize all the characters, are you trying to make fun of me?” Frostleaf raised the axe again.

"Ah, no, no." Ling Dengxian quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, "I'm going out with Bai Jin this afternoon to go to town. Could I bring back some school supplies for you and Vidya? Is there anything you want?"

"...You just treat me like a child."

"Absolutely not."

"Then I'll take a literacy book, something simple." Volper's expression softened slightly.

"Don't you want candy?"

Frostleaf swiftly swung its axe, which swept past the head of a man named Ling who was dodging at lightning speed.

……

"So, before we visit the El family, shall we go buy the things on the list?" Platinum tugged at his sleeve, somewhat puzzled. "Didn't White Owl just buy some things?"

"Let's put aside the ingredients for now. There's always a need. It would be too low-class to use the Viscount's bonus just for eating. It wouldn't hurt to use it to satisfy everyone's needs." Ling casually browsed through the simple list of items. Since he was going to buy things for Vidya and Frostleaf, he might as well buy them all at once. The sooner he spent them, the sooner he could take everyone back to Rhodes Island.

"Then why don't you ask me what I want?" Platinum narrowed his eyes.

"...Then let me ask you, who was that person next to me who was tugging at my clothes and wanted to go shopping with me right away?" Ling Dengxian was both amused and exasperated. After they went out in the afternoon, Bai Jin's reactions were always a beat slow, and she would occasionally rub her face and giggle to herself.

“Ah, oh right…” White-haired Kuranta blushed, but quickly glared at him, “I thought you weren’t buying anything, I just didn’t realize it…”

She then tugged at him forcefully, smiled broadly, and took a proactive step: "So, my needs take priority this afternoon?"

"Although the way you put it is a bit strange... it's not wrong." Ling nodded casually, letting her lead him on a jog.