Hello, Arknights

Chapter 415 Wine

Terrans with long tails are generally quite heavy, except for Provence, whose tail's size is entirely supported by fur.

But this woman, whose race he didn't know, had a heavy tail. He tried to coil it around a couple of times, but because the scales were too slippery, he gave up on the idea of ​​lifting the creature's tail off the ground. He dragged the snake's tail all the way back to his front door. Ling Dengxian was still considering how to explain the creature's situation when he found that the door was not closed. Out of curiosity, he peeked out first, and then a large ball of light purple fur came right up to him. It looked a little dizzy, with a flushed face.

"Provence? What happened to your face?" Ling Dengxian quickly understood what was going on, and a strong smell of alcohol followed. "You've been drinking? Where did you get the alcohol?"

His first thought was of a certain white-faced owl: "White-faced owl!"

"Good morning, Operator White Dove. White Owl has nothing to do with this." The Liberian girl appeared in response, though she was also wearing a familiar maid outfit.

"What's going on, and what are you up to now?" Ling Dengxian, carrying the scepter in one hand, and the woman, who only had one hand free, patted Provence's cheek. The latter blinked, tilted his head, and couldn't help but laugh, his eyes instantly brightening: "I'm fine, I was just teasing you to see how you would react."

Ling was slightly taken aback; Provence seemed to be...

"Hey! Is that Captain back? Tell him to come over here!" Frostleaf's voice came from inside the house.

"Provence, are you... all better?" Ling Dengxian didn't rush to answer. Looking at Provence, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. The pale purple Rupert pursed his lips, his eyes softening again. When he got closer, they sparkled. His smile was just like when they first met, but his eyes held an endless tenderness, gentle and moving. At this moment, he felt that his persistence and efforts all along had been the right thing to do.

“I don’t know, I don’t know… but right now, I’m so happy…” Provence rubbed the corner of her eye with the back of her hand. “I wasn’t feeling so bad a few days ago, but I wasn’t sure. Today… today when I heard Platinum say she liked you, I didn’t even think of those bad thoughts…”

"It's alright now. What did Bai Jin say later?!" Ling Dengxian felt a little relieved, but immediately realized something was wrong.

Provence stepped aside to give way to Skadi, pointing to a white-haired Kuranta who was facing Skadi on the carpet in the living room, clutching a bottle of wine: "Platinum got drunk, I only had a little with her."

"White-faced owl!"

"Captain, did you hear that? Hello? Can you hear me?" The sound of small pieces of solid falling could still be heard from the direction of Frostleaf.

"The White Owl's purchases did not include any alcoholic beverages, and defamation is illegal." The White Owl calmly explained while sweeping the floor, "To explain, after White Dove went out today, Miss Purple and Miss Platinum discovered a cellar outside of the known information while cleaning the backyard. After investigation, it is speculated that it was used to store dry firewood, hay, and some food that needed to be stored in a yin-like environment."

"The drink that caused Miss Platinum's current state was hidden under the hay. Miss Platinum seems to have been depressed and drank an enormous amount despite White Owl's advice." White Owl flicked its ear feathers, glanced in the direction of the living room where Frostleaf was, then looked at him, noticing that he hadn't returned alone.

"Question: Who did Ling Dengxian bring back this time?"

Provence: "Huh? Oh right, how come I didn't notice that just now..."

Ling waved his hand dismissively, indicating that he didn't need to worry about the details and that he would explain later. Zi, who was standing nearby, handed over a handful of slips of paper. The slips were of varying ages and listed several wine brands, none of which seemed to be from unknown sources.

Zi had tidied it up for him; the handwriting on the top note looked a bit messy, but it was easy to find all the answers in it:

"When Mom's not around, that stinky old man always sneaks around drinking himself into a stupor behind my back. Ugh, this time I'll take him down in one go and see how he drinks then... El, is the alcohol really that good? I'm too scared to drink alone, I really wish you could drink with me..."

"Dad's drunk again. And Uncle Martin is really something, always bringing ten or so bottles of wine every time he comes over, like he's afraid Dad won't drink himself to death... And they're all expensive wines. Mom said we can save them to give to guests. Al, do you think... if I secretly give you a bottle, will they find out?"

"El... El, how I wish I had the courage to hand these notes to you in person. We've only met a few times, but your image is still lingering in my mind..."

"The TV says there's a plague outbreak in the west. God, please don't send any messengers from there at this time. Rumor has it there are monsters over there..."

“War…Oh God! Those people…No, please don’t go with the conscripts! No…I know, you’re a reserve too…”

"I want to kiss you, to touch you... but that would be too impolite. My upbringing doesn't allow me to do such a disrespectful thing. I can only think back to when you were still here, walking back and forth along the road in front of our house every day, watching your figure from the window, as if you were still there..."

"You're back! Thank God... really..."

"...We're moving tomorrow. Dad hates this attitude of mine and doesn't approve of us being together. I heard there's someone who's using this opportunity to curry favor with a nobleman in Londinium... Sigh, I still didn't dare confess my feelings to you... If only I could have been a little braver..."

...I almost forgot, this girl, Hintraya, got her job at Kazimierz Entertainment by watching teen dramas.

They say they don't expect or believe in such plot points, but it's clear they're still affected...

"But I remember she had a good alcohol tolerance, so she probably drank a lot, right?" Ling Dengxian carried the person in and looked at the two people on the carpet. The bottle in front of Bai Jin was less than half full, which did not match his guess.

Then he saw Platinum burp, and Kuranta, sitting on the carpet, held up the bottle in his hand and handed it to him. He only took one sniff and immediately sensed something was wrong: "Something's not right... Is this homemade? The bottle isn't sealed properly!"

"Holy crap, she's not just drunk, she's got alcohol poisoning!"

Ling immediately threw the person he brought back down. The person landed with a loud thud and bounced. He picked up Bai Jin and ran to the kitchen. There was no one in the kitchen at the time, so he had to find salt himself to prepare a saline solution to induce vomiting in Bai Jin.

"No……"

"Ugh—" He had just found the salt shaker when he looked down and saw Kuranta beside him already propping himself up on the water trough and vomiting. He then wiped his mouth and looked at him with a helpless expression: "As a former member of the Unarmored Alliance, I can still smell when the wine has gone bad..."

“Not a sister…” Ling Dengxian was completely puzzled.

"But that bottle seems to have been brewed haphazardly by the person who wrote the note. The ingredients are fine, but the sealing wasn't very good... It's definitely not suitable to give it away. I don't want the sentiment behind this bottle of wine to be buried."

"This won't do. What if you drink yourself into trouble?" Ling Dengxian tapped her. "So what if you're a member of the Unarmored Alliance? Does that mean the Unarmored Alliance is reliable? What if there's a next time—"

He was speechless for a moment, because he didn't know what he had that could threaten Platinum.

“I understand…” Platinum bit her lip, looked down at the hand that was holding her wrist, and quietly felt the warmth of Ling Dengxian’s palm. This was the first physical contact between the two since they left Kazimierz.

A faint rustling sound came from the background, gradually approaching. Ling recognized the footsteps and was about to turn around when a sigh filled the air.

“We’ve been so close before, and now just a simple touch gives me unprecedented satisfaction.” Platinum looked at him, her smile blank.

"I tried to tell myself to let it go, that I've already left Kavaleria, so why should I keep focusing on you... But I still care about you so much... Ling Dengxian, you know what? I don't understand. You said you're cursed, that it would torment someone like you... but I don't feel that way anymore. Why is it that I still want you by my side so much..."

"platinum……"

“I’ve calmed down,” Hinterlea looked at him, her eyes filled with unwavering determination. “I don’t want to give up.”

"After carefully rescuing the rootless duckweed from the shattering glass bottle, I threw it into the vast expanse of water. Have you ever thought that I actually prefer to stay by the tranquil lakeside?"

Ling remained silent. He knew that Bai Jin had mustered the courage to speak these thoughts while his heart was pounding, and that he was probably driven by the regret of the owner of those notes to reveal his true feelings. But how should he respond?

Or rather, how could he bear to do it?

Texas appeared at the door. She coughed lightly, seemingly unconcerned about their conversation. After ending their exchange, she pointed to Frostleaf, who was standing to the side with a dark expression, and calmly said:

"Ling Dengxian, if you don't do something about it, Shuangye might beat you up."

Ling hurriedly apologized to Volper, who had been calling him ever since he entered the room. As he released Bai Jin's hand, he said helplessly, "I'm planning to go see that El this afternoon. Let's go together."

He looked at Texas, who sighed softly and gave him a "do what you think is best" look, which was tacit approval.

Just the two of us.

Platinum's eyes, which had been slightly dim, lit up. She wanted to nod calmly, not wanting to appear so easily moved, but even in Frostleaf's eyes, Kuranta's figure exuded a joyful aura from the inside out.

After calming Bai Jin down, Ling Dengxian approached a certain Volper: "Alright, is there anything you need from Frostleaf? Hey, why have you turned into a black fox again? Ouch, ouch, ouch..."

Volper stomped on his instep, his eyes filled with displeasure: "You're a few years older than me, so you think you're so superior? Why am I getting black... Fireplace, are you going to do anything about it or not?!"

Texas turned and left; you can't stop someone who's courting death.

"Even if you say that, I have no experience in fixing fireplaces..." Ling Dengxian had no choice but to lower his head, knowing he was in the wrong.

"Go sift the ashes, I'll figure it out." Shuangye had been with him for a long time, and she could never go back to her previous aloof attitude towards him.

"Okay, okay...hey, where's the woman I brought back?"

Texas left, but Mostima reappeared at some point. The blue-haired fallen angel peeked out from the side: "Oh? Where did you get your supplies this time?"

“Mostima… I didn’t just pick this up randomly. Although she was drowning and I saved her, I need to question her thoroughly. Her identity… is not ordinary.” Ling Dengxian subtly conveyed to Mostima that he was not joking. Because Shuangye was present, he did not mention the existence of the “Scepter and the Palace”.

"Understood." Mostima immediately understood and stopped smiling.

"Is that woman special?" Shuangye asked, sounding concerned. "When I came over just now, Skadi seemed to think it was inappropriate to leave someone on the ground, so she hung her up on the fireplace."

Ling rushed over quickly and arrived in the living room just as Dai Feien came down from the second floor in her pajamas. Feng Di also returned from outside excitedly: "Is Xiao Xian back yet? The captain came to visit us again!"

Actually, everything is fine as long as the bugle call comes.

The key point is that Grant also came. As soon as the guest entered, he saw someone he hadn't seen yesterday hanging on the fireplace. Even though the woman was hanging, her long tail could still drag on the ground from mid-air, which looked a bit inexplicably comical.

"...Viscount, what are you planning to do so early in the morning..."

Why are you here so early in the morning!