Arknights: The Prophet of Penguin Logistics — Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Splitting Into Groups

The next day, the transport vehicle rumbled toward Kawalerielki just as planned.

The journey was not entirely without incident. A low-ranking knight had somehow lost his mind along the way, attempting to use a volatile shard of Originium to frame Nearl and forcefully turn her into an Infected. Heaven have mercy, Originium was not a toy to be handled lightly.

Lynn suspected there were deeper political machinations at play, but since the crime was committed in broad daylight, investigating the shadows would only invite further complications. Nearl was no saint either. With the swift assistance of Shining and the others, the Radiant Knight simply drew her blade, severed the man’s head, pickled it in a preservation jar, and had it shipped directly back to his elderly father. She made absolutely sure a detailed list of his crimes accompanied the gruesome package.

Despite the grim nature of the event, the violent interruption actually managed to ease the lingering tension among the group members.

If Shining had not sensed the killing intent and intercepted the Originium explosive in mid-air, and if Lappland and the others had not immediately pinned down that malicious brat, Nearl would have inexplicably contracted Oripathy and faced permanent exile from her homeland.

Although she harbored no deep, sentimental attachment to the current state of her country, there was a fundamental difference between choosing to walk away and being humiliatingly banished. Nearl expressed deep gratitude to everyone who had dared to intervene. She even offered to host them at her family estate to properly show her hospitality. However, since the assassination attempt was clearly entangled in the bitter internal power struggles of Kazimierz, the group politely declined the invitation.

With Nearl’s personal guarantee, their remaining work in Kazimierz became remarkably simple. She had her affiliated knights clear the highways ahead of them, allowing the crew to relax and converse freely in the spacious camper.

Shining decided to disembark at the outskirts of the mobile city. After accepting the special travel permit Nearl had arranged for her, the Sarkaz healer parted ways with the group. She walked away without a single backward glance, and Lynn felt that her parting blessing had been entirely genuine.

Strangely, his initial obsession with keeping a gentle, white-haired big sister by his side had completely vanished. This sudden shift in his own preferences made Lynn feel incredibly strange. Plagued by the thought of whether he had simply lost his taste for white hair, he reached over and grabbed Lappland’s head to take a closer look.

He was promptly beaten up for his trouble.

Fortunately, all the cargo handovers had already been completed outside the city limits. The goods dispatched by Chaolongshan were not hidden in any secretive underground location, nor did they belong within the elite capital circle of Kawalerielki. After completing several transfers, they were pleasantly surprised to discover they had enough free time to wait for Sora to finish her concert before heading back.

Being able to stay in the capital of Kazimierz for over a full day was an unexpected joy.

“Well then, let’s part ways here.”

Guiding everyone into the primary inspection area adjacent to the Kawalerielki Mobile City, Nearl walked toward the exclusive passage reserved for High-ranking Knights and waved back at the group.

The members of Penguin Logistics waved in return. Sora and the two operators from Blacksteel Worldwide had already been called thirteen times in a row by their frantic agent, nearly blowing out the camper’s communication signal. After shouting a rushed apology to everyone, they had hurried off a step ahead. Shining was even further gone, having disembarked at the rural outskirts to seek out impoverished villages and treat those suffering from severe illnesses.

Only five people remained in the spacious transport vehicle: Lynn, Croissant, Texas, Lappland, and Exusiai.

Nearl, who had escorted them the entire way, had finished verifying their identities with the border guards. She now had to bid them a final farewell, as she was required to attend a Knights Council hearing to formally justify her execution of the eldest son of Knight Commander Midir.

“If you run into any problems, please go directly to the Knights Association and report your names alongside mine.”

Standing on the ascending lift, Nearl looked down at the group and offered a reassuring smile. “I have registered all of your names and official codenames as my VIP guests within the Knights Association. I will do my absolute best to assist you within the borders of Kazimierz. If you encounter trouble, please do not worry about dignity or saving face. Your safety is the only thing that matters!”

“Thanks! Let’s meet again if we get the chance!”

Waving at the Radiant Knight as she ascended to the upper levels, Lynn ignored the strange gazes of the surrounding Kazimierz citizens and stepped back into the camper, letting out a long breath of relief.

Although his body did not feel particularly exhausted after a day of travel, the mental fatigue was heavy. For some reason, even though the Chaolongshan goods had been delivered outside the city, the local inspectors had been exceptionally nervous, and the security presence had been suffocatingly dense.

If the recipient had not been an ordinary Lupo merchant who owned a luxury goods store, Lynn would have assumed they were delivering a classified briefcase directly to the Knights Council. But looking back on the series of hassles, he realized this journey had been far simpler than their disastrous trip to Chernobog. The attacks they faced had been swiftly resolved by Shining and Nearl. On the surface, it seemed like they had waded through a sea of crises, but in reality, the Penguin Logistics crew had barely needed to lift a finger to arrive safely in Kawalerielki.

“Well, the final task is done, so we can go take a stroll around the city in a bit. Does everyone have any plans?”

“I don’t want to walk with you! Get away from me!”

“I didn’t say I wanted to walk with you either…”

“In short, I don’t want to be anywhere near you! At least not in the near future!”

Looking at Lappland, who had her hair instantly bristling as she hid behind Texas and glared at him with intense vigilance, Lynn felt entirely innocent.

It wasn’t just because he wanted to confirm if he was still a white-hair enthusiast that he had dragged her over to inspect her, right? Besides, he had already taken a beating for it, so they were even. Why was she looking at him like he was some kind of irredeemable pervert? He didn’t just like white hair in general; he specifically liked gentle big sisters with white hair.

“…I just feel like you’ve been getting more and more perverted lately.”

Texas showed a rare moment of gentleness toward Lappland, shielding the Lupo slightly as she shot Lynn a cold, reproachful look.

This tiny gesture moved Lappland to the verge of tears. The slight sense of care and protection was something she had not experienced from Texas in years. It even made Lappland stare at Lynn with a sudden gleam of anticipation, silently urging him to do something else out of line just so Texas would defend her again.

Lynn wisely ignored the unhinged hint in her eyes.

“Anyway, Lappland, you want to stroll with Texas, right? And what about Croissant?”

“Ah, I’m going to head out by myself.” Wearing a casual camisole, Croissant raised her hand with a bright grin. “It’s rare to visit the capital. I want to sell off some small goods I brought along, then buy a bunch of local specialties to take back and flip for a profit. So, I’m flying solo.”

“Just don’t lose your wallet. How about you, Exusiai?”

“I’m easy either way. Do you want to walk around together, Prophet?”

“Of course. So, it’ll be me and Exusiai, Croissant by herself, and then Lappland and Texas. Is everyone good with this distribution?”

Having inexplicably fallen into the role of squad commander, Lynn jotted the rough itineraries down in his notebook and looked up at the crew.