Arknights: The Holy Son's Leisurely Life — Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Lucian’s Special CandyYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

Still riding the high of her alcohol buzz, Blaze leaned forward, her feline ears twitching with curiosity.

“But, you know, Lungmen publicly claims it doesn’t accept the Infected, yet the actual management is incredibly lax, right?” She gestured broadly with her empty can. “Not to mention the Slums. Your Penguin Logistics takes commissions from us Infected all the time, don’t you? And you’re still allowed to operate right here in the city. Is Lungmen really this tolerant of criminal enterprises?”

Croissant blinked, clapping her hands together as a sudden realization dawned on her face. “Ah, to be fair, she’s got a point.”

“Our family has always operated in the gray area, so I guess that makes us an illegal outfit too, huh?”

Croissant let out a soft burp, leaning her weight against Texas’s leg. “Texas~, what do you think? As a former mafia boss and all.”

Texas took a slow bite of her Pocky. “When I was in Lungmen, I didn’t kill anyone.”

…That was an incredibly loaded statement. The casual admission instantly dropped the temperature in the room by several degrees.

‘She says that as if not killing people means it isn’t illegal,’Lucian thought, fighting the urge to massage his temples.’Miss Texas, is murder the only crime in your legal dictionary?’

The awkward silence didn’t last long.

Blaze’s eyes practically lit up like floodlights, her tail swishing wildly behind her. “Texas! You’re a Lupo from Siracusa? From the actual mafia? That’s amazing! I’ve never met a real mafia member before!” She leaned in close, invading the Lupo’s personal space. “Are you like the guys in the movies? Can you pull a massive automatic rifle out from under your suit at any given moment? What kind of Originium Arts makes that work?”

Texas immediately recoiled, her expression twisting in mild distaste. “That is just in the movies. Lupo don’t use automatic firearms; that is a Sankta privilege.” She pointed a slender finger across the room. “Lucian can pull out several guns. Go ask him.”

Blaze whipped her head around, staring at the tea shop owner in sheer astonishment. “Really!? Lucian, you can just pull out guns whenever you want? What’s the scientific principle behind that!?”

Lucian scratched his cheek, offering an awkward smile. “It’s not that special, really. Just think of it as a specific application of Originium Arts.”

The halo above his head flared with a soft, golden light. In the blink of an eye, an automatic rifle materialized out of thin air, resting perfectly in his grip.

Naturally, this was just a harmless model gun he had crafted in his spare time—the exact kind of replica that Inspector Hoshiguma would overlook with a knowing wink.

Lucian casually tossed the rifle over to Blaze, letting the feline Operator examine the craftsmanship for herself.

As she fumbled slightly to catch the heavy frame, Lucian continued his explanation. “I can conceal weapons within my wings, which makes it look like I’m pulling them out of nowhere. Exusiai has the exact same ability, so it’s nothing to write home about.”

“Are you kidding me?” Blaze traced the barrel of the model, thoroughly amazed. “You Sankta are incredible. Glowing wings, floating halos, and you have built-in pocket dimensions? That is so unscientific.”

Lucian offered a helpless shrug. “From my perspective, your animal ears and tails are pretty much the same kind of magic.”

He casually brushed the topic aside, leaving a slightly tipsy Blaze to focus all her attention on fiddling with the rifle’s mechanisms.

In reality, Lucian’s spatial storage trick was entirely inherited from Exusiai.

Even among the Sankta, it was an exceptionally rare talent. One shouldn’t let Exusiai’s usual boisterous, party-loving nature fool them; her innate aptitude for firearm control was easily among the absolute best of contemporary Sankta.

She could conceal eight Guardian Guns within her wings of light and control every single one of them simultaneously.

Each firearm functioned as an independent Originium staff. Even veteran Sankta who specialized in automatic weapons usually had to focus all their mental energy just to operate one effectively. Exusiai juggled eight without breaking a sweat.

Storing Guardian Guns in her wings was her own unique signature. Unlike the innate ability to manifest wings, Lucian had never possessed this spatial trick originally.

However, after leaving Laterano, Lucian had gone through some rather intimate experiences with Exusiai in order to treat her Oripathy. Through the exchange of his unique blood, a connection had formed—and he found himself able to replicate her exact abilities.

It was a phenomenon that even the most advanced theories on Originium Arts couldn’t explain, so Lucian had wisely chosen to keep that particular secret to himself.

With the topic temporarily set aside, Lucian took advantage of Blaze’s distraction to steer the conversation. “Blaze, what exactly does your Rhodes Island do? You mentioned you’re a veteran senior Operator. Does that mean you have a lot of inexperienced rookies running around?”

“Hmm? I guess you could say that.”

Blaze handed the model gun back to Lucian. She cracked open another can, drained half of it in one go, and leaned back comfortably against the sofa cushions. “It’s no big secret, really. Rhodes Island’s primary aim is to treat the Infected and guarantee their basic human rights. A lot of people find that highly suspicious, though. They think our landship is just a black-hearted organization using a noble cause as a front.”and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

…Lucian maintained a polite, albeit slightly strained, smile.

Blaze let out another burp and waved her hand dismissively. “Because of what we do, Rhodes Island ends up in a lot of fights. We have all sorts of Operators, and I happen to specialize in frontline combat. This arm?” She rolled her right shoulder, drawing attention to the heavy bandages wrapping her bicep. “Got this while rescuing some of our compatriots who were abandoned out in the wilderness a while ago. I was bitten by an Originium monster.”

Hoshiguma, who had been quietly nursing her drink, widened her eyes in genuine surprise. “Bitten by an Originium monster? That is no small matter. Then your infection…”

Blaze tilted her head, looking entirely unbothered. “Hmm? Oh, right. I’ve been Infected for years, so it’s whatever. Getting bitten by monsters is just part of the routine. This time, let me think… Our Medical Department folks said my overall infection rate only went up by one point something. Small stuff~.”

She spoke with a breezy lightness, but the atmosphere in the room instantly grew heavy. Everyone present understood the terrifying reality of those numbers.

For an ordinary Infected individual, even a single-digit infection rate was a life-threatening condition. Pushing past the ten percent threshold meant the patient was classified as severe, constantly teetering on the edge of death.

Lucian could sense it clearly. Blaze’s internal infection rate was definitely hovering above fifteen percent.

At that critical stage, to casually brush off a sudden increase of ‘one point something’ meant she was quite literally throwing her life away on the battlefield every single day.

This woman… Lucian found himself momentarily speechless.

Stepping in for the silent tea shop owner, Hoshiguma set her glass down with a sharp clink. “Then you should retire, shouldn’t you?”

Blaze blinked. “Huh?”

“You have a severe infection and you are constantly suffering serious injuries,” Hoshiguma stated, her voice carrying the authoritative weight of a Lungmen Guard Department officer. “If you want to live even a few years longer, you should put down your weapons immediately. Allowing a severely Infected person like you to fight on the front lines… isn’t Rhodes Island exactly the black-hearted company people claim it is?”

Blaze’s brows instantly snapped together. “What did you just say—!”

She slammed her boot down onto the coffee table. A wave of scorching, suffocating heat flooded the room as raw killing intent flared in her eyes.

Croissant and Exusiai moved in a flash, grabbing the furious feline from the front and back, desperately trying to anchor her to the floor.

Hoshiguma didn’t even flinch. The tall Oni simply picked her glass back up and continued to drink, watching the raging Operator with clear, unflinching eyes, calmly awaiting a response.

Blaze gnashed her teeth, a low, dangerous growl vibrating in her throat like a cornered leopard.

“You giantess, do you want to fight me? Don’t think that just because you’re a bit taller and have more muscle, I’ll lose to you!”

“Whether we fight or not is completely beside the point. I want to understand your perspective,” Hoshiguma replied smoothly, entirely unbothered by the blistering heat. “You are fighting for Rhodes Island with your very life, aren’t you? I admire your conviction, but are you truly certain that Rhodes Island is worth dying for?”

“Of course it’s worth it!”

Blaze let out a fierce, defiant laugh. “I know exactly what kind of conspiracy theories are running through your head. You think Rhodes Island just strung together a bunch of pretty words, but in reality, we’re just an organization exploiting the Infected to do our dirty work, right? You people who aren’t suffering from Oripathy always think that way. But I’m telling you right now, you are dead wrong!”

She strained against Croissant’s grip, her voice ringing with absolute absolute certainty. “We are fighting for the Infected! Our plight is clear for anyone with eyes to see, but the rest of the world simply doesn’t care! Well, I care! I care deeply! If we Infected don’t stand up and fight for our own right to exist, who else can we possibly expect to save us?”

Hoshiguma looked at her quietly, the harsh edge in her gaze softening just a fraction. “You are very confident.”

“Of course I am,” Blaze snapped back without a second of hesitation.

The tense, heavy atmosphere stretched taut across the room. No one dared to speak, the silence only broken by the hum of the refrigerator and Blaze’s heavy breathing.

Texas, who had been quietly observing the standoff while nibbling on her Pocky, suddenly turned her head.

Lucian was approaching the living room. He had slipped away to the kitchen at some point during the shouting match and was now returning with a small porcelain bowl in his hands.

Walking right past the standoff, he extended the bowl toward the furious feline Operator.

“Special blood-replenishing sugar candy,” Lucian offered with a perfectly calm, laid-back smile. “Want a piece?”You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.