Arknights: The Prophet of Penguin Logistics — Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Splitting the Party

The following morning, the armored RV rumbled toward the towering silhouette of Kawalerielki, the glittering capital of Kazimierz.

The journey wasn’t entirely without its bumps. Some low-ranking knight, drunk on either arrogance or sheer stupidity, had attempted to frame Nearl as an Infected by planting a shard of active Originium on her. It was a fatal miscalculation. Originium was not a prop for petty political theater.

Lynn had sensed the underlying political rot, but the crime was too brazen to ignore. Nearl, for all her radiant chivalry, was no bleeding-heart saint. With a flash of golden light and Shining’s silent support, she separated the knight’s head from his shoulders. She then had the severed head preserved in a jar of brine and shipped back to the man’s elderly father, accompanied by a carefully detailed ledger of his son’s crimes.

That brutal display of boundary-setting had actually smoothed over the tension within the RV. If Shining hadn’t sensed the anomaly and intercepted the volatile Originium explosive mid-air, and if Lappland hadn’t gleefully pinned the malicious brat to the dirt, Nearl might have been branded an Infected and exiled from her homeland in disgrace.

While the Radiant Knight harbored complicated feelings toward the current state of Kazimierz, there was a vast chasm between choosing to leave and being humiliatingly cast out. Nearl expressed a deep, solemn gratitude to the Penguin Logistics crew for their intervention. She had even offered to host them at her family estate, but given the obvious political crosshairs painted on her back, the group politely declined the invitation.

Still, traveling under the aegis of a high-ranking knight had its perks. Nearl’s loyal subordinates cleared the checkpoints, leaving the crew free to lounge in the RV’s spacious cabin.

Shining chose to disembark at the city’s outskirts. Armed with a special transit pass provided by Nearl, the Sarkaz medic bid them a quiet farewell. She walked away without a backward glance, heading toward the impoverished border villages to treat the sick. Lynn watched her go, certain that the subtle blessing he had placed upon her was genuine. Strangely, his initial obsession with keeping the enigmatic, white-haired woman by his side had evaporated into the crisp Kazimierz air.

This sudden shift in his own desires left him deeply puzzled. Wondering if his supposed obsession with white hair had simply cured itself, he had wandered over to Lappland, reached out to inspect her fluffy white ears, and was promptly beaten to a pulp for his curiosity.

Physical bruises aside, the logistics of the trip were wrapping up perfectly. The cargo handover had been finalized outside the city limits. The shipment entrusted to them by MountainDash Logistics wasn’t bound for some shadowy underground vault, nor was it destined for Kawalerielki’s elite inner circles. It was a simple delivery to a Lupo merchant running a luxury boutique on the outskirts.

With the job done early, they realized they had a generous window of free time. They could actually afford to wait for Sora to finish her scheduled idol concert before making the long drive back. A full day of leisure in the bustling capital of Kazimierz was a rare, welcome luxury.

“Then, let us part ways here,” Nearl said, her voice cutting through the ambient hum of the mobile city.

Standing before the grand checkpoint elevators leading into Kawalerielki’s upper tiers, she offered a crisp salute. She was heading toward the exclusive transit lane reserved for High-ranking Knights.

The remaining Penguin Logistics crew waved back. Sora and the two Blacksteel Worldwide operators had already departed; their furious handler had bombarded the RV’s comms with thirteen consecutive calls, nearly frying the signal receiver. After a flurry of frantic apologies, the trio had sprinted off to their respective assignments.

Now, the once-crowded RV felt cavernous. Only five remained: Lynn, Croissant, Texas, Lappland, and Exusiai. Nearl had stayed just long enough to verify their identities with the border guards. Now, she had to face a Knights Council hearing to formally justify her execution of Midir, the Knight Commander’s eldest son.

“If you run into any issues, please go directly to the Knights Association,” Nearl called out, stepping onto the rising elevator platform. “I have already registered your names and codenames as my esteemed guests. If you encounter trouble within Kazimierz’s borders, I will do everything in my power to assist you. Do not worry about pride or protocol, your safety is the only thing that matters!”

“Thanks for everything! See you around!” Lynn shouted back, waving until the golden-haired knight disappeared into the metallic canopy of the upper levels. Ignoring the strange, lingering stares of the local Kazimierz citizens, he stepped back into the RV and let out a long exhale.

His body wasn’t particularly sore, but the sheer mental friction of the journey weighed on him. The MountainDash Logistics delivery had been strangely tense. The inspectors had been sweating bullets, and the perimeter had been crawling with heavily armed guards. If the recipient hadn’t been a completely ordinary Lupo shopkeeper, Lynn would have assumed they were hand-delivering a nuclear launch code to the Knights Council.

Yet, looking back, this run had been a vacation compared to the bloody nightmare of Chernobog. Every ambush and assassination attempt had been swiftly crushed by Shining and Nearl. The Penguin Logistics crew had barely needed to draw their weapons.

“Well, the final task is officially off the books,” Lynn announced, leaning against the driver’s seat. “We’ve got time to kill and the whole city of Kawalerielki to explore. Anyone got plans?”

“I am not walking with you! Stay away from me!” Lappland hissed, her tail puffing up to twice its normal size.

“I didn’t exactly invite you,” Lynn replied, deadpan.

“I don’t care! Keep your distance! At least for the next forty-eight hours!” She scrambled behind Texas, using the stoic Lupo as a meat shield while glaring at Lynn with feral suspicion.

Lynn blinked, feeling entirely victimized by the accusation. He had only wanted to test a scientific hypothesis about his aesthetic preferences. He touched her ears, she beat him up, the ledger was balanced. Why was she looking at him like he was a creeping degenerate? He wasn’t a maniac; he just appreciated gentle, mature women with white hair. Lappland hardly fit the gentle criteria anyway.

“…I feel like you’re getting more degenerate by the day,” Texas murmured. She shot Lynn a rare, reproachful glare, shifting her stance to slightly shield Lappland.

That tiny, almost imperceptible gesture of protectiveness hit Lappland like a physical blow. Her silver eyes widened, shimmering with actual, unshed tears. It had been years since Texas had actively defended her. The unhinged Lupo suddenly stared at Lynn with a terrifying, expectant hunger, silently begging him to do something creepy again so Texas would protect her some more.

Lynn wisely chose to ignore the psychotic plea radiating from her eyes.

“Right. So, Lappland is sticking to Texas like glue,” Lynn said, clapping his hands together to reset the mood. “What about you, Croissant?”

“Ah, I’m flyin’ solo today!” Croissant chirped. She adjusted her small, sporty camisole and stretched her arms above her head. “It ain’t every day we get a free pass in the capital. I’m gonna offload some of my side-hustle goods, then buy up local Kazimierz specialties to flip back in Lungmen. Pure profit, baby!”

“Just don’t get your wallet picked,” Lynn warned with a dry smile. “And you, Exusiai?”

The Sankta girl leaned against the doorframe, a bright, easy grin on her face. “I’m good with whatever. Wanna team up and hit the streets, Prophet?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Lynn pulled a small notebook from his pocket, inexplicably finding himself in the role of squad commander. He jotted down the rough itineraries. “Alright, let’s review. Exusiai and I will pair up. Croissant is on a solo merchant run. And Texas is on Lappland-babysitting duty. Everyone good with this distribution?”