Flandre Scarlet in Arknights Chapter 229 228: Kept in the Dark

After a warm, delightfully lively chat inside the stronghold, Sona happily presented Flandre with a premium, officially signed group photograph of the Pinus Sylvestris order. She then personally escorted the two foreign travelers all the way back to the heavy security gates marking the outer boundary of Area 0.

At this primary border exit stood a dense, imposing cluster of advanced modern detection equipnt. Because of the strict segregation laws of the capital, every single person who wished to leave the slums and return to the upper comrcial sectors was legally forced to pass through several highly invasive layers of biological checks.

Flandre Scarlet certainly harbored no physical fear toward these primitive dical inspections, but she had absolutely zero intention of honestly complying with the local corporate protocols.

As they walked down the long security corridor, her small hands casually traced a series of intricate, playful gestures through the air. By the exact mont their boots reached the automated checkpoint line, she had already successfully cast a flawless, localized Confusion Charm over the entire guard detachnt. Smiling brightly, she took Hong iling by the hand and casually guided her through a completely fictionalized, mock inspection process, walking right out into the clean city plaza without a single alarm triggering.

"Isn't it just a basic health check?" Hong iling asked curiously, looking back over her shoulder once they had put a safe, significant distance between themselves and the security gates. "Why did we need to rely on those magical tricks instead of just letting them scan us properly? Sneaking past like that almost makes it look like we have a guilty conscience or sothing to hide."

Flandre turned around, a highly clever smirk gracing her cute features. She explained that precisely because they not only lacked Oripathy entirely, but also possessed essentially zero ambient Originium particles remaining within their physical bodies, they mathematically could not afford to undergo a legitimate local scan.

Because this volatile world of Terra was thoroughly saturated with microscopic Originium dust everywhere in the atmosphere, the native inhabitants of this planet all naturally possessed a baseline concentration of dormant Originium particles settled deep within their cellular bodies from birth. The catastrophic contraction of active Oripathy was actually caused when these internal, dormant particles were suddenly triggered by an influx of active, high-concentration Originium from the outside world, causing the host's internal mineral levels to violently awaken and continuously proliferate until crystallization occurred.

However, the travelers originating from the peaceful realm of Gensokyo simply didn't possess such toxic, alien components within their biology. Their supernatural somatic cells were fundantally incapable of fusing or interacting with Originium on a molecular level, so there was absolutely nothing inside them that could be triggered by external exposure. This complete lack of native compatibility was the absolute, underlying reason why none of the Mansion's residents could ever contract the terrifying disease.

In the long history of this world, there did exist one singular native race that naturally possessed no dormant Originium particles within their clean bodies—the deep-sea Aegir.

Years ago, in a desperate bid to stir up geopolitical chaos on the surface, the mad zealots of the Church of the Deep had intentionally utilized an extraordinarily high-concentration liquid Originium solution to forcibly infect Laurentina—one of the legendary Abyssal Hunters globally known by the codena 'Specter'—effectively making her the one and only recorded Infected individual among the entire Aegir race. But one had to realize that if that exact, horrifying concentration of liquid Originium solution were ever deployed against a standard race native to the Terran mainland, their physical bodies would likely be completely transmuted into pure, solid Originium crystal in an instant.

Flandre had proactively deployed her illusion magic because she had sharply noticed that standard blood extraction tests were prominently listed among the inspection items at the gate. As non-natives of this universe, the cellular structures and blood compositions inside her and Hong iling's bodies were entirely alien compared to those of the local Terrans. The mont those automated corporate terminals analyzed their blood, the anomalous biological readings would likely spark a massive, unnecessary scientific investigation, so it was vastly better to simply utilize a Confusion Charm to fool their senses from the start.

After listening to Flandre's incredibly thorough, logical explanation, Hong iling's eyes widened in sudden realization, and she instantly gave the little girl a highly impressed thumbs-up. The Second Young Mistress's tactical brain had undeniably beco much sharper and more analytical since they had arrived in this foreign world.

Flandre proudly placed her hands squarely on her hips, her small wings fluttering with absolute satisfaction.

"Of course! I'm not a total baka like Cirno. Flandre is super smart!"

anwhile, far away in the dense, pristine forests sprawling beneath the grand migratory routes of the Reunion Movent, a certain ice fairy nad Cirno was currently playing a chaotic ga of hide-and-seek with her usual companions.

Out of nowhere, she let out a sudden, incredibly loud sneeze. The violent burst of frost instantly exposed her hidden position behind a bush, causing her to be imdiately tagged by Rumia, who was currently acting as 'It'.

Cirno rubbed her small nose in complete, utter confusion, pouting crossly as she muttered to herself about how on earth a supre Ice Fairy could ever catch a common physical cold.

Back in the sprawling streets of the capital, Flandre and Hong iling, having successfully navigated their way out of Area 0, continued their trek toward the other glittering sectors of the comrcial tropolis. However, the duo quickly ran into a slight, stubborn disagreent regarding exactly where they should go to play for the remainder of the afternoon.

From Hong iling's practical perspective, the massive comrcial amusent park they had visited previously was an exceptionally excellent choice. It featured a vast abundance of thrilling rides and operated on a highly convenient, one-ti flat ticket system, aning they wouldn't have to constantly spend extra physical cash on the various attractions inside. They could easily spend the entire day relaxing there in pure comfort—and, of course, the vibrant, noisy environnt made it incredibly convenient for her to secretly slack off and take a nice nap on a park bench.

But Flandre strongly felt that since they had traveled all the way to an entirely new foreign nation, they should embark on a grand, unpredictable 'adventure' to sectors and historical districts they hadn't personally mapped out yet.

In the end, Hong iling's lazy argunts stood absolutely no chance against Flandre's relentless, sparkling enthusiasm. Defeated, the gatekeeper could only sigh as they purchased a small, colorful booklet of Kazimierz tourist attractions at a nearby newsstand, officially beginning a lengthy sightseeing journey along the grand avenues.

It wasn't until the crimson sun had nearly dipped below the horizon and dinner ti was rapidly approaching that the two travelers finally hurried back to their luxury hotel suite, their faces flushed with a lingering desire for more exploration. Although Hong iling had spent the vast majority of her day constantly walking without a single viable window to slack off, the physical intensity of the journey was incredibly low throughout, leaving her feeling like she had spent the day acting as a pure, professional babysitter.

"How exactly was your day out, Flandre?"

Seeing her little sister finally bounce back into the room, Remilia Scarlet reached out with a fond smile, pulling the younger girl close to gently pat her blonde head.

"It was so happy and fun! And look at what I got, Big Sister!" Flandre cheered, eagerly pulling out the group photograph of the Pinus Sylvestris from her pocket like she was presenting a priceless, historical treasure, proudly turning it over to showcase the vibrant ink on the back.

[Wishing the lovely little Flandre happiness every single day, grand success in her future studies, and absolute good health! — BY Sona, Leader of the Pinus Sylvestris]

"The Pinus Sylvestris... aren't they the energetic winners of that grand stadium match we watched together yesterday afternoon?" Remilia instantly recognized the colorful figures standing in the photograph. Of course, one major reason for her swift recognition was that Sona's massive, fluffy red tail was far too visually conspicuous to ever forget.

Remilia found Flandre's sudden, innocent fan-like behavior to be incredibly amusing. She began to casually ask the duo about their specific experiences throughout the day, but the mont Sakuya Izayoi gracefully erged from the kitchen wheeling a decadent, multi-course dinner, she quietly paused the conversation to focus on the al.

Once dinner had concluded and the premium dishes were cleared away, the entire group gathered together in the comfortable lounge. Hong iling took center stage, ticulously recounting their startling sociological discoveries within the Infected slums, as well as the profound biological theories Flandre had laid out regarding the local populace when they were bypassing the border checkpoint.

"This is indeed an underlying problem that is deeply worth noting," Patchouli Knowledge murmured, finally looking up from the heavy leather-bound book resting on her lap, her expression turning dead-serious. "On this chaotic planet called Terra, the cultural and political rift between the Infected and the non-Infected populations is profoundly severe, far exceeding our initial expectations."

Remilia offered a slow, contemplative nod of agreent after absorbing the report.

"I am also quite deeply interested in the specific theory Flandre ntioned," the Vampire Lord said, a tiny, enigmatic smile playing on her lips. "If her deductions are biologically accurate, then technically speaking, every single native resident born into this world is already a baseline Infected individual."

"It's just that for the vast majority of the wealthy populace, the condition remains exceptionally mild, and the dormant Originium particles embedded within their tissues exist in a completely inactive state." Remilia's smile widened slightly, a flash of amusent in her crimson eyes. "In that case, this massive, violent societal gap between the two factions becos incredibly ironic and very interesting to observe."

"But none of us here are professional physicians or geneticists," Patchouli responded, adjusting her cap. "Let us carefully note these unique environntal observations down in our records for now, and we can discuss the precise cellular chanics with Eirin Yagokoro the next ti we manage to contact her."

With that dical mystery set aside, the small group naturally transitioned into discussing their concrete future travel plans. Flandre had already played to her heart's content within the comrcial plazas of Kazimierz, so the leadership unanimously decided that they would officially depart the knight nation tomorrow morning. Their planned itinerary would take them on a grand journey passing straight through the territories of Victoria, the grand musical spires of Leithanien, and the dangerous wilderness of Siracusa, with the ultimate goal of reaching the massive landship of Rhodes Island, which was currently registered as operating within the mining borders of Rim Billiton.

Hearing the sudden news that they were packing up and leaving the capital tomorrow, Flandre's eyes blinked as she suddenly rembered a certain lingering loose end—specifically, that arrogant, armored "tin can" knight whom Hong iling had casually obliterated into a brick wall with a single punch a few nights ago.

One of the capital's prominent high-ranking figures had literally died in an alleyway, yet there had been absolutely zero public movent, corporate investigations, or police retaliation for several consecutive days. What on earth was going on behind the scenes?

She eagerly voiced her lingering doubts to the room, proudly declaring her belief that the fact the enemy hadn't launched an open assault ant they were surely brewing so kind of massive, terrifying underground conspiracy to trap them.

However, while Flandre was proudly gesturing and showing off her deductive cleverness, she completely failed to notice that everyone else in the lounge suddenly wore highly peculiar, distinctly awkward expressions.

"Uh... well, Flandre, maybe those corporate executives just completely forgot about him!" Remilia paused for a brief, delicate mont, clearing her throat before continuing in a perfectly casual tone.

"Or perhaps their upper managent simply realized that the loud tin can's sudden death was entirely well-deserved. After all, for a registered knight to actively choose such a vile, unprincipled act as launching a nightti sneak attack against tourists, the other noble houses probably weren't willing to ruin their own public reputations just to stand up for his corpse."

"Is that really how it works for adults?" Flandre tilted her head to the side, looking up at her older sister with a pair of wide, completely innocent eyes.