"...Is this... the Great Knight Territory?"
The black-haired Carter looked up at the cyberpunk-style city before her, filled with neon lights.
Compared to Rhodes Island's utilitarian style, Kazimierz emphasized striking visual elements, with a strong sense of technology and futurism, making Amiya feel as if she were in a futuristic city. The most eye-catching feature was clearly the advertisements for the Kazimierz Knight Championship Loop Play, which were playing on the large screens. In the advertisements, Amiya felt as if she had even seen the figure of Operator Nearl.
"Operator Nearl looks so good in her competitive Knight attire! Although she's usually very cool! But now, she's even more radiant than when she was at Rhodes Island," Amiya's exclamation drew curious glances from the hooded person beside her, who was a little carsick. Indeed, Operator Nearl, in her competitive Knight gear, was like a completely different person compared to her conservative, simple, and practical attire at Rhodes Island.
"Amiya, don't run so far. We're going straight to the Supervisory Council later to take a look." Although he was also somewhat interested in Nearl's new outfit, the Doctor maintained the demeanor of an adult, taking Amiya's hand and pulling her closer. "This time, we're here at Noah's invitation. It's a formal business activity, you know."
"Oh right! And I'll get to see Ms. Noah. It's been a long time... I wonder if Ms. Noah has become even more beautiful," Amiya still had a deep impression of Noah. When Noah was first sent to Rhodes Island, her condition wasn't as severe as it later became. At that time, Rhodes Island was in a state of operating at a deficit. The Doctor hadn't returned yet, and Dr. Kal'tsit wasn't very good at business, so Amiya was constantly working overtime at high intensity.
It was perfectly normal for her to fall asleep while working, and it was during one such instance that Amiya once again collapsed and fell asleep at her desk. When she woke up, she had been moved to the sofa, and Noah was sitting in her original spot, handling the island's affairs with astonishing speed.
Upon seeing Amiya wake up, she waved her hand somewhat sheepishly, "You looked too tired, so I thought I'd help out. Don't worry, I've taken out all the confidential stamped documents separately. These are all business contracts and such; I've handled them for you."
Although Noah intervened to help, she didn't take it for granted and start peeking at Rhodes Island's confidential files. Instead, she took out all the documents stamped with confidential seals and put them aside separately, only dealing with the business-related content. She was already very good with numbers and calculations, so for her, this content was not difficult at all. What was difficult and dizzying for Amiya was not too challenging for Noah, who was fifteen at the time.
"How can I trouble Ms. Noah! You're still a patient, Dr. Kal'tsit said you shouldn't overexert yourself!" Amiya grew anxious, directly throwing off the covers. When she tried to get up, she felt a dizzy spell in her head, probably from getting up too quickly. Seeing this, Noah simply stepped forward and gently pushed Amiya back onto the sofa. "Come on, these things aren't difficult for me. It's much easier. And you rest for a day, tomorrow I'll teach you how to calculate the balance of gains and losses."
Amiya was pressed onto the sofa. At that time, Noah could still walk freely, and her eyes were only a little blurry, so she wore glasses, looking refined and scholarly.
If Amiya hadn't known that Noah was once a highly-regarded Knight, she probably wouldn't have been able to imagine her in armor. She wore a single ponytail, sat beside Amiya, looking at the reports and contracts in her hand, and occasionally exchanged a few words with Amiya. Even now, Amiya had never forgotten it.
—However, good times didn't last long. About three or four months later, Noah was pushed into the ICU due to her worsening condition, and later, a famous doctor from the island was called in for surgery—
Before entering the operating room, Noah specifically squeezed her hand and said with a smile, "Don't cry, I'll be right back. After this, I'll teach you how to do business—Amiya, you still have a lot to learn."
The surgery could be said to have been very successful, and Noah bravely persevered to the end. Unfortunately, the price was that she could no longer see anything and couldn't stand up.
And... contrary to the promise made before the surgery, Amiya was denied entry to visit her in the ward.
Noah never taught her how to do business again, as she never saw Amiya again until she left Rhodes Island.
Although Amiya later understood Noah's reasons for doing so, Amiya still couldn't forget the determined look in her eyes before she entered the operating room.
Later, Amiya learned about the relationship between Operator Nearl and Noah. Seriously, Noah's letter of recommendation provided Margaret with considerable convenience. No one expected that Noah, despite not staying at Rhodes Island for long, had an astonishingly good rapport with everyone. Basically, after learning about Margaret and Noah's relationship, almost everyone would look at Margaret in a new light, and Margaret herself also demonstrated a sufficiently excellent side.
At Rhodes Island, although Margaret and Noah had never gone on missions together, nor had they stayed at Rhodes Island at the same time, their childhood friendship, and the fact that both were excellent and easy to get along with, even led many people to have the misconception that Kazimierz was a place of outstanding people and talent.
Of course, those from Kazimierz who joined later disproved this notion.
Noah and Margaret were both exceptions; even in Kazimierz, these two were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
"That's right... this is also my first official meeting with Ms. Noah, isn't it?" The Doctor pondered for a moment. "Before, we always communicated through terminals and had phone calls, but we just never met in person. This time can be considered the opportune moment for an official meeting."
"After all, the Doctor hadn't returned when Ms. Noah left Rhodes Island," Amiya said with a smile. "But you'll definitely like Ms. Noah; she's a very kind and enthusiastic person."
"I will get along well with her." The Doctor nodded. From the impression of their previous communications, Noah Guillerette was indeed a very good partner. Otherwise, the Doctor would not have recommended her to cooperate with Karlan Trade. It is no exaggeration to say that the Doctor, SilverAsh, and Noah have already formed a business alliance, continuously generating profits for each other and striving to create a win-win situation for all three.
It is said that SilverAsh had met Noah before, and this time, the Doctor also planned to come in person to see who this Ms. Noah, with her keen insight and ability to almost see into people's hearts, truly was.
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