"Since you've come all this way, shouldn't I also express my sincerity?"
After Platinum signed the contract, Noah picked up the contract with a smile, scanned it with a scanner, then signed and stamped it, making two copies. She then handed Hintleyya's copy of the contract to her. Hintleyya was surprised that the other party, despite having no eyesight, handled things so smoothly. If her eyes didn't move with her actions, she would have thought the girl in front of her was just pretending to be blind.
Perhaps sensing something, Noah paused.
"Are you surprised? That a blind person can have such self-sufficiency?"
"You could say that?" Hintleyya nodded, "I thought I'd need to help."
"Actually, many times, I don't need to 'see' to know what's happening around me." Noah explained, "It's not a very difficult thing. I understand this company as well as I understand my own body."
"Even so, your movements are too unlike a blind person." Hintleyya asked with some curiosity, "Is there a trick to it?"
"Have you ever shot an arrow?"
"...A little."
"Then you should know that, theoretically, eyesight is the most important thing for archery—archers with good eyesight have an inherent advantage over those with poor eyesight, or rather, it's even best to be farsighted." Noah described, "However, our family's archery is quite special. While it also trains eyesight, it focuses more on 'perception'."
"Huh? Perception?"
"It's about the flow of air, the feel of the bowstring, breathing, sensing, listening, just like playing a zither." Noah explained, making the gesture of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow. Although she didn't have a bow and arrow in her hand, when she made that movement, Hintleyya's breathing inexplicably hitched. That feeling just now was as if she had been locked onto by something. Even though Noah had no eyesight and wasn't even looking at her, she just had this… feeling of being locked onto, or being targeted.
This feeling was so strong that it made her muscles tense subconsciously, feeling as if she was about to flee the next second.
But thankfully, Noah only made the movement, and she quickly relaxed, saying with a smile, "That's roughly it. I can feel the flow of air and hear sounds. Many times, with these two, I can pinpoint a person's location."
"If it's just locating by sound… then how did you so skillfully find the stamp and ink pad just now?"
"That's how well I understand our HR manager." Noah said with a smile, "She's very excellent and disciplined. She always keeps the stamp and ink pad in the drawer, and their position never changes."
"I see." Hintleyya finally reluctantly accepted Noah's logic of action, "But… according to you, if someone just stands still and doesn't speak in front of you, wouldn't you be unable to pinpoint them?"
"...Oh? Would you feel that way?" Noah just smiled. The curve of her lips was truly beautiful. Even in Kazimierz, Noah's beauty was among the top. It was said that she was seventy to eighty percent similar to Yolanta, who married into the Lingguang Family, except she had pure black hair and pure black eyes, resembling her grandfather more. That 'land immortal' once single-handedly defended a position with a bow, repelling forty-one enemy attacks and eliminating over 280 recorded enemies, becoming one of Kazimierz's legends.
—And Noah Guillerette, once known as the 'Gilete's Rising Star', was once a genius who could be compared to Margaret Lin-guang.
"Otherwise, what? As long as no sound is made… no matter what, you wouldn't be able to pinpoint them, right?"
"...If it were a noisy battlefield, that would indeed be the case." Noah nodded, "But some sounds are absolutely unavoidable—for example."
Noah picked up a pen from the desk. It was also the HR manager's possession, a cherished fountain pen. At this moment, it was held in Noah's hand, pointing towards Hintleyya's chest. That's right—pointing directly at her chest. Although it was just a pen, Hintleyya couldn't help but wonder, if Noah had a dagger or a sharp arrow in her hand at that moment, she probably would have been killed in that instant.
"...You can even hear heartbeats?"
"Uh-huh, impressive, right?"
Noah said with a smile, as if showing off something, "Originally, I really didn't have this ability, but ever since my eyes stopped working well, and I wasn't willing to completely abandon my previous training, I developed this skill."
"...It's more than just impressive…" Hintleyya imagined how much time and effort it would take to develop such a skill, and she felt a chill down her spine. Originally, aiming with just the eyes itself required a certain threshold, but for someone to be able to pinpoint and aim at a person through their heartbeat… this was no longer a question of whether it was plausible or not. However, she also exposed one thing: in a noisy environment, even she would be at a loss. She relied more on hearing, so if she were to target Noah… it would be best to first block her hearing.
Hintleyya had just thought this when she shook her head and discarded the thought. She wasn't here to kill Noah, so why think so much?
"Alright, I've told you my biggest weakness. How about it? If you ever want to change jobs, you can use this information as a stepping stone. Maybe someone will give you a raise because of it." Noah nodded, placed the document on the desk, and extended her hand to Hintleyya. "Let's go, please help me push my wheelchair. I'll take you to the cafeteria."
"...I might be the first person in this world to be led by a blind person." Hintleyya complained, but then she obediently stood up and took Noah's hand. She first froze, then nodded in understanding. To see if a person was an archer, one only needed to look at their hands. And what she had just touched was the calluses on Noah's hand—she hadn't lied. She had put a lot, a lot of effort into this path, although even learning that skill of locating by sound probably wouldn't make up for much…
If she were to lose her proud eyes…
Hintleyya couldn't help but imagine this, and then she suddenly shook her head. If that were truly the case… she would definitely not have the confidence to hone the ability to locate by sound. She would probably become a small pet, like a beast with its fangs and claws pulled out, right?
She couldn't help but admire Noah even more for forging her own path again.