books44 Chapter 117: A Change of Mind (1)
Chapter 117: A Change of Mind (1)
A Change of Mind (1)
Watchtower Shelter.
As soon as Elise received Shion’s message, she rose to her feet. She was about to leave immediately but hesitated. Looking out at the dense blizzard outside the shelter’s window, she pondered.
“Sigh.......”
Should I go?
No, is it right to go?
Shion’s coordinates are far behind this shelter. To be precise, they are even further than the location 6 hours ago.
What am I supposed to do by going to Shion, who is lagging so far behind?
What can I do?
It’s not just a matter of grades.
......Actually, grades are a problem, but there’s a more important issue.
It’s a question that leads to another.
Can I fix this ‘relationship’ with these actions born out of my mere sympathy? Is it possible in life?
The reason is simple.
No matter what I do for him now, in the end, we have been misaligned from the beginning. We have been twisted infinitely since birth. Because we are twisted like an umbilical cord.
Even if I help Shion here, even if I suddenly pretend to be good, it won’t be corrected.
It would be strange if it were corrected.
By any chance.
Really by any chance, if our relationship changes a little due to my efforts.
If at the very last moment, if Shion ever finds out. If he realizes the cause of his mother’s death.
He will feel my efforts as another betrayal. He will hate Petra more, he will dislike her more.
“.......”
There’s no answer no matter how much I think about it until my brain cells tear apart.
In the end, Elise silently packed her backpack. She put on her coat.
“What’s up. Elise. Did you find the way?”
“It’s the peak of the blizzard now. Let’s rest a bit and go.”
Kain and Asher turned to look at her.
“Kuaaaaaa...... Kuek.......”
Inside Layla’s snoring, Elise shook her head.
“I have a little work to do. I’ll be back.”
“Work? You have work in this maze?”
“.......”
“Kuaaaa- Kem.”
I also think it’s a pathetic excuse.
“Kem...... Kek....... Kuaaaaaa-”
Elise fiddled with her coat collar and corrected herself.
“I need to use the bathroom, a bit.”
“Oh.”
“Sorry.”
She added, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“If I’m late, go ahead.”
“......Is it that serious? How long have you been holding it?”
Asher asked with a laugh. Kain lightly hit his side.
“Well. It could be that serious.”
“.......”
Elise put her hand on her forehead.
“No. It’s not that serious...... Actually, it’s not the bathroom.”
I can’t say anything to these guys.
They are the ones who, because of me, dislike Shion as much as I do.
“......Understand it as you want. It’s personal. If I can’t come, I’ll send a message. Don’t wait.”
“What...... Okay? Come back~”
“We’re going to rest a bit.”
The two nonchalantly leaned against the ground. They fell asleep quickly, perhaps tired.
Elise left the shelter alone.
Whooooosh───!
The blizzard was like a windowpane. In an instant, it piled up over her shoulders.
Elise ripped off the wooden planks of the shelter and climbed on. With a low hum, she levitated the plank with her magic.
Whoosh!
She propelled herself forward with her psychic power, as if riding a snowboard.
She adjusted her direction while comparing coordinates. Occasionally, she encountered monstrous hordes like hyenas, and senior parties, but she ignored them all.
She raced at a steep speed.
Swoosh!
At some point, she stopped, sweeping away the snow.
She looked up blankly at the path she had descended.
“I climbed up for 6 hours while finding the way...”
In just 30 minutes, she had undone it all.
Life is such that while it’s hard to climb, falling happens in an instant.
Elise checked the coordinates on her smartwatch.
She was close. Just a few steps away from the coordinates she had marked.
Whooosh!
The blizzard was annoying. Elise radiated her psychic power in a circular form. A transparent barrier formed, blocking the snowstorm, and the area cleared up momentarily.
“....”
She looked around silently. As she walked, looking up and down, she stepped on something bumpy.
She glanced down without thinking.
“!!!”
Her heart almost dropped.
A face, almost completely buried in the snow, with only the nose sticking out.
It was Shion.
“Haah, haah.”
Elise put her hand on her chest and panted, then tried to lift him up with her psychic power again...
“?”
It didn’t work.
“What, again.”
Why is this happening? No matter how much psychic power she applied, his body didn’t budge. Was there some natural resistance or something?
Instead, Elise used her psychic power to remove the snow piled on him. His body, she had no choice but to lift with her arms and carry on her back.
Whooosh!
Her concentration wavered and her psychic power dissipated. The snowstorm whirled again. Carrying him, Elise started to climb the path she had come down.
“....”
In that instant, all the traces she had left while descending disappeared. There was no path.
She had expected it.
She had expected it, but...
Thud— Thud—
With each step, her feet sank, and suddenly she felt a sense of despair.
I pointed to Elise. Terence chuckled.
“Isn’t she sleeping?”
“She’s awake.”
When I put my hand on her forehead just now, she definitely squirmed.
That means she’s been awake for quite a while.
“Hey, wake up.”
“......”
Elise pretended to sleep shamelessly.
“She seems to be sleeping?”
I silently snatched Terence’s wet towel. I spread it out square and covered Elise’s face with it.
“......Eek──!”
Elise flailed and tore the wet towel with her telekinesis. She gasped for breath and sat up.
“You, you, are you crazy?! I almost died!”
Elise grumbled with a flushed face.
“Who told you to pretend to sleep?”
“......Tsk.”
“Well, then you two chat~ I’ll prepare the meal.”
Terence quickly left the bedroom.
Thud-
“......”
“......”
It’s a bit awkward with one person gone.
No, it’s very awkward.
Elise is quietly scratching her cheek, and I don’t have much to say either.
“Why did you come?”
I just asked that.
“......I can’t believe it.”
Elise narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I honestly didn’t think you’d come.”
“You seemed to be waiting though? You didn’t give up and held on.”
“I didn’t want to give up. I’ll be forcibly transferred just before I die anyway.”
“......Yes. You’re really ignorant.”
Elise sighed. I felt a little hot. I looked away and spoke.
“Anyway, thanks. I’m a bit grateful.”
“......”
Elise didn’t respond. She kept silent for a long time and just gently shook her head.
“Don’t say that.”
“What. Why.”
She responds while poking the bed quilt with her fingernails.
“Ghost hotel.”
“......”
“Go figure. It’s not like I specifically came looking for you, you just happened to be nearby.”
“Um... yeah, I guess.”
I looked at the smartwatch on my wrist.
“There are 50 hours left now.”
“What?!”
Elise jumped up.
Her hurried glance at the clock was like that of a 7-year-old who had lost a toy.
“The difference will be huge. After all, we’ve almost certainly lost 24 hours.”
“Ah......”
Elise ruffled her hair and glanced at me again. She licked her lips as if she felt wronged and resentful.
“But, I’ve thought of a way.”
I raised a finger. Elise received it with a look full of disbelief.
“You’re talking about a method.”
“Let’s get carried away by the blizzard.”
“......What?”
“Didn’t you feel it when you came?”
I pointed to the blizzard outside the window.
“The wind is only blowing in one direction.”
At that, Elise, who had been thinking deeply, also gradually widened her eyes.
“......Right. It’s only blowing towards the inside of the maze.”
“So. If we make a hot air balloon well, I think we can fly. What do you think?”
“......”
Elise looked around the room.
There seemed to be plenty of space and materials here to make a hot air balloon.
“It doesn’t seem...... impossible.”
“Then.”
I reached out my hand.
“Party until we get out of this snow mountain?”
She stared at my hand. Her eyes shook slightly. Her jaw was tightly clenched.
“What, you’re not going to do it?”
“No. I will. It’s just...... we’re not in a relationship to shake hands, are we?”
It’s a rather desolate tone. The end of the sentence trembles unnecessarily pitifully.
I was dumbfounded.
“Excuse me. I told you I don’t like you, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
Elise nodded with a serious face. She looked straight into my eyes and said.
“I’m glad.”
-Knock knock
The door opened with a knock. Terence brought in a tray full of food in both arms.
Pork cutlet, spaghetti, soup, etc. – it was a proper meal.
“......Wow.”
I swallowed my saliva as soon as I saw it. Elise had a similar face. There was saliva on her lips, glistening.
“You’re hungry, right? You’re hungry, right? Eat quickly.”
We picked up knives and spoons. I put a whole pork cutlet in my mouth, and Elise elegantly started with a knife.
Terence, who was watching, cautiously floated a question.
“But...... Elise and Shion, who beat Gerkhen Kal Doon. Do you guys have any plans?”
I looked at Elise while chewing. Elise nodded her head.
“Yeah. We have a plan.”
Gulp- I swallowed and then spoke.
“Do you want to join our team?”
Terence is fully qualified to do so.
Above all, we need this guy’s help to make a hot air balloon.