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#157. Frozen Things (1)
A hazy, sunny noon.
“Huh, huh, huh.”
A red-haired girl was walking down the street, humming a song.
Her voluminous bob fluttering along with her brisk steps.
“The first mission is complete, the second mission is… Ah! Let’s go this way.”
Veronica was moving around the sector under Ray’s direction.
The place I just came out of was the mercenary office.
The girl was currently holding a simple booklet along with a sector map in her hand.
It was a list of recruitment notices and requests distributed to mercenaries and explorers within the sector.
It wasn’t originally something a young girl on the street could receive.
“Wheeee …
The problem was easily solved by turning the blade of wind like a chainsaw and splitting the office manager’s desk apart.
“Um, Ray said he was going to find an expedition with the same or similar destination as us.”
Veronica looked through the booklet.
Even though the booklet contained only notices and requests classified as public, the pages were still quite thick.
Flap- Flap-
My fingers stopped turning the page.
“Ah, here it is.”
[Announcer]
[Gaioll, a relic explorer with 8 years of experience.]
[Discovered sign leading to an undiscovered ruins site at coordinates 412. 32. Northeast of the sector outskirts.]
[According to the sign, the site is estimated to be located at coordinates 877. 129.]
[However, we cannot guarantee that the site actually exists in that location. The route is expected to be extremely dangerous and we cannot guarantee your life.]
[But if successful, it promises enormous wealth that will last a lifetime.]
“8 years of experience is a really long time?”
Veronica recalled the office manager’s words.
“It is no exaggeration to say that the success of an expedition depends on the ability of the expedition leader. However, it is extremely difficult to find someone with that ability.”
“Why?”
“Haha, well, we all die before we can develop our skills.”
The office manager said something very creepy with a smiling face.
It is said that most expeditions heading to the ruins site disappear without a sound.
“8 years, very stable career.”
No, it was unique.
If you look at other job postings, most of them are limited to 2-4 years of experience.
“First of all, it’s a perfect fit for our requirements.”
Veronica took out a pen and marked the notice with an asterisk.
Ray said that he would open Ignis’ account and that as soon as the vehicle search was over, he would find an expedition team and head to the ruins.
The expected date is about ten days later.
The departure date mentioned in the job posting by the professional with 8 years of experience was around that time.
Veronica continued walking with light steps, feeling proud that she had successfully completed Ray’s request.
I stopped by various stores and purchased the daily necessities and tools that were requested, completing the second request.
Daughter─
I thought as I walked out the door, holding the paper bag containing my belongings in my arms.
‘Haha, as expected, I have to take care of Ray.’
Because Ray doesn’t know how to love himself.
I should love you instead.
‘love…?’
Veronica was momentarily startled by the words she had used.
Corrected immediately.
‘Ahem, not love. Just a little interest. It’s hot, judging by your cheeks. Oh, it’s hot.’
It was early November, winter.
At that moment, a clump of Veronica’s bangs shot up into the sky like a lightning rod.
It spun around and pointed in one direction.
‘… … !’
A sign that Ray is nearby.
My heartbeat quickened.
Suddenly, I felt more energetic.
Veronica, with a heart full of excitement and pride, quickly advanced in the direction the radar pointed.
‘I heard that today, we will visit the mansion of a wizard named Binjin and have a meal.’
Unlike yesterday, will we be eating outside instead of at the mansion?
I had no intention of interfering with your work.
Still, wouldn’t it be okay to just see each other’s faces from afar and pass by?
With my heart pounding like that, I pass through the last alley.
When I spotted Ray on the other side of the street.
“… … .”
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Boom! Boom!
Veronica dropped the paper bag she was holding.
A moment when it seemed as if time had stopped.
In the small noise made by objects rolling in all directions.
The corners of the lips that had been drawn with a curve slowly returned to their original shape over time.
And finally, it’s time to return.
“Who is that…? That girl…?”
Veronica’s face was cold.
His cold gaze was fixed on the blue-haired girl walking next to Ray.
The subsequent actions were swift.
Phew!
I stirred up the wind and stuffed the things I had gathered into a bag I carried on my side.
After tying my shoelaces, I got up from my seat and followed Ray and the blue fox.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
The emotions were intense, but the stalking was covert.
Veronica bought a hat and sunglasses at the stand and put them on.
He chased after the two men, pretending to be pedestrians on the street and hiding behind fountains and telephone poles.
How much time has passed like that?
───?
────.
Ray and the blue fox had an inaudible conversation in front of the entrance to a restaurant and then went inside.
Veronica counted down to 15 seconds in her head and followed him in─
“Sorry, this place is only for members.”
─It’s blocked at the entrance.
Behind the guard, Ray and the blue fox were seen sitting by the window on the first floor.
Veronica said without taking her eyes off the place.
“I have a membership.”
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Veronica.”
Taking advantage of the guard’s gap in checking the roster, Veronica dashed into the next space.
And when I came to, I was being kicked out of the entrance by the scruff of my neck.
“I’m sick of it now. The kids on the street trying to sneak in and do whatever they want.”
bang!
I heard the door close behind me.
“… … .”
Looking out the window, Ray and the blue fox were holding menus and ordering from the waiter.
Veronica looked around and found a bench not far away.
He went back and peeked his eyes upward.
It was a position from which one could secretly observe the first floor window.
‘We’ve never even eaten out together before…!’
The strap of the bag in Veronica’s hand was crumpled.
It was at that moment that Veronica’s large eyes opened even wider.
A familiar-looking bandage appeared on the blue fox’s finger.
‘That’s the band-aid I gave to Ray…!’
Why are you doing that?
Ray, did you give it to me?
Veronica shuddered with betrayal.
It was a moment when the adage from my older sister, who was 10 years old at the orphanage, that there was not a single man in the world I could trust struck my heart.
‘You called me the sun…! You even gave me flowers…! You even said you were going to propose to me within a hundred years…!’
The bench top that Veronica was holding was shattered into pieces.
At that moment, Ray appeared, reaching out to the blue fox’s face as if to pull out its hair.
Veronica’s lips moved on their own.
“Ray, if you don’t want to see me go crazy, put your hand back.”
“Sister, if you don’t want to see me go crazy, then take that hand off.”
At the moment when the voices overlapped, Veronica turned her head to the side.
I could see a blue-haired kid with a puzzled look on his face like this.
“Who are you?”
“who are you?”
A moment of silence.
The two spoke again at the same time.
“I am Ray’s sun.”
“I am a romantic man from the cold sector who protects my older sister Ayla.”
Static again.
Two people thought at the same time.
‘What a strange child, did you hurt your head?’
‘Are you a mentally ill sister?’
The two people who talked within the borders soon realized that they were on the same side.
“Ah! If you received the flowers as a gift, that says it all! Now that I look at it, it was your sister-in-law!”
“Right? It already ended there?”
“Yes, Sister-in-law. Let’s think of a way to separate Brother Hayler and my sister.”
The two hit it off and started plotting a way into the restaurant.
“How about trying this?”
“No. First of all, my thoughts are….”
It was urgent and pressing.
Even at this very moment, there might be some secret love conversation going on in the restaurant.
*
And at the same time.
Window seat on the first floor of the restaurant.
“I have never cried since I was born.”
Ayla said with a hint of pride in her voice.
Ray nodded, meaning indeed.
“That’s amazing.”
I’ve been lucky.
When I witnessed the death of Niles and the children in Sector 50.
Even I, who am incapable of feeling emotions, have cried with genuine sorrow.
In that sense, the fact that Ayla never shed a tear… was quite remarkable.
‘Then I’ll win if it rings twice.’
Ray continued the conversation, thinking to himself like that.
“Is there any reason why you don’t cry?”
“Well… I don’t know. I just don’t cry. It’s been like that since I was little.”
“How young were you?”
“Six? Seven? I’m not sure, but it’s been like that ever since I can remember.”
It was said that the ice sheet in Ayla’s bowl had existed since she was young.
Because the ice rink was what froze emotions like sadness, pain, and frustration and blocked out tears.
‘I don’t think there was an ice rink from birth.’
It seemed like there must have been some trigger or cause for the ice to form.
I thought that if we could figure that out, it would be a huge help in analyzing the ice sheet we had.
“You said you lived with your parents before you moved into the mansion. I heard about it briefly yesterday, but can you tell me more about them? Who they were.”
Ayla answered hesitantly.
“It’s not difficult… but it might be a boring story, is that okay?”
“It’s okay, let me hear it.”
“Okay. First, my parents… .”
During the conversation, Ray observed Ayla’s bowl closely.
Ayla’s primary emotion toward her parents was affection.
‘My mother’s side is fine.’
But when he spoke of his father, great fear appeared alongside him.
… the fear and appearance that appeared when talking about Binjin seemed similar.
“What do you think about Binjin?”
“Uh, Master…?”
Next to the fear of father.
The fear of poverty emerged.
They were almost identical, beyond just having similar shapes.
‘Are you equating the two?’
While Ray continued to observe, Ayla brought up the idea of Binjin.
“To the Master… more than anything, I am very grateful. Because he took in Ain and me, who had nowhere to go, without asking for anything in return. He is a great person.”
Ray leaned forward, his nerves tugging at a single sentence.
“Are you a great person?”
“Yeah. Sometimes you speak harshly, but… that’s because you want us to do well.”
Ray leaned back on the sofa again, crossed his arms and looked at Ayla.
The doll-like girl in front of me was saying the same thing as my teacher.
“I know that my words are full of thorns. However, they all come from the desire for my disciples to do well.”
Binjin’s words were true.
It meant that no matter what others thought, at least he thought that way himself.
And in Ayla’s case….
‘You’re lying.’
I wasn’t taking Binjin’s harsh words with any good intentions at all.
because.
Because Ayla’s ice rink was covered in blue spots that I hadn’t seen before.
‘It must be because of Binjin’s harsh words.’
The picture was drawn naturally.
All the negative emotions that arise after hearing harsh words become entangled and turn into black mana.
The sight of the black mana dripping down like raindrops onto the blue ice.
So, the blue stains that contained feelings of inferiority and self-loathing appeared like bruises.
Of course, perhaps because of the strength of the ice rink, the blue stains were slowly disappearing.
But then I thought about it.
This kind of thing happens over and over again.
If it keeps repeating, someday.
‘There will be a stain that won’t go away.’
And that was when it happened.
Ray found something on the inside of Ayla’s sleeve.
It was a dark blue bruise.