Survive in Azure Files

I quickly said, "Thank you for the gift you prepared for me, and thank you for thinking of me. Haruka is such a good child. I will cherish your gift."

"Treasure, cherish the gift from someone like me... The teacher is indeed a gentle person..."

Haruka looked at me and slowly smiled happily.

But, for some reason, this smile is a little scary.

For a child like Haruka who lacks self-confidence, we really shouldn't rush things. I'm sure she would be unable to bear this level.

I decided to quit while I was ahead and let Haruka go back today.

However, at this moment, the final knock on the door came as expected, accompanied by noisy calls -

"Teacher! Teacher! Oh no! Everyone is gone!"

Haruka was startled. "Huh? How could this happen? Is this an enemy attack? Should I go and destroy all the enemies now?"

"It's okay, it's not a big deal. Haruka you... um..."

Where else can people hide?

After looking around the bedroom, I finally found the right place.

"Haruka, could you please squat under the desk for a while?"

"Yes, it is."

After hiding Haruka, I opened the door and Alu rushed over to me:

"This is terrible, teacher! Someone from the Caesar Group might have sneaked in and is trying to assassinate us all!"

"Alu, you have such a good imagination. You know you are in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry."

I pulled A-Lu to sit down beside the bed and said in a friendly tone: "Do you have anything to say to me who has suffered serious psychological trauma today?"

A Lu hesitated for a while, then asked tentatively: "Uh, you've worked hard?"

"……Then what?"

"And then... and then..." Alu was stuck for a long time before finally uttering, "Please accept my condolences?"

I shook my head in disappointment. I felt that A-Lu never disappoints people when it comes to disappointing people.

"Teacher! The most important thing now is where are the others!"

I said meaningfully: "They are everywhere. Everyone, now that things have come to this, why don't you all come out?"

First, the bathroom door was pushed open, and behind the excited Mutsuki followed Ayane with a complicated expression.

"Hello~Alu-chan~Good evening~"

"Huh? Mutsuki, why are you in the bathroom of the teacher's bedroom?"

Bai Zi moved out from under the bed and dusted himself off:

"Teacher, I'm all sticky now, can I take a shower first?"

Qinxiang finally couldn't help herself and jumped down from the beam. Her aura was as depressed as if the world was about to end:

"Senior Baizi... and Ayane... when did you come..."

Baizi patted Qinxiang's shoulder and encouraged her, "It's okay. I didn't hear the part about your highness the prince clearly. Ayane definitely didn't hear it from such a distance."

Qin Xiang covered her face and wailed in despair: "Ahhhhhhh don't say that anymore!"

The closet door was opened, and Nomiya asked curiously what happened while hugging Serika gently.

"Can I come out now?" Kayoko came into the room from the balcony. "It's quite cold outside tonight."

Finally, it was Haruka who shrank out from under the desk.

Ah Lu was dumbfounded: "Why are you all in the teacher's bedroom?"

"Silly Alu, can't you see?" I said to Alu lovingly, "Everyone is throwing a surprise party for you."

"Eh? Party?"

"Don't worry about whether there is a party or not, just tell me whether it's a surprise or not."

"I'm not happy..."

"Then don't worry about whether you are happy or not, just tell me whether you are surprised or not."

Alu's mind was a little confused.

I nodded in satisfaction and clapped my hands: "Very good, the surprise party was a great success! In that case, let's all go home today!"

"Okay~ Let's disband~ Goodbye, teacher~"

"Wait, wait a minute? So what's going on?!"

Alu, who hadn't figured out what was going on, was pushed out of the room by Mutsuki. The others also said goodbye to me with different expressions.

I ate the ramen made by Celery, which had already become clumpy, and thought that at least no matter what the texture was, it tasted pretty good.

Just like how I feel at the moment.

I looked at Hoshino's gun in the corner, and couldn't help but wonder, what is Hoshino doing at this moment?

-

Abydos Desert.

It is a full 150 kilometers away from the city.

Under the moonlight, a figure jumped high up, holding up a giant shield as tall as his body, and smashed it down hard at the out-of-control drone that was unable to dodge.

Along with the wreckage of the drone, it fell on the sand. Under the bright moonlight, Hoshino's eyes were as sharp and bright as an eagle.

"Tsk. It's really troublesome without a gun."

Hoshino frowned and muttered to himself.

As for the junk in the hands of the automatons and mechanical guards, it wasn't even as good as her shield.

But it doesn't matter.

It was just a mere 200 kilometers of walking without food or water, in a desert where the temperature difference between day and night was nearly 40 degrees and there were a large number of out-of-control machines roaming around.

For her, this little thing would not be a problem even if she didn't have a suitable gun, let alone a shield, and only had her bare hands.

Hoshino looked into the distance, and suddenly several figures that he was still worried about flashed through his mind.

"Huhaha... hurry up and get on your way."

After giving a loud yawn and stretching, Hoshino continued to move towards the Abydos Autonomous Region under the guidance of the stars.

Chapter 44: I am confused

Immersing yourself in momentary joy can help you forget your worries for a while.

But after the noise, what is left?

There is nothing else except deeper confusion and more empty loneliness.

To put it in human terms, when you are alone late at night, it is easier to feel sad when you think about unpleasant things.

I lay on the big, comfortable bed, hugging the soft blue whale pillow, tossing and turning. It was usually a time when I would have gone to sleep, but today I was troubled by trivial matters and could not fall asleep peacefully.

So, I got up.

"…What we are looking forward to is the seven sighs."

"...We still remember the ancient rules of Jerry Koch."

The secret code was entered, the connection was successful, and my consciousness entered the mysterious space in the Shiting Box.

Without disturbing the sleeping Alona, ​​I left the dilapidated classroom and walked alone on the beach, along the coastline, until I looked back and the classroom I came from became just a blurry black dot.

I sat down casually, gazing at the vast and tranquil blue ocean, which was dimly dotted with stars.

I gradually began to understand Hoshino's love for the sea, even though her reasons were definitely not the same as mine.

As soon as I thought of this, sadness came to my mind again -

No matter how much I pretend not to care,

This is the biggest setback I have ever suffered since I came to Kivotos, no doubt about it.

Before that, whether it was when Serika was kidnapped by the Steel Helmets, or when Yukino pulled a gun on me, or when I encountered Wakamo who was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, I easily overcame these difficulties with my wisdom, courage and beauty.

But this time it was different.

Even if I really defeated Caesar Group and brought Hoshino back, what would that matter?

Ever since Hoshino angrily called me a liar in front of everyone, a pathetically thick barrier has been built between her and me.

I must admit that my motives were indeed impure.

Although I did not harbor malicious intent as Hoshino thought, and although I genuinely wanted to help them, I also had the selfish desire to take advantage of this opportunity to profit for myself.

But isn’t the hard work I put into Abydos real?

I couldn't accept the fact that Hoshino had never trusted me from the beginning to the end, and I couldn't accept her paranoia that prevented her from listening to other people's voices.

To me, this is an unquestionable betrayal.

From Hoshino's perspective, perhaps, he only regarded me as an enemy from the beginning, and everything I did was for ulterior motives, so how could he be considered a betrayal?

Temporary disputes are merely superficial; different positions are the fundamental contradictions.

The rift caused by this will definitely be difficult to heal.

Even though I still have some nostalgia for the intimate relationship in the past, it is impossible for that arrogant Hoshino to bow down on his own initiative, admit his mistakes, and beg for forgiveness from me.

Then I will never be able to forgive her.

in other words.

I lost a friend forever.

fair enough.

At least, I can wake up from my fantasy and understand that in this world, not everything can go as I wish.

I understood the reality, but I became even more depressed. Looking at the rippling waves, I couldn't calm down for a long time.

"teacher."

I heard a voice calling from behind me. And besides me, there was only one other person who could appear in this place.

Alona sat beside me, her snow-white skirt stained with fine white sand. She hugged her knees with both hands and turned her head to the side. Usually, Alona was full of energy and silly, but now her expression was calm and gentle.

"Are you still troubled by what happened during the day?"

Unexpectedly, apart from eating, drinking, playing and sleeping, Alona also knows how to take the initiative to care about others.

It feels like a naughty child has finally grown up.

This surprised and touched me a little, and even the negative emotions that were originally difficult to eliminate dissipated a lot.

I shook my head at Alona and lied, "I'm fine."

"Ugh! You're lying!" Alona frowned and pouted her lips, exposing me in dissatisfaction, "Teacher usually smiles silly every time she sees me! Now she smiles so reluctantly, how can it be okay?"

……ah?

So this is how I appear in Alona's mind?

Suddenly I felt that maybe it was because I was too indulgent to Alona that I lost my dignity as an adult in her heart. I couldn't blame her.

Having said that, consuming too much sugar is not good for your health. Starting tomorrow, the portions of Alona's desserts and drinks will be reduced by half.

There is obviously no connection between the two events.

Alona certainly didn't know my sinister thoughts, otherwise she would have jumped up in fear instead of continuing to comfort me gently:

"Teacher, don't be sad about such a small matter. Even if everyone hates you, thinks you are a hopeless scum, spit on your actions, and leave you without any regrets, Alona, ​​I will always be by your side!"

Is this a comfort or a curse?

I felt a little uncomfortable hearing this and didn't want to make any kind of response.

"...Alona, ​​I have a question for you."