Chapter 174

  Ellie bowed to Burton before dragging William away without shame or glancing at anyone else. She thought Burton would change his mind about whatever that guy worried so much about, so she didn’t even say goodbye before leaving, let alone give him a chance for retaliation.

  By all means, she never thought they would lock this place because of Kaufman and let them roam there with tight, personal privacy. It wasn't unheard of, as many rooms could be actually locked down, bought for a short term, and used as great places for schooling.

  It was a bit worrisome since Ellie noticed those peculiar quivers in space and walls that indicated something out of her sight. But she wasn’t stupid. Not anymore. Where did Kaufman go? How did he leave? Clearly, Burton, or this group, hadn’t met him today.

  Behind them, Burton gripped his fists behind his back and felt some regret over the past few days. He shouldn’t have given that girl this opportunity. It will undoubtedly create endless troubles for this library. At these golden and sensitive times, he could only sigh.

  Behind Burton, an older man got up as well. He napped well and was barely noticeable as he sat around his students.

  “Uh, is it finally done?”

  “Apologies for waiting. I shall make proper care of this next time, sir Archibald.”

  “Not like Heidi can bow this down...” the rough man, wearing a tight green uniform, said and glared at his still-sitting students. Scratching his beard, he frowned at them and shouted. “Get up, kittens! Listen! Your damned little heads on your shoulders are like grass! It needs nutrients and water and sun and...”

  Burton cleared his throat. “Silent. You are still in the library, not some fields or dungeons, sir.”

  The man chuckled and went to the room behind Burton, and didn't care if his students were jealous about that kid hauled by a fine girl.

  ***

  Further away, Ellie set William free. “What was that about?” He asked.

  “Nothing,” she said quickly, patting her hands and fixing William’s shirt. The gleaming Emblem was so obvious after what Kaufman had done, it hardly left her sight. “Hopefully nothing, William. I should apologize.” Not that she planned to.

  William figured that something was up with her and Burton, and it seemed she wouldn’t move away from him anytime soon. That was good news, yet he felt conflicted in ways he couldn't describe.

  “We are done today, aren’t we?” Ellie mumbled as she glanced down in an attempt to change the topic.

  It worked.

  “I thought you have business to do, but... you will stick to me, eh? Is my card that good?” William excused himself and played with that card between his fingers.

  Ellie scoffed at him and felt he was sometimes sharper than his looks suggested. But he was often wrong, and this was one such case. “I have no shame in using that, or you, boy. Is that wrong? I think you should be ashamed instead since I am letting you use me, and so on. We are all learning and walk in this place as if we own it. That is funny.”

  “Yeah? Doesn’t feel like it.”

  “No? Shall we go out?“ Ellie flicked her hair as she turned away.

  “Where?”

  Ellie rolled her eyes, sharply turned, and pointed at him as if he were an idiot. “What is normal with you? I watched you limp and break right before me. Emblem rose and snatched, and you were hurt after the whole beating from Kaufman. What in the world was that?! Of course, I worry sick! I don’t think many people get any idea of that, let alone see it. I want to know more because I was stuck there, and... Kaufman could’ve done worse, right? He always could.” Ellie cried out in frustration at a victim.

  It wasn’t a wrong idea, but the way she said it sounded as if William had done something awful. Like her, William was confused and hoped for clarification as well. Seeing her like this, the involuntary reaction was what came out of him next.

  “I am sorry for wasting your time. I am sorry... for...” William hesitated, unsure about her, Kaufman, and his feelings and words.

  What Kaufman wanted was related to Rank 0 Emblems in the most likely scenario. The lower ideas were a thing like a prank, a simple test to see what his body could tolerate, or she couldn’t consider it right now.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  In the books he had the privilege to open, he found nothing about any invisible entities, unless... the System?! Something struck William’s mind, and it was the wrong assumption to go that far. What to see or not was sometimes not up to the eye.

  Sense. Scent. A proper eye. The System lashed things called Screens. They were thoroughly known to be a singular and private matter, befit to some sort of Level and EXP. Those were terms not just up to the upper floors alone. Many other terms were in multiple diaries and materials, hiding in locked up rooms or boxes.

  What Kaufman did wasn’t related to this at all, but William didn’t know that. He hadn’t started any sort of leveling or gotten it out of his system.

  But if anything indicated anything, then certain events, pains, and memories did happen and start a long time ago. Kaufman also said someone in the past had seen something while he had not.

  Confused, William gave up thinking of clues and felt like a victim, a beaten loser, and something else because of Ellie.

  Ellie took a deep breath and felt frustrated. Why? She wasn’t sure herself. “Are you even okay? You don’t look fine to me at all.”

  “I am... hungry.” William excused himself once more.

  Ellie laughed at him. “You are wasting time. I don’t care what or when this will make sense. I will make sure you are fine next time, alright? When I am not here, make sure you do it yourself.”

  For some reason, it warmed his heart and twitched his arm, so William nodded.

  “Now, for the sake of your and mine stomach, do you want me to accompany you out?” Ellie tried her new idea, and she realized it sounded very smooth.

  William, oblivious as always, couldn’t pick up a hint of any kind. Declining wasn’t impolite when she looked tired and busy. “I am fine. Going home is the basic thing in this city, isn’t it? Not like any Darks would attack overnight and crack the sky? Well... there have been those circumstances out there, so.... I go home and enjoy the starry sky and not look at the West or those Rifts. It is... pretending. I am trying, Ellie. I do. It is new to me. This place and sky.”

  His argument was so poor that Ellie fell speechless. It was his way of going about this life and place in this new world. Considering his feelings, she gritted her teeth and didn’t give up.

  William pulled out yet another excuse because he didn’t want to inconvenience or bother her with things outside of this library. He was ignorant since she wasn’t implying anything about her work. She wanted to spend time with him, and... well, she was sure nothing would hurt her because of it.

  “Well, rejected... What am I going to do now? Perhaps I will walk behind you just to find my food, yes? I guess that is the end for my measly minor accompaniment for you, Will,” she said innocently and with a healthy dose of disappointment.

  William was still adamant. “What do you mean? Hadn’t Burton said you have more days with me? I am very grateful for your help. It broadens my horizons.”

  Once more, frustration rose in her heart. Did he want to spend time with her or not, or did he just want to use her like a book? She couldn’t make sense of his words at all.

  “You bet I will follow, but as with everything, I am working here, so you won’t be escaping me even after this is over. I live for this place. Walkers come and go, and I am hungry. Let’s grab lunch.” Ellie said, puffing up her chest in importance, and grabbed his arm.

  “Um... I guess I will be seeing you and...”

  “It is already past my working hours, so that means I already do what I want to do. Why won’t you let this go, idiot?” Ellie mumbled in honesty, yet with a subtle, flustered expression. She wasn’t that great in this as well, and William heard her well.

  “What? Wait, I just remembered that promise where you told me about showing me the city!” William suddenly recalled that matter from a few days ago. He even cheered upwards with his arm. He wasn’t aware why he was doing it.

  “Uh...” Ellie didn’t forget it and pretended she did. Frankly, she had been so busy in the past few days that she had almost disregarded this idea altogether. She read and talked so much that she hardly felt like talking after work.

  Although she was a chatty person, some things had limits. Like this boy, almost. Or her attempts at... what?

  “If you are fine with showing me around, or... I don’t know. Outside is also big, so forget it. Let’s focus on...” William stopped, scratched his cheek with his finger, and noticed her still grabbing his arm. It wasn’t handy; she just grabbed his bicep rather than the forearm where that Emblem glinted.

  Ellie felt like kicking his knees and cringed inside. “Yes! Let’s go see outside. Not the Outside, mind you. I will show you around or talk to myself while doing that.” She slammed his shoulder until William wavered in his steps.

  Shuddering, he wasn’t sure what was happening anymore. Perhaps this was what dealing with girls was like in the Federation. People were people, after all, and there were surprisingly a lot of them here.

  Walking forwards, Ellie assumed a leading position of leaving this floor and the library as a whole. The curved and sturdy stairs led through each floor for hundreds of feet back to the main entrance. William followed her steps, unsure if his legs and arms were fine like his head. He was beyond tired, and he was so occupied in his mind, he neglected drinking, and Kaufman’s aftereffects weren’t that pretty either.

  On the first floor, things didn’t change. Ellie still wore her uniform, so she rushed to change, fearing William would leave without her. He waited outside, thinking and waiting for... what? He didn’t even think of leaving.

  Alone, the starry sky was pretty, and the breeze was comfortable for his tired mind. The storming section of the sky with all these colorful lights couldn’t escape his sight. Most people ignored them, so he tried to do the same. It didn't work.

  The night was already here, and there weren’t as many people as in the morning. It was close to midnight if he looked at that red moon far in the sky. He recalled that large rock full of fables and tales, tales of astronauts, and even ships cruising the space.

  There were boundless, mesmerizing sights in the Federation; that much he had to acknowledge, no matter what he was doing. The moon hung where it should be, surrounded by stars and clouds that shrouded it a little. Not that he hated it. Its colorful redness and clouds had always been there for him and pretty much everyone else.