Chapter 188
Permafrost (9)
Nikolai became aware of strange feelings at a young age.
At first, since our parents were close, we often saw each other, and it was just a matter of looking at each other often.
A girl with blonde hair.
A friend named ‘Anastasia Ivanov’.
Coincidentally, they were in the same class in elementary school, so the two of them spent a quarter of the day together.
And since the house is right next door, they were naturally led by their parents to play together, so they spent a quarter of the day together here.
Half of the young two’s day was with each other.
Originally, I was at an age where I would have been better off kicking a ball on the playground with my friends.
It should have been a lot more fun to walk around the house and run around, rather than chatting and reading books with a girl inside the house.
But what?
When Anya smiled, I felt good too.
I thought that spending time with this cheeky, Musma-like girl wasn’t bad either.
I don’t do anything special, but the time goes by quickly. Going to school, which normally should have only made me feel annoyed, was enjoyable.
“It’s strange… … .”
His feelings for Nikolai, who had returned home, were more difficult than the teacher’s math problems.
“… … Might not be bad?”
muttered Nikolai, lying stretched out on the bed.
the two look alike
They were similar in terms of their outstanding appearance, and they were also similar in that they were Koreans from Maritime Province.
That’s why Nikolai thought that maybe she and he would be a good match.
but.
His daily life did not last long and turned 180 degrees.
“… … no?”
He visited Seoul with his parents and Anya’s family and lost everything there.
fragmented Torn and cracked, it was irretrievably shattered to such an extent that the original form could not be recognized.
* * *
After having dinner with Nikolai.
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Just like yesterday, I volunteered to wash the dishes.
Because I needed time to think alone.
The children dispersed to do their own errands.
Desiree packed a towel and shower kit and went to the second-floor bathroom, while Elizabeth lay on the bed and fiddled with her smartphone.
Why was Nikolai not disgusted with me?
The disposition of the leader I met during the day was definitely neutral considering his character – a soldier. Most of the extras and characters with no personality belonged to this group.
But not Nikolai.
Originally, he was just an ordinary extra 1, but thanks to having a good friend-no-one, he took off his extra mask at once.
[Hidden heroine’s childhood friend]
This is probably the “title” or “achievement” bestowed upon him.
As there are dozens or hundreds of routes in this damn game, the character’s [phase-class-] could change as much as he wanted.
Originally, I came to the fore because I noticed the information of the guy who would have quietly rotted away in this poor village.
To sum it up in that sense, he is a good enough good person on the outside.
But why are you smiling at me casually?
“It would be either… … .”
There was a ‘ppo-deuk’ sound from the plate in my hand.
It is the sound made by friction with rubber gloves.
I wiped off the water and inserted it into the plate stand next to it.
… … Either he’s patient and good-natured enough not to express my dislike.
or not.
“Aren’t you a good person in the first place?”
I continued my thoughts while watching the dishwashing that was almost finished.
If you look at it up to this point, it was an ordinary evening, no different from usual.
“No, I’ll go now—”
“uh!? Are you going already? wait for a sec.”
It would have been if Anya hadn’t followed Nikolai on his way home.
When I turned my head back and glanced around the living room, I saw Anya wearing a thin outer dress over a thin indoor dress.
Well, it’s right next door, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
I followed Anya’s back as she disappeared from the living room toward the front door. The two of them could be seen through the small window in front of the sink.
I could see the two of them walking in sync on the snowy street at night.
“It suits you well… … .”
I was taken aback by what I said myself.
The sight of the two looking through the window was like a scene from an old silent movie, so I didn’t know what to say.
eek!
Are you too surprised? I almost dropped the glass of water in my hand.
I put aside the last dish I had caught, took off my rubber gloves, and stood still to watch the two of them.
blah blah blah blah
Every time I fell off the dry floor, my feet were sweaty, and I heard a strange sound.
In front of the gate, I saw Nikolai grabbing Anya’s hand.
There was no sound, of course, because it was through the window.
If I could see the shape of Nikolai’s mouth, I could guess what he was saying, but all I could see was the back of his head.
I don’t know how many minutes I’ve been doing that.
“uh? Aren’t you with Nicole?”
“I’m out.”
“Tonight? Ah, I went to see you off—”
“… … huh.”
Their conversation continued until Elizabeth, who was waiting for her turn behind Desiree, came down from the shower, rubbing her wet blond hair with a towel.
She crept up beside me and glanced out the window over my shoulder.
As Elizabeth approached, she smelled the faint, sweet scent of apples.
Is it because of her smell?
It seemed that my distracted mind had calmed down a little.
“… … Anyway, the conversation is getting longer.”
“Ah~. Since we’ve been friends for 10 years, let’s see if the two of us have something to talk about.”
“is it? Well, if I see my friend off twice, he will freeze to death.”
“Poop—!”
He crossed his arms and sighed.
Elizabeth’s reddish irises shone. Her expression was like that of a cat that found something interesting.
Standing at an angle with her hips leaning against the table, she looked carefully at my face before continuing.
“If you’re that worried, why don’t you go out?”
“… … Not to that extent.”
“Your feet keep shaking for something like that?”
Looking down, I saw that my toes were constantly twitching.
His face instantly heated up.
“Uh, huh? hey! Where?”
“To wash—!”
I passed by Elizabeth, who was leaning on the dining table and looking up at me, and moved to the stairs.
On the way up, I forgot to bring a towel.
“hey! Golden Sun! When you go up, tell Desiree to tidy up the living room and come down to pack some things!”
I responded with a wave of my hand to Elizabeth’s voice behind me as I climbed the narrow stairs.
Something.
Something was very unpleasant.
I came out of the shower to clear my mind, the dirty feeling in my chest, and the feeling that my clothes were sticking to my skin.
I came out of the shower room with a squeaking sound and moved my feet to enter the room, feeling the coolness in my half-wet hair.
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Just as I was about to enter my room right in front of the stairs.
“No— what!?”
“I beg your pardon!?”
Along with the soft light, Elisabeth and Desiree’s shouts were heard from the first floor at the same time.
Looks like Anya is back.
I checked her voice and tried to enter the room.
I have a schedule for tomorrow, and above all, my child has returned, so there was no reason to be late.
“I was confessed to by Collie.”
It would have been if it hadn’t been for Anya’s words that followed.
I was confused, it felt like I had been hit hard in the back of the head.
“what… … ?”
The words were so shocking that I almost slipped and fell down the stairs.
My body, far exceeding that of an ordinary human being, moved conditioned reflexively, and I fell flat on the floor in the same posture as when I fell.
It was so quiet that not even the sound of an ant could be heard.
“how!?”
“We talked about the old days as we went out. Is it in elementary school? At that time, we were always attached.”
“No, not that. How did you confess?”
“… … Well, talking about childhood like that, ‘I liked me from then on. If I like you, I want to go out with you formally.’”
“so… … ?”
“Quickly tell me what happened next!”
In the middle, I heard a sound like swallowing dry saliva.
The same goes for me, I flattened myself to the floor, pricked my ears, and swallowed a dry saliva.
Seeing him lying flat in a dark hallway listening to the girls talk would be ugly if you looked at it objectively, but that wasn’t the focus right now.
I don’t even know why I’m doing this.
“It was too sudden, I said I would answer later.”
“… … Is that the end?”
I don’t know why, but a deep sigh came out from within.
I don’t know if it was a sigh of relief or if it came from something else.
“I’ll be waiting for you at City Hall after finishing my responsibilities tomorrow, so I asked you to come over there—. There is something he has made in his free time these days, and he says he will show it.”
“Looks like you think that’s the place to win… … .”
I want to see Anya’s expression. I wondered what kind of face she was making.
“So are you going?”
“huh… … I think I should go.”
After that, I stopped eavesdropping and entered the room without a word.
lay down on the bed
As I stretched out, I felt a pleasant feeling as the muscles in my limbs relaxed.
But on the contrary, the inside was very complicated.
“I don’t know what the hell I want… … .”
Anya isn’t even a kid, and it’s not like I’m going to live with her forever, so congratulations were the right thing to do.
My inner thoughts, like a sample of a narrow group of people, thought differently.
I couldn’t shake the feeling of being taken away.
I am not a climber either. I felt halfway through that she was interested in me.
But every time, I pretended not to know and passed it by.
I was stupid for thinking that I could just keep this ambiguous distance for the rest of my life.
This stuffy man could only put off making a decision.
* * *
-Wheein!!!
The next morning, as soon as we woke up in the morning, we started moving right away.
“No, I’ll wait later tonight. Come by yourself if possible, because I want to show it only to you.”
Yes, with that thinned face of Nikolai.
Anya quietly nodded and the car we rode headed north to the exact location of the air base outside the city.
Nothing special. In between, people who saw Anya pretended to know, and old people who knew that we had come to serve as Awakeners handed over something and waved.
It was like usual.
I pretended not to know what I had overheard, and neither the children bothered to say that Anya had confessed.
And on the outskirts of the city, right around the time of entering the endless national road.
“uh? What is that?”
Desiree’s voice broke the silence in the car.
As I moved my gaze along the tips of her white, rough fingers, something strange caught my eye.
“… … What is that?”
“Who wasn’t kidding?”
“Iknow, right?”
A strange paint line was drawn at a right angle across the long stretch of road.
And that’s not all. Graffiti that would normally be thought to be a joke were painted with thick paint.
However, it only caught my attention for a fleeting moment.
The Retona we rode crossed the line and headed for the airbase.
“Golden Sun Awakener. Would you like to come this way?”
As soon as we arrived at the air base, we went straight to the hangar.
And what was waiting in front of us.
“Wow… … .”
“Where is the helicopter going… … What fighter do you have?”
“and… … .”
It was a vertical take-off and landing aircraft boasting a slim triangular fuselage.
We moved towards Khabarovsk as it was.