Chapter 322
Of course, just like when I climbed up, he had to support me from below to ensure I could get down safely.
But as I climbed up through the ventilation duct, I had already trampled on his head quite a bit, which made me hesitate. What if he pretended to catch me and then dodged at the last moment? From this height, even falling onto a bed would be a rough landing.
Besides, that Guide… he seemed so thin that I doubted he could catch me securely.
“Um… about pulling your hair earlier and stepping all over your head… that wasn’t intentional…”
“If you don’t want your neck broken, jump down now before I change my mind.”
“Ah, got it.”
His menacing tone reminded me of Claude. I could only hope he was as strong as Claude in catching me.
Eventually, I closed my eyes tightly and leaped.
The terrifying sensation of falling lasted only a moment. Fortunately, although he wasn’t as sturdy as Claude, he managed to catch me relatively well.
But my relief was short-lived. Suddenly, something covered me from above. The Guides around me had thrown a blanket over me.
And regardless of my screams and struggles, they began rubbing me down with the blanket.
“Ow…! What are you doing?”
“Anyone who sees you now will know you crawled through the ventilation duct.”
In other words, they were urgently trying to clean off the soot and grime from me with the blanket. Despite their excitement, the Guides bombarded me with questions.
“How was it? Does it look possible? Can you really enter other rooms through the duct?”
“Well, it seems possible.”
The inside of the duct was absurdly narrow and pitch-dark. However, after following the passage for a while, I saw a faint light.
There was no doubt. It was light coming through a hole leading to another room.
Fearing I might get lost if I went too far, I quickly returned, but it was enough proof that it was possible to travel between rooms through the duct.
“But it’s so narrow and dark inside that it’s easy to lose your sense of direction. It would be helpful to have something to mark the way, like drawing on the walls of the passage…”
“Oh, I have a solution for that.”
A Guide suddenly offered, holding out something metallic.
“This should be able to mark the walls.”
Before I could even realize what it was, sighs erupted from the Guides.
“Deon, are you sure?”
“That’s something you cherished dearly. Using it like this will ruin it quickly…”
“It’s fine.”
He replied calmly, urging me to take it.
It was a necklace. The pendant on it was quite sharp.
“…It’s a keepsake Deon and his fiancée exchanged instead of rings before he came here.”
Helga whispered softly to me as I stood bewildered.
“Oh…”
I felt a lump in my throat.
Most Guides had been brought here before the Center was established. In all likelihood, Deon’s fiancée had moved on and started a new family.
Knowing this, Deon must have still held onto the keepsake because it was the only thing keeping him going in this hellish place, by holding onto the memories of someone precious from long ago.
And now, he was willingly handing over his treasured possession to me, a person he had just met today.
“Um, I…”
Could I really use such a precious item for a task I wasn’t even sure would succeed?
As I hesitated and started to return it, he shook his head and spoke first.
“Don’t feel burdened. Just as I don’t plan to support your actions, you don’t need to feel any responsibility towards me.”
“…”
“I was planning to get rid of it anyway. If I can’t leave this place forever… it’s better to clear out such things.”
He insisted on placing the pendant in my hand.
The heavy weight of it pressed down on my heart.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.