Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 158 158: A Piece of the Ideal

Around seven in the morning.

Charon was slowly walking through the base corridors alone.

It wasn't that he couldn't sleep–he usually slept well–but he had deliberately adjusted his schedule. Seeing how exhausted the Valkyrie Squad had been yesterday, he figured they were still asleep at this hour, so he decided to check on Liliweiss earlier than anyone else.

The "Panacea" had indeed started to take effect, but what kind of recovery it would ultimately bring was still unknown. In any case, according to the instrunt readings, she was not in a condition to return to the battlefield anyti soon.

As he turned a corner, Charon's gaze sharpened–soone had actually arrived before him.

A white-haired girl was sitting on a chair outside the ward, hesitatingly staring at the door, but never trying to open it.

Perhaps because her ntal state wasn't great, she didn't even notice Charon's footsteps, despite the fact that he made no attempt to conceal them.

"I rember you–you're the fourth unit of the Fairy-Type, 'Snow White', right?"

After thinking for a mont, Charon decided to greet her first.

Whether it was their first eting or now, he had virtually no interaction with Snow White. However, the fact that she forced herself to stay here despite her own discomfort showed how deeply she cared for Liliweiss.

"Ah!" Startled by Charon's voice, Snow White flinched hard, turning her head stiffly like a child caught doing sothing wrong.

"Um… should I address you… as 'Sir'?" Snow White asked cautiously.

In her eyes, this man was the boss of this base, and since the base itself was nad by Liliweiss, he naturally deserved respect.

"Call whatever you like," Charon replied. This identity of his didn't seem to carry much weight here–if anything, the previous one had beco the shared understanding.

"But what are you doing here? Why not go inside?"

Snow White instinctively looked at the ward door, hesitation creeping into her eyes.

"I'm scared…" she said. "Sir… even though the instrunts show that both Sister… Liliweiss and Red Hood's readings are improving… I'm afraid this is just a dream."

"I'm afraid that if I open that door, what I'll see is…"

Her voice began to break, and she couldn't continue.

"If this is a dream, I'd rather just stay here forever and never wake up again."

Charon thought for a mont, scanning the corridor, then walked up beside her and casually kicked sothing on the ground.

"Tch. Nothing?"

He moved to another spot and tried again.

"Oh, got it. Lucky–second try."

Snow White had no idea what he was doing. He had just kicked the air… and then a box appeared?

It disappeared almost imdiately, but what he took out of it was a steaming can of hot cocoa–and that did not vanish.

Snow White's eyes widened. What had just happened felt completely impossible in reality. It only made her more convinced that this might be a dream.

Charon walked back to her, holding the hot cocoa.

"Morning's cold. Drink this to warm up. You didn't sleep much last night, did you?"

"…Three and a half hours."

In such an exhausted state, she had still woken up in under four hours. Just how much was weighing on her mind?

Charon and Snow White both opened their drinks at the sa ti and took a sip.

Warmth spread down her throat. Snow White held the cocoa tightly, feeling her body and mind gradually relax–even if only physically.

"Thank you," she said politely, still in a soft voice.

Leaning against the wall beside her, Charon stared at the ward door with her.

"Let's start with the conclusion. This isn't a dream. That pill cost a lot–financially speaking, I've been saving for it for ten years. A lot happened during that ti… really, a lot. In the end, I realized I already had the conditions to obtain it from the very beginning. I just never made up my mind."

If he had sold all the 'reds' from the start, maybe he would have obtained it much earlier…

No. Back then, although he cared about the people of this world, his true foundation was still Zero Zone–his hiding place. That was his true ho. At that ti, he hadn't truly been willing to give everything to this world.

Only after Gray Girl and Sleeping Beauty did his connection to this world deepen. Only then did he truly begin to see himself as part of it.

"…So nice…" Snow White murmured, clenching her fists and lowering her head. "I'm the Valkyrie Squad's weapons specialist. I thought as long as I could create stronger weapons, I could protect everyone and save the world. But when it cos to Sister's 'illness'… my weapons, my knowledge, my skills–they're all aningless. I couldn't do anything at all."

Even she didn't know why she was saying all this in front of him.

Perhaps precisely because they weren't familiar, it made so words easier to say.

Charon understood. This was likely one of the reasons she couldn't bring herself to enter. She felt she had contributed nothing to Liliweiss's recovery, and had fallen into self-doubt.

"Snow White," Charon said.

"Everyone has their own battlefield."

"I know, but…"

"Liliweiss's battlefield is against a collapsing fate. My battlefield is finding a miracle to save her. And yours…" He gently tapped her hat. "is making sure that when the Valkyrie Squad fights, they always have a weapon that never jams. And only you can do that."

"…"

"Liliweiss wants to protect all humanity. And you just happen to be one of the links that can make that ideal real. Isn't that sothing wonderful?"

"…!"

Snow White looked down at the hot cocoa in her hands, her cheeks slightly flushed, confusion slowly fading from her eyes.

"Yes… weapons… I am Snow White, the Valkyrie Squad's maintenance and support specialist. I am everyone's shield!"

Her voice beca clearer–but at that exact mont, her stomach let out a loud growl.

Her face instantly turned red as a tomato.

After relaxing, her body finally protested hunger.

Charon held back a laugh, pulled a cream chocolate bread from his bag, looked around, and placed it into her hands.

"Eat up. This is an absolute relic–only I can get stuff like this."

Maybe this was everywhere twenty years ago, but now only Charon, who could open loot boxes, could still find it.

Seeing the neatly wrapped bread, Snow White was so moved that tears of gratitude almost flowed from her mouth.