Free Web NovelChapter 28: A Quiet Evening
The sun over Nerevia began to set as a bright orange light cast across the vast expanse of the sea. The fading sunlight illuminated the rolling water, painting a beautiful and serene sight along the horizon.
As the waves swayed toward the edge of the beach, the evening air felt surprisingly warm. A gentle ocean breeze drifted across the shoreline, kicking up the loose sand to create tiny, spinning tornadoes that danced along the coast.
A silver-haired girl sat on a wooden bench near the beach, looking out at the vast, beautiful expanse. Her face was completely expressionless. If another person walked by and saw her, they might think she was a cold girl without any emotions, or perhaps that she was just in a bad mood.
But if one looked closer, her lavender eyes were filled with a deep calmness, along with a quiet sense of peace and genuine happiness.
She sat there with her hands clasped together, leaning back on the bench, waiting patiently for someone to return.
Just as she waited, a black-haired boy walked up from behind her. He held two warm sticks of barbecue in his hands. He walked toward the bench and took a seat right beside her.
"Here, take this..."
Alicia looked at the barbecue skewer in his hand, took it gently, and returned her gaze to the sea.
Alden also looked in the same direction she was watching while taking a bite of his food.
For several minutes, they sat there quietly. A peaceful silence settled between them. Only the sound of the evening breeze and the crashing waves could be heard, as most of the tourists had already left, leaving the sandy beach mostly empty.
Alicia looked at the ocean expanse and then turned her head toward Alden.
"You know what? You are the luckiest person in the world."
Alden looked at her, feeling surprised by the sudden comment that seemed to come out of nowhere.
’Did she find out that I have an overpowered Luck stat? No, that is impossible. She cannot see my system interface... can she?’
Alden looked at Alicia. Her face still remained completely expressionless and completely unreadable. Her eyes stared at him with a piercing gaze, trying to find out what was hiding behind his mask of a calm exterior.
But unfortunately for her, she couldn’t see through Alden’s emotions, even if she tried to subtly manipulate him or use other methods.
Even though she could make him flustered and embarrassed sometimes, managing to bring out fragments of the emotions he hid behind that calm mask, there was still something she couldn’t figure out about him. If she had been completely able to see through the real him, she would have successfully won over his heart in her past life.
Alden looked at her and asked, feeling baffled.
"Why do you think I am lucky?"
A small, imperceptible smile tugged on her lips as she met his crimson eyes. This time, the smile was genuine and without any hiding.
"You already know, or you might just be ignoring it."
She looked away, gazing back at the warm sea.
Alden leaned back on the bench, staring at her side profile. As he looked at her small smile, he felt his chest tighten for some unknown reason.
He wasn’t afraid of her finding out his secrets. He wasn’t afraid of what the world would think if they learned about him—the transmigrator who stole a weak body and was now living among them. But for the first time, he felt like he was living a life with no set goals. He didn’t even know which path he was walking on. He didn’t know what he was currently doing or what he should be doing in the future.
He looked out at the vast expanse toward the setting sun.
’It seems I am just living a stagnant life, with no one standing beside me... With no real goals, with no path to walk on, with nothing I should actually care about... Am I really just living as an empty shell?’
’I don’t feel even the slightest bit of sadness about living like this, but I don’t feel happy either.’
’Why am I behaving like this? Why am I not able to feel any real sadness? Why am I not able to feel lonely? I don’t even feel sad about leaving my parents behind in my past world and transmigrating here. Why do I lack the desire to return to my past peaceful life? What is wrong with me?’
Alden felt conflicted about his own emotions. He didn’t know what was happening inside his head.
’It feels like a piece of me is missing... I feel incomplete. My emotional state is incomplete.’
Alden clenched his fists tightly, a heavily conflicted expression forming on his face.
Alicia noticed everything. However, she remained silent. She didn’t want to pressure him or ask about his problems when he himself was clearly confused about what was wrong.
A calm silence returned between them as the sun fully set below the horizon, plunging the beach into twilight.
Alicia stood up and offered her hand to him.
Alden, who was lost in thought just a second ago, looked down at her hand. Then, he glanced up at her face and finally gave a small, genuine smile.
"I am not going to run away."
She didn’t pull her hand back. She stubbornly kept her hand offered, waiting for him to accept it.
Finally, sighing at the situation and resigning to her will, Alden reached out. He placed his hand in hers, feeling her soft, delicate fingers firmly grasp his. Alicia tightened her grip on his hand. Alden stood up and dusted the sand off his clothes, and prepared to walk beside her.
But before they could even take a single step—
[Ding! Due to the sudden insight gained by the emotional fluctuation in the host, the System has been upgraded to Level 3!]
[Ding! The System has gained a new ability: ’Divine Merging’!]
[Ding! Your ’Inventory’ has been upgraded to ’Super Inventory’!]
[Ding! Many new functions have been added to the system!]
[Ding! Do you want to bind ’Empress of ???, Alicia’ to yourself, host?]
[Y/N]
