Label stood on the cliff, gazing at Elysia, and took a puff of his cigarette.
Because Elysia was a newcomer, she had no idea that Label had a habit: he would go on bed checks after midnight.
This was a habit he had formed after several children disappeared in the middle of the night.
The moment he first saw Elysia, he realized she possessed a temperament that didn’t belong to her age group at all, so he subconsciously treated her as a peer and spoke to her about many things children shouldn’t be exposed to.
Had he made a mistake?
Last night, upon discovering Elysia was gone, he didn’t panic; a small biological force field combined with a clearly enhanced physique was enough for her to travel through this desert unimpeded.
Combined with their previous conversation, it was obvious she had gone to find the North America base.
She must have heard some overly cruel facts there, Label thought, looking at Elysia’s lonely figure.
He would find time to counsel her tonight.
When Elysia came to her senses, the sun was already high.
She got up and went down the mountain, seeing that the children had all woken up.
Outside on the sand, they had stuck a few wooden poles into the ground as goalposts and spontaneously split into teams for a soccer match, laughter ringing out continuously; this was pure, unadulterated joy.
Watching their active figures, ripples stirred in Elysia’s originally calm heart.
During halftime, Elysia stepped forward to say hello, and the children responded one after another; after last night’s storytelling session, the barrier between them and Elysia had faded significantly.
“Do you want to come play with us?
Elysia?” a child resting on the side invited her.
Elysia was a bit troubled; mainly, she was long past the age of rolling around in the sand.
“Hmm~ I’m very happy just watching you all play~ How about this, do you want to see me perform a magic trick?” The children gathered around.
Elysia first spread her hands to show they were empty, then hid her hands behind her back, and as if performing a sleight of hand, produced a pure, bright pink crystal flower.
The children gasped in surprise.
“Here, for you~” She handed the crystal flower to the child who had come closest.
He hesitated a bit; in his eyes, this crystal flower must be worth a fortune, but seeing Elysia’s bright smile, his hand reached out involuntarily.
After receiving the crystal flower, a pile of children crowded over, surrounding him, playing with it as carefully as if it were a rare treasure.
The children who couldn’t squeeze in looked at her with longing eyes but were too shy to ask for one.
“Don’t worry, there’s enough for everyone.” Elysia took out more from behind her.
They were overjoyed after receiving the crystal flowers.
Elysia condensed a few more, telling the children to give them to Label and the guards later.
These crystal flowers were actually passive-trigger shields; Elysia named them Fairy Magic · Expecto Patronum, enough to protect them safely for a long time.
After putting away the crystal flowers, the children looked at her with sparkling eyes, with a faint tendency to follow her lead.
“So, do you want to hear a story?” Elysia suggested.
They cheered and sat down in small groups, forming a circle around her.
Looking at their attentive expressions, Elysia felt as if she had returned to the nights back at the orphanage.
The story she told was about a shepherd boy named Santiago.
He abandoned his flock to pursue treasure, traveled the world, met all kinds of people, was robbed of his money twice and lost everything, but in the end, he overcame all difficulties and hardships, dug up the treasure at the starting point of his journey, and ended up with his beloved.
Time was limited, so Elysia only picked out some important plot points, but the charm of the story remained undiminished.
The children sat around her, listening quietly, their thoughts seemingly transported to that distant fantasy world.
Label stood in the distance watching them, slowly lowered the cigarette in his hand, and then extinguished the butt.
“Oh, that’s true,” he smiled somewhat awkwardly, “I seem to have made a mistake.” Since she was mature enough, she could naturally counsel herself.
If even he could figure it out, how could she be trapped in it?
That night, Elysia gently knocked on Label’s door.
“Good evening, Mr.
Label, thank you for your care,” Elysia bowed slightly, “I have come to say goodbye.” Because there were so few people here, she had already cut off all loose ends while wandering in the desert; staying here for two extra days was only because she had become curious about the people here.
Label raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
“Leaving so soon?” “Yes,” Elysia nodded and smiled slightly, “After all, there are still many places I haven’t been to yet~” “Do you want to say goodbye to the children?” “I already did this afternoon.” Label looked at her thoughtfully.
After a moment of silence, he asked, “Then, in the end, answer a small question for me.
Elysia, what do you think is the meaning of travel?” “To meet different people and see different things.” Elysia was honest about part of it.
Of course, the main reason was actually to disrupt the arrangements of the Cocoon of Finality.
“Is that so…” He pondered for a moment and then said, “Then, as it happens, I haven’t told you about my story.
Do you want to hear it?” He pulled out a chair.
“Naturally, I am all ears~” Elysia elegantly smoothed her dress and sat down.
“Do you know about the Mu Continent?” “Yes, the pinnacle of the scientific world, the global center of technology.” “Yes, everyone knows that the Mu Continent is the most technologically advanced region in the world, but has anyone ever thought that science actually has national borders?” “Eight of the world’s top ten laboratories are in the Mu Continent.
It can be said that those laboratories produce technologies capable of overturning the world every second, and these technologies have always only benefited the Mu Continent itself.” “Of course, R&D consumes a lot of resources, so not making it public is understandable.
But a large number of by-products are generated during technology development.
These technologies have no application prospects in the Mu Continent, but even if just a little leaked out, it would be enough to greatly improve the lives of people in other regions.”