Chapter 26 Other People's Stories
"…Let's go."
"What's wrong?"
"This gathering point has already been destroyed. Reason unknown."
Looking at the marked symbol on the map, then at the empty, uninhabited canyon, Saria remained silent for a moment before walking back with an expressionless face.
Silence, following beside her, glanced at the canyon. Even from Silence's perspective, the traces of riot left behind in the former gathering point on the ground were still clearly visible. Not to mention Saria, whose visual nerves were dozens of times better than hers. She had very likely seen many things, but none of them were hope.
They drove across the wilderness, not intending to join those mobile cities around Columbia. Nor did they intend to mix into some mobile cities as refugees. Deeply aware of the problems with refugee screening and segregation, they would not abandon Ifrit, this Oripathy patient. For them, the only hope was to find the legendary mobile hospital, Rhodes Island. But looking now, the area where Rhodes Island was once rumored to have appeared was also destroyed.
"This is the fourth destroyed gathering point."
Walking to the front of the black off-road vehicle, Saria took out a map and pen from her pocket, smudging an originally marked red circle into black.
On the map, the few areas marked with news of Rhodes Island's appearance were basically all smudged black. Either red for chaos or an 'X' for uninhabitable. It was a normal thing for such wilderness gathering points to be destroyed by accident, but such repeated disappointment was a rather rare occurrence.
Not all Oripathy patients looked very pitiful; people suffering from mental torment often committed agitated acts, and these acts were the basis of calamity. In areas already fluctuating with unease, filled with sorrow and despair, one madman could often trigger the destruction of an entire camp. In the past, many humanitarian aid organizations would help these camps. But now that war had begun, it was very difficult for humanitarian aid organizations to penetrate deep into these areas truly in need of assistance.
Not enough manpower. They were already stretched to their limits just maintaining many hospitals within Columbia. And the roaming madmen would completely mess up the surrounding environment.
This was an unsolvable cycle. Unless Umbrella and Raythean Industries both surrendered, there was no other choice.
"What's wrong? Saria? Is there any problem?"
"…I'm sorry. Silence."
"This isn't your fault, you don't need to apologize, Saria."
"But still, I'm sorry. For not being able to let you two settle down properly."
"There's no such thing. Isn't it quite happy like this now? Ifrit, this child, also likes this kind of life very much; it's okay to keep going like this."
"…No."
"Eh?"
Looking at Saria who turned around with a calm face, Silence, who originally wanted to comfort her, was stunned.
"If we keep going like this, what about Ifrit's education? What about her life? She's just a child, needing a stable educational environment. And her Oripathy can't always be subjected to the hardships of the wilderness with us. We must find Rhodes Island; as a professional Oripathy treatment institution, they can suppress Ifrit's Oripathy."
"That's not what I mean, Saria, I just…"
"I know, Silence. But I am not fragile."
Looking at Silence beside her, who was somewhat flusteredly explaining, Saria calmly put the map back into her pocket and pulled open the car door.
"Fragility is not my personality. I know the current situation is very difficult, but we haven't reached the point of numbing ourselves yet. Ifrit's happiness is important, but before that, we must let her live."
"…"
This was where the two differed. Silence felt they could take Ifrit to find Rhodes Island while keeping her relatively happy. But Saria didn't think so. She felt they should use every means possible, race against time to bypass those ill-intentioned enemies, and reach Rhodes Island at the fastest speed.
Silence knew in her heart Saria's choice was correct, but every time she saw Ifrit looking at Saria's back, always wanting to say something but hesitating, saw Saria always remaining silent, never explaining anything, just silently planning routes and vigilantly watching for all threats, she always felt she should do something. But clearly, tender affection could serve as a buffer in a life on the run, but absolutely couldn't become a part that sways one's thinking.
"Mmm… Silence? Saria? Are we there yet?"
"No. You continue sleeping."
"Oh…"
Ifrit, curled up into a ball in the back of the car, yawned, found a more comfortable position, and fell asleep carelessly .
Just the occasionally furrowed brows in her sleep showed she was actually suffering greatly from Oripathy. Oripathy, already in its middle stage, began to oppress various nervous systems; even the slightest touch would cause various stabbing pains from within the body. And this was also the reason Oripathy patients became increasingly frantic.
Looking at the suffering Ifrit, Silence also knew Saria's choice was not wrong. But without the neutralization of family affection and emotion, how could such a child endure such a long and painful time? Perhaps it was just right. She needed to maintain Ifrit's emotions, while Saria was responsible for determining their route. Although it was indeed very painful, currently, only such a choice could be considered slightly better.
"Where are we going next?"
"Lungmen."
Facing Silence's question, Saria started the car and said in a low voice:
"According to the route map, they are highly likely to go to Lungmen to replenish supplies and equipment. Even if it's to sell some patents for money, it doesn't matter; Ifrit must be treated. And if it really doesn't work out, we can still find a job in Lungmen, exchange money for Ifrit's treatment. Because of Lungmen's commercial nature, screening isn't very strict; we can successfully muddle through inside."
"But in that case, your principles would be…"
"…Principles are sometimes abandoned due to changes in circumstances. And things might not be as bad as imagined. Still remember Mayer from that workshop? She's now the chief engineer at Eden . We might be able to seek some help. Let's go."
"Mm."
Sitting in the back row comforting the frowning Ifrit, Silence looked at Saria's back driving ahead and nodded lightly. The off-road vehicle quickly started up, following the track marked on the map towards Lungmen in the night.
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