"Shelly, is everything alright? You seem to be in a bad mood today. Can I do anything to cheer you up?"
Albus's arm wrapped itself around Shelly's shoulder and she glared at it, hoping to burn it. But the arm did not go anywhere, forcing Shelly to shrug it off.
Shelly was in a bad mood and didn't bother to hide it. Albus had promised her that they would head to the next town last night, but he hadn't kept his promise yet.
As soon as Task 2 started, he made plans to find a sacred artefact in this town before heading to the next one.
Shelly had almost lost her mind at the delay and blew Albus's head off. But Rin's image flashed across her mind made Shelly stop.
If Albus noticed her discomfort, he said nothing.. But he did pull his arm back with a faint, annoying laugh.
"Hey, relax. Look, we got a sacred artefact, right? Aren't you glad that you joined me now? But I have to say, the lucky charm here is definitely you, Shelly. Ah, I am grateful for your assistance as well, Amelia. Your healing saved us at a crucial moment."
Albus complimented both her and Amelia. But the more he spoke, the more insincere his words sounded.
'I need to endure. This is all for Rin's sake. This is all for Rin's sake. This is all for Rin's sake.'
Those words helped her endure and a natural smile bloomed on her face. She was not interested in talking to Albus, so she did not say much.
But Amelia was getting more comfortable with Albus and unlike Shelly, she was easily won over by him.
It likely had to do with her belief that Albus saved her when she was about to die and pretended to care about her constantly. But she didn't even notice that he only paid attention to her when she looked anxious or when Shelly did not respond to him.
Perhaps Amelia noticed this, but also chose to turn a blind eye to endure these harsh conditions.
Shelly did not care about Amelia's feelings or hardships. But she did care about her holding them back.
So, even though she knew that Amelia was exhausted and needed rest, she still pushed the group forward.
"Albus, are we going to cross over to the other town now? Or is there anything else left to do here?"
Shelly tried not to show her impatience, but it was hard. Her sweet and innocent girl persona was slowly cracking and she could not even be bothered to put in any effort into maintaining it.
Luckily for her, Albus was far too blind to notice it (or too cunning to pretend not to notice) and he nodded at her eagerness.
"We can get going after we have some rest. Amelia has spent too much energy healing us. It'd be unfair not to let her rest."
Albus's soft smile turned toward Amelia and melted at his concern. But then she looked at Shelly and Amelia's smile stiffened at the look Shelly gave her.
Seeing Amelia's discomfort, Albus turned to look at Shelly as well. But all he got in return was a gentle smile. His confusion, combined with Shelly's unreadable expression, unnerved Amelia and she forced herself up.
"I-I am done resting. We should get going now."
Amelia had gotten Shelly's message and followed through. There was still hope for her.
She had also never shown any interest in Rin, despite being so close to him and which made her 'acceptable' in Shelly's mind.
"Amelia, are you sure you can keep going? You must be exhausted-"
"I am fine. I'll feel worse if I rest now. Let's get to the next town and finish this task. I will have time to rest properly after that. Didn't you say you have a place in mind to take us? Will they even help us out?"
Albus gave Amelia a sorry smile but he nodded at her question.
"Well, I do have a place in mind for us to head to for safety. And don't worry about being turned away. We have Shelly here. It is actually being operated by your childhood friend. And before you ask how I knew, it's simple. I told you that I had a crush on you before the apocalypse, right? So I looked into you. That's how much I liked you, Shelly."
Shelly glanced at Amelia as she heard Albus confess his love for her. Amelia looked uncomfortable but not as much as Shelly thought she would.
'It seems like Amelia already knows about Albus's true nature. Good for her.'
Not that it was any of Shelly's business if Amelia got her heart broken.
But Albus was giving her another reason to end his life.
'He wants to use Rin? He's not allowed to. But I can't end him now. Not only is he my ticket to the other side, but also to Rin.'
And as much as Shelly was loath to admit it, Albus was resourceful. Somehow, he knew where most resources were and how the monsters operated. He would be useful to keep around…
'Well, since he's so insistent on being useful, I will use him like a puppet to clear the way for me and Rin. Someone will need to take the dangerous parts while I keep Rin safe, so it might as well be Albus. He owes Rin this much for thinking of using him.'
Shelly's mind was already brewing ideas she wanted to try.
Albus, who was none the wiser about her intentions, tapped her on the shoulder and gestured toward the hidden pipelines not too far away.
"These pipes are the only way to travel between the towns for now. But there is no way to know how long these would remain operational. If you have anything to do on this side, then we should get it done beforehand-"
"I don't. Let's get to the other side now."
Shelly cut him off before he could finish speaking. She headed in first and everyone else followed.
Looking back, Albus hadn't done anything significant. And Amelia was also someone he brought over from the other town.
Then did he come to this town to get Shelly? Was that how badly he wanted to use her?
'Ah, as long as his focus is me and not Rin, I don't care. I just want to see Rin again. I wonder if I should go to his mansion immediately-'
Unfortunately, monsters blocked her path, souring her mood.