━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Chapter 7 ━☂

╰┈➤ ❝ [First Offical Meeting] ❞

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☆

Watching as the time shifted to 10:00 a.m., (Y/n) looked away from her watch and over at the isolated tree that used to shelter under its branches one of the child prodigies; only for that child prodigy not to be seen anywhere near the lone tree. Pursing her lips in thought (Y/n) glanced over at Isabella only to her relief—to see her already occupied with entertaining the surrounding children with a tender, motherly smile.

Tapping her watch, the rhythmic clinging noise reached Isabella's ears, causing her to look away from the beaming children and over at her. Rising only three of her fingers, Isabella's face turned steely as she nodded firmly, the tender glimmer in her eye gone. Nodding back in confirmation (Y/n) briskly stepped away from the lively group of adolescents as she made her way down the hill and towards the tranquil forest.

Once finally away from the children's sight, (Y/n) grumbled in annoyance as she remained walking towards where she could detect the three children. (Y/n)—after sniffing a bit more aggressively, was able to work out that only two children were conscious of the other while the third one—which (Y/n) presumed to be Ray; was hiding away and spying on the other two.

At collecting this observation (Y/n) narrowed her eyes in discontent, not admiring how much insight and authority Ray had on the situation. Hastening her walking pace (Y/n) eventually made it inside the forest, and once she did, (Y/n) frowned.

Jumping away from the ground, (Y/n) landed feet-first on a street branch before instantaneously disappearing soon after, no trace left in her wake. Within seconds (Y/n) had already made it halfway deep inside the forest as she headed towards the wall that divided her and the others from everything unknown.

With no time to take warning of how dreary the sky appeared, (Y/n) finally landed on a tree branch near the other two, holding on to the tree's rugged surface for extra balance. In complete silence (Y/n) continued overhearing their discussion as it shifted from how they were going to go over the wall to something else, and this time, it was about Ray.

"Hey, Norman. I think it might be fine if we told Ray."

'Don't bother; that snake already knows so much.'

"I was thinking that, too. Ray most likely wouldn't panic. And because of his extensive knowledge, he's good with machines, too. I'm sure we can depend on him. But..."

Bending her head further forward, (Y/n) watched the two converse with no emotion displaying on her face. The girl's tranquil, affectionate eyes now cold.

"I'll talk to Ray myself. Why don't you go back, and-"

"Why?"

Shifting her eyes deliberately as she followed Ray's movements, (Y/n) expression didn't alter as she examined how startled the other two were at Ray's abrupt and unanticipated appearance.

"Ray!"

With an indifferent face, Ray moved his hand up.

"Yo."

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"Sorry, I followed you guys." Hearing Ray's apology, the two bounced up in shock as Emma did a loud 'huh' noise, both of their eyes large as they found out about how Ray had stalked them. "It's been bugging me for a while, so I thought I should ask about it." Handing Emma a book labeled, 'The Mechanical Engineering and Human History', Ray walked around them both before moving all three closer collectively as he enclosed both arms around their necks, closing their distance as he peered down at them with skeptical eyes.

"What happened at the gate that night?" Without allowing Emma to say another word, Ray continued: "When you went to go deliver Little Bunny to Conny. You were both clearly acting weird, and you were empty-handed when you said you didn't make it." Revealing his suspicions, Ray glared brutally down at the eye-avoiding Norman.

"You're perceptive."

"So, of course, something happened." Pausing in his sentence, Emma let out a mild yelp as Ray narrowed his grip around her neck. "Give it up!"

"Ray is... smart... too, after all." Stifling in her sentence, Ray exposed his teeth at the both of them as he struggled to compel them to fess up.

Grimacing at this scene (Y/n) quietly scorned Ray for hurting the both of them, even if he didn't mean to punish them so harshly, (Y/n) still resented Ray for his ongoing and past performances. 'Not only is he a threat to the children, but he's also a menace to me, and that... that can't be tolerated.'

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"Demons... a farm... Mom is an enemy? Isn't this bad?"

"He catches on fast!"

"So you're saying we were preciously taking care of to become demon food?" Ray summed up the entire explanation, feeling where his number was on his neck lightly. 'Does that mean...' Swaying his head, Ray concluded not to speculate too much about it.

"I mean... I'm surprised you're believing us so easily." Expressing her astonishment, Emma pointed at Ray as she gave him a baffled look. "Huh? Of course. Norman wouldn't make up such a stupid lie. I'd be different with you, Emma."

Letting out a sound of dejection, Emma bent half of her body as she let her arms sway in front of her.

"So, if we're going to escape, there are various issues. First, the number of kids."

(Y/n) stiffened.

"We'll narrow it down to who can make it and-"

"Wait!" Snapping Ray out of his concentration, Emma looked at him with a stubborn expression as she settled back beside Norman. "I want to escape with everyone. Lend us your strength, Ray!" Emma asserted passionately, her stare deep.

Widening his eyes in surprise, Ray held down the sarcastic laughter that worked to bubble up from inside his throat. "Everyone? You're kidding, right? There are 37 of us, excluding Sister. Not to mention that the majority of us are under six years old."

"Mom."

"Demons."

"Tracking devices."

"Sister."

"These factors make an already difficult escape even more challenging."

Emma grinned. "Not Sister, though—Sister is on our side!" Claiming this proudly to Ray, the determined glint in her eyes sharpened. "Besides, it is possible-"

"No, it's impossible. Emma, you haven't noticed, have you?" Recoiling in shock, Emma gave enough room for Norman to stand in front of her with an outstretched hand, telling him to stop. Silence engulfed the group of three for a moment before the sarcastic laughter of Ray slashed through the dense atmosphere.

"I see... so that's why you said you'll talk to me yourself."

Pausing as he heard the soft sound of something landing, Ray and the other two turned their heads to the right to work out who made such a hushed noise only to see the warm-looking (Y/n) smiling over at them, a smile pasted on her lips that made all three of them slightly melt at the sight of such precious, soothing smile.

"I hope I interrupted nothing important, Ray, Norman, Emma—but I was interested as to where you three were so far away from my view." Walking closer to the three (Y/n) tilted her head down slightly as to look at Norman in the eyes. "You all were so far away, so I just wished to see if everything was alright."

Nodding his head easily, Norman smiled right back up at her as he chortled. "Yes, Sister, everything is alright. We were just discussing our plan of scaling over the wall, is all." Convincing (Y/n) that everything was alright (Y/n) nodded her hand and rubbed his neck tenderly.

"I see—well, do hurry with your talk. Isabella is quite unsettled about your whereabouts and your activities." Giving them a piece of information (Y/n) walked behind Ray and hugged his back gently, settling her head on his shoulder as she overlooked the red hue on the tips of his ears.

"Well, now that Ray is well educated of our present problem, then I might as well linger here and try my utmost best to aid you. The reason you wish to flee is yet still unclear to me, but either way, I know it's for an appropriate reason, so please, go on." Shooting up Norman and Emma's determination, Norman went to suggest something only for the voice of Ray to stop them.

"I see... you weren't mistaken when you declared that our Sister has previously become an ally of yours. If this is a good or bad thing, I presume only time will tell." Sighing in exasperation, Ray glanced back up at Emma with a severe expression.

"Emma... Norman... you have to be blunt about these kinds of things. It won't be enough just to escape from here."

Hearing this, Emma looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What Ray is seeking to define is that the outside world is an uncharted terrain that is populated by flesh-eating demons that won't dislike hacking you piece by piece. Even so, there's a place where all of you are alleged to be transferred to, and here's the farm. Outside of that wall, we'll just be sitting ducks in front of a pack of hungry foxes. Humans aren't meant to be there, ever." After describing to her about the sensibility of the situation, Emma remained silent as Norman just stood next to her, intently assessing the scene.

"It's impossible. If we take everyone, we'll all die. We leave them behind. That's the best option."

(Y/n) grimaced at this, not at all admiring how the current variety of plans looked like. Nibbling her lip (Y/n) glanced away from the other two and down at the green-covered ground. 'While it sounds more logical and easier to just escape without the others, I can't just do that. I'm their Sister... and they're cornered inside of a cell.'

"Yeah, no."

Feeling the head of (Y/n) leave his shoulder, Ray's eyes swelled at what he had just picked up as he turned his whole body around towards her, skeptical of what he had just heard was correct. Putting on her white gloves (Y/n) smiled back over at Ray.

"I said no. You all think so centered in the box!" Chuckling in hilarity (Y/n) walked behind Emma and caressed her hair, messaging her head in circular motions as Emma looked to loosen under her touch. Looking at her with concern, Ray sighed.

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"You have me, don't you?" This was all that any of them could get out of her, as she didn't crave to confess more information about her capabilities than she found sufficient at the moment. Ray raised a brow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

(Y/n) shrugged.

"I want Conny to be last. I don't want anyone to end up like that ever again. If there isn't once, then let's make a place for humans to live outside."

"Let's change the world!"

Silence draped over the four only for the soft laugher of (Y/n) to split the silence. "Yeah, let's change the world!"

Smiling along with (Y/n), Emma looked back over at Ray with a serious expression. "I understand now, thanks to you, Ray. That's the kind of prison break we have to do. I'm not giving up on this." While Emma was vowing her life to her newfound dream, Ray was pushing his teeth together in indignation, grinding them as a scowl appeared on his face.

"I'm not giving up on this. Because I've decided. So, Ray, you're the one who has to give up. Stop jabbering around and help us!" Yelling out in slight anger, Emma grabbed both of his arms and dragged him down to her eye level, this making Ray's temper skyrocket further. With a grunt, Ray shook off Emma's hold, making her wobble away from him.

Now being behind Norman, (Y/n) saw how he started laughing because of their antics, which made her smile contently.

"Hey, Guardian, how can-"

Emma interrupted him, going on with her own pronouncement. "We'll escape with everyone, no matter what! Or else I won't do it! I won't! I won't!" Yelling out her pledge (Y/n) enclosed her mouth from the minor laugh that was struggling to come out.

"Do something about that idiot! She's unreasonable!" Looking over at Ray, the only thing (Y/n) did was smile. "I know, huh? Look how cheerful she is!" Giggling at Emma's antics, Ray sighed emphatically. "I wanted for you to stop her! Or you're both going to die! You knew from the very start, huh?" Glaring accusingly over at (Y/n) all the girl did was chuckle as she dipped her head to the side.

"Emma is my sibling. Of course, I had to do something to console her. The first time she encountered a product of death, all she did was worry about her family, so how can you chide me?" Answering his question (Y/n) wasn't astonished when this made Ray more angered.

"It's a boat made of mud! It's only the four of us, right? If it's just us, we can escape." Staring strongly into her eyes, (Y/n) shook her head. "My role as a Sister is to safeguard and raise you all with the promise of my life. So how can I do that if I leave everyone behind?" Shaking her head (Y/n) raised her head to look at the top point of the wall.

"I failed to protect so many times... how can I fail once more? Besides, a boat made of mud sounds promising." Feeling Norman look up at her with reverence, (Y/n) smile widened. "Aren't you supposed to be the oldest? The sharpest, fastest, and knowledgeable out of everyone? So why?" Not daring to move from his spot, Ray frowned over at her.

(Y/n) only chuckled. "Because she's my sibling, and as you're Sister, I must do everything to protect you and make you all contented."

"You're nuts."

"Maybe we are a little nuts. So what? Sure we've completely lost it!" Hugging (Y/n) by the side, Norman smiled over at Ray. "Besides, if you bake mud, it'll become a vessel. A boat made out of mud won't necessarily sink. Come on, you can't let us do it by ourselves?" Both (Y/n) and Norman leaned closer towards Ray only for said male to grin widely in return.

"Damn it. Of course, I can't."

Just when he said that did the deafening ringing of the calling bell reach their ears, this making them alarmed. Without listening to what they were all saying (Y/n) blanked out as she recalled what Isabella told her a day prior.

'Oh, no.'

𑁍┊𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐀 ˎˊ˗

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⠀⠀┊ ⊹ ⋆

⠀⠀┊. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

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ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴅᴀʏ/ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴍʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱ!

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