Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

Chapter 65 - A Goal

Team leader Dains said that they could leave sooner today and prepare for tomorrow if they wanted. It was enough for the members of the unit to run away from the building as quickly as they could.

The hall became empty in just a few moments. Even the archivist packed his stuff and left.

"Do you want to go together?"

Reyan was the one who said that, standing inside the elevator alongside Kairen. Kairen pressed the elevator's button and turned to Reyan.

"Go together?"

"You said you got lost while coming here this morning. Do you know how to go back now?"

"Ah!"

He was right. Kairen didn't know how he was supposed to go back.

Actually, he was supposed to come here with Kain this morning. Kain's work was different from Kairen's. They both worked for the Special Forces, but as their units were different, their schedules were different as well. Unlike Kairen, Kain didn't have to go to work that much. He was in the combat team of unit 6 and would only do missions most of the time.

Anyway, Kain persuaded Kairen that it was okay with him to drive Kairen to work for the first few days. But when they wanted to drive here, Kain's car didn't work at all. He tried to fix it but he couldn't. In the end, Kairen said he could go alone. He asked the address from Kain and left the house, only to get lost in the vast city.

"But your house isn't near Kain's, is it?"

"It's okay. We have left the work early so it won't matter if I walk around the city a little bit."

Kairen nodded his head. He would be glad if there was someone to help him find his way. He really felt grateful to Reyan for helping him.

DING

The elevator stopped moving and its door opened. The two youths stepped out of the elevator and left the building.

"But first, tell me the address."

"Okay."

Kairen told him the address that he had memorized.

"It isn't that far away."

Reyan said that and started moving. Kairen followed him, trying to memorize the way. Kairen wasn't good with locations, but he wasn't that bad either. He could memorize his way if he walked it just one time, but ask him about the name of the streets where he passed? He would just look at your face without giving an answer.

No one said anything and they just continued to walk in silence.

"You can also take the bus and come all the way till that station by that. There must be a bus station near your house."

Reyan pointed at a boss station across from the street. They have been walking for about ten minutes now.

Kairen also looked at the station and nodded his head. Taking a boss would be much faster and easier than walking on foot.

They continued to walk again in silence. The streets were quite empty, maybe it was because it was too early for most of the people to go back home from their workplaces or for the schools to be finished. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of Kairen and Reyan's footsteps.

Kairen liked silence, he enjoyed quiet places where he didn't need to talk. He didn't really like talking, not because he had a problem with people or hated them, he just felt too lazy to open and close his mouth. It was too energy-consuming.

Just think of it, you move your lips and make words and say sentences to people, so what? Such a useless action! Maybe that was why he was so bad at socializing, he had spent most of his life saving his precious energy after all.

But it was different when he was around people with whom he felt comfortable around, he enjoyed talking with the few people that were close to him. He gladly spent his oh-so-dear energy for them.

The best example of that was his brother, he used to talk with him a lot. His poor brother had to listen to Kairen's detailed explanation of the novels that he had read recently, what he had done that day, what he thought about the cat living in the street, what he was planning to do tomorrow, the game that was going to be released soon, and any other kind of bullshit someone could imagen.

If you summed the number of words that he had said in the few months of being in this world, they wouldn't even get close to how much he used to talk to his brother in just a week.

'Why am I thinking about that now?'

Kairen shook his head and brushed off those thoughts. Thinking about those times just made his mood sink.

The silence between him and Reayn was really awkward. It was making Kairen uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that he had started thinking about stupid things. That was why Kairen said something to break the silence.

"I-isn't it really strange that we were involved in both of the cases that are related to tomorrow's mission?"

Reyan raised his eyebrows and turned to look at him.

"You're right. I was thinking the same thing."

"I never thought that Mr. Rhoads's case would be this important."

Reyan nodded his head.

"I don't get it at all. Why would a terrorist group look for a ruined old building?"

"Maybe... there are some hidden treasures there."

"What?"

Reyan jerked his head and looked at Kairen as if he had heard the most stupid thing in his life. Keiren flinched at his intense reaction and took a step back.

"W-what? That was the only thing that came to my mind! There are usually some treasures or artifacts in such places that attract people's attention! O-or maybe some hidden secrets!"

"...."

Reyan kept looking at him with narrowed eyes. Kairen avoided his gaze and muttered under his lips.

"Forget it."

"Haa!"

Reyan sighed. He turned to look forward again. His face suddenly seemed gloomy.

"I sometimes miss your previous self..."

"Wha-"

Kairen was struck speechless. That was a heavy blow.

'How can he say that? That Kairen 1 bastard was crazy! All the evidence shows that he was insane! How is he better than me? What did I even do wrong? '

"....."

Reyan looked at the air to avoid Kairen's fierce gaze. Maybe he too understood that what he just said wasn't something nice, as he hurridly said something else.

"Don't look at me like that. I-Um... I was joking!"

'Nah! You don't have such capabilities!'

Kairen didn't answer him and just glared at the side of his face furiously. Reyan scratched his cheek awkwardly under Kairen's continuous gaze and started making excuses.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that... I- I mean..."

"....."

"Ah! Right! You seem like you don't know what you are doing with your life, but you used to have a goal before. Ahem! That was what I meant by mentioning your past self. Yeah!"

"I have my goals!"

Reyan's eyes widened at his words. He slowly turned his head towards Kairen, his face filled with surprise. He looked like someone who had heard the most unbelievable thing in their life.

"You do...?"

"....."

"I-I see..."

Pain.

Kairen felt pain in his heart.

What was with that reaction?

Why?

'Do I look... that dull...?'

Kairen's face distorted and his eyes sank down. He suddenly felt really miserable. He nodded his head internally at his own thoughts.

'Yeah, I'm stupid. Look, I can't even find my way. They are right. I'm stupid... I accept it... My heart hurts but I must accept the reality...'

Why was it like that? How else was he supposed to act? You find a goal for yourself and try to reach it, wasn't that the routine? He wasn't some kind of an MC to stay in front of an army and shout out their goal loudly, then gain people's trust and admiration because of how noble of a goal he had.

'My goal isn't even noble, I just want to run away from here...'

Kairen was still trying his hardest! These people were so mean! Kairen accepted himself to be stupid to some extent, but he still felt that he was wronged.

"Um, Kairen? Look, I didn't mean it that way..."

"Let's just keep going."

Kairen ignored Reyan and continued to walk forward.

'I shouldn't have broken the silence.. No matter how uncomfortable I was, I shouldn't have started this damned conversation.'