Chapter 192

  William almost ran the remaining route and complained in his heart. She didn't listen to him as she walked ahead, contemplating or testing him further.

  Following a path she took hundreds, if not thousands, of times, years left no mark on her mind. Like William, her familiarity with the library was up to her young mind, and that included a lot of nice and sentimental topics.

  Back then, Kaufman was a much different person, and Heidi was closer to her than ever. They were less than five years apart, and she was a very fierce lady as well, so one would think it was the beginning of a nice friendship, in a sense. It was wrong on quite a lot of levels.

  Many considered this pair of fierce ladies to be of the same generation. Mi-Yung didn’t think so, though there was no doubt Heidi could perform like a proper Pillar as well. She didn’t want that for several great reasons, and one excuse. The main one was the library, and the rest were personal reasons.

  Mi-Yung was still younger, but her name and actions spoke for themselves.

  However, Heidi still managed to achieve Rank 7 faster, so it was a bit shocker for their personalities.

  The streets weren't barren of people, yet nothing stopped Mi-Yung from going through this journey thrice faster than William ever did. Everything fell short for William, who felt cursing his mind for taking her with him, or was it the other way around?

  It might not be honest. She had a job here anyway, with or without him. He wasn't aware of it, and since it had already started, all he could do was accept it. At least she gave him his full-pass card back and barely gave a fuck about it, which was welcoming.

  It was either normal, or she didn't care whether he will take advantage of it or not because of her presence and position. Thus, he was curious what Heidi or Burton would do next, or…. what Ellie will have to say to this fierce lady.

  Soon, William looked at a familiar building in the vast main square. He had anticipations, but most of them dissipated as he huffed for air. Mi-Yung stood aside from him, sighing to herself and wondering if she was too forceful or too distant.

  She had plenty to do with this vacation. It wasn't her problem anyway. As a Rank 6 Walker, stopping her would be people who didn't like to deal with her. Those higher than her must be busy with a variety of recent issues. Caring for stuff made by a silly girl who made yet another mess shouldn't be on their mind.

  Fear came through reputation, pain, and authority. Repercussions and impacts won't crash her career whatsoever. Many thought they would do that, or help it, but it always failed.

  “Can you go in without sounding like a sorry little soldier without an ounce of respect and stamina?” she asked him.

  “I am... fine. Fine.”

  “I see.”

  “It is my fourth day, so let’s go.” He tried to cheer up, slapped his legs and chest, and walked forward. Mi-Yung soon followed after a quick scan of the surroundings. Good. There was nothing. She wondered where her young brother was, though, or where Kaufman was at the moment.

  The last worry was quite deep. Then she wondered if she had forgotten about something important. Probably not.

  To William's surprise, Ellie was already inside, standing and welcoming him with a slight smile. That changed the moment she noticed who was coming with her. Ellie bowed deeply, taking Mi-Yung as an unexpected guest, who walked ahead of William and darted around as if expecting someone else.

  Was she too late?

  “Greetings, miss Mi-Yung. It has been a while since your last visit.” Ellie said as her bow prevailed like her proper position, respect, and angle.

  “Oh, hi. I was kind of busy, Ellie. Are you doing well? Working as an attendant as usual, I see.”

  “Your words are more than good to hear.”

  “Really? You are better at this boot-licking than usual. I see what is going on. Something good happened?” Mi-Yung didn't believe it and looked at her next. It seemed her job was even later than hers. “It hasn't even been that long since you started your apprenticeship and look at yourself. You've grown a lot.”

  Mi-Yung came to Ellie and lifted her up with one hand, grasped her cheek with the other, and caressed her face along with a crisp warm smile.

  “S-stop it… Please. I am working! People are… watching.”

  “A brat thinks she is all grown up? You were this little when I met you.” Mi-Yung laughed, let her down, and moved her arm down toward her hip.

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  “So what? I worked quite hard for myself. I can be proud.” Ellie puffed her chest and announced her accomplishment.

  It made Mi-Yung even more willing to tease this girl she had known for more than a decade. She was proud, hard-working, and clever. All these factors were pretty darn good in Mi-Yung’s opinion.

  From time to time, or for a long time, Mi-Yung worked around this library because of her job and position. A lot of the criteria for her missions involved a long-term investment and investigations, and this place had a substantial source of news or history. In other places, such qualities weren't so good.

  William stood behind them, unsure of what sort of relationship those two had. Not like the entire story mattered to him, but he definitely felt like a ghost. Some people were friendly and bright, and these two hit it off like birds of the same flock.

  He wasn’t jealous, though. He couldn't guess too much about them, since he had a single friend for most of his life. Figuring out relationships or whatnot, he was never very good at them.

  “Oh, William... is... with you?” Ellie noticed him, and Mi-Yung seemed to guess and realize what was going on.

  Ellie connected a variety of links and arrived at a sudden realization. Luke. Kaufman. Hadn’t William also said something? Mi-Yung?

  She was the one who worked around this simpleton? By no means was her shock small. He had already spent the last couple of days with her, so she understood what was going on. In the same clothes, as usual, William would not go unnoticed by Ellie for obvious reasons.

  “Hey, Ellie. I am here again, unsurprisingly. Not alone because of… reasons.”

  “Is that... so?” Feeling the tension rising, Ellie felt a little awkward between him and Mi-Yung. She knew her and respected her, but no amount of training prepared her for how Mi-Yung looked at her right now.

  “Can you go with me up or not?” William inquired with uncertainty and revealed the true point Mi-Yung comprehended. She liked what it meant and loved what it showed. Surprisingly, her face remained calm, and she let go of Ellie.

  “Don’t tell me she is the one who showed you around this library?”

  “Is that too shocking or bad? I did not need to be specific about who that mysterious guide is, and you never asked. What have you expected anyway?” He argued with her without any shame, surprising Ellie until she almost yelped. This was a Pillar?! This was Song Mi-Yung!

  “You! I am not forcing myself at anyone but Luke!” Mi-Yung said with a bothered expression and poked William’s chest until he winced on his feet and almost fell.

  Ellie made her move soon afterward and walked between them. “Does miss Mi-Yung know William?” She asked with naked innocence, her eyes widening in understanding.

  Mi-Yung was a well-known Pillar, and everyone with some level of decency knew her by face or... body. The Federation was still wide, and with a million people, not everyone knew everybody, including the Pillars.

  But Ellie was different. For this fierce lady to mark William like this, what sort of problem did he cause? What was this about? Ellie couldn't figure everything out, but her interest and intuition were the strongest ever because of all those links in her mind.

  While not the strongest, Mi-Yung had a weird, ethereal position, and Ellie looked up to her ever since she was young. Heidi, too, but one was closer than the other, while the distance could get mysterious and charming.

  Also, Mi-Yung shouldn't have a lot of time in her hands to care about young Walkers. Ellie knew that and didn't even consider her involvement. She didn't even ask William too much about it, lest she be too touchy and bad.

  As far as stories went, Ellie was aware of how Mi-Yung acted and knew her position. It was under the jurisdiction of way too powerful Walkers and a variety of councils. It must have been a big deal for her to touch this simpleton, or was it the other way around?

  At a strange meeting, in Ellie's mind, William's position shot through the roof. There were Walkers, her superiors, and folks who could trample over Mi-Yung with a gaze alone.

  Yet she wouldn’t let them be, and she was still... like this.

  Looking at Ellie, Mi-Yung had many thoughts to say.

  “That's right. I am responsible for his stay in the Federation and am its cause. Now, I thought it would be an interesting idea to follow him, but it seems he is obsessed and already taken by surprise thanks to this impressive companion.” She teased Ellie with her unhindered smile and patted her shoulder.

  Ellie chuckled awkwardly. “What companion? It is my work, isn't it? I am still an employee here, and got offered a great deal of burdens by Burton and Heidi to take care of William.”

  “Really? They... did it? Oh, Kaufman. I see what is going on. I don’t care in particular what sort of problem or job you have. William already said bits about this mysterious guide and I can guess the rest. I came here to teach and give William some face. You are free to follow, right?”

  “Teach? I see. I am sure you must have good intentions in mind for him. He should learn a lot more from you than from me,” Ellie said, a bit of disappointment crept into her voice.

  “Don't be like that. Listen, William doubted me, so I am surprised the cause is you, Ellie.” Mi-Yung patted her twice and gave William a surprising look. “You should've told me about her!”

  “I don't care. See you up there.” William walked around them, sighed, and bumped into one hell of a surprising face. Black furred, and with dozens of eyes, the mouth was open and capable of snatching his nose.

  William yelped when Hound barked and greeted him with a taunting grinding noise akin to a creaking bark.

  Mi-Yung turned and felt disputed by how much Ellie's involvement surprised her. So much so, that she completely ignored the new guests.

  Dreadus was right behind her, and Celeste was also there, standing and hugging Hound. That was good.

  “Well, there we are.” Dreadus said and didn't like this place at all. It reeked of books, reading, and obnoxious silence. Evil stuff, truly.

  Celeste's whole upper body was hiding behind Hound, as she squeezed and hugged him for one or two reasons. She disliked how this place made her feel, and from the first smell and look, she tried to hide but couldn't.

  Mi-Yung could no longer give Ellie much attention.

  “Oh, I thought I was late.”

  “Like ever,” Dreadus said unapologetically, scratched his head, and noticed William for the first time, staring at the beast. “So, is he him? That one noble cause for our distress?”

  “Yep.” Mi-Yung nodded, walked to William, and pushed him to his feet in front of Dreadus. “He is young and lost his wits Outside for far too longer than necessary. So... Dreadus, this is William Gale.”

  William was still shocked and grasped his bottle with both hands. Mi-Yung literally clutched him and displayed him like a caught fish.