Chapter 97
The movement was too precise, too strong, too much like a redirected slap to the palm, as if her body reacted faster than her consciousness.
'In the end, you did react, maybe even got angry.And that's exactly what makes me want to know more of your older sides, Aldraya.'
Fhhh – fhhhh!
'It really was painful, but I won't regret it.
If that's the price for seeing you show an honest expression, then I'm willing to pay it.'
Buuuk – buuuk!
'Hey Aldraya, please wait, and don't walk too fast.I still want to see that gloomy side of yours a little longer.'
Theo could barely hide the small curve forming at the corner of his lips as he watched Aldraya's back move farther away, her steps that were normally straight and steady now carrying a faint trace of something that had finally cracked through her stillness.
There was a satisfaction he hadn't expected, flowing slowly yet firmly, as though he had just discovered a narrow gap in a stone wall that had always seemed impossible to touch.
The girl known to be as stiff as a machine, whose ability to feel any emotion was often doubted by others, had just shown perhaps the most human reaction she possessed.
The slap that exploded sharply against his palm was not merely a quick, meaningless motion, but a small burst of irritation she couldn't hide.
For Theo, that alone was enough to conclude that his teasing had not only landed but had also disturbed something behind that expressionless face.
He flicked his arm lightly, letting the lingering heat on his skin fade.
The strength Aldraya used was no ordinary strength.
There was enough force to shift a bone slightly, yet Theo considered it an unexpectedly delightful small victory.
The moment felt like a sliver of light seeping into the fog, affirming that beneath Aldraya's calmness lay layers that could still be touched, provoked, even mischiefed.
That reaction made him feel that the world he had been trying to read wasn't completely flat, just wrapped too tightly to be understood without provoking it first.
With a smile that hadn't fully faded, Theo moved again, quickening his pace to catch up with Aldraya, who continued walking without glancing back even once.
There was something different about her steps.
Not in speed, but in the atmosphere surrounding her, like air shifting because of a newly born spark of emotion.
Theo understood he may have crossed a small boundary, but he didn't regret it at all.
From that collision, he found something he had long been searching for in Aldraya, a sign that she wasn't just a machine moving according to logic.
'Phew, finally caught up.I thought it would take longer—'
"What do you mean by bringing me to a place like this?A place where collections of information are presented directly before one's eyes in a literal sense?"
Their steps finally aligned again after what felt like a long pause, walking through the modern archive corridor filled with sheets of articles floating low in the air, as though each fragment of knowledge waited to be touched yet did not truly wish for human hands.
Soft lights from the ceiling panels traced thin lines across the floor, reflecting the shadows of Theo and Aldraya walking with barely any sound.
Once in a while an article drifted too close, but neither of them paid it much attention, letting the sheets pass like a breeze with no reason to be touched.
The air around them moved lightly, carrying the scent of aged paper mingled with the fragrance of electronic devices, creating a blend that was not entirely comfortable yet still calming.
In the end, the voice that broke the silence came from the one who usually spoke the least.
Aldraya turned her head slightly, only a few degrees, just enough to show she was directing her attention toward Theo.
Her gaze remained flat, as cold as a surface of water that had never been disturbed, yet from the subtle movement of her lips it was clear she was weighing something before releasing it into the air.
Her voice emerged without excessive tone, without accompanying emotions, but each word sounded like a thin line drawn across an empty surface.
She asked about Theo's intention in bringing her to this place, a place where information was not simply displayed but existed literally, revealing itself through light, text, and memories woven into forms that anyone brave enough could touch.
The question lingered between them, filling the space with a new texture that did not dissipate right away.
Something had shifted in Aldraya's steps after that question slipped out, as though she had allowed herself to question something that previously held no importance.
The corridor stretched deeper and wider before them, and every article drifting past now seemed to have eyes, watching the conversation that had only just awakened.
In the silence that followed, Theo could feel the world around them moving slightly slower, waiting for an answer, waiting for direction, waiting for a reason beyond merely walking side by side.
'All the readings she chose are heavy.
Themes like faith, devotion, and obedience would make anyone dizzy just by looking at them.
But this is so very Aldraya.'
Fuuuuh!
"I only wanted to see you enjoy your favorite kind of reading, nothing more than that."
Theo glanced briefly at the articles drifting gently around them, like sheets of memory given life by artificial light.
He caught a few titles lingering in Aldraya's hands, yet saw no change in her expression other than her usual flat calm.
Those articles radiated words about faith, belief, devotion, and humanity's yearning to understand obedience.
Each title felt like a small door to an inner room that should have trembled, yet in Aldraya's hands, everything remained held in the quietest grip.
She had looked at him briefly when she asked her question earlier, but when Theo glanced again, she had returned to lowering her gaze toward the article she'd selected, as though those sacred words were more important than understanding his intentions.
The corridor felt quieter than before as Theo let his eyes follow the subtle movement of Aldraya's hair shifting slightly under the mechanical breeze.
He recognized her reading patterns, her tendency to choose subjects far removed from the noise of the world, something that spoke to the deepest layer she rarely revealed.
There was always something about Aldraya that made her seem like a soul searching for direction, even though her body moved without hesitation.
And even though there was no readable expression, Theo knew the reading was not chosen at random.
There was a reason.
A need.
A silence that could only be understood through words not meant to be interpreted quickly.
In the thin distance between them, Theo felt something faint yet real, as though the air in the room was trying to connect two worlds that had never truly touched.
He shook his head slightly, a movement almost invisible to anyone, as subtle as a shadow falling across water.
A faint smile formed at the corner of his lips.
Not as a sign of victory, nor as mockery, but as a response to something only he understood.
In a silence so gentle, an admission was born, an admission that he brought Aldraya here not to accomplish any task, not to fulfill a mission or impose knowledge, but for something far simpler.
To be continued…