38 Making Amends

My homeroom teacher in kindergarten was Christopher.

"The sixth district is a very scary place. It is the district where the flow of mana is heavily constricted and has the least amount of development." Christopher started to explain.

"This is why the going back and forth to the sixth district is very rare. When people are deployed to the sixth district, they are transported to a certain region to observe the environment in the sixth district and seldom come in contact with the true people who live there."

I knew the sixth district was a horrible place from the constant warnings from my parents, but my impressions became worse when I heard of Christopher's grim teachings about the sixth district in detail.

[Last stop and the final stop is the platform in the sixth district. All passengers must get off at this final stop] A voice rang out from the speaker.

When the bus arrived at the platform, the bus vanished into thin air and we were left in the freezing cold. So just in case, the passengers don't get out, it kicks the passengers out. No wonder not many people used the hover bus.

"Rika!!!!" Charles accused me.

"Sorry, I didn't know this hover bus was on its way to the sixth district," I tried to console Charles.

"Oh really?" Charles yelled in a clear sarcastic tone.

"I really thought this hover bus was on its way back to school" I yelled back.

"What do you plan to do now Rika?" Charles mockingly asked.

We were in the middle of empty land full of snow with signs of civilization potentially miles away from where we stood. The air was filled with the piling snowflakes falling down into the white landscape. The wind made me shiver with my thin uniform.

"Maybe go where the smoke is? It's better than freezing to death?" I pointed at a large fire miles away from us.

"Didn't you learn in school to never make contact from people living in the sixth district?"

Did I? Well, for now, walking towards the tents were our best option for survival. I silently walked towards the place with tents while ignoring Charles' remarks.

"Rika. Rika! I was saying instead of walking we could use our marbles!" Charles yelled.

I stopped ignoring Charles as it was a great idea. Charles and I were in our spring uniform since it was not summer yet. I opened my marble to try to change into my winter clothes.

"Open!" I chanted.

The marble did not respond and even after several attempts, it never responded except for showing the time and inventory inside it. Charles stomped his feet as his attempts did not succeed as well.

After giving up on the marble, I miserably continued walking to those tiny tents that never appeared bigger. Eventually, Charles had no energy to complain and we came to a silent compromise as he followed me for over five hours in the cold according to the time displayed in the marble.

I was out of energy and my vision blurred and blacked out occasionally. When I stumbled, I anticipated landing in the snow. However, Charles quickly pulled me up before I hit the snow even though he looked worse than I did.

His dark umber hair was topped with white snow and his skin turned colder with each breath that paled with his burned-out amber eyes with loss. I knew I was going burn out sooner than Charles. I was stumbling more often and I had to lean on Charles' arm to continue walking even with his terrible appearance.

"I'm sorry Charles... I should have worked on the project with you from the start instead of being stubborn." I said with the last bits of my energy.

I felt my body going limp as Charles responded in a tiny voice, "It's my fault as well. I should have listened to your opinions and I apologize for not apologizing sincerely before and making a ruckus."

"So Rika... don't faint now. We still have ways to go." Charles painfully continued.

I wanted to continue but I knew this was my limit. My vision started to fade into darkness as I felt someone shaking my body aggressively as if someone was trying to wake me up.

"Rika!" Charles screamed in terror.

The next time I opened my eyes, I found myself inside the hut-like tent. The walls of the tent looked like it consisted of animal skin while I was covered by a blanket of fur.

I turned to my side to find Charles sleeping beside me with his complexion much better than before also covered by the same blanket. We made it to the tents. We were able to make it!

"You're awake!" A girl that was around a similar age as us came into the tent looking shocked.

She wore animal skin and furs. Her necklace looked like it was made of bones of a large animal and her dagger likewise, tucked into her leather boots.

"Did you bring us here?" I asked.

There was no way Charles had enough energy to bring the both of us here when he looked like he was going pass out at any moment.

"The boy came here with you in his arms begging us to let you two stay for the night." The girl replied grimly.

"We normally don't take in strangers but the elder couldn't leave two children alone where one was already passed out and another was about to be the same as the girl" The girl continued.

"Thank you, although we don't have a way to repay you back."

This was where my natural elegant speaking came in from the constant lessons from chatting with the elites in school and constant fierce scolding from Luke.

"Where do you come from? Your clothing looks very unusual compared to others in this region."

I knew the first district had strict protocols to prevent foreign things from becoming known in lesser developed districts as it will affect the development and environment of the other districts.

Normally, the act of having amnesia worked in light novels as a starting point. "That's the thing when I woke up, I found myself walking to these sets of tents alongside my acquaintance beside me. I don't really remember where I came from as I suddenly found myself in this winter landscape." I tried to explain.

"The way you talk reminds me of the people who come to the villages once a month with new goods to trade." The girl flashed hints of suspicion.

"Maybe we got separated? When do they come to the village this month?" I asked with desperation.

"Three days from today. The elder did think you two were related to them in some way. This was why the boy begged for a place for both of you to stay for the next few days. I have errands to do now so I'll come back to bring dinner at sunset" The girl tried to close the conversation while leaving the tent.

When I removed myself from the blanket, I found myself wearing thick brown animal skin that resembled a dress. Since Charles was still sleeping, I opened the dimensional library to find a book about the sixth district in more detail.

[The current state of the sixth district is that people from the up to the third district go to monitor the sixth district in a separate region to observe the current progress of the civilization. To observe the barely established villages, the people of the other districts disguise themselves as traveling merchants]

Great! I could just meet the people from the other district three days from now and go back to the first district. Time sped up until the sun was starting to set as I closed the book about the sixth district. However, it was strange how Charles still hasn't woken up.

He didn't look like he had a cold as his complexion was back to his former glory while the dark circles disappeared.

"Charles," I whispered.

When he didn't respond, I shook him and talked louder, "Charles!".

Now I knew there was something wrong with him. Maybe I should use [heal], although it would be almost ineffective.

[Heal] was a spell that consumed a huge amount of mana. Most people in the first district were only taught about it but unable to use it. Even if I had an unlimited amount of mana, it only to the point my body was able to endure its current amount. It would consume about half of my mana and I would be unable to use mana for the rest of the day.

Recovering back the other half of my mana would take about a month as well. It was best to rely on advanced medical care in the first district rather than using the spell. However, it was either use [heal] on Charles or leave him here until he recovers.

From what I read in my vast collections in anime, manga, and light novels, the girl seemed a bit suspicious when she looked shocked when I woke up. I couldn't abandon Charles as he used up all his energy in trying to bring me here.

[Heal] I chanted.

Wake up, Charles! I poured my vast mana into Charles' body. Work!

I grunted as I felt my energy leaving me for a foreign entity. When I was about to give up with sweat drenching my hair, Charles faintly stirred. This gave me the motivation to keep on pouring more mana into Charles.

Strangely, as I poured more mana into Charles, his hair was starting to resemble more shades of my gradient red hair rather than his shiny umber hair.

When Charles finally opened his eyes, the color of his hair was between the shade of umber and gradient red.

I stopped pouring my mana into Charles in surprise as Charles shook my shoulders aggressively in an alert state as he soon as he got up.

"We have to run Rika" Charles sternly said in a serious tone.