Chapter 108: The ride home

*Gata* *Gata* *Gata*

"The next stop is Y station. The next stop is Y station. Dear passengers, please move to your nearest exits..."

I was used to the sound of the sky train running on tracks. Its preprogrammed, cold, and metallic announcements and warnings, coupled with the intelligible murmurs from shadow people, had never changed throughout all the previous iterations. Although that voice was feminine, it still could not erase the mechanical sense in each word.

From the station where I entered to where I got down, there was no other stop. Strangely enough, it had always been two stops: H High, where we departed, and Y station, the place close to my Mother's house. There was nothing in between those two. In fact, while there should be many trains running on the same track for efficiency, I doubt that would have been the case here.

Before yesterday, I never gave it a second thought as to why the long way from my Mother's house to school has no other stations. But now I do. As one of the main characters in this world, I had the privilege of having an entire train dedicated to me. To create a sense of immersion, Han, this eroge world's favorite child, had to do the classic train scene. It would not be wrong to say some of the erotic events with exhibitionism as the core theme start here, on the train. Since I wanted to degrade myself in the past, public shaming would not be out of bounds.

Reading enough disgusting stories and these thoughts would become mundane in one's mind, I supposed.

Living far from school, two hours away, to be exact, the train's rhythmic sound while traveling is something I have learned to accept after so long. A part of my daily routine is to watch the sky train curves whenever it reaches an angle or feel my body sway to one side because of centrifugal forces. As for the sky outside the carriage, everything is static without differences. Day in and out, the clouds never change their shapes. Each part of that sky is eternally decorated with the same colors and hues except for when it is turning darker, locked in a perpetual state.

It was uncomfortable at first, no doubt, but time has a support effect on one's psyche. I would dare say that people can get used to just about anything if they survive the ordeal. My survival before meeting my long-lost husband, albeit pathetic and unconventional if placed next to a human, proves this theory.

Of course, that familiarity with my surroundings may have been implanted into my brain by the system, creating an illusion that it happened time after time, and in reality, I have not used the sky train that much. That is a possibility that I can not disregard easily.

Yet, I no longer care whether or not the memories inside my head were fake. Whether I was human became irrelevant to the development and settings of this world. The concept of humanity is debatable throughout history, anyway. Be it manufactured by an unknown being or author, it was my past. I want to embrace them rather than deny them. That is my resolution. That is the person I want to become.

Becoming a liability and an emotional burden for C is what I hope to avoid the most. He deserves the best of me that I can offer.

*Gata* *Gata* *Gata*

Fortunately, my static, neverending world has changed. Compared to all the lonely times I had to go to school and return home, only to receive Mother's discipline, today is different. It is special. Although what awaited me at that house would be more depressing than anything I have encountered since birth, I could not help but feel solace.nove(l)bi(n.)com

The color of the carriage was the same, its metallic minimalistic chairs were the same, and the red handles above our heads were the same. The difference my heart felt was in the atmosphere.

[Well, I am glad you are enjoying the trip, Han Som. As for me, I surely do not appreciate this situation. At all! A little help would be greatly appreciated!]

"Girls... It's hard to breathe when you're surrounding me like this!"

[I know I would be monitored after what I did, but not to this extent!]

C screamed in his heart. I could hear the nervousness in his inner thoughts, which was adorable. The smile from Rachel confirmed she shared the same thinking as mine. As for Laura, well, she did not look happy. I did not expect her to after that lunch break, though.

Frankly, I felt bad for the class rep. While Laura was the first one to achieve her freedom, she had still not gotten a kiss from C. I wondered what kind of vision she would see when she unlocked that by kissing him.

"You know what? I kinda like this triangular formation! It's fun. We're like one happy family!" Glancing at each of us separately, Rachel bobbed her head. "Right, Reppy?"

"I told you already not to call me that." Replied the class representative. Her face was demonstrating frustration despite not showing any disparity in her voice. "And I don't think I can become family with my rivals, thank you."

"Aw... But we make such a good team, though?"

Laura sighed heavily: "That's just you."

While I was standing in front of C's face, the other two girls chose a side to cling on for their own. Thus, the so-called triangle was formed.

"Rather than a triangle, I consider this more of a pyramid!" C exclaimed.

"Because you want to be treated as a king?" The blond-haired girl smiled.

"No, not like that." C's head hung low. "I don't need you girls to treat me any better than right now."

[Because a pyramid houses a dead man, what else? And I am on thin ice here.]