Chapter 73 - Shallow Connections
About a hundred monsters were trying to enter it! While bumping slightly his fist on the trunk of where they were hiding, "Tsk! How can we enter?" Oldman Barn muttered dejectedly.
Everyone looked at Jem. Since all this time, it was him who solved any problems they encountered. Now, they are seeking his opinion. However, this time Jem shrugged his shoulders.
All of them had crestfallen. Miles frowned from their reactions. She moved closer to Jem. "That's okay. You've already fought hard, Jem. I'm sure Jem feels tired now." The amount of energy Jem released in those fights was not a joke. In fact, it was strange that he could still stand in this moment after he had spent a lot of energy. "Besides, with so many of those monsters, you can't beat them all," Miles said so that everyone could understand that even Jem could get tired no matter how strong he was. Miles knew nothing of Jem's true level of power. Like everyone else, she also based her belief on Jem's age regarding his power level.
Jem just nodded slightly from what Miles was saying. Honestly, he still has a lot of energy left and he also has a way to fight those monsters. But, he didn't want to use that method in the presence of other people. He wasn't sure how they would react to him when he used that method. So it would be better for him to just avoid possible disaster to himself. And one more thing, he wasn't 100 percent sure he could defeat that many monsters.
If unsure, it is better to avoid disaster. This is actually the better thing to do. But Jem was a product of the labyrinth in which he survived several ambiguous situations. However, this time Jem has reasons why he decided to avoid fighting those monsters even though he was sure he could accumulate a huge amount of points if he succeeded.
Upon hearing Miles' words, everyone's attention was turned to the present problem. They were currently hiding on the side of the mountain where they could see the rampart. But, although they were standing on high ground, they still could not see the inside of the rampart.
So they have no idea what is currently going on in it. Only the shouts from within reached their ears. They hadn't met any townspeople when they came here, so they were certain that most of the townspeople were already inside the rampart or had moved away from town. Everyone fell silent as everyone tried to think of what was better to do at this point.
"Maybe it's better if we just find another place to hide or get away from the town," town guard Abel suddenly suggested.
Miles and Oldman Barn frowned when they heard this. "I can't do that!" Oldman Barn's sudden opposition. "I need to get inside," he added in a hard voice mixed with intense emotions.
Abel frowned. "But the place is dangerous. You can see that there are many monsters around and it is also possible that many monsters are already inside the rampart. It's already useless to insist on entering. We are too late." Abel tried to make the old man understand the obvious situation based on what they saw. He didn't know why the old man still wanted to go inside even though the danger of the place was obvious.
Jem was silent as he listened to the discussion of the two. He thought there was a point in what Abel said. In this case, it was better if they stayed away from the town. If he was alone, he would also leave this place. They better save themselves. However, there was another reason why Jem decided to help the old man and his granddaughter. On the back of his grandfather's letter was a written puzzle. His grandfather pointed out that by helping others he may find his happiness.
So, as Jem understands from his grandfather's letter, it is possible that he could find his grandfather by helping others.
Oldman Barn has a reason why he insisted on getting inside the rampart. "I'm sorry sir Abel, but we can't leave without my mother who is possibly inside the rampart," Miles herself said their reason for going inside.
Upon hearing what the girl said, Abel, as well as Oldman Barn, became silent. Everyone seemed to be thinking at that moment. At that very moment as well, they heard the middle-aged woman say, "I think I know a way to get in."
"....."
Suddenly, everyone looked in her direction. "Uh… eh… My name is Mona. I am an employee of the municipality…" she said stutteringly as she introduced herself.
Miles approached her. "Miss Mona, can you tell us about it?" Miles didn't say more and asked directly.
"Okay!" Mona nodded. "Follow me," she urged them.
"Okay!" Miles and Oldman Barn nodded at the same time.
As they were about to step forward they noticed that Abel remained in his place, so they stopped on their feet and looked at him.
"It's okay if you want to run away, Abel. Thank you so much for showing us the way here, "Oldman Barn said. Miles also nodded in agreement with what her grandfather had said.
They had no right to restrain Abel if he wanted to save himself this time. In fact, he helped a lot and he could be considered a hero from the rescue he did to Mona. Mona also did not forget to thank him.
"Thank you so much Abel for saving me."
"....."
Abel remained silent as the expression on his face was like that of a troubled man. Before the group could leave, Abel suddenly asked Mona. "Why do you want to help even though it is obvious that you are going to a dangerous place?"
Mona didn't answer immediately and looked into Abel's eyes first. "Because I want to repay you for helping me by helping others."
"....."
Abel was silent. Even Jem and the others didn't expect Miss Mona's kind of response. Jem did not expect that after he survived the labyrinth such scenes he would witness.
Well, for him with limited interaction with other people it is difficult for him to understand each other. Only with his grandfather did he talk longer. Even Desty has only talked to him a few times. Miles, on the other hand, was when they were young. So he doesn't understand that much about other people.
Even when he was in the academy he could only count the number of times he talked to other people. In fact, he only talks to Wendy and Miss Sylva because since they entered the academy, Desty has ignored him. So Jem failed to forge a fine connection with other people. All his interactions with other people were as shallow as the saucer.
"In fact, we are not sure if it is safe outside the town," Mona added.
'She's right,' Jem thought.