Ethan: "Ha, Haha. Hahahaha."
Looks like he has finally gone crazy.
Elin turned towards Dylan with a hint of concern.
Elin: "Is he ok??"
Dylan lowered his teacup.
Dylan: "I have no idea."
Ethan: "Hahaha–cough."
Ethan...?? Ok, even I am confused on what happened.
Dylan: (Did he just, choke on his own spit?)
Oh, damn that's a skill issue. His skill issue is so bad that he made the narrator confused.
Ethan: "Cough–cough–ghk–"
The coughs raged on, each dealing damage that not even the gods could comprehend.
Dylan walked over and handed him the leftover tea.
Ethan immediately grabbed it and drank it all in one gulp.
Elin stood there, eyes filled with pity.
Elin: (I feel your pain.)
Dylan: "Elin, could you leave?"
Elin: "Uh, Ya. Sure."
She quickly slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her with a quite click.
A heavy suffocating silence settled over the room
Ethan dragged his hand down his face, still coughing under his breath.
Ethan: "Is there any chance that she's lying? I mean she was against the idea of leaving Enoshima."
Dylan sat next to him
Dylan: "I doubt that, she genuinely looked terrified."
A small chuckle slipped from his mouth.
Ethan: "Yaaa.. You're probably right."
He took a deep breath and planted his hands on his face.
Ethan: "Ah, FUCK! We are soo cooked."
Dylan: "So. Are you still willing to go through with your plan?"
Ethan: "What do YOU THINK!"
Dylan with a confused look.
Dylan: "..We should stayyy?"
His voice filled with uncertainty.
Ethan: "Are you asking me or telling me?"
Dylan franticly looked around trying to figure out the answer.
Dylan: "Tellinggg?"
Ethan's deadpan expression made him even more confused.
Ethan: "We have no choice but to leave."
Dylan: "Really??"
Ethan: (Now he's speaking perfectly.)
Ethan: "Weren't you the one who wanted to leave?"
Dylan: "I was the one who wanted you to make the decision since if anything went wrong, I can blame you."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
Ethan: "....."
Ethan: (Seriously?)
At that moment, Ethan was ready to throw a mana blast.
Dylan: "I am kidding, but seriously why do you want to leave?"
Ethan: "If that monster on the bridge is intelligent, then why is it still on the bridge?"
He raised a finger
Ethan : "This means it either is a psychopath and is camping one of the only escape route."
He raised his second finger.
Ethan: "Or something preventing it from leaving. This may also apply to other goblins and explains why they stay in a general area."
Ethan paused.
Ethan: "I am leaning more towards the second theory. It's like they are cursed or hypnotized, with some command, a leash, or some kind of mental lock. This also explains why the goblins go in a berserk state."
Dylan's eyes narrowed.
Dylan: "Then what about the goblin near our house."
Ethan: "That's the problem, if my theory is true... Then, that means the goblin we encountered either found the conditions to break out of the curse, or the curse is weakening. It will break or weaken after a certain amount of time."
Dylan: "That's a lot, wow.. I didn't think of the situation that way."
Dylan's expression stiffened
Dylan: "Then ,what you're saying is, we're on a timer."
Ethan: "Yaa..."
Dylan: "So. How do we leave?"
Ethan: "I.. don't know."
Dylan stood up, streching his arms over his head.
Dylan: "I am going out for some fresh air.
Ethan lied down on the bed. His face dropped.
Ethan: (Hunting down the nearby goblins to level up seems to be the only thing we can do for now.)
(Dylan POV)
Dylan walked out of the room pondering, when at the corner of his eye he noticed a wild Elin trying to get away.
Dylan: (Elin!?)
Both their eyes met.
Elin: (What do I say now??)
She tried averting her gaze , as the best way to solve a problem is to avoid it till the last minute.
Both akwardly stood there, waiting. (Awkward count – 3)
Wow, this happened again.
Dylan: (Don't tell me, she was listening the whole time.)
Dylan: "What ar–"
Elin: "I–"
Both of them spoke at the same time.
Dylan: "It's just–"
Elin: "I am–"
They did it again.
Dylan: "You go first."
Elin nodded.
Elin: "I am sorry for snooping around."
She folded under zero pressure, blurting it out so fast the words nearly tripped over each other.
Elin: "I couldn't help it, but I promise I don't mean any harm."
Dylan: "I know. I am not blaming you after all you helped us so much and I am pretty sure Ethan also thinks the same way."
Elin: "He doesn't seem to like me."
Dylan: "He just gets frustrated, quickly."
Her expression relieved, like she was declared innocent.
Elin: "So. What are you planning to do now?"
Dylan: "Weren't you listening in on our conversation?"
He raised an eyebrow.
Elin: "...Right."
Did she seriously forget about that??
Dylan: "So, what about you?"
Elin: "Huh?"
Dylan: "What are you planning on doing?"
Elin: "I.. Don't know."
Dylan: "You do want to leave Enoshima, right?"
She answered immediately
Elin: "Of course. I miss my parents, friends and a good night sleep."
Something in her head clicked. In a panic she bolted.
Dylan followed her down the hall.
With a peek he saw her next to her bike with a grocery bag.
Dylan: "What happened?"
Elin: "Here."
She turned around triumphantly holding three icecream cups.
She held them out like she discovered treasure. One chocolate, one vanilla and one strawberry.
Elin: "I forgot I got these."
Dylan: "Thanks."
She looked oddly proud, with her nose held high.
Elin: "You're welcome."
She turned, searching for something else.
Dylan: (Ethan likes chocolate more, so I should eat it.)
Dylan opened the chocolate cup and... Huh? Where did the icecream go. Did he finish it? HOW? HOW? HOW IS THAT PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE?!
Elin: (Wow, he finished it already. He must really like it.)
This isn't a matter of liking. He speed blitz me the narrator for ICECREAM!
Ok. Ok. I am not gonna question how he did that.
He began to walk back. When he suddenly stopped.
Dylan: (Almost forgot.)
Dylan: "Elin."
Elin: "Ya?"
Dylan: "Ethan prepared an extra meal for you. It's in the cafeteria."
Ya. Act like you didn't just speed blitz the fourth wall in chap 20.
Elin: "Ok. Thanks."