No30 Ch9

“Life Guide.”

Liella unfolded the paper, which was placed on the table like a pamphlet, and read it out carefully, like a child who had just learned to read.

“This exploration ship is equipped with two types of water tanks. Opening the white valve connects to the drinking water tank, which contains 1.5 tons of water, enough for seven people to drink for 90 days. The black valve connects to a 10-ton domestic water tank, and the used domestic water is recycled through a purification process of screening, sedimentation, removal of suspended solids, microbial purification, liquid separation, and UV disinfection. If clean water comes out when you turn on the tap, it means the filter and water pipes are working properly. If it doesn’t come out, use the emergency water tank in the food storage…”

The sound of gushing water drowned out the end of her sentence. She quickly raised her head and saw Aslan opening the white valve of the sink and filling a cup with water. Liella, her face slightly brighter, scurried over.

“That’s a relief. I was worried that everything was broken. It seems there are parts of the exploration ship that are working properly. Do you think this water is drinkable?”

“It looks clean to the naked eye, but I don’t know for sure. There is a way to check if it will at least kill us.”

He shifted his gaze from the clear glass. Surely not.

“Are you going to feed it to Dylan?”

Liella asked in a hushed voice. She was about to tell him to be patient, no matter how annoying he was, but Aslan stared at her blankly before pouring water into the fish tank next to the sink.

In the round fish tank filled with gravel, seven glittering silver fish were swimming.

“……”

“They are a species sensitive to pollution. They will also help to check if the water is purified when we use domestic water.”

No wonder the fish tank was here. It seemed that was the intention from the start. She blinked in embarrassment before quickly being captivated by the small fish, each about the size of a finger joint. She felt sorry for the fish, who were unaware of human intentions. They wouldn’t have wanted to spend their last moments in the abyss.

Liella put her fingertips on the fish tank and feigned a bright voice.

“Ah… well, at least it’s a relief that the water is okay. We just need to replenish the food. The box we brought seems to be enough for about ten days, what do you think?”

“I think so too. Now that we know the method and location, I’ll go next time.”

“Alone?”

Aslan was about to say something when Liella looked up at him with wide, disappointed eyes, but he closed his mouth.

“It would be reassuring if someone went with me, though.”

Liella smiled brightly at the reluctant addition. There was something about him that aroused a desire to prove herself. Like when she was a child, diligently cleaning without being asked to show her parents. Because he didn’t ask for anything, she wanted to do it even more.

Liella felt her depression somewhat diluted by the fact that there was water, and she regained her strength.

Right, no matter what future awaits, it was meaningful to keep trying until the end.

“If we conserve the supplies well, we might even be able to explore outside. It might be closer to the surface than we think. Come to think of it, besides personal belongings, there was only a flashlight in the room, right?”

Aslan, who had first checked the safety of the facility, had found seven 20-hour exploration flashlights in each room.

If you turn them on for three hours a day, each one will last 7 days, for a total of 49 days.

“Besides the flashlights, there were also pain relievers in each room. I put them in their respective rooms so they wouldn’t get mixed up, so we just need to be careful about managing the narcotic painkillers.”

The hand that was feeding the fish twitched and stopped. Liella looked around.

The fact that there were pain relievers in each room meant that everyone was in pain. Feeling that the recording was becoming more credible, she straightened her back and scanned the nameplates on the doors one by one.

“Yes. I’ll go in later and recount the types and amounts of medicine. But what about Dylan? Did you go into that room too?”

“He seemed to need time to clear his head, so I haven’t touched it yet.”

Suddenly, Dylan’s impulsive face, talking about murderers, came to mind. It seemed like he was in a state where he could easily get addicted if there were drugs in front of him. They would have to take turns standing guard in the living room, and they definitely didn’t want to see anyone staggering around.

“I’ll go in and talk to him.”

“At this hour?”

Aslan frowned slightly. Liella looked up at him with a puzzled expression at his lowered voice and the arm that grabbed her.

“This hour… what does it matter since it’s dark whether it’s day or night?”

“I’ll go.”

“You two don’t get along. You just said you left him alone to clear his head.”

“It’ll be okay.”

Aslan said sharply. I thought they weren’t compatible. It was a bit surprising because it was a different reaction from when he had silently accepted whatever Liella did.

Looking down at her grabbed arm, the man, whose sleeves weren’t even ruffled after all the commotion in the hallway, slowly let go. As if he didn’t even know he was holding it.

***

“So, is that all you have to say? We’ll hide here for the time being, replenish food once every ten days, use flashlights for three hours a day, and take turns standing guard at the door with the sofa every day. Is there anything else?”

It is often said that there are five stages to accepting a terminal diagnosis.

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

That may be true, but the speed of the stages may vary from person to person. While Liella was still wandering in denial, Dylan, with a scowl on his face as he stabbed the smoked duck meat with a fork, was clearly in the anger stage.

Still, after a brief conversation with Aslan earlier, Dylan was much more compliant.

“Yes. We should conserve water too. How about 1.5 liters for drinking water and 70 liters per person per day for washing?”

“What? Didn’t you say the water problem was solved earlier?”

“Just in case. We have to watch the fish in the fish tank every morning from now on.”

Dylan glared at her with a dissatisfied look, but he couldn’t say anything since he was stuffing all the food on his plate into his mouth.

…He must have been very hungry.

Glancing to the side, she saw Aslan, who had finished his meal neatly, putting down his utensils.

His cold profile was as perfect as a delicately carved sculpture. You can’t just use the word perfect for a person, but the combination of his large physique and handsome face created a strange atmosphere, along with his cool, gray hair.

The man, who had been resting his head on his hand, looked this way as if he sensed her gaze. She mouthed, “It’s delicious,” and his almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly.

The smoked duck and cheese cabbage salad on the table were all Aslan’s creations. He sorted the ingredients she had brought haphazardly in the order they should be consumed quickly and mixed them appropriately. He was a reliable companion in many ways.

“Ah, right. There was something else I was wondering about.”

She looked forward again, afraid that she would be captivated if she kept looking at his handsome face. Dylan was now gathering the empty plates in one place.

“What is it?”

“Come to think of it, how did you know Anton was a thief?”

Now that things had settled down, she thought it would be okay to bring up what happened earlier, so she asked cautiously. Dylan shrugged nonchalantly.

“Ah, that? He had glitter on his hand.”

“Glitter?”

“This is my wallet. See?”

Dylan suddenly took out a classic brown leather wallet from his pocket. There was a lot of glitter on one corner of the worn-out wallet, as if to prove its age.

“Why would the glitter that was in my pocket end up on that guy’s hand? It’s simple. He searched me before I woke up.”

“Ah, wow. You’re sharp.”

Dylan’s lips twitched as Liella admired him with shining eyes. He was trying to act like he wasn’t, but his nose was raised.

“Thanks to you, we survived. Otherwise, it would have taken me a long time to unlock it.”

“Don’t take credit for trivial things. Then should I thank you for bringing me food and setting it up?”

Of course, you should be thankful.

She looked up at him with eyes that had a lot to say, but Dylan looked back and forth as if he was conscious of Aslan and Liella, then shrugged.

“Well, I’m not someone who freeloads. I’ll clean up. Believe it or not, I’m good at cleaning and washing dishes.”

Did he know how he looked? When she told him not to do it because he probably wouldn’t do it well, Dylan, as expected, immediately flared up and rolled up his sleeves.

Liella couldn’t help but smile at the unbelievably simple reaction of the adult, forgetting for a moment the situation she was in. She didn’t even notice the gaze fixed on her smile.

「Liella」

It was her first time entering her personal room. After finishing her meal, Liella looked at the nameplate with a nervous face and carefully turned the doorknob.

The hinges creaked, and the light from the living room cast a long shadow into the room. The simple bedroom with a closet and a private bathroom was cluttered with all sorts of medical books on the floor. Liella glanced around the small room and sat down on the hard bed, muttering.

“This is the last scenery I’ve decided on…”

She inadvertently spoke as if the recording was real, but Liella didn’t bother to correct her own words.

She was prepared. To some extent.

After brushing her teeth and washing up briefly, she changed into a comfortable white T-shirt and black shorts. She felt inexplicably strange because the clothes she didn’t remember were comfortable and familiar.

It’s strange. It’s like she stole the room of a clone.

When she closed the door, the room was soon completely dark. Liella forced herself to lie down on the creaking narrow bed and covered herself with the blanket up to her nose.

…I wish everything was a dream when I wake up. I would complain about having a really absurd dream. To my family, to my friends. To anyone.

Who knows how long it had been since she closed her eyes, just as she was about to doze off,

Knock, knock, knock, a slow and clear knocking sound came from outside. Liella opened her eyes in confusion.

“Aslan?”

There was no answer. Knock, knock. She heard the knocking again. Liella, who had gotten up groggily, hesitated and opened the door.

A tall woman with long hair was standing in front of her.