Want to be human, but cube-like

With her hands raised in front of her chest, fingertips touching, Aine tilted her head and smiled, trying to brush it off.

"Is it really okay?"

But her mother still felt that Ai-yin might be keeping something to herself that she hadn't told them, so she asked again with concern.

"If you really don't want to go, you don't have to force yourself."

"Okay, it's nothing, I was just asking casually~"

Aine subtly wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She hadn't expected that her parents would worry so much just because she had asked a question tentatively.

Sure enough, before making a decision, I should ask Alex for her opinion first...

With that thought in mind, Aine casually brushed off the topic and then returned to her bedroom without showing any further unusual behavior.

……

Should we tell Aine...?

Meanwhile, Alex was alone on the sky island, troubled.

"Tell her that I've actually been treating her as a substitute for my mother...?"

She sat on the only immovable and indestructible counter block on that floating island, just like bedrock, looking up at the pitch-black night and the square moon.

"Just like that... tell me directly?"

She kept murmuring to herself.

He didn't know who to ask.

Alex was confused. She even felt that the confusion she felt now was almost as great as when she first came into this world and was at a loss.

I feel the same way – I don't know what to do, and I can't find anyone to make the choice for me.

Because Xiangzi had told her that she had to personally explain this matter to Aine.

Therefore, Xiangzi couldn't help her.

Alex was still subconsciously thinking about who could make the choice for her.

But so far, she only knows and trusts three people.

Lenai couldn't help her either.

As for Aine...

Will I be... disliked?

Even now, Alex still doesn't understand why this would hurt Aine.

She didn't understand what the so-called substitutes really meant.

Leaning back, almost half of her body was lying on the counter, Alex's head drooped to one side, her fair and slender neck was straight, and her full head of silver hair fell to the ground. Her perspective was also reversed.

Still troubled by her thoughts, Alex blinked and saw a fox that had appeared out of nowhere slowly walking past her, upside down.

He also had a gold coin in his mouth, which he had stolen from who-knows-where.

Oh, it's just that her perspective is upside down.

Suddenly sitting up, Alex rubbed her temples and turned to run towards the fox.

Before the little fox could react, she punched it.

It landed on the fox's waist.

Seeing the other party scattering in fear, Alex drew her ruby ​​and unleashed a dimensional slash, turning it into a piece of fox meat.

"..."

Alex silently walked over and picked up the gold coin from the ground. She looked at the glittering coin, but her heart remained unmoved.

Normally, she would have been furious and rushed to check how the little fox had managed to carry the gold coin away.

But Alex wasn't in the mood for that right now.

If it gets taken away, so be it.

Feeling somewhat indifferent, she clutched the gold coin, walked back to the counter block, and sat down again.

"Saying it out will hurt Aine... Not saying it out will hurt Aine later..."

Extremely frustrated, Alex muttered to herself and slapped the gold coin next to her butt.

"So, should I tell you or not...!"

Just as she was muttering to herself, the gold coin touched the counter.

[(Reputation Level 0: 10/50) +10]

Suddenly, a text popped up in front of the counter, startling her.

…………

PS: Although the reputation system was introduced at this time, it's not actually needed yet. Just be aware that this is a way to upgrade your burger shop.

Volume 1: Chapter 180 The Band Is About to End

Time flies, and another week has passed.

I said I wanted to ask Ellie's opinion, but I just couldn't bring myself to say it...

Around noon, Aiyin walked along the street, her eyes sparkling, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.

She's been very conflicted these past few days.

She wanted to ask, but she was afraid of being rejected. Moreover, wouldn't it be too selfish of her to ask Alex to go to England with her just for her own selfish desires?

Is this burger joint, which has worked so hard to get to this stable state, just going to abandon it in Tokyo?

Whenever she thought of this, Ai Yin's slightly parted lips would close again.

Because of this, she hasn't kissed Alex much lately, and they've been going out on dates together less often in the evenings.

Rather, we haven't had a date at all these past few days.

Whenever Aine thinks about going abroad to study soon, she can't help but want to back away when she gets close to Alex.

However, Ellie doesn't seem to have any objections at all... It's good news that I don't feel like I'm deliberately distancing myself from her lately...

Aine, lost in her own dilemma, was unaware that Alex was experiencing a similar feeling.

Their nearly identical conflicted emotions led them to tacitly cease most intimate interactions, but precisely because of this tacit understanding, they were completely unaware of each other's unusual behavior.

"arrive."-

Just then, a small, tender voice came from beside her, startling Ai Yin out of her turmoil.

Lenai was holding her hand, pulling the small cart, and looking ahead.

Ai Yin looked up and realized that the two of them were now standing in front of a small coin-operated parking lot.

After having lunch at home today, Aine unusually didn't head straight to the burger joint. After hesitating for a long time and still unable to make up her mind, she went to Lena's house, wanting to talk to Lena, or rather, to go somewhere else to clear her head.

Since she hasn't made a decision yet, she doesn't plan to see Alex for the time being.

So, Aine, who had come to her senses, was brought here by Rakuna.

"Is this the place where Xiao Lenai often comes to play?"

Curious, Ai looked around, but didn't seem to see anything special that caught her eye.

The parking lot is very small, with only four empty spaces. Behind this small open space in the parking lot is a commercial building, which should have been a shop, but it is now closed. On the closed door, there is a piece of white paper with a sign for shop donations. The walls are covered with plants, and it seems to have been forgotten long ago.

"space".

Lena suddenly spoke up. She stared at the tightly closed glass door, her eyes revealing little emotion.

"Eh?"

Aine paused for a moment, clearly failing to grasp what Rakuna was trying to say.

"My grandmother used to run a livehouse. I thought I could stay here for the rest of my life."

She explained softly.

"But it's gone."

After saying that, he looked up at Aiyin again.

"Grandma said that space is not a destination, but a transit station. A destination will be created by others, but you have to find it yourself."

It was very unusual for her to say so much in one breath, as if she was trying hard to convey something to Aine.

"Meow~"

While Aine was still in a daze, unsure of how to answer, several soft meows came from the distance.

Several nimble cats appeared out of nowhere and spontaneously walked to Lena's feet, rubbed against her calves, and lay down beside her.

Lena squatted down with practiced ease and scratched the cat's chin with her finger.

"So many cats..."

Aine watched as Rana gently stroked the kitten that rubbed against her, sighed softly, and then squatted down with Rana.

"are friends."

Then she heard Lena introduce her to him.

"Huh? So the friends Xiaolena mentioned before were these kittens?"

Are Xiao Le Nai's friends actually a group of cats?

How to put it... Aine has a feeling of being both unexpected and yet perfectly reasonable.

All I can say is that it perfectly matches her impression of Lena.

But Renai remained silent for a while and did not respond to Aine's meaningless words.

"Aine, are you leaving?"

She asked in a low voice.

It was so sudden that Ai Yin was stunned for a while before she reacted, and then her heart skipped a beat.

Aine had no idea how her thoughts had been read.

"Haha... Why did Xiao Le Nai suddenly ask that?"

She laughed it off and gave vague answers, seemingly trying to brush it off.

"Where?"

Lenai still didn't answer, and she asked another question in return.

"..."

Seeing that she couldn't get away with it, Ai-yin lowered her eyes after a moment of silence.

"Actually, I haven't decided yet..."

Her expression was hesitant, whether because she was struggling with whether or not to say these words, or because she was struggling with the uncertain choice in her heart.

"Didn't I say before... if nothing unexpected happens, I'll be going to study in London, England in a while."

Everyone actually knew about this, but Alex and Lena didn't seem to take it to heart. Alex was still...

As always, I would help her practice her spoken language whenever I had time, while Lena only knew how to eat matcha desserts and play music with everyone.

It felt like Aine was the only one struggling with the decision of separating from everyone else.

"London……?"

However, when Lena heard this word, she raised her head and shook her little head.

"My father and mother are also in London."

she said suddenly.

"Little Lenal's parents...work in London?"

Aine glanced at her in surprise.