Chapter 28: Mutual support

Mo Baiwei was full of regret.

She repented for every mistake she had ever made since she was a child in her heart, and then she cursed herself for being stupid over and over again.

How could she have been so possessed as to reach out to Mida?

This matter was clearly over, but she had been foolish enough to run over and greet the girl.

At that moment, Mida was frozen in place, not moving a muscle.

It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Mo Baiwei felt conflicted.

She was certain that Mida hated her now.

After all, it was such an abrupt and ill-timed greeting.

There had just been a misunderstanding between them, yet she had struck up a conversation out of nowhere.

‘I must be getting rejected. That makes sense. No one has ever been willing to say more than two sentences to me since I was little.’

She had been in this world for so long, yet she didn’t seem to have a single close friend she could talk to.

It was like that in the Elf Kingdom, and it was the same in the Adventure Association.

Mo Baiwei’s slender wrist trembled slightly.

She slowly lowered her head, no longer looking at Mida, and prepared to withdraw her hand.

Mida stared at the fair palm in front of her.

Those slender fingers were right there, waiting for her response.

She couldn’t imagine that such a beautiful girl would take the initiative to talk to her.

The awkward atmosphere of having mistaken her for someone else suddenly felt thick and sweet to Mida.

‘Is this really okay? Making friends with a girl like this?’

‘If we become friends, we’ll go shopping together, eat together, and hold hands at the beach.’

A scene appeared in her mind where she held the girl’s delicate hand as they played together on the beach.

The girl’s foot would slip, and Mida would quickly catch her, playing the part of the hero saving the beauty.

The girl would laugh like a fairy in her arms, wrapping her hands around Mida’s neck…

At this thought, Mida’s brain began to short-circuit.

Her overloaded mind couldn’t even imagine anything more intimate.

‘My head is going to break. But… but…’

The hand in front of her began to waver, appearing ready to pull back at any moment.

‘No! I can’t let her go like this!’

Mida broke free from her fantasy.

Just as Mo Baiwei was about to withdraw her hand, she lunged forward and grabbed it.

“My name is Mida. I’m… I’m also very happy to meet you…”

Mida’s voice became soft and sweet, and by the end, she was as quiet as a mosquito.

Mo Baiwei felt her hand being held.

She looked up in surprise and saw Mida blushing as she held her hand, whispering something under her breath.

Watching this scene from the sidelines, most of the paparazzi showed expressions of utter heartbreak.

Such a beautiful girl had been claimed by another girl.

Another group was even more excited.

The combination of a cold iceberg beauty and a weak, quiet girl was the hottest topic for them right now.

Many of them were blushing as they debated the dynamic between the two.

“The Iceberg must be the dominant one. Look, she’s stoic and cold. She’s definitely the one in control.”

“What do you know? The Iceberg has to be the submissive one. She acts cold and keeps people away, but if she’s the one being dominated, just imagine that cold face blushing and her teeth gritted as she’s forced to bow her head — the contrast is much better!”

The paparazzi weren’t speaking very loudly, and Mo Baiwei couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying.

egardless, she didn’t think these people would do anything out of line.

At least half of them were girls.

Shouldn’t women look out for one another?

It was just a simple act of making a friend, yet these paparazzi were imagining things to the point where they were practically ready to set up a betting pool on the spot.

Ignoring them, Mo Baiwei stared intently at Mida, feeling a bit nervous.

She was curious about Mida’s reaction.

Mida held Mo Baiwei’s hand and lowered her head.

Her bangs covered her eyes, making it impossible for Mo Baiwei to see her gaze.

“…”

After a long silence, Mo Baiwei finally couldn’t take it anymore and took the initiative to ask.

“Miss Mida? Miss Mida?”

“Ah? Wh-what is it?”

Mida was startled out of her fantasy by Mo Baiwei’s voice.

Her thoughts hadn’t fully returned to reality, and she began to babble.

“Miss Mo Baiwei, I didn’t mean it like that! I—I really don’t have those kinds of thoughts. Please don’t misunderstand me. I just hope we can be good friends. No, not that kind! Just… ordinary good friends. Yes, that’s right. Ordinary ones.”

After finishing her rambling, Mida froze as she realized what she had just said.

‘What on earth am I saying?’

She instinctively looked at Mo Baiwei to see her reaction.

When she saw that the other girl’s cold face was completely blank, Mida lowered her head in embarrassment.

As an elf, Mo Baiwei was utterly baffled.

She hadn’t understood a single word Mida just said.

Wasn’t this girl supposed to be quite quirky and clever?

“Miss… Mida, what did you say?”

Out of politeness, Mo Baiwei asked again to save the other girl from further embarrassment.

“I said… I want to be good friends with you…”

In front of so many people, Mida felt incredibly embarrassed.

Her voice was barely a whisper, and even Mo Baiwei, standing right in front of her, had to listen carefully to catch the words.

“Oh, that’s fine. I want to be good friends with Mida too.”

Mo Baiwei didn’t overthink it and agreed generously.

Since things had reached this point, she had to go along with it.

“…”

“…”

Another silence followed.

Neither Mo Baiwei nor Mida knew what to say.

After facing each other for a long time, Mida finally broke the stalemate.

“Miss Mo Baiwei, where are you going now?”

“I’m going to—”

Mo Baiwei was about to say she was going home, but she suddenly realized that if Mida offered to walk her back, her secret would be exposed.

“I’m going to City East for a stroll,” Mo Baiwei corrected herself.

She went to City East often and was familiar with it.

“City East…”

Mida thought for a moment and said, “A Different Race aura and magic traces were discovered there just a few days ago. The City Lord believes there are Different Race members lurking around. Although there are patrols from the City-state Guard, it might not be safe lately.”

Mida felt it was necessary to warn her, even though they had just met.

“It’s fine. I go there often, and I’m very familiar with it.”

Mo Baiwei naturally wouldn’t change her story.

That was the only place in Cavin City she could navigate with her eyes closed.

To be honest, after staying in Cavin City for so long, Mo Baiwei only knew its general outline.

If she were left alone in the city, she would get lost within two blocks if she wasn’t going to her home, the cafe, or City East.

Since she couldn’t go home and couldn’t go to the cafe, she could only say she was going to City East.

With the guards under martial law and the safety risks, Mo Baiwei thought she could use this as an excuse to get rid of Mida.

Knowing Mida’s personality, she was certain the girl wouldn’t follow.

“Then, Miss Mo Baiwei, I’ll go with you,” Mida said.

“?!”

Hearing this, Mo Baiwei, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, stared at Mida in shock.

‘No way.’

In her impression, Mida was always timid and afraid of trouble.

Given her personality, she should have tried her best to persuade Mo Baiwei not to go, and then Mo Baiwei could have left firmly.

A conflicted Mida would have given in and gone home in a huff.

Even though she knew this would hurt Mida’s feelings, Mo Baiwei was prepared to do it just to get away.

But now, the Mida in front of her was saying she wanted to go with her?!

Mo Baiwei was so surprised she wondered if Mida had been replaced by a different person.

“Are you sure you want to come with me? You said yourself there’s a safety risk.”

Mo Baiwei asked again, unable to believe it.

“Yes.”

Mida didn’t know why, but while she really didn’t want to go to City East, she couldn’t bear to let the girl in front of her go alone.

In the end, that intense reluctance outweighed her fear.

“A dangerous Different Race appeared there just a few days ago,” Mo Baiwei emphasized once more.

She wasn’t worried about anything happening if Mida followed her, but having Mida there would defeat her original purpose.

How was she supposed to make her escape then?!

“Yes. If Miss Mo Baiwei insists on going, I will follow you,” Mida insisted.

She didn’t know when she had become so brave.

“City East is unsafe. If Miss Mo Baiwei is going, I’m willing to accompany you so that we can look out for each other if there’s danger.”

‘Look out for each other? Who’s looking after whom?’

Mo Baiwei curled her lip.

She thought it, but she didn’t say it out loud.