LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 18: Joyful suffering!
Joyful suffering
Chapter 18:tempetation to a cyber nerd!
Author: Really, why did you not get adopted by someone? Like, the people in the first house were nice—you would even get a sister.
Vira: It's 'cause I don't wanna owe someone. Stealing things doesn't really make my conscience ache, but if I was dependent on someone for everything and then had to leave, I would feel painful and probably sad and…
Author (interrupting): What about the animals? …Viper—you owe him a lot.
Vira: I am talking… And they are not like Viper and the others. They like me and wanna be with me—these are the only expectations they have of me. Also, aside from Viper and, guess Woof? They are probably the ones I would feel bad abandoning, and they'd keep me down for a long time. The others, I don't really bond that well with.
Feeling happy about Vira's well-being, sad about Woof's death, and melancholic over the constant death he saw in front of him—these were probably the things that had an impact on Vira in these three years.
A few months had passed after Woof's death, and he had also started getting a bit bored of the town. So, bidding farewell to Woof's grave, as well as comforting countless creatures attached to him so they would not follow and cause a ruckus in the town or wherever he was going, Vira packed a bit of food and then got inside a car's trunk. It was owned by the son of the mean lady with the naked cat, and according to her, her son was a well-established businessman who sold clothes. But considering what he had heard from her cat about how she bragged that she got all the cards right when she didn't even hit one—yeah, Vira was deeply suspicious. But no matter what, the car was going to a well-developed city.
So his journey went on inside the trunk of a car. It wasn't very comfortable, but his physically strong body was serving him well, and the car owner seemed to like brakes a lot. In the seven or so hours of the drive, he had managed to stop more than twelve times—not for toilet breaks, but for food. He literally stopped for whatever he wanted to eat, which Vira was happy about because when he asked Viper to grab some of them, they tasted amazing. The chips seemed a bit bland, but still tasty, and the fruits were amazing.
After a long journey, when it was nearing evening, they finally reached the city of Leicester. When the car stopped at the city entrance and it seemed like it would be checked by security, Vira slipped out from the window and carefully got inside the city entrance, avoiding the only CCTV that was pointed at the road.
He managed to do it with ease, as he had lived a life of hiding. The fact that the camera was only pointed at the road made it seem as though it was only there as a formality—or perhaps just checking large vehicles capable of smuggling things.
Also, Vira's wonderful escape was in vain as the security captain and the driver seemed acquainted with each other. Seeing who was getting out of the car, the security captain hurriedly came over.
Sec-Cap: "Did you get promoted already?"
Danial: "No! Just back from home. The boss should officially promote me after I go to the company."
Sec-Cap: "Well, that's good! Then just give me your card, and I'll have it registered."
Danial: "Sure, here ya go!" said Danial as he took out his identity card from his back pocket.
Danial: "Do it quick! I still have to sort out some stuff for tomorrow."
Sec-Cap: "Sure, it'll be done in a second."
After yelling that, the security captain handed the card to the guy at the counter, after which the guy just registered the name and ID number and handed it back.
Sec-Cap: "Here you go!"
Danial: "Thanks," said Danial as he put the card back in his pocket, got in the car, and started driving toward the slowly rising gate.
As he was about to go past the gate, the security captain shouted, "Don't ignore me after you become a manager!"
Hearing this, Danial simply took his hand out of the car and shouted, "Sure, don't worry about it."
The security captain seemed relieved after hearing this, which surprised the guy at the counter, as he said,
"Isn't he gonna be a manager? Why are you so relieved?"
Sec-Cap: "Yeah, manager of CORAH."
Counter-Guy: "And why are you relieved? He's just a middle-level guy, and his company doesn't have anyone in the higher-ups of our department."
Hearing this, the security captain simply rubbed his forehead, thinking, Why are all the idiots assigned to me? But still, sighing, he responded:
"Yeah, his company doesn't have one, but he's gonna be the Transport Manager. As long as I let my eyes close a bit, I'll be able to live a rich life."
Looking at the dumbfounded counter-guy, he added, "Naturally, you'll have a part too!"
All of this was heard by Vira and Viper, who had hidden inside the counter. They thought that since there was smuggling, there were probably lots of brokers too.
As the two—captain and subordinate—went back to their daily jobs, Vira also slipped out and headed inside the city. It was fine when he was in the suburbs, but as he reached the market and industrial zones, he felt that everything sucked.
He was struck by the heaviness of the air. Unlike the fresh air, the smell of grass, or the snowy winds Vira had experienced before, the air here was bad—not just generally bad, but a mixture of everything. Hot metal, damp bricks, oil, and the exhaust of burning fuel made him think that even hell's sulfur would not be as bad as this. The constant noise made him regret not going completely deaf; it was driving him mad.
And while he didn't go completely mad, he was still left in a daze, which caused him to be pushed down by the crowd into a puddle, adding one more bad experience to remember the city by.
As he felt there was no way this was a place to live, he directly gave up on his desire to stay in a developed town and started heading back to the same place he was intending to, to see if he could identify the people of the town he had been in before. Even if he couldn't, he would just get on a car and go find somewhere else to live. This place was hell on earth.
But as he was heading back, he saw bookstores filled with stories, knowledge, and everything he could want to read. But this was not enough of a temptation for him to stop. Although money was generally useless in the villages and there were only children's books, he felt like he didn't need to study. He had already graduated high school in his previous life, and as for the present, the knowledge learned by people didn't seem much different. This world was just in the past—and well, in the UK.
So he felt he had enough general knowledge and didn't need those books to live. And even if his decision was wrong, he could just go into the wild and live with animals. They liked him either way.
So he did not stop and continued walking, but there came another temptation on his journey. They were TVs—not like the old black-and-white TV he had fixed in the village, but ones with color and good quality. But no, he was not tempted. He could ignore those things; the quality was way worse than his previous life, and the shows must be trash. I don't want to pollute my mind with such thoughts, Vira resisted the temptation.
Another temptation wasn't far, and this time, he wasn't able to hold back. So, he headed inside the comic book store, while also letting Viper grab the wallet of a walking passerby. He bought a few Marvel and DC comics, not forgetting to grab a few other random comics inside the bag the owner provided—just this time, without paying.
While he was chewing some food he had stolen from a flea shop and reading comics, he saw something on his way that managed to break down his defenses. He muttered, "F*ck it!"