Chapter 459 - 452. A Running Stream
On the day of their departure, people woke up early from being nervous. But on the first morning in the Deathzone, Zein found out most people were still asleep when he woke up. Perhaps because they were fighting and moving non-stop yesterday, or perhaps because morning or night didn’t have any difference under the dark cloud hindering the sky.
The only people he could see in the camp were the ones on breakfast duty--Kei--and Ron, who had used to live in the grey and black of this part of the world.
Normally, there would be people on night shift duty, but Bassena took it upon himself to be the first guardian, since he knew the others still needed some adjustment to the Deathzone. The man was probably having a walk around the camp, or checking the route they would take today.
Speaking about the route...
"When did you look for it?" Zein asked Ron first thing, not even with a good morning. "The route."
"The Captain made a team sometime in January--you know, after that guildmaster of yours sent a bunch of new equipment," Ron curled his lips. "It’s not like we’re lacking suicidal bastards. We just didn’t have adequate equipment to make it worth the effort before."
"Oh, so the bribe works," Zein smirked, and Ron chuckled while handing him a cup of steaming hot coffee from the batch that Kei had just made.
The scout looked at Zein with a slightly wider smile as the scent of coffee mingled between them. The last time he saw Zein, the guide wouldn’t even open his mask unless it was during mealtime. But now, Zein only wore his mask when it was necessary--when they stepped into the Deathzone. Just like any other guide. And the cheeky commentary...
"A lot of things must have happened during this one year," he said carefully, leaning against his hand as he continued to stare at the guide. "I don’t think this change happened just because you fell in love with an esper."
Zein smiled subtly. "Have I changed a lot?"
"Just seeing you not wearing your mask constantly already spells change, isn’t it?"