Chapter 332: Eightieth Floor, Waiting Room (2)
“What are you doing here?”
Though she had spoken sharply, almost accusatorily, a smile naturally formed on my lips. Natalie had broken into a bright, cheerful grin the moment she finished speaking, clearly teasing me.
Her small face radiated such joy that it made my heart ache with guilt. She had simply been waiting for me, without feeling resentful or bitter.
When I stepped forward with a smile, she mirrored the motion, taking a step closer. The smiles on our faces deepened.
As glad as I was to see her, there was something I needed to address first.
I scratched the back of my head. “Sorry, I’m a little late.”
The moment I offered my apology, she gently shook her head, her expression calm. “You’re not late. Well, if you’d taken much longer, I probably would’ve come looking for you! Though I probably would have felt a little hurt then!”
I could only manage to awkwardly chuckle in response to that. “Haha...”
Seeing how mature she was acting, I felt apologetic, grateful, and happy.
Aoshi, Ferel, and now Natalie. Recently, I had felt something inside me slowly being restored.
Are these children re-energizing me? I don’t remember being especially fond of kids back on Earth.
Maybe it was due to the tower’s influence. In a place so ruthless and unrelenting, their innocence seemed to smooth out the jagged edges of my weary mind.