Time, pushed back slightly.
In a clearing at the edge of the forest.
Pombo Annie, with her short hair cut to ear length, stood with a medium-sized suitcase at her feet. Beside her stood Nancy, her hair in a ponytail, and Gelo, wearing his usual dead-fish stare. Two enormous Lead Boxes sat beside each of them.
Silence. Waiting.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
More than ten minutes passed. Gelo's dead-fish eyes had evolved into dead-sheep eyes, his bored pupils nearly turning into vertical slits. Unable to hold back any longer, he looked at Annie and asked, "Hey, why haven't the people from your side come to meet us yet?"
"Shut up," Annie replied coldly, showing him no courtesy at all.
Gelo was rebuffed. He wanted to get angry, but he knew he was definitely no match for Annie, and there was a high chance that Nancy, his companion beside him, would not help him either. Helplessly, he opened and closed his mouth before falling silent.
Fine, shut up it is! When the time comes, even if you want me to talk, I won't—unless you beg me! Gelo comforted himself inwardly.
Just as he had closed his mouth, Nancy spoke up. Looking at Annie, she asked, "It's been quite a while. The guide you arranged still hasn't shown up. We can't keep waiting forever, can we?"
Annie blinked, nodded in agreement, and said, "That's true. How about... we go a little deeper into the forest and see what's going on?"
"Fine." Nancy nodded, reaching an agreement with Annie. She picked up her boxes and started walking into the forest.
Gelo stared from the side, unable to understand. Why was he scolded when he spoke, but nothing happened when Nancy raised the exact same question? Were they deliberately targeting him?
They