Chapter 60: A Little Longer in the Sky

To be honest, Summer had completely forgotten that she still had one final evaluation left: the mental evaluation.

"Can I know my score from yesterday?" she asked. "And did guiding you give me extra points too?"

Ilya couldn’t help but pat her head lightly. "Unfortunately, your score is still classified until all of your evaluations are finished, but yes, guiding me did give you some extra points."

Without even realizing it, Summer closed her eyes when Ilya started stroking her head, his hand brushing her rabbit ears gently backward.

The hell? Why did it feel so good, though?

She knew it was a little strange, but she had absolutely no desire to move away. If anything, she leaned closer to him instead, almost like a bunny asking for more attention.

"Alright," Ilya said after a while. "I think we should go to the hospital now and get you checked."

He finally pulled his hand away and stood up first. On the other side, Summer opened her eyes and immediately felt a little disappointed.

She raised one eyebrow. "Are you feeling better now?"

Ilya stretched both arms above his head and took a deep breath.

"Not really," he admitted. "But I think I really do need to do something about the Defense Minister."

Summer stood up as well when Ilya offered her his hand. "Is it because of my speech?"

"That was part of it," he said with a chuckle. "But I can’t stay quiet now that you and Archer have both been dragged into this problem. He’ll probably get out of prison tomorrow, but—"

"Tonight," Summer corrected him. "Archer told me he’ll get out tonight."

Ilya raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t look that surprised either. "Oh, right. Even if he gets out tonight, he’ll probably face some kind of judgment from the public tomorrow."

"Actually, I doubt that," Summer said honestly.

"How can you be so sure?" Ilya asked.

"Archer didn’t look worried," Summer said.

"He never really cares about his public image." Ilya sighed. "That’s why I’m always worried about him."

Well, considering Archer’s status, it wasn’t like people could completely hate him while still expecting him to keep risking his life fighting monsters in polluted zones.

"But my point is, now that the Defense Minister has started making the people around me suffer too, I think it’s time for me to settle everything from the past," Ilya said.

His golden eyes looked a little dim, like the last light of the sun before it disappeared below the horizon.

"And I think you’re right." He finally looked into Summer’s eyes again. "Trying to follow them into the afterlife might be the dumbest way to make up for what I did."

Summer stared at him for a moment before slowly smiling. "Good. At least you finally realized that."

She patted his shoulder a few times before looking down at the steep cliff below them. "Anyway, I’m kind of curious. Can we get down from this mountain using by flying?"

Ilya followed her gaze toward the drop and replied, "Yes."

Summer immediately turned back to him. "Really?"

"Yes."

"That sounds much faster than taking the elevator and helicopter again," Summer said.

Ilya nodded. "It is." He added, "You want to try?"

"If you don’t mind!" Summer replied quickly.

Without wasting any time, Ilya immediately scooped her into his arms and jumped straight off the edge of the cliff.

Summer’s eyes widened. "But at least warn me first!"

Her voice disappeared into the wind as they dropped. For one terrifying second, Summer felt her stomach rise into her chest, but then a bright golden light burst from Ilya’s back.

His wings spread wide behind him and caught the air, turning their fall into a smooth glide.

Summer instinctively wrapped both arms around his neck. "You did that on purpose!" she accused.

Ilya looked far too calm. "You said you wanted to try."

Summer was about to protest, but she quickly closed her mouth when she noticed the beautiful horizon in front of them.

The snowy mountains stretched far into the distance, glowing softly under the sunlight. Beyond them, she could see parts of Zone 0 protected beneath the invisible barriers, while the polluted zones in different area looked darker in comparison.

From this high up, everything looked strangely peaceful and slowly Summer slowly relaxed in Ilya’s arms.

After all, the last time Ilya had carried her like this, they had been surrounded by polluted creatures and fighting for their lives. She had barely gotten the chance to enjoy the feeling of flying.

This time, there were no monsters chasing them. There were no alarms. There was no blood.

For once, she could simply enjoy the view.

Summer rested her head lightly against Ilya’s shoulder as the wind brushed past her face.

"This is much nicer than last time," she admitted.

"It is," Ilya said with a smile.

But unlike Summer, who was busy staring at the view below, Ilya barely looked away from her.

Unfortunately—or maybe fortunately—she didn’t notice it.

Even though he could have reached the Zone 0 headquarters much faster with his wings, he somehow took his time in the air.

His pace stayed slow and steady, almost as if he had no reason to hurry.

Summer only thought he was being careful because of the cold wind, but she had no idea that Ilya simply wanted the flight to last a little longer.

By the time they arrived at the Zone 0 headquarters, Summer still felt a little unsteady after spending almost an hour in the air.

"I already told Dr. Rinko that you’d be coming in for a checkup," Ilya said. "While you’re there, I’m going to the inpatient ward to see the Defense Minister."

Summer nodded as she tried to steady herself. "Okay." Then she added, "I’ll let you know once Dr. Rinko is done checking me."

Ilya gave her one last look before turning toward the hospital entrance.

Summer watched him leave for a few seconds. Even from behind, he still looked calmer than he had at the prison, but she could tell that the conversation with the Defense Minister would probably not be pleasant.

Then again, that was no longer something she could do much about.