Chapter 94: A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

As the night grew late, Saddie and Julie had no choice but to leave the Zone 33 headquarters. The academy had only given Julie permission to stay out until that night, so she couldn’t stay any longer.

"Miss Beaumont, it was a pleasure going to the polluted zone with you and Miss McKay." Julie bowed her head slightly before handing over Summer’s rifle, which she had been carrying all this time.

"Thank you so much for your help!" she added sincerely. "I’ll never forget everything I’ve learned from you both today!"

Summer glanced at the rifle in Julie’s hands and thought for a moment before saying, "You can keep it."

Julie’s head shot up. "What?"

"I said you can keep it." Summer smiled. "I’ve seen how good your aim is. If you practice more often, your skills will improve quickly. Sooner or later, you’ll probably be able to enter a polluted zone on your own."

Julie blinked several times, wondering if she was dreaming.

Not only had she earned more than ninety thousand dollars in a single day, but she was now being given a high-quality rifle as well!

Who would have thought she would be this lucky after spending so many years living in a house with a leaking roof?

"B-But, Miss Beaumont, this rifle must be really expensive!" Julie stammered. "I... I can’t accept it!"

She wanted to refuse, but the words wouldn’t come out properly. She felt guilty about accepting such an expensive gift from Summer, yet she couldn’t deny that a part of her really wanted to keep the rifle.

After all, it wasn’t every day that someone gave her something this valuable.

"It’s not that expensive to me," Summer replied with a smile. "So take it."

Her words might have sounded a little arrogant, but Julie could tell that Summer wasn’t trying to show off. She was simply saying it that way to convince Julie to accept her gift.

In the end, Julie finally gave up arguing and accepted the rifle.

"Thank you, Miss Beaumont!" she said, her face lighting up with excitement. "I promise I’ll protect this rifle with my life!"

Summer couldn’t help but chuckle. "That rifle is supposed to protect your life, you know."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Summer suddenly asked, "Your academy is in Zone 27, right?"

Julie nodded eagerly. "Yes!"

Saddie, who was standing beside her, glanced at the time before speaking up. "The last train to Zone 27 leaves in about thirty minutes, so we’d better get going."

Summer turned to Archer. "Have you been to Zone 27 before?"

Archer looked at her for a moment and somehow he already had a pretty good idea of what she was about to ask.

"I’ve been there before," he replied. "I can take them to the Zone 27 headquarters."

Summer smiled as soon as she heard his answer. "It’s already late. Why don’t you escort them to Julie’s university as well? Take a taxi or something from the Zone 27 headquarter?"

Julie immediately panicked and waved both hands in front of her. "Ah, no, no, no! It’s fine! Really!" she protested. "Miss McKay is already going to take me there, so I don’t want to trouble anyone else!"

"Oh, don’t be like that." Summer waved her hand dismissively. "You’re still a student, and we’re adults. It’s only natural for us to make sure you get back to your dorm safely. Right, Mr. Reed?"

To be honest, that wasn’t the only reason Summer wanted Archer to escort Julie home.

When she learned that Julie was treated like a pest by the elite students at her academy, Summer couldn’t help thinking that their attitude might change if they saw Julie being escorted home by Archer and Saddie.

An A-Rank Sentinel was already rare enough, let alone an SSS-Rank Sentinel, whose appearance was practically a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"Yes, it’s not a big deal," Archer agreed.

Besides, whenever Summer looked at him like that, he simply couldn’t bring himself to say no.

With everything settled, Julie had no choice but to give in.

"Make sure you escort her all the way to the gate," Summer reminded him.

Archer nodded. "I will."

He then opened a portal and let Julie and Saddie step inside first. Before leaving, both women turned around and waved goodbye to Summer.

"I’ll call you later," Saddie promised.

Summer smiled. "Okay."

A moment later, the two women disappeared through the portal, leaving Summer alone with the two Sentinels, who had barely said a word to each other since their earlier argument.

Whatever had happened between them outside seemed to have finally convinced both Ilya and Balian to keep their hands to themselves and stay away from each other.

"Do you two know that being in a depressing environment can make a patient feel stressed and more sick?" Summer suddenly asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Ilya and Balian, who were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, glanced at each other for a moment before promptly turning their heads away again.

"It’s fine. He’s leaving soon anyway," Ilya finally said.

Summer found his sudden childish behavior rather unsettling. What surprised her even more was that Balian didn’t seem interested in starting another argument.

Instead, he stood up and straightened his clothes. "Unfortunately, he’s right, Miss Summer. I have some business to attend to."

He walked over to her and checked her IV before giving her a gentle smile. "Since you seem to be feeling much better now, I suppose I can leave you in someone else’s care."

"I’m her official Sentinel, not just some random person," Ilya corrected him.

Balian completely ignored him and continued speaking to Summer. "I’ll come to pick you up next week, and our mission will most likely last three days. You can pack your own belongings, but if you think that’s too much trouble, I can have everything prepared for you instead."

"It’s fine. I’ll bring my own belongings instead," Summer said.

Besides, she had already received plenty of clothes from Ilya.

Could she consider them payment for her guiding sessions? Well, it wasn’t as if she had asked him to buy those clothes for her in the first place.

Balian smiled. "All right, then. I’ll see you next week, Miss Summer."