Chapter 214:Confession.
The convoy continued its journey as the afternoon slowly gave way to evening.
After the earlier ambush, everyone remained noticeably more vigilant. The attacks had become less frequent, but nobody relaxed completely. Every patch of tall grass, every cluster of weathered rocks and every shadow stretching across the road reminded them that the Yellow Zone never truly slept.
Silver drove quietly. His eyes remained on the road, but his thoughts were somewhere else entirely. He had made a decision during lunch.
Tonight.
He would tell Ravenna everything, yet now that the sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon, that certainty seemed to weaken with every passing kilometer.
’...Maybe I shouldn’t.’
The thought surfaced again. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
’What if I simply asked her to be my girlfriend? She would almost certainly say yes’
He could keep the System a secret.
’No, what if the rewards get stranger? What I’m supposed to come up with as a response- lie and lie until it becomes too much to bear’
The idea disappeared almost as quickly as it had come; that would only make the lie larger. If she discovered it later, she would have every reason to wonder whether anything between them had been genuine.
He couldn’t bear that thought.
Beside him, Ravenna quietly looked out the window. She noticed him stealing absent-minded glances at her every few minutes.
Sometimes he looked as though he wanted to speak, then he would stop himself.
She frowned slightly.
"...Silver?"
"Hm?"
"Is something bothering you?"
He forced a small smile.
"...Just thinking."
"You’ve been thinking all afternoon, and it’s showing in your expression."
"I know."
She studied him for another few seconds. Normally, Silver would have joked, smiled, or teased her. Today, he simply looked nervous.
She decided not to press him.
"If you want to talk... I’m here."
Silver nodded.
"...I know."
The words only made him feel worse.
The convoy finally slowed as the last traces of sunlight disappeared beyond the distant hills.
Captain Harry’s voice sounded over the radio.
"We’ll camp here."
The vehicles gradually left the road and entered a naturally sheltered basin surrounded by tall rocks. It wasn’t perfect, but it offered decent visibility and only two narrow approaches that could easily be defended if beasts attacked during the night.
Contractors immediately fell into familiar routines; tents appeared, small cooking fires were lit, and night watches were assigned.
The atmosphere became surprisingly lively despite everyone’s exhaustion. People had survived another difficult day; that alone was worth celebrating.
Silver helped Ravenna unpack their equipment before joining the others around one of the larger cooking fires.
Dinner was simple: stew made from preserved vegetables and beast meat, fresh bread, and hot tea.
People talked about the river, the hyena pack, and the Rock Pythons. Someone exaggerated the size of one of the crocodilian beasts until several veterans laughed and called him a liar.
Silver barely heard any of it; his spoon moved almost automatically. His thoughts kept returning to the same place.
Tonight.
Tonight.
Tonight.
"...Silver."
He looked up. Ravenna was staring at him.
"What?"
"...You’ve been holding the same spoonful for almost a minute."
He blinked; sure enough, the food hadn’t moved. Several nearby contractors chuckled.
"You alright?" one of them asked.
Silver laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah, just tired."
Ravenna wasn’t convinced. She watched him for the rest of dinner. Every now and then she caught him looking toward her before quickly looking away again.
He looked... terrified.
She had never seen him like that. When dinner ended, everyone gradually returned to their own tents.
The camp slowly quieted, conversations faded, and only the occasional crackle of burning wood disturbed the silence.
Silver delayed as long as he could; he checked the vehicle twice, cleaned his sword even though it was already clean, and reorganized supplies that didn’t need reorganizing.
Finally, there were no more excuses. Ravenna was already inside the tent. When he entered, she was sitting on the sleeping bag, quietly watching him.
He busied himself with placing his backpack in exactly the same spot it had occupied every night before, then he adjusted the lantern, then he checked the zipper.
Finally... She spoke.
"...Silver."
He looked over.
"What is wrong? I’m starting to get worried."
The question was gentle and filled with concern. He stood motionless for several long seconds. His heartbeat seemed unbelievably loud inside the quiet tent.
"...There’s something I should have told you a long time ago."
Ravenna straightened; his tone alone made her expression become serious. Silver drew in a slow breath.
"When we first met... I wasn’t completely honest with you."
She frowned.
"...About what?"
He looked directly into her eyes.
"There is... something with me." He paused. "It isn’t something anyone else knows."
He swallowed.
"I’ve been hiding it because I didn’t know how to explain it. And because..." His voice grew quieter. "...I was afraid."
Ravenna’s expression slowly changed.
"...Afraid of what?"
"That you’d hate me."
Silence.
Silver forced himself to continue before he lost his courage. He explained. He wasn’t rushing or trying to justify himself.
He told her about the System; how it had appeared, how it assigned quests, how it rewarded him, and how many of those rewards had helped him protect both of them.
He admitted that the System tracked their growing bond. He admitted that he had received benefits connected to their relationship.
He admitted everything.
He did not hide the parts that made him look bad, nor did he blame the System for his own decisions. Whenever something had been his choice, he said so.
Ravenna didn’t interrupt, at first. She simply stared at him, then her face slowly lost its color.
"...What?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Silver continued.
He explained that his feelings for her had become real, that even if the System disappeared tomorrow, nothing about those feelings would change. He admitted that he should have told her sooner, that waiting had only made it harder.
Ravenna finally spoke again.
"So..." Her eyes searched his face. "When you helped me... was it because of this System?"
Silver answered immediately.
"No, it may have been the reason we met. But choosing to stay to protect you and to keep travelling with you... Those were my decisions."
She looked down at her hands.
"What about all those times..." She hesitated. "...when you knew exactly what to say?"
"I didn’t always. I just... tried."
"And the System?"
"It never told me what kind of person you were; it couldn’t. It never told me to love you."
Silence filled the tent again. Silver continued quietly.
"The reason I’m telling you now is because I wanted to ask you something."
He smiled sadly.
"I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend, but I couldn’t do that while keeping something this important from you. I didn’t want our relationship to begin with another secret."
Ravenna looked at him; her eyes were wide with disbelief, shock, confusion, and questions- so many questions. Silver could almost see them forming one after another.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Finally, she spoke.
"...I..." she took a shaky breath. "I need a minute; this is all too much... ple... please leave."
That was all.
Silver had prepared himself for anger, for her to throw something or to tell him to leave; instead, she simply looked overwhelmed.
He slowly nodded.
"...Okay."
He stood.
"I’ll wait outside. If you want me to come back, I will. If you don’t..."
He couldn’t quite finish the sentence. Ravenna gave a small nod.
"...Okay."
Silver quietly unzipped the tent. The cool night air met him immediately. He stepped outside and closed the entrance behind him.
For a moment, he simply stood there beneath the countless stars. The sounds of the camp felt distant. He let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
Whatever happened next, the truth was finally between them. Now, the choice belonged to Ravenna alone.