Chapter 290
He imagined a scenario in which Theo, with his special abilities, forged entry tickets or even did something far more spectacular, such as teleporting directly to the very front of the line.
For Aldraya, this might have been nothing more than a pragmatic, technical solution.
However, the part of his reasoning that had begun to understand how human society functioned sent him a warning.
Such an action would not go smoothly.
He envisioned a crowd of people who had been patiently waiting in line, suddenly seeing two strangers magically appear right in front of them.
Chaos would ensue.
That chaos would not merely be a matter of anger or protests over a cut line.
The consequences could be far heavier and far more dangerous.
In a world overshadowed by anxiety surrounding the phenomenon known as Human Change, anything that surpassed human logic would immediately be perceived as a suspicious threat.
Two people suddenly appearing out of nowhere in the middle of a long queue would not be seen as magicians, but as potential dangers, as signs of terrifying and uncontrollable human change.
They would be surrounded, interrogated in panic, and possibly handed over to the authorities.
Facing fearful demands for explanations from a hysterical crowd was a scenario far more troublesome and risky than simply losing track of a target because of a long line.
"I don't intend to forge anything. That's why—"
Fiiiih!
Faaaah!
"Your proposal is worth trying."
A small smile bloomed at the corner of Theo's lips, an expression that carried confidence and a hint of good-natured cunning.
He read the concern behind Aldraya's questioning gaze, fully understanding the limits of the world they had to contend with.
Calmly, he refuted Aldraya's worries about forgery or other underhanded methods.
That was not his plan.
Then, with an intimate and conspiratorial motion, he bent slightly, bringing his lips close to Aldraya's pale ear.
There, in a whisper that became a secret shared only with the wind and the distant roar of the amusement park, he poured out his entire strategy.
The whispered words flowed slowly, explaining a method that was far subtler, more elegant, and most importantly, one that would not trigger mass panic or accusations of Human Change.
Aldraya listened intently, every word from Theo processed swiftly by his analytical mind.
And when the explanation ended, a glimmer of understanding appeared in his otherwise emotionless eyes.
He saw not only feasibility, but also the cleverness of Theo's proposal.
The plan did not violate the rules of queuing in a vulgar way, nor did it display any striking oddities, yet it still achieved their goal of efficiency.
It was an elegant solution, one that worked within the gaps of perception and the boundaries of reality, something perfectly aligned with their true abilities.
Without hesitation, his head moved in a single, firm nod.
His agreement was not merely verbal, but filled with conviction.
He declared his readiness to carry out the proposal, prepared to do so immediately, without delay.
So, what exactly was the proposal Theo had whispered?
At its core, it was a perfect concealment and relocation.
They would not forge tickets or physically push through the line.
Instead, they would disappear.
Not disappearing entirely from the location, but vanishing from the perception of everyone around them.
They would fold their physical existence into an unseen layer of reality, cloaking themselves from ordinary human sight while erasing any trace of movement that might draw attention.
Then, while invisible, they would change positions.
Teleportation, but executed with the utmost precision and caution.
Every unusual energy fluctuation would be dampened, every distortion of the air minimized, every chance of being detected by sensors or by innate human instincts anticipated and neutralized.
"Use telepathy if anything needs to be conveyed."
Their success was flawless and soundless.
The noisy world around them seemed to be sucked briefly into a tunnel, colors and sounds blurring together before everything snapped back into clarity with a different composition.
They now stood there, visible once more, on concrete just as hot as before, but with a shifted view.
Right in front of them, separated only by a distance close enough to catch the scent of shampoo from Erietta's green hair, stood Ilux and Erietta themselves.
They had managed to position themselves directly behind both targets, seamlessly merging into the line without anyone sensing anything amiss, as though they had always been part of the crowd waiting for so long.
There were no shouts, no startled stares, no waves of fear.
Only the sigh of hot wind and the distant rumble of the ride's machinery.
Before everything truly began, within the newfound silence filled by the presence of the two people ahead of them, Theo made his final preparations.
With a look that conveyed an important command, he delivered a crucial instruction to Aldraya at his side.
From this point onward, all communication had to flow silently, through invisible channels.
They had to speak through their minds, using telepathy.
Any sound leaving their mouths, even a whisper, risked being heard by ears that were far too close, especially by Ilux and Erietta, who were sensitive to their surroundings in the nervous state of this date.
Their outward silence had to be preserved, while the exchange of information and observations continued to flow intensely between their minds.
"This crowd is insane. From a distance earlier, the line didn't look that bad."
The words slipped from Ilux's lips in a tone that was half joking, half sincere, a complaint adorned with a small smile that acknowledged his own misjudgment.
His voice, so close and clear to Theo's ears, broke the rhythm of their earlier light conversation.
He expressed his regret, admitting that the crowd and the length of the line for the Flying Saucer ride far exceeded his expectations.
"Are you really that consumed by disappointment, Lux? Then what will you do later if we have to wait even longer for a ride that's far more intense?"
That sweet smile blossomed on Erietta's face, an expression that seemed to radiate its own light amid the shade cast by the canopy roof above the line.
It was not an innocent smile, but one laced with intelligence and agility, sunlight filtered through a prism of glass.
She turned slightly toward Ilux, and her words flowed lightly, like soap bubbles deliberately released to tease.
She neither comforted him nor complained alongside him.
Instead, she chose to gently mock him, questioning the very basis of Ilux's regret.
"My throat feels like a stretch of sand, Erietta. At this rate, before our turn even comes, I might collapse from dehydration. Ridiculous, right?"
The sigh left Ilux softly, yet it was clearly audible in the relative quiet that surrounded them in the line.
His voice carried a tone of dramatic fatigue, exaggerated for comedic effect, but within it ran a thread of genuine physical discomfort.
He complained about his long-dry throat, a statement that instantly revived fresh memories for Theo and Aldraya of their own thirst not long ago.
Ilux's complaint was an admission of a neglected basic need, an unexpected point of connection between the observers and the observed.
But Ilux did not stop there.
He quickly seasoned his physical complaint with a hyperbolic scenario, a dark yet lighthearted joke.
Still in a playful tone, he imagined a ridiculous possibility.
That before they even managed to reach the end of the line and enjoy the freedom of the ride, he himself might collapse, fainting midway from thirst.
"We're waiting in line at an amusement park, not crossing the Sahara Desert without a bottle of water."
Erietta's attentive gaze fixed on Ilux for only a second before breaking into laughter.
To be continued…