My Childhood Friend Turned Yandere in the Apocalypse

Chapter 245: Ch 245: Core Absorption - Part 2

’This feels nice. My stress is melting away. I want to be petted more.’

Rin leaned into the hand patting his hair, and he made a small noise of contentment as he nuzzled against it.

It felt calm and relaxing to sleep, and he burrowed his face into something soft. He was deep in sleep when he felt his pillow move, and he instantly opened his eyes to check what was going on.

Shelly’s startled face looked back at him, and he felt himself flush at the sight of her fluttering eyes.

"I was...just trying to help you sleep. You kept twisting and turning in your sleep, and I wasn’t sure whether you were alright. I won’t touch you again if you don’t want me to."

Shelly promised, and Rin pulled himself up from her lap.

A pang of regret filled him as he forced his head away from the comfortable place he had found for himself. But Rin still felt the need to sit up straight.

Shelly had a lot of expressions on her face as she looked at him, but she did not say much and waited for him to speak.

Somehow, looking at her filled Rin with a sense of guilt.

He had not wronged her, but just knowing what her mother had done and what she thought of Shelly made him want to comfort her a little.

He reached out to touch her shoulder, but instead, he ended up pulling her into a hug.

"Everything will be fine, Shelly. You don’t have to worry about anything."

He assured her, but Shelly made a confused noise in her throat, almost as if she could not understand what he was doing.

Thankfully, the confusion only lasted a second before she decided it was not worth questioning what was happening, and she leaned forward to hug him as well.

They stayed like that for a few seconds before Rin pulled back with a flushed face.

"Do you know how long I was asleep?"

Rin asked, and Shelly hesitated before answering.

"You slept for a whole day. We were starting to get worried, but Reina assured us that you were alright and just tired. How do you feel now?"

Shelly asked in a worried voice, and Rin checked his body by moving around before giving her a reassuring look.

"I feel alright. It doesn’t seem like I’ve broken anything. I don’t think there’s any cause for concern just yet."

Rin told her, and Shelly let out a relieved sigh.

"That’s good. You really looked like you needed some rest. Do you need me to leave you alone?"

Shelly asked, getting ready to leave. But she kept looking back at him without moving away. It was clear that she had no intention of leaving him alone.

At least, not until he asked her to.

Rin felt a laugh bubbling inside him, but he held it back. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Shelly’s arm before tugging her down to sit beside him.

"It’s fine. I think some company will do me good."

He told her, and Shelly nodded before sitting beside him.

It was calm and quiet. Rin did not expect the situation to change anytime soon. But he was proven wrong the very next second.

Someone slammed the door open before rushing toward his bed and slipping past him to sit on his other side. Teressa’s presence felt solid but not unwelcome.

"How are you feeling now? I was really worried about you, so I decided to stop by and check on you."

Teressa asked in a worried voice. But it was not Rin who answered her. It was Shelly.

"Reina already told us that Rin was fine and that he just needed rest. There was no need for you to come all the way here to check on him."

Shelly was trying to pick a fight, but Teressa was mature enough not to fall for her taunts.

"I came here because I was worried. I’m sure you understand the sentiment, Miss Shelly. But that is not all. Mira sent me here to check on Rin and inform her once he woke up. Apparently, she managed to find the location that the task clues gave us."

Rin felt surprised by that news.

He knew that Mira was capable, but he had not expected her to be this capable.

"She already found the location? We better take a look at it."

Rin told Teressa as he pushed himself to stand up. But his legs felt weak, causing him to almost collapse.

Thankfully, he had both Shelly and Teressa to help him back up.

"Rin, are you alright? I don’t think you’re well enough to be moving around on your own yet. J-Just stay in bed for now. I’ll tell Mira to come here—"

Shelly was panicking, so Rin quickly reassured her that he was fine. Only then did Shelly calm down and take a deep breath.

It also became easier for Rin’s body to support his weight after that initial mishap, and he was able to make it to the PC room where Mira and Kyle were.

Reina and Collin were there as well, while Albus was handling other affairs.

"Did you find the location of where we need to head next?"

Rin asked as soon as he entered, and Mira nodded with a proud look on her face.

"Of course I found the location. Did you think I was just playing around? No, don’t answer that. Anyway, this is where we need to go next. Should we leave now? If we do, then we can make it within three days without rest or food. It should be easy enough...what? Why are you all looking at me like I’ve lost my mind?"

Mira asked in an annoyed voice as she noticed the looks of disbelief she was getting.

"Mira, you need to calm down and think rationally. Not everyone can work on the same hectic schedule as you do."

Kyle pointed out, making Mira let out a gasp of disbelief.

Unfortunately for her, she was the only one who worked at that pace. The rest of them preferred to take proper breaks and time to think things through.