Gobelin did not raise his head: "Just discuss it among yourselves."
"Okay, from now on, everyone will have fifteen minutes to speak." Rene capped the pen in his hand and put it back in his breast pocket. "Let's start with you, Miss Tasia."
"...But, I only prepared a five-minute manuscript," Tasia was stunned. "Um, can I postpone my speech by one? Mr. Fiance——"
"I can't exchange the order with you," another man on the waiting table shook his head firmly, "I also have to adjust my manuscript, so I can't talk about it now."
Tasia looked back at Bernhard: "What about taking a short break, ten minutes?"
"What did I just say?" Bernhard laughed. The smile was more like teasing than sarcasm. "Don't force it."
"but I--"
"Just give her ten more minutes," Adams laughed. "A gentleman shouldn't be so harsh to a lady. Look what he's done to a little girl."
"Please don't call me that-"
"Okay, okay," Bernhard straightened his face and coughed twice, "The current situation is that Miss Tasia insists-"
"She just needs ten minutes to adjust the manuscript to deal with the rule changes due to Adams timeout - why do you have so much crappy nonsense?"
Everyone turned around.
Rico was still sitting where she was, touching her knees with both hands, her posture upright, but with obvious irritation and impatience on her face.
Bernhard frowned: "What is this? If everyone can temporarily add time just because they are not ready -"
"What's wrong? Isn't it just Rene who casually mentioned that extending everyone's time from five minutes to fifteen minutes?"
"What's the fuss," Gobelin said softly, "Just take a ten-minute break."
The tense silence finally relaxed again, and Tasia quickly returned to her seat and began to revise the manuscript intensively.
Hesta looked at Tasia for a while, then turned to look at Rico, "Are you angry?"
"No, I just find it annoying," Li Ge held his chin and looked to the other side, "These people are boring. I don't like talking to them."
"How many minutes has it been?"
"Don't you have a watch yourself..." Rico looked at the time, "Four minutes, six minutes left."
"I don't feel good."
"ah?"
"Look Tasia."
Hesta twitched her chin and signaled Rico to look up - not far away, Tasia was sitting next to Si Lei, her right hand holding the pen hovering above the paper. Sometimes she bit her lip hard and wrote a few lines. , but after a while cross them out with the same force.
Li Ge looked at it with a complicated expression: "...Is she too nervous?"
"Maybe, but judging from her previous performance, I know she must be a novice," Hesta whispered, "Can you do me a favor Rico?"
"Can't you just say what you want to do? Did I say 'no' or what?"
"Haha, can you push me to Gobelin's place?"
Just as Rico was about to stand up, he was held down by Hesta's extended hand, "Not now, wait a little longer."
"Huh?" Rico tilted his head, "What are you doing?"
…
When Rene came back from the bathroom during the ten minutes' free time, his expression changed - during the time he left, Hestad had already sat down opposite Gobelin, and the two seemed to be chatting, and the atmosphere was still tense. It seemed harmonious, and Bernhard stood beside Gobelin, obviously listening.
Rene looked away, wandered through half of the restaurant in a casual manner, and finally stopped next to a piano three or four steps away from Bernhard.
Rene could roughly hear Gobelin's voice, but every word Hesta said was so soft that he could only guess what Hesta said from Gobelin's answers.
After a while, Adams came over and asked, "Is it time?"
Rene didn't answer, just shook his head.
Adams looked back at Tasia, who was still revising the manuscript frantically, "Forget it, I don't care."
Rene observed Hesta from the corner of his eye. When Rene pushed the wheelchair for her earlier, he noticed that Hesta looked weaker than before. Yesterday, the wheelchair was just a decoration, but today she is real. She can't move in a wheelchair, which can also be seen from Rico's attitude towards her.
Hesta was injured.
...it seems quite serious.
Out of the corner of his eye, Rene saw Bernhard starting to dig into his pocket, holding a cigarette in his mouth, but he couldn't find the lighter. Rene stepped forward to hand it over in time.
Li Ge raised his eyes: "Don't smoke here."
"It's nothing important," Bernhard explained, pointing to Chiba at the other end of the restaurant, "Look, your mercury needle is also there -"
Seeing that Rico seemed to be about to stand up, Bernhard quickly pressed the lit cigarette butt into the damp ashtray. He pretended to laugh lightly, "Forgive me, I always don't remember that you two are ladies..."
René laughed twice together. He picked up the teapot on the table, filled Hesta and Rico's cups, and took away the empty bag of sweet cookies that Rico had torn open. After finishing all this From then on, he naturally stood behind Rico and Hesta.
"Let's get back to the topic," Hesta finally spoke, "After fighting that chelate last night, my feelings were actually similar to Officer Si Lei's - a little dangerous, but not difficult to handle. The more difficult it is. The easier it is to catch a chelate that likes to play games with its victims. But from what you just said, it seems that you intend to make everyone abide by the "Guidelines" until the end of the voyage?"
"...How should I put it?" Gobelin lowered his eyes, "I only figured out some things in the past two days."
"for example?"
"I think the person who fought with you last night... was probably not a chelate."
Hesta opened her eyes slightly, "Oh?"
"You are also injured now." Gobelin held the handle of the spoon and rubbed it on the scarlet tablecloth. "How about we try to follow the "Guide". I really think it is trustworthy, although I can't explain why. .”
"...Gobelin, look into my eyes."
Gobelin looked at Hesta with some confusion. The moment their eyes met, he shuddered involuntarily.
"I have an intuition, I don't know if it's right or not," Hesta's eyes were unblinking, with a faint excitement in those blue eyes, "Do you think you know the manipulator behind this? "
Gobelin's expression stiffened for a moment, "...why did you say that?"
"Because I have thought about a lot of things in the past two days," Hestad said in a very soft voice, "Your state makes me feel very similar..."
Gobelin laughed twice, "This... I actually don't understand what you are talking about."
"How clear do you need to be?" Hesta smiled slightly, "Like you, I also feel that I know the manipulator behind the scenes."
