novelbin Chapter 174: Funeral & The First Snow
Chapter 174: Funeral & The First Snow
The group returned not long afterward. Eugene looked nervous the entire ride back. His teeth kept clattering together so much that Daphne initially thought he was freezing, but Gideon knew better.
The idiot was terrified of facing his mother.
Daphne tried cheering him up several times, but Aaron kept ruining the mood.
"If I were your mother, I’d slap you first and kick you out of the territory afterward."
"Ssshhh! Shut up, Aaron! Mrs. Elliot is a gentle woman! She would never do that!"
Aaron crossed his arms lazily. "I don’t know. Maybe she should."
The two of them continued bickering nonstop while Eugene only looked more miserable after every sentence. Gideon eventually rolled his eyes and stopped listening altogether.
By the time they arrived at the Safe Zone, almost everyone who was not working construction had already gathered near the entrance waiting for them.
Especially Nelly. The moment she saw Eugene climbing out of the vehicle alive and unharmed, she immediately rushed toward him.
Eugene instinctively lowered his head as if preparing to kneel and apologize, but Nelly reached him first and wrapped both arms tightly around him before he could even say anything.
"Oh, my boy..." Her voice trembled with relief. "Thank God you’re safe. I’m sorry. I won’t force you to work anymore."
Eugene bit his lips hard, his face turning red from shame.
"No... it’s my fault, Mother. Not yours. I acted like a child. Father wanted me to protect you and stay by your side, but instead I ran away like a coward."
Nelly immediately shook her head again while holding him even tighter.
Meanwhile, Gideon quietly watched the two of them continue apologizing to each other over and over again.
The relief and happiness on Nelly’s face was impossible to hide.
Seeing them like that unexpectedly reminded Gideon of his own sister.
The situation was different, but he used to be just as rebellious as Eugene. He hurt her countless times with his words and actions, yet somehow she was always the one apologizing in the end, which only made him feel even guiltier afterward.
Gideon slowly looked toward the sky and let out a quiet sigh.
"If possible, I wish I could bring you here and show you that I finally grew up."
It was a stupid thought. Because he knew it was impossible.
Suddenly, someone tapped Gideon’s shoulder. When he turned around, he was greeted by two completely different expressions. Elaine stood there grinning mischievously while Delilah frowned at him with crossed arms.
The contrast alone immediately gave him a bad feeling.
"Hm, I honestly thought you would get rid of that boy," Elaine said first, clearly amused.
"Right?" Delilah continued with a sharp scoff. "Turns out you’re not as cruel as I thought you were."
"Yes.., If I killed everyone who annoyed me slightly, nobody would remain in this territory."
Then his brows furrowed. "But why do I feel like both of you are hiding something?"
Delilah clicked her tongue loudly. "Don’t act innocent. You made Elaine pregnant, she told me everything."
Then her voice suddenly rose. "How dare you, Gideon?! Do you plan to impregnate every woman in this territory too?!"
Gideon’s eyes widened in horror as several nearby residents instantly turned toward them. He immediately covered Delilah’s mouth with one hand.
"Shhh! Lower your voice!" he whispered frantically before glaring at Elaine, who only stuck out her tongue at him mockingly.
But Delilah quickly slapped his hand away and turned around dramatically.
"No! Let everyone hear it! So everyone knows their chief managed to make three women pregnant at the same time!"
The surrounding residents immediately stared at Gideon with expressions ranging from shock to admiration.
Then Delilah simply walked away leaving Gideon standing there in complete silence with everyone’s eyes focused on him.
He could only smile awkwardly before immediately chasing after the two women while scolding Elaine under his breath.
Unfortunately, Elaine only laughed harder the entire time while Gideon desperately tried calming Delilah down before she publicly announced his entire love life to the territory.
***
Preparations for the funeral only took a few days.
Gideon temporarily stopped all construction work for the occasion, though surprisingly William agreed without much resistance after hearing the reason.
Instead, the workers were reassigned to make tombstones while Aria, Daphne, Delilah, Elaine, and Freya went around speaking with the survivors one by one, asking them for the names and epitaphs they wanted engraved for their loved ones.
Everyone worked together quietly to make the funeral possible. Gideon even purchased flowers from the Infinite Shop so they could scatter them around the graves afterward.
The graves themselves would remain empty, but at the very least, the survivors would finally have a place to visit whenever they missed the people they lost. A place where their names would continue to exist instead of slowly disappearing from memory.
Gideon also approached Percy and the survivors rescued from the desert earlier to ask whether they wanted a funeral for their own loved ones too.
They did not refuse, but agreed to let this ceremony focus mainly on the victims from the traveling group while simple tombstones would be enough for the people they personally lost.
Now Gideon stood on top of a wooden platform overlooking the newly prepared graveyard.
Behind him, rows of tombstones had already been planted securely into the leveled ground William prepared earlier. The usually noisy territory had become unusually quiet as residents slowly gathered while holding flowers in their hands.
Some looked calm. Others were clearly struggling not to cry.
But compared to before, there was finally relief mixed into their expressions because for the first time since arriving here, they were finally being allowed to grieve openly instead of pretending everything was fine.
"Today, we gather here for our loved one. The people who fought as hard as they could until the very end. The people who protected their family, friends, and companions even while facing death itself."
His eyes slowly scanned the crowd in front of him.
"From this day onward, they will no longer become stories nobody dares to mention. They deserve to be remembered as someone’s mother, father, child, husband, wife, or best friend. They are all heroes."
Gideon then stepped aside from the center of the platform.
"However, this is not my story to tell. So please... Come stand here and tell us about the people you lost."
One by one, people stepped onto the platform and told stories about the loved ones they had lost. The more Gideon listened, the heavier his chest became because he finally understood that they were never simply numbers of victims.
They were ordinary people like everyone standing here, people who once carried dreams, hopes, and plans for the future.
Some only wanted a peaceful place to settle down while others wanted to survive long enough to watch their children grow up, yet all of those lives were suddenly cut short because a group of zealots decided their twisted beliefs mattered more than human lives.
Eventually, Eugene slowly stood up and walked toward the platform. His expression still looked tense, but compared to before, his eyes no longer avoided everyone around him.
He held the microphone tightly and tried to keep his voice steady as he said, "My father’s name is Robert Elliot, the chief of our traveling group, and he is a hero. Together with Eric, Victor, Ace, and Luis, they sacrificed themselves so more than twenty people are still standing here alive today."
The graveyard became completely silent afterward while Eugene lowered his head slightly, trying hard not to let his voice tremble further.
Gideon watched him quietly and smiled faintly, proud of the young man his age that finally grew from his pain.
At the same moment, something cold suddenly landed on Gideon’s cheek. Then another followed until gentle snow slowly began falling from the sky.
The first snowfall covered the graveyard quietly while a cold breeze passed through the territory, marking the true arrival of winter.
Then the familiar mechanical voice of the system suddenly echoed inside Gideon’s head.
[Congratulations!]
[You have successfully fulfilled the system requirement of maintaining sixty-five active residents within the Safe Zone!]
[A new section of the Infinite Shop has been unlocked!]
[Rewards have been sent to storage.]
[Rewards: 200,000 Satisfaction Points, 1,000,000 Love Coins, 10 Golden Tickets, and 10 Free Tickets (Safe Zone section only).]
[New system tasks are now available and may be completed freely.]
Gideon’s eyes widened slightly before he let out a quiet laugh beneath the falling snow. Turns out becoming an official resident of the Safe Zone was far more complicated than simply living inside the territory.
People apparently needed to accept this place emotionally too, not just physically survive in it.
"So that’s how it works..." Gideon muttered while shaking his head lightly. "Damn, this system really played me well."
Still, despite everything that happened, he finally felt like he had managed to do something right.