Omega Manual chapter 14
Get on
Irey froze, and his surging anger dissipated instantly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to, I just—” Irey leaned against the car, pressing his temples in frustration and retracting his aggressive pheromones. In the end, he gave up on explaining. “Forget it.”
Shelley felt like a fish suddenly thrown back into water, freed from suffocation. He pursed his lips, and after a moment, spoke up.
“I’m just an Omega, and I haven’t left Nantes in five years. I have no idea what it’s like outside the city, nor if it’s suitable for a long trip in a sports car,” Shelley said.
“Yes, I’m the one who can leave the city since the lockdown, not you,” Irey said. “You’re just an ignorant Omega, responsible only for putting on airs and funding, and then whimsically deciding to drive across several continents to a desolate snowy mountain.”
With that, Irey straightened up and walked back the way they had come without looking back. Shelley didn’t move or call out to stop him, just watched as Irey’s figure gradually disappeared into the ruins, until he was out of sight.
As noon approached, sunlight poured through gaps in the clouds, reflecting dazzlingly off the broken glass of the ruins.
Now this flashy red sports car had become part of the industrial wasteland, lying quietly against the concrete.
Shelley leaned back wearily, causing the red metal to clang. The surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the rustling sounds of birds and small animals. It was a kind of silence unsuitable for human survival, like an apocalyptic scene stretched out for ten thousand years, moving towards the end at a very slow pace.
He could actually call the Manta family’s repair department, and soon someone would come with a spare tIrey, and the car would be roadworthy in less than twenty minutes.
Even if he did so, no one would care who he was, why he was there, or where he was going.
But would that still have any meaning? Perhaps this journey had been a mistake from the very beginning.
Traveling with a stranger to an unfamiliar place, he didn’t understand Irey Halton at all, yet he had entrusted him with both marking rights and his own autonomy. As he feared, the fragile employer-employee relationship had broken down just on the second day out of the city.
Shelley chuckled self-deprecatingly, leaned against the car, and looked up at the sky. The sky was pale, with a bright yellow sun hanging overhead, occasionally sending blinding rays of light across the land.
Maybe this whole journey he planned was ridiculous from the start.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have hoped for anything from the beginning, maybe he was just delaying the inevitable.
Maybe he should have acted long ago; even here was fine—quiet, secluded, with no one around…
Shelly closed his eyes, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. He didn’t know how long had passed when he suddenly heard a strange sound in his ears, a fast-paced “thump-thump.”
At first, he thought it was someone drumming, but the rhythm was too fast and dull for drums. As the sound got closer and clearer, along with the dust rising from the road, he realized it was the sound of animal hooves hitting the ground.
Shelley abruptly opened his eyes and stood up straight. Then he saw Irey Halton riding a white horse, galloping like an arrow from the end of the road.
The concrete block that had caused the car’s tire to burst lay between him and Irey. Just as he worried the horse might be blocked, Irey lifted the reins, and the white horse leaped easily over the block, landing in front of Shelly.
Shelly was too stunned to speak.
“You…”
“I rented a horse in Sudo, and I can drop it off at the next city’s post station,” Irey said, pulling the reins slightly, causing the horse to take a few steps forward and stop in front of Shelley. “It’s agile and mobile, perfect for this terrain, and it only costs 100 bucks a day, which is less than a tenth of your gas tank. Could there be a more cost-effective alternative?”
“A rental… post station? People still keep horses?” Shelley asked in shock.
Irey laughed, “What do you think the moderately wealthy who can’t afford gas use as a car substitute? Times have changed, and so have lifestyles.”
Irey extended a hand to him, “Come on, boss.”
Still stunned by the situation, Shelley struggled to speak coherently, “Wait… what about my car?”
“I found an old master in Sudo who can fix cars. He’ll bring a new tire, repair the car, and park it by the post station in Rayso,” Irey said, reaching out again, “Get on.”
Feeling unnerved by the living, odd-toed animal, Shelley said, “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll wait here for the mechanic…”
This time, Irey couldn’t be bothered to argue with his boss. He leaned down, grabbed Shelley by the waist, and hoisted him up onto the horse.
Shelley let out an uncharacteristic scream and found himself seated on the horse before he could react.
Shelley’s body was really light.
Although older by several years, he seemed to weigh less than half of Irey, and Irey could feel his ribs through his clothes. A light hug could encircle his whole body.
The strands of hair at Shelley’s temples lifted in the wind, brushing softly against Irey’s cheek.
Irey tugged on the reins, and the horse began to gallop.
“Halton!” Shelley’s terrified shout trailed behind the running horse.
“Hold on and don’t move!” Irey held Shelley’s waist firmly, securing him in place. “I’ve got you, you won’t fall!”
The galloping horse demonstrated unparalleled agility and mobility, maneuvering through the rubble and concrete with ease.
The remains of what was once the city’s tallest building lay across the path, and the white horse leaped onto the structure, gracefully navigating through broken windows.
Even Irey was impressed by the horse’s ability and whistled in admiration.
Soon, the white horse leaped over the final piece of debris, and the view opened up.
They had exited the ruined city, leaving behind the concrete, rubble, and glass. Ahead lay a vast, flat grassland. The sun, freed from the ruins’ obstruction, cast its warm light equally on all living things.
Shelley’s heart pounded uncontrollably in his chest. He was so close to Irey, his back pressed against Irey’s chest, that he could clearly feel the latter’s heartbeat.
The sounds of the wind, horse hooves, and heartbeats overlapped, like the prelude to a passionate dance.
Irey tugged on the reins, slowing the horse from a gallop to a trot, then to a leisurely walk.
“How is it?” Irey asked. “Isn’t it much more thrilling than driving a car over a pile of gravel?”
“I think—” Shelley took a deep breath, “my butt really hurts.”
Irey was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. His hearty laughter echoed in the open field, startling a few birds into flight.
Shelley leaned forward silently. The horse’s mane smelled of dust but was warmed by the sun. The heartbeat that wasn’t his and the non-human body temperature brought an oddly comforting feeling—a sharp, painful sense of being alive that he hadn’t felt in years.
It took Irey a while to stop laughing, but the smile lingered on his face. “Hey, aren’t nobles supposed to learn horsemanship? Why are you so scared of riding?”
“What kind of misconception do you have about nobles?” Shelley said weakly. “It’s not the eighteenth century anymore. I don’t ride a horse to work.”
“True, you drive a sports car,” Irey said. “People have to give way to you when you turn.”
Shelley couldn’t be bothered to respond to the slight in his words.
The flat grassland stretched endlessly before them. Apart from the withered grass due to the winter season, it looked like a perfect place for horseback riding. Not far away was a dried-up riverbed, and Shelley suddenly realized that this must have been farmland on the outskirts of town.
With no one to farm it, the large fields had gone wild, becoming a haven for wild grasses.
“Actually, my family does have a tradition of learning to ride,” Shelley said. “The Manta family has a large estate outside Nantes, and every child is sent to learn horsemanship at the age of eight.”
“So what about you? Why didn’t you learn?”
“I did, but I didn’t succeed,” Shelley said, pursing his lips. “Because I was… too scared. The horse was actually very gentle, but as soon as I got on, I started crying. In the end, the adults had no choice but to send me home.”
Irey couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“What could I do? It’s an animal as tall as an adult when it stands up!” Shelley raised his voice. “And it has four legs. One kick could have killed me. I still don’t understand how other kids could sit on its back so happily.”
The horse beneath them seemed to understand and lifted its head, snorting discontentedly.
Irey patted the horse’s neck, laughing. “Are you still afraid now?”
Shelley was silent for a while, then said softly, “Not now, with you behind me.”