A narrow alleyway, open at both ends, not too large but of average size. Alleyways existed to make the passage between two places easier and faster. This particular alleyway was there for exactly that purpose.

  The alleyway was situated between two small buildings, its length not particularly long—about the width of two houses.

  The houses blocked light from entering the alleyway. However, this was a city where the sun was always at its peak. Even though the sun was at its peak, it wasn't excessively hot.

  The alleyway wasn't pitch dark, but it was a place devoid of direct light. Lights coming from both ends illuminated it, preventing it from being utterly black.

  In the alleyway, there was someone leaning against the wall, one leg extended, the other bent in an inverted V shape.

  This person had silver hair reaching down to their shoulders, wearing a black short-sleeved t-shirt and black sweatpants below. Their body was white, as confirmed by their exposed arms and bare feet.

  They looked just like a homeless person—those who spent their nights and days lying in the city's corners. This person was lying there too, their head not fully drooped but appearing as if it had.

  Kaelis had last heard a powerful horn blare, and after that, he neither heard nor felt anything. Until this moment, Kaelis began to feel again, as if his pulse had stopped briefly and then started beating once more.

  He first felt the cold stone ground beneath his buttocks, then the protrusions of the uneven stone wall he was leaning his back against, and finally the light breeze blowing at that time.

  His eyes were slowly opening. He was regaining his ability to move. It was as if he had experienced a momentary paralysis, but he was coming to. He tried to speak with his mouth.

  “Aa… uu— auv”

  However, he only produced sounds like those of a newborn baby. He hadn't yet regained his ability to speak—or rather, it wasn't even certain if he would. Kaelis tried again.

  “I”

  He had spoken his first word. It was now certain that he could speak, assuming nothing else happened.

  Kaelis brought the hand resting on his knee up to his face. He poked his face with the hand warmed by blood flow. He felt it, and he could move his hand. He didn't seem to have lost any reflexes.

  “Didn't I die?”

  He said this in a quiet voice, but his ears could hear the sound. Moreover, with this utterance, instead of saying or thinking something foolish, he had tried to grasp his situation, proving that his mind was functioning.

  He raised his other hand. He clenched the previously raised hand into a fist and struck it against the other. It hurt, confirming that he was still in the status of a living being.

  Footsteps began echoing from the other end of the alleyway. It seemed someone had entered the alley. Whoever it was appeared quite noisy. The footsteps created a massive sound wave between the alleyway's two walls.

  The person was coming closer. Kaelis was in an utterly unfamiliar place, with an utterly unfamiliar person approaching him. He shifted into a light defensive mode and remained cautious in his spot.

  The person's feet were clad in wooden-soled slippers. Those were the source of the loud noise. He wore loose-cut three-quarter pants in a slightly light shade of brown.

  As he approached further, his appearance became clearer. To see more distinctly, Kaelis lifted his head and looked toward the owner of the sounds.

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  Over the pants, he had on a white t-shirt. The t-shirt was slim-fit and not entirely white; it was a soiled top dusted in most places. He had a wheat-colored skin tone. His height was roughly the same as Kaelis's, and he was thin—not skeletal, but his slenderness was evident.

  There was a scar on the lower part of his faded red lips. His eyes were brown like a wood log. His hair wasn't too short, but it was shorter than Kaelis's. This hair was light brown, just like his eyes. He possessed a smooth, hairless, beardless face.

  “Asaf, are you here?”

  This person, speaking in a young male voice, seemed to be searching for something—or rather, someone. He had likely mistaken Kaelis, sitting in the alleyway, for that person or hoped it was so.

  “Are you looking for someone?”

  The voice he had gained with difficulty emerged steady and pleasant. Upon hearing Kaelis's voice, this person reacted as if noticing him for the first time and answered the question.

  “Oh Sorry, I didn't notice you. Yes, I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a 15 or 16 years old, medium-height, skinny kid passing through here?”

  Kaelis's response to this question was definitively no, but he didn't reply so directly.

  “A 15 or 16 years old kid, hmm… unfortunately I didn't see one.”

  The person's face fell slightly. He accepted the single answer he received.

  “Okay then sorry for disturbing you, sir.”

  It was as if he was forcing himself to speak respectfully, despite it not being in his nature. After saying this, he proceeded to continue on his way. He passed Kaelis and kept walking toward the other exit.

  In this dark place, the light coming from there was blinding to the eyes. Kaelis had watched the walking man.

  Just as the man was about to leave the alley, a sound rang out. It was Kaelis's stomach growling— it must have been utterly embarrassing.

  Kaelis brought his hand to his stomach and rubbed it. Indeed, his stomach was empty, and that's why he was hungry.

  The man about to exit the alley paused before leaving and turned around. He observed Kaelis with scrutinizing gazes—or rather, he was outright scrutinizing him. He appeared surprised; what could be so astonishing about a stomach rumble?

  “Are— you hungry?”

  The person who had been trying to speak respectfully with "sir" and honorifics was gone. In his place was someone speaking with his full self. Kaelis looked at the man and answered his question.

  “Yeah, I suppose so—it seems that way.”

  “Do you have any money or food to eat? You know, is your bowl full?”

  “Umm no, I don't have a single penny, and To be honest I don't even have a place to stay haha.”

  Kaelis found the phrase "is your bowl full" a bit puzzling, but he grasped what was meant. The person approached Kaelis and extended his hand toward him. Kaelis, still seated on the ground, looked at the hand.

  “Come with me, then.”

  The person had said only these words. Without explaining where, how, or even who he was, he simply said "come with me." It was highly suspicious, but for Kaelis, who had no other options, saying yes was his only choice. Kaelis reached out and grasped the extended hand.

  The person pulled him toward himself, lifting him to his feet. Kaelis first brushed off the dust from his clothes. Then he began looking at the person. The person had already turned his back and was advancing toward the entrance. From amid the white lights, he spoke in that young voice.

  “Follow me.”

  After saying this, he became invisible due to the light. Then Kaelis hurried with quick steps to where the man had gone and exited the alley. Upon exiting, the first thing he saw was a crowd of people walking along the road toward somewhere. Additionally, the sun's light was now striking his face directly.

  Kaelis caught up to the person with jogging steps and began walking alongside him amid the crowd.

  “May I learn your name?”

  “Carlos—just Carlos.”

  “———”

  “Not giving your own name when you've asked for someone else's is a bit disrespectful.”

  “Pardon my rudeness; I'm not very familiar with such etiquette. My name is Kaelis Varn—you can call me Kaelis.”

  “Kaelis, huh... Pleased to meet you, Kaelis.”

  “Likewise, Carlos!”

  As they exchanged these words, they continued walking along the road. Or rather, Kaelis was following Carlos. With no idea where they were going to head, Kaelis began posing questions to Carlos.

  “Where are we going, by the way?”

  “To the place where all our brothers are.”

  This answer, which was neither satisfying nor free of suspicion, had addressed the questions in Kaelis's mind.

  “To the place where all our brothers are?”

  “Exactly so, Kaelis.”

  “Where is that? Sorry, I've never heard of such a place before.”

  Carlos wore a surprised expression, then spoke as if something had dawned on him.

  “You seem like a foreigner here—where are you from?”

  Kaelis had no response to this question. To Carlos—the only person in this newly arrived world with whom he could manage conversation—he didn't want to give a sarcastic reply like "from the place we just came from," so he chose to remain silent.

  “This silver-colored hair is quite rare—or rather, I've never seen it before, only heard of it. I've seen hair colors like blue, red, yellow, black, but I'm certain I've never seen this one. I suppose you've come from outside Naucratis—are you from the Velyndar Kingdom?”

  Kaelis was trying to make sense of Carlos's words, but to no avail; he was referencing place names Kaelis had never heard. He engaged in logical deduction. The conclusions he reached were these: His hair color was quite rare, the city or region he was currently in was called Naucratis, and finally, there was a country known as the Velyndar Kingdom. Once again, Kaelis found himself in the same impasse. He had no idea what to reply, so he began speaking off the cuff.

  “Hmph, I'm coming from outside Naucratis.”

  “That explains most things, then.”

  Kaelis was taking great care not to make himself seem suspicious to Carlos. At that moment, he began inspecting his surroundings. The most distinct thing he noticed upon starting was how the other people were looking at the two of them. As if they hated them and wanted to annihilate them. What had they done to deserve it? What could be the source of this hatred?

  “I suppose they don't like us very much.”

  “Who? Those worthless ones around us? If you're asking about them, it's not just a little—they hate us quite a lot. You and I are beings that shouldn't exist.”

  “———”

  “To speak honestly, when I first saw you, I thought you were one of them. The clothes you're wearing are quite high-quality and clean for people like us. Well, of course, since you were lying in the alley, I had my doubts that you might be like us, and they proved correct.”

  “Huh These clothes? They were gifts from an acquaintance in distant lands. I didn't want to use them much, but when I had no other clothes left, I had to wear them.”

  “Hmm got it”

  Kaelis was giving Carlos evasive answers, but Carlos was receiving them all positively. Was Carlos someone scheming behind his back? Who was the first person he had spoken to upon arriving here? He still had no idea. For now, the most important thing he knew was this: He could speak the same language and communicate with the people here—at least with Carlos beside him