My father used to bring home game from outside the town every other day or so. He would often boast about his secret hunting grounds that he would keep to himself, and have the haul to prove it. Every time, I would marvel at the sight of him carrying whatever creature he managed to get around his shoulder or tied up in our wagon. Thus, there would always be food on the table. More often than not, there would be too much that we would sometimes have a hard time storing the leftovers. And the young naive child I was, I would chow down the meals without so much of a thanks to the animals that sacrificed their lives. But that was all before the incident. Being respectful was the first thing drilled into me after being adopted into the mill. It was only natural to follow the town’s etiquette after the sudden removal of that lax environment after all. And I’ve been repaying the debt ever since.

Yet. That debt appeared far too great. It seemed that I would repay the price for not fully giving respect to the deaths of those animals all that time ago. What Keery, Tobias, and I felt in that moment was the sheer bloodlust of a guardian protecting its home in this frigid forest.

“GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!”

So this is what it means to be at a loss for words. My whole body felt numb. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t muster up ice. With no other options left, all I could do was stand there, dumbfounded, at the emerging figure before us. The goal of Keery’s trek was to lead us to one truth out of many—evidence for a tiny world’s tales. I could only imagine the cascade of emotions he felt the moment that figure emerged from the shadows. Fear? Excitement? Perhaps denial? Or perhaps acceptance?

And for a fraction of a second, all of my life had flashed before my eyes. I truly believed it was going to be the end of my days here in this world—that the last thing I would experience is the wind whistling through the gaps in the trees—that I would be long forgotten in a desolate forest such as this. A thought too painful to bear.

...Except what Keery, Tobias, and I saw after the light trickling through the leaves had illuminated the dark figure would have dismissed all of that away. A beast. A being that strikes fear into people’s hearts…. I guess you could say that. Turns out, the beast was much more… human… than I thought? Hm. It seemed that we weren’t going to have proof of its existence anytime soon after all.

“If I have to deal with wild animals one more dang time I’m gonna—! ...Wait.”

A... woman. I’m certain I will never forget this moment when I saw that woman emerging from the foliage. Much like the traveler on that day, she looked completely different from those in our village. Her clothes appeared completely foreign to me. She was barely wearing any protection against the cold, but what she did have on was far from the clothes I’ve dried at the mill. Her hair color was also a shade that I had never seen on another person before. I would compare it to the rare sunsets we only ever get to see ever so often: orange.

The way she spoke also seemed especially strange and alien. Her speech was completely comprehensible, but her sentence just now felt off to my ears. Is this what they called “foreign accent?” And not to mention the unfamiliar weapon she was holding. In her hand was a blade, one made out of true metal and not out of ice. Luckily for us, she seemed to have no more intention of using it.

“What’s this? Oh, what the… Just a bunch of kids?” Her eyes noticeably narrowed as she stared towards the three of us. All of her weight was on one leg and she was scratching her head as if confused. “Just when I thought there was some sort of bear or something… Ran out here without a jacket for nothing… huh—?”

“Teyaaaaaaah!!!” Before I knew it, Keery’s shadow had loomed over the field as he already leaped into the air with his Kusa no Tsurugi tucked in for a swing.

“Hm?” The woman’s eyes instantly darted to the glistening of the blade. As Keery struck down the sword, she raised her arm up in return. With just her fingers, she halted the momentum of the ice weapon without so much of a struggle.

“Sheesh. Ain’t that cold to the touch?”

Having his own momentum halted, Keery’s only choice was to let himself land onto the ground but maintained his grip against the hilt.

“Nrrrgh!!!”

“K—Kerry! P—Please! Let’s run away, now!” Tobias shouted out in terror from behind me, “W—We already got what we were looking for! Let’s just go!” The shrill of his voice communicated just how consumed he still was with adrenaline.

“I c—can’t! Not when we came so far all the way here—!”

“Nice try boy, but you’re full of openings.”

The moment after she said those words, Keery was suddenly in midair yet again, but this time unintentionally. —She had knocked him off his feet with a single sweep of the leg. The woman proceeded to shove her elbow into his abdomen, launching Keery backwards and causing him to roll onto the snow until he landed where we stood.

He looked defeated as he laid there groaning, that’s for sure. Even though it was hard to tell, he must’ve had some brain freeze from the snow that had collected in his hair during the fall. But that didn’t stop him from forcing himself up, shaking it off, and giving what he attacked one more look in the eye.

“U...rk! It’s just too strong...!” Keery coughed and spat while supporting himself with the hilt of the sword.

“Shucks, it’s a BEAST! I told ya a sword wasn’t gonna be good enough…!”

“—Ugh, whatever, Tobi, Nagi, let’s book it for now! We’ve accomplished our objective; now we just gotta live to tell the tale! Tobi, do the thing!”

“...Aye aye capt’n!!” On his signal, Tobias pressed his hands together and took a deep breath. It was faint, but I felt more and more snow flakes colliding with my face until I had to squint my eyes to shield them. This was powdered snow, microscopic flakes Tobias had summoned which filled the entire environment around us, immediately reducing the visibility just enough for the so-called escape. Before I knew it though, the trampling of boots had emanated from behind me before ceasing entirely—the brothers had left me in the dust, leaving me alone with the woman.

Were… they so scared that they still thought what had emerged from the dark was the beast we encountered? It all honestly happened so fast that it took me until after the fact to process everything that happened, let alone comment on anything. Tobias’s powdered snow eventually wore off after some time and revealed the mess of footprints in the snow where we had came through earlier. And all that was left was the bitter silence of the forest.

“...Now what the hell was all of that about? The hell they’re calling a beast? Making enemies out of any random person they meet or something?” the woman scratched the back of her head in confusion again, but also started shivering a bit. “What were they even doing here in such a cold-ass forest in the first place? Brr…”

That was when she finally shifted her gaze to me, noticeably surprised that I was still standing here. “...Huh. Hey. You too, Junior. You should scram off with your friends too.”

“...”

“...I’m serious. Go on, scram now if you don’t want to freeze to death, or…” She pointed her blade straight at my head, “...be killed by me for that matter.”

If not for a certain circumstance, I would have ran off right there and then. I couldn’t deny that her sudden death stare sent a shiver up my spine. Despite her suggestion, however, I didn’t budge an inch. Not that I was scared… okay maybe I was, but also more in the line of curious of her.

“—Tch. You got ears on the sides of your head and I’m sure you also got two good legs attached to your hips. If you don’t move your body now, I’ll make it unable to move permanently.”

The malevolent glare in her eyes communicated that this matter was not open for discussion any further. The woman’s stance was exactly identical as when Kerry showcased his ice blade from last night, but what differed was that she truly had the intention of using her weapon—on me. If this was the beast handling that weapon, surely I would have ran off with the brothers by now. But this is no beast. I needed to ignore every danger signal my body was sending. Trembling and shaking though they were, my legs were going to have to stay in place.

“I’m... not going to move anywhere.”

“What— This kid…” Her blade visibly shook for a second, “Are… Are you really not intimidated by me? ...You know, now that I think about it… Could an ordinary kid really be so unbothered after seeing her friend getting his ass handed to like that?”

“Hey, miss... Why are you here? What are you doing in the Eastern Forest?”

The woman’s murderous demeanor was instantly replaced by surprise. I didn’t realize that question would have taken her back that much. She cocked her head and stared into my eyes for a moment.

“Well lookie here... aren’t you a strange little girl. Never knew the natives here raised their children to be this reckless.”

She gave me a sharp gaze as if transfixed by my appearance. Her eyes made their way up my clothing and to my face. It didn’t bother me as much due to the fact that I was doing the same with her. It’s just that… her hair, her eyes...! They're not white and blue or cyan at all! It was like back then when I saw that one traveler! If she’s just like him then...

“Miss—”

Unfortunately, my words only cause her to shift back to her malevolent state as she bent her knees and leaned forward. “‘Fraid you're just gonna have to find out in the afterlife. It’s a shame your guardians didn’t raise you properly enough.”

She reared her blade backwards, giving me no time to respond. No time to flee. No time to accept my fate. “Those who lack respect for their superiors lack proper judgment and thus, they shall be silenced. A journey to the gallows they shall undertake. Let there be no ill-will between us. Au revoir, little one.”

A blinding light. A ray of wind. As soon as the force of air knocked my hair backwards, I felt no fear. Because this time, I knew that wasn’t my life flashing. The blade had stopped a centimeter between my eyes. I looked up. It was as if the woman had frozen in time right before she made contact.

“I-I can’t do it after all…” She finally broke her spell and lowered her blade. “In the end, I can’t do it anymore…”

She… stopped. Why did she stop just now? The woman became speechless, the only emotion showing were her furrowed eyebrows. Was that all an act? Or did second thoughts emerge in her mind?

“...Miss?”

“...”

“Miss?”

“...”

“Miss—”

This time, her pained look was replaced by just plain-old annoyance. “Urgh, this girl really doesn't have any sense of danger in the slightest... I told you to go home already!”

“Anything, please.”

No matter what, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip from my fingers, an opportunity to learn more about this world. Or at least, why someone was inside a forest like this, and why she goes so far as to threaten others to keep her secret.

“—Just go home! Skedaddle, hightail, vamoose!”

“And… were you the one who made those growling noises?”

“—I was growling cause I didn’t want some random reindeer to mess with my camp! Ugh...” The woman pinched the bridge of her nose. A moment passed before she took a deep breath, presumably collecting her thoughts.

“A persistent one… just had to be one of those... *Sigh* Fine, I’ll show you. This is only to shut you up in order for you to leave sooner, so follow me.”

At that moment, I was sure the woman could see my eyes light up. Because she herself looked like she had just dug her own grave. She sighed one more time and gestured her finger to cue me.

“Just... watch out for the spines jutting out of the bushes here. I’m not responsible for any cuts you might get. You’re old enough to handle it, right? I don’t want to hear any whining.”

Sure enough, there was a nest of prickly bushes that we had to cut through and the woman easily wafted between them without breaking so much of a sweat. This was perhaps something that she was hoping to deter me off, but it didn't bother me in the slightest.

By the time I got out of the growth, I received quite a few scratch marks everywhere that stung. Nonetheless, I couldn’t have cared less. The woman only nodded at my accomplishment and headed off to what seemed like our destination. The dusk light was just barely enough to illuminate the side of the mountain where there was a second source of light trickling out from an opening.

“We’re going in.”

What was behind that opening was like a whole other world.

・・・・・

“This is my humble abode.”

Warmth was the first thing I took in when I first stepped into the camp. The small fire placed in the middle illuminated dozens of knick-knacks that filled my field of vision throughout the beige interior. There were paper maps, charts, pots, pans, crates filled with even more stuff, and all sorts of similar metal weapons that she had all sprawled around the walls. It was just like a typical log cabin or lodge, except the floor and walls were made out of stone.

The woman immediately plopped down next to the fire, shivering and rubbing her hands together. “Errf! S—So cold! Why did I thought coming out there without some kind of covering a good idea…”

While she warmed herself up, I couldn’t help but to walk around the lodge a bit to take in everything around me. “Woah… A secret hideout…!”

“Ah, err. Not quite. It’s not all that special, it’s just some little camp I made. Really, it’s basically my house at the moment.” She grabbed a branch that was on the floor and moved around the logs of the fire. The light flickered by the rocks; its reach slowly dwindled. “Looks like this is gonna die out huh...”

Whatever she called this location, I was too enthralled to argue. The woman had set up all of this in the wilderness by herself from scratch no less.

“Are you… a fairy?” I blurted out while poking through the different weapons leaning against the wall.

“Err. Not quite either… I’m not a fairy. I swear, what’s going on inside the minds of youth these days…? And oi! Don’t touch that!”

Not realizing it, I had a blade in my hands which was almost as tall as I was. Perhaps I shouldn’t try to get too carried away or else she would actually kick me out.

“*Sigh* Here’s a good idea.” The woman got up and walked over to pluck the weapon out of my hands. “If you’re so inclined to these things, how about we go chop some wood for the fire and cook a meal up? I could go for a bite to eat right now. And after that trek you and your friends had, I’m sure you would too. Must be incredibly far from your place right now.”

The woman motioned to the pile of logs that sat one the opposite side. She wanted me to make some firewood? Is that her way of making guests pay rent and not overstay their welcome? Not that I mind. I had to chop logs every now and then for the mill.

“Umm… Yes, sure. But... what are we going to eat?”

“That, I’ll take care of myself. You just go grab an axe and I’ll bring home some demonic beast for dinner. Sounds like a deal?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

Her eyes widened for a second before she grinned. “Ah, so even that’s not gonna scare you off, eh? Good. Then I’ll be back in a few.” I was already used to having people refer to things in a rather strange manner thanks to a little sailor, so I knew I would be correct to assume ‘demonic beast’ is just her way of slang. Though, I could be wrong and that she will slay some sort of horrific monstrosity. The woman fetched a coat that was hanging by one of the rocks jutting out near the entrance and a huge straw basket that she equipped onto her back. And off she scurried outside.

Meanwhile, I went over and grabbed one axe, easily feeling the difference in quality compared to the one used at the mill.

Brandishing the axe.

Swinging upwards.

Striking down.

A consecutive set of actions I took that I was taught by Chloe when Rosalind noticed our supply of wood was getting low one day. We had spent that night laughing at my lack of gross motor skills, eventually producing just enough after my hands had bruised after so many swings. A few minutes of reminiscing and back-splitting labor later, I placed the logs into the embers—instantly, the fire rejuvenated.

And at the same time, a rustle came from the entrance of the camp. What I saw could only be described as the biggest haul I’ve ever seen; even moreso than the biggest haul my father had ever brought home. A boar, three foxes, vegetables ranging from peppers, wood ears, winter cabbage, winter scallions… and more all inside the basket on her back.

“Whew. I’m back.” The woman lowered the basket with a slam. “What’s good about this climate is that there’s basically natural refrigeration everywhere.”

She then proceeded to dig up a wooden plank board and rested it onto a crate. Flipping over the basket, she dumped all of the contents onto it and brought out her blade. Is she really going to use that to chop up everything?

“Ah! I’ll help to!” I said as soon as I realized, but she only raised her palm in return.

“No need. But what I do want you to do is take that pot right there and put it over the fire.”

Pot? Over my shoulder was a worn, gray pot that appeared to have served well over the years. I do as I was told, nestling the cauldron onto the supports over the fire.

“Like this?”

“Like that. Now… Just step back and watch this.”

The woman lifted up her leg and slammed it down onto the board’s edge, knocking a flood of blurriness into the air. She brandished her blade and—

“—Time for a hot pot.”

It took two moves. Two sweeps into the air for every single ingredient to be sliced and diced. Their trajectory fated them to land inside the pot without a single spill.

“Wow…” Keery couldn’t have possibly cut down a hanging fruit even if he tried let alone landing a shot like this. Not one speck of food missed the goal; everything was accounted for. Every… thing? As I looked inside the pot, I got an overwhelming sense of ‘vegetarianism’, if you will.

“Hey… wait… what about those animals earlier? I don’t see any meat inside.”

“...”

“...?”

“...Dammit. I thought you wouldn’t notice.” Her arm slid behind her back, suggesting something might be hiding there. “...Look, I’m out of practice. Skinning pelts isn’t exactly my specialty and I wouldn’t want intestines and fur inside my food. You can agree to that, can’t you?”

With the way she was gloating earlier, you’d expect that to be her specialty.

“O...oi. Respond, please…”

・

The aromatic smell had already swept throughout the camp by the time the forest became pitch black. The sizzling hot banquet in front of me couldn’t have been any more eye-catching. But before devouring the hot pot/stew, there was one more thing needed to be done. I placed my hands together and closed my eyes.

“Hm?” I heard a questioning sound from the woman but she didn’t follow up with anything afterwards. Instead, the sound of another clasp of hands emanated from her direction. I assume she understood to be respectful of those who offered their lives in order to create this meal.

With that, I took my first bite—instantly, the warm feeling of the soup along with the taste of cooked meat and vegetables melted throughout my mouth. Even though there were the same ingredients we would have in a dish at the mill, this somehow was much, much more delightful.

“Like it?”

I nodded in response.

“Good. Looks like my cooking skills are still on point. Good enough that a kid likes it.”

The woman took her first bite and made an audible “mmm” sound. At least I know she was also enjoying the taste. Before long, we inched our way down the pot without exchanging a single word. As we cleaned our dishes, she broke the few minutes of silence that lingered throughout the supper. Her eyes wandered into the fire as she rested her bowl on the floor.

“—Velma. That is my name.”

My eyes instantly sprang to hers. What she had just said— her... name! To think that she had decided to reveal something like that to me! Did she think I deserved it after helping out?

She took another bite before continuing.

“It’s time I should properly introduce myself. My name is Velma, born and raised from the region Alkai, specifically from the northeastern part of it. I’ve always had a special job that I held which was given to me since birth, but I’ve been taking a break from it since. Those damn operators collecting my kills as taxes… Ah, *Ahem* Now, I’m part ‘traveler’, part ‘explorer’ I guess you can say. My current plans had me traveling through these northern regions actually. That’s why I’m currently residing in this little camp I set up.”

So it is true that she was from another part of the world after all. Her name, Velma, doesn’t seem like a name commonly found in Sappora. Alkai, was it? I’ve honestly never heard of it before. And her occupation is...

“So, what’s ‘exploring’?”

Velma raised an eyebrow. “...‘What’s exploring?’ I can’t tell whether or not you don’t actually know the definition of the word or the hobby since you're so young. What are you, six?”

“I’m thirteen.” ...Did she really allow someone who she thought was six years old to use an axe?

She shrugged. “...Eh. Close enough. But to answer your question, it’s kind of hard to put it into words. Exploring is… life changing.”

“Life changing?”

“Yup, for lack of a better word. So freeing and rewarding. If you ever find yourself stuck in a place for too long and you want a change of pace, the whole world is always there for you to discover. It’s an amazing feeling visiting many remarkable locations, meeting new people along the way, gaining a better understanding of cultures… et cetera, et cetera.

Hence that’s why I wasn’t too surprised when I first heard you speaking in a different accent than mine. Your cadence, inflection on words, pronunciation is completely different from my perspective. Much in the same way with a lot of other people I’ve met over the years. Hell, you guys might even have a bit of a ‘dialect’, considering the word ‘exploring’ is new to you apparently. Usually isolated societies evolve different language systems, but... we can still understand each other just fine… almost. Well, I guess Alkai is fairly close to here, but that’s beside the point. Linguistics is some exotic stuff.”

This… was too good to be true. I don’t know much about this ‘linguistic’ stuff, but what Velma was saying about a change in pace was exactly the type of thing that I so wished dearly for… for my entire life now.

“...‘Course, that’s more the traveling side. As for ‘exploring’... ho boy. This world is huge, Junior. Humanity as a whole only uncovered about 30% of the world’s landmass as far as I recall—even with everybody’s manifest destiny craze. That’s not even accounting for the bodies of water. There’s still a buncha stuff that we don’t know about the world.”

I knew the world outside of Sappora was going to be huge, but the way she described it felt as if I just opened my eyes for the first time. ‘Exploring’, huh? I wonder if that one man who passed by Sappora is the same as her?

“Exploring… sounds so much fun…”

“Indeed it is. What I’m in for is the fact that you get to bring back the treasure and fortune you come across with ya. Finders keepers. Uh… You know now that I think about it, you never told me your name, little girl.”

“...Nagi.”

“Nagi, eh? Hmm. Short and concise. I like it. Maybe a little too concise though…”

Not sure what she meant by too concise but it seemed like she won’t be using it anytime soon.

“Hm. You know, Junior. You seem to be that type of person interested in hearing about foreign regions… judging by how your eyes are drifting around everywhere, particularly towards the maps. How about this.”

Velma got up and walked over to one of the boxes. She rummaged around before digging up a hefty-looking book. On the cover, there was what appeared to be a compass in front of a blue backdrop.

“Hmm… Let’s see. This atlas right here is basically a nonfiction encyclopedia of every major region. But if you’re brave enough, think of it as a showcase of different kinds of places you would find on a vacation trip.”

She plopped right back down in front of the fire and I scooted over next to her. As she opened the cover of the book, I was instantly transported out of the camp. Scandia, Chordia, Sozuraka, Alkai… A place called Kosmos Valley... a capital city called Fallway… How could I have possibly gone on without knowing this stuff? It was as if the atlas was lighting up before me as every page turned and revealed more sectors of the world. Even when Velma flipped through each page a little too quickly for me to read, I immediately imagined what life was like in each location. Just like she said, I was already warming up to the idea of exploration… Wait… It was literally lighting up.

This woman was somewhat of a klutz. The book went up in flames before she even realized she had held up the book straight against the fire that was simmering the hot pot.

“Oh fuck! Oh fuck Oh fuck?!”

As Velma finally noticed the flames, she instantly started panicking, ever so-trying to douse them. Her first instinct was to shake the ablazed book which only fed the flames more oxygen. Any method she tried, whether it be throwing it up into the air or blowing on it, only caused the flames to grow worse.

“Ah…! Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot HOT HOT HOT! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I DO?!”

This has gone long enough. I slowed my breathing and raised my hand toward the book. Time to display my power for the first time to her. She looked down, surprised to see the sudden ice that had formed against her hands. Ice formed on the book’s hard cover. Before long, all of the flames had been extinguished, encased by coldness. Velma looked back at me, and then to the book again.

“It’s… it’s not like I’m thankful or anything, Junior.”

I gave her a deep stare and remained silent in response.

“Hey, don’t give me the cold shoulder like that. C’mon I like your soft-spoken voice… Oh… shoot. Perhaps, I shouldn’t have sworn like that in front of a six year old.”

She was definitely lonely inside here. “...I’m thirteen.”

“Hey. When you reach my age, you’ll find anyone below eighteen basically looks and acts the same.”

My stare grew deeper which I’m pretty sure made Velma a bit flustered as she changed the subject. “Anyways… That is some Aoi you got there. Ice, huh? I never actually realized you had one, a cool one at that. Well, I probably should’ve, considering your friend whipped out an ice sword out of thin air like that.”

I tilted my head. What did she just say? I had an...

“An Aoi? What’s that?”

Velma returned a look of confusion. “Huh? What do you mean ‘an Aoi’?”

“What is it? I never heard of that before.”

“...You don’t know the name of Aoi yet you just created some ice just now? Huh, interesting. Do the natives here just not know the name of them—” She shook her head, as if reconsidering something. “...They are the ‘abilities’: powers that can alter reality without so much for a care of normality. Basically, you could say they’re real life magecraft. Powers that humans are sometimes born with — others receive. What you just did, Junior, that was your Aoi.”

My Aoi? This can’t be right. No. It can’t. Velma’s not part of the town. She doesn’t share the power of ice. So then… Why does she act so familiar with it? Why can she just attach a name so easily to the very thing that sets us apart? Yet, I know… I know that I shouldn’t be surprised… and yet...

“—Niebieski.”

“Eh?”

Velma has knowledge of the powers. But does she also know more than just that? I need to confirm it. “...Have you ever heard of Niebieski?”

A moment passed, before— “...Can’t say I have. Sounds like an ice cream flavor if you ask me.”

She… doesn’t know? “Niebieski was the Dragon that gave us these powers…”

“...And powers you mean Aoi?”

“—Yes. The ice powers.”

“And I’m guessing it’s just ‘ice’ that you’re referring to?”

I nodded reluctantly.

“...Looks like we have lots to discuss later on.” Velma said, flicking some pebbles that were lying on the ground into the fire. “How the heck did y’all survive this long being this ignorant? You guys been living under a rock the last few hundred years or something?”

Those words were a kick in the gut. Even though it was entirely not my fault, I still felt ashamed how little I knew about everything. Or rather — what I believed I knew to be true. Those stories. They are not real — just some fabrications that people had passed down time and time again. Should I have felt upset? Relieved?

Right now, I only feel nothing but confusion. The more I know, the more I realize what I don’t know. The pieces are not quite in the right place; everything still didn’t all add up. There’s still so many questions that I have for her.

“Do you have an ‘Aoi” then?” I asked to which she responded with a finger over her lips.

“That’s a secret.”

Oh come on!

“Ahaha! I knew you were gonna pout like that! It’s fine though, Junior. I didn’t know much about the world either until I found this atlas in my mum’s attic one day—Oh? This is…”

Velma paused for a second while looking at the hard cover, blinking a couple of times before waving me over to see what was going on. After not letting me on her secret, why should I go and listen to—

“Just get you butt over here already or you’ll get the boot.”

—I scooted over to her again. Right. Still at the mercy of being kicked out at any point. Velma shifted the atlas to my direction and instantly, I was drawn in. From what I made out, the page spread laid out an entire scene of a landscape depicting a city filled with what seemed to be pipes. Pipes? There must’ve been several hundred of them criss-crossing in all directions. It also depicted ordinary life among the people as well. Within the paved stone roads surrounded by orange street lamps, people were dressed in clothes not usually seen in Sappora merely walking around without a care in the world. Some were traversing in said pipes. I would have been awed by that fact alone, but there was something much more significant. —That was only on one side of the atlas. This page spread showcased a city, yes, but at two different dates separated only a year apart.

“Sozuraka. An entire region that had been wiped off the map thanks to a sudden volcanic eruption.”

On the other side was what appeared to be a tall mountain somehow spewing red liquid from its peak, oozing down its sides. I could tell just how viscous it was by how unnatural it seemed to flow in the image. More importantly though, was the sea of black clouds shrouding the sky that cast a dark onto the nearby town seen in the distance. I gulped. What was happening here?

“Volcanic?”

“Ah… Great. You really are holed up in this snowy region, Junior. This was… your world’s opposite. A land that was struck by a wave of calamity. All you need to know is that nobody anticipated that this mountain masked a volcano within it. And that it would erupt, spewing lava and ashes all over an entire region of the world that people had resided in. Millions died. One of the deadliest, if not, the deadliest natural disasters in human history. It’s said society and progress halted for years after the eruption. But humans adapt. Humans adapt and survive. Now there are children like you who’ve never seen a chip in a wall… Sorry, nevermind my rambling. I just needed you to understand all of that because — Look.”

Velma pointed to a dark part of the page that was scorched by the fire. The surface had been scraped off considerably, leaving nothing but a remnant of what had been printed on it. But as I peered closer, there was some area that was just slightly darker than the rest, creating some sort of shape—two perpendicular lines intersecting in the middle...

“An ‘x’?”

“...I’ve heard ancient kings used to store their treasure somewhere deep inside some deep crevice underground. If, and that’s a big ‘if’, this indicator thing were to be taken seriously, then in a small expanse of ruins somewhere here, there’s valuable treasure out there sitting in plain sight.”

No way. No WAY. Treasure?! That’s... so… cool! Ah… This reminds me of the mill. Sometimes, the boys of the mill would play treasure-hunting and attract dirt everywhere, which then I would have to clean up for each and every time. Because of that, I would dread the thought of digging up the ground until you’re covered head to toe in dirt. But this is something else entirely.

A hypocrite I am. Perhaps, this excitement was what they would experience every time. Perhaps I wasn’t so different from everyone else: People who wanted a little fun in their lives. To just escape the monotony of life—just like my mother and father. Everything during those times was a blur, with only the remaining details fading by time. Thus, my whole life the way it is only consisted of the laundry mill. I always felt so trapped inside Sappora after that. Mindlessly working day in day out… Is this the life I want to live? To live life not to the fullest, but the least? No. I want the colorlessness and especially my ignorance to end.

“Let’s go.” I muttered softly.

As soon as she heard me, Velma turned her head and gave me a look of disbelief. “‘Let’s go’? Are you serious?”

I nodded. “Let’s go find that treasure ourselves. If it isn’t real, the least we can do is to mourn the loss of those people.”

“Junior. Saying this will be a dangerous undertaking would be an extreme understatement. I can’t say I oppose this, but I can’t say the same for anyone else. First of all, think of your family and friends. What are they gonna think when they find out you're off somewhere? You’re only six. Do they have reason to believe a child like you will survive all alone by herself? Children… should never be forced into that situation… ever.”

Right then and there, Velma muttered something under her breath that was too faint to hear. It was as if something caused her to wince in pain.

“—But I have you with me.” That line alone caused her lip to quiver a bit, which hurt knowing that I’d have to lie. “I’m... very sure they will be fine knowing I’m gone somewhere. Please. Just one day is fine.”

“One day you say? Maybe this atlas didn’t make it obvious just how far Sozuraka is from here. It’s far.”

“Then a weekend!”

“Urgh… I’m… retired. I guess you can say. I can’t go back into exploring now… We’ll be putting ourselves too much at risk at how rusty I am, adding the fact that you have no experience whatsoever…”

“Please… Miss Velma.”

“Drop the miss. Formalities ain’t needed here.”

“I’ll do it if we can go.”

Velma fell silent. Surely she must be having a hard time deciding. It’s indeed selfish of me forcing her to say the least. Shameful even. But after a speech like that, there’s no possible way I would walk home and return to my ordinary life knowing what I’ve learned in the past couple of minutes.

And she must’ve known that as well. That was when she closed her eyes and gave out a deep sigh. “...I guess, I have been getting a little tired of the indoors lately. People always say it’s a good idea to take a step outside once and awhile…”

“—Then…!”

“All right. Whaddya say we do an exploration?”

“R—Really?!”

Velma opened her eyes and looked over to me with a smile across her face. “Heh. Honestly, whatever nutty plan this might be, if it’ll shake things up around here, I’m all for it.”

“It’s a promise…?”

“Err. Yeah. It’s a promise. Sozuraka. This coming weekend. Just be absolutely sure to not cause anyone you know a heart attack knowing you’re gonna undergo a life-or-death quest.”

...What was this? This feeling? My chest was tightening up and it was like I forgot how to breathe, but at the same time, I could’ve jumped into Velma’s arms at any second. Though, she would most definitely call off the promise if I did.

“Thank you… Velma. Heehee… Maybe you’re not such a beast after all…”

“...The heck. What’s with you guys and calling other’s ‘beasts?’” She sighed, scratching her head.

“Nothing! But, can we seal the deal?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

It might seem useless, heck, even childish. But why else would a real life representation of a connection between two have withstood the test of time? I extended out my hand, “Pinkie promise?”

“So that’s what you mean.” Velma extended out hers, “...Sure then.”

That was the moment where our pinkies locked together. And that moment is when a journey out of my little world opened up in front of me.

・・・・・

“I KNEW you were gonna try and sneak off again, Nagi!”

Uh oh.

*Sigh* Here we go again. After making my way back through the Eastern Forest and back into the laundry mill, I was all but drained both physically and mentally. Wherever Keery and Tobias is now, I just hope they made it out alive. But I’m sure if I survived the ‘beast encounter’, then the brothers did too. Now I just have to survive one more encounter for the night. Gotta love Chloe.

“Hm? You seem to be in high spirits.” she said as she passed me a holystone that was turned on again.

“You think?” I said, shielding my hand with ice to catch the incoming safety violation.

“Indeed. You had an unusually big grin on your face when I saw you sneaking in. And your hands, they’re pretty dirty to say the least. Was the Snow Festival that fun?”

Huh. Didn’t realize that I did. Maybe I should wash my hands first before we’d have to rewash anything I touch. What can I say? The festival was pretty eventful.

“Ah. I did create a pretty mean Snow Fairy. So mean in fact, she told me to buzz off and stop being so weak.”

I sat down the holystone to do a quick scrub by a nearby faucet.

“Hmmm….? That’s nice. If that’s the case, then it’s a good thing I didn’t recreate Sir Francis Drake myself. He’d have me harpoon a whale in some worn down, unmaintained rowing boat.”

As she said that, Chloe stared down the little buttons on the handle of the iron as if they were aiming reticles. I feel like she uses that to improve her aim at me every time she throws these things.

“Are you sure you’re not confusing his punishments with what he does in his free time?” I said, patting my hands dry.

“Please, y’know how Drake always forces his hobbies on everyone he meets. In fact, you already know just how often he picks fights with others when they don’t comply.”

This somehow sounds oddly familiar. Much in the same way with a certain someone. But anyways, even though I’ve heard about the story of the captain many times already, this was the perfect opportunity to see that side of Chloe from her again.

“...Elaborate. Bestow your wisdom.”

“*Sigh* If you say so.” Putting her leg on a nearby chair she scooted out, Chloe cleared her throat and dawned a plunderer persona, “*Ahem* Who do ye think ye are, pointin’ yer blade at me?! Ye ain’t leavin’ here alive until ye get down on the floor and lick me feet!”

As one would expect from Chloe. “Heehee… You sound as ill-suited as ever.”

“Even with that, you give me too much credit. ...Anyways, that’s the last time I’m gonna do that impression. Let’s just hurry up and bang out these clothes so we have more time to ourselves.”

Dang. I was looking forward to seeing her next performance. But she’s right. The faster we get this out of the way, the faster I can get to bed and catch enough sleep for the road ahead. The week’s end is coming soon. And with another round of clothes, Chloe clonked the back of my head as I laid face down on the floor completely burnt once more.

“As always, good work tonight.” she said up above the back of my head, but it was a bit tough to respond at the moment.

“Uweeehhh….”

A small chuckle stemmed from her as a response to my anguish. “Now then. If you don’t mind, I’ll be the first to step into the bathing room.”

“Ah… wait. Before you do that…” I called out, turning my head from the floor to Chloe. There’s just one more thing I wanted to check.

“...What is it?”

“Um… How’s Mom?”

That question caused her to stare at me as if I had just asked how to stand on my two feet… which I’m not. Chloe took a second before she shrugged.

“Luckily the Festival allowed her to take a breather. But now she’s back to being as busy as ever, if that’s what you're asking about.”

“Yup. That’s fine.” Normally it’d pain me to be reminded of Rosalind’s unavailability, but this time though, it really was fine.

“...If there’s no other questions, then allow me to bathe now or else the smell of oil is going to stick on my skin.”

Oh, can’t have that happen now would we? “Sorry to keep you, have fun in there.”

“Yeah, yeah.” With a wave off, Chloe headed off into the hallway, leaving me face down on the floor. And so I get up, not wanting the smell of the floorboards on me either. Who knows when was the last time the boys did their job to mop the mill?

Supper flew by as quickly as the bell that chimed for its start. Ruminating about the day can have its perks. First, you don’t have to listen to anyone around you blabbing about how their ice sculpture ranked in the top 10s in the Snow Festival as you eat, or at least, pretend to eat as I already had my fill thanks to a little someone. But second, that the following days onwards can come quicker. As the clocks hit 10, I collapsed onto my bed as per usual, but this time, enveloped by a feeling of warmth as I drifted off to sleep.

“Thank you… Velma…”