"You have all that strength?!" Morio asked.

"Morio." Jyuzou coughed out, bumping his shoulder.

"I mean, he must be a Demonear!" he added.

"Heh, thank you, that's very nice. I wish I was, but a bartender's job here pretty much entails skills like these." he nodded. "Either way, back to that other topic at hand. People of your age shouldn't wander around here. There are many different places you could go to, but, it's getting late already. Do you want me to take you back to your house?"

"That's the thing, mister." Jyuzou stepped out.

"Bruno. You can call me just that." Bruno nodded, and a nice smile appeared on his face.

"Bruno, we don't have a place to sleep in for the night!" Morio quickly explained.

"Mister Bruno..." Jyuzou coughed, punching him lightly.

"O-Okay." Bruno took a turn and went through a few drawers to his right, before taking out a few papers, quickly writing something down and passing it to the Morians. "You could have room 52. There's only the two of you, right?"

"Mhm." Morio nodded, looking up.

"Right. That'd be sixty Silver for a night."

"What?" Morio smiled, clueless.

Bruno coughed. "Sixty Silver."

"What's Silver?" Morio asked.

"Are you serious?" Bruno raised an eyebrow.

"He doesn't know." Jyuzou pushed Morio out of the way. "Listen, we're heading to the Demonear test, and there was a sign-"

"AH! Soon to be Demonears, I see!" Bruno raised his voice. "Then, the nights are free! You can go to the apartments on Milagro Street, number 301. There's another one setting out to the test the next day, so you'll have to share a room. Hope you don't mind." Bruno added, handing Jyuzou the key, which Morio quickly snatched from his hand.

"Another one?" Jyuzou asked.

"Yep, a Paladian. He arrived two days ago, with the boat, among the other candidates. He may look a bit scary, but he was more terrified than I could've imagined two kids like you doing the same thing. Don't worry about him." Bruno explained.

Out of the blue, a Morian fell to the ground, blacking out, as the others laughed at him. Bruno sighed, stepping out.

"Th-thank you!" Jyuzou raised his voice, clenching the newly passed piece of paper in his hand.

***

Strolling through the streets of Wendigo, the houses created a cosy landscape where the roads themselves grew wide, leaving lots of snow-covered areas to breathe. Unlike Entertainment Street, this part of Wendigo resembled a typical Yule village described in various tales. Even the stone structures with warm, orange lights inside resembled the wooden, brown exterior. Horses were waiting in pens or tied near fences, only a few carriages moved through the night and near the torches at the sides, and the tall peaks of the nearby hills, mountains and conifers extended beyond the level of the sea.

After about thirty minutes of Morio unsuccessfully locating Milagro Street, Jyuzou put his hand on the door handle, before it opened, leading to a flight of stairs. The two stepped in, looking around. There were many different doors, leading to big rooms, totalling in about seven apartments per floor.

The two glanced around, before spotting the same number after moving up and down and counting through a few hushed yells between the two.

Morio hesitantly knocked on the door, and a muffled gasp followed, moving in with something crashing. Morio looked at Jyuzou, and he did the same, in a bit of a worry.

They waited for a bit, before footsteps sounded, approaching the entrance. The door was now slightly ajar, and a pair of eyes stuck out, squinting a little.

"H-Hello," Jyuzou said.

"Hi." a rather deep voice answered, in a strangely calm, yet anxious tone.

Morio smiled, a bit dumbfounded.

"You're going to the Demonear exam too, right? Mister Bruno said that we're going to have to share a room t-together." Jyuzou said, fixing his glasses.

The man closed his eyes before slamming the door shut in front of their faces. Then, he ran around, presumably cleaning something up. After about two minutes, he peeked again, before revealing himself to the two.

Morio stepped back, a bit shocked. Before them, stood a rather tall man, spotting a long dark-red jacket and undergarments which Paladians were known for, and here was a big scarf wrapped around his neck. He had long brown hair, with a part of it covering one of his ears and an awkward smile on his face.

"A-Alright." The guy added, a bit unsure. "You can come in now." he nodded, stepping inside as the two Morians hesitantly followed, glimpsing around the room.

There was a lamp, hanging from the ceiling, which illuminated the brown carpet and the beige walls. Morio wasn't really sure if they were supposed to be yellow.

The man sat on his bed, fidgeting with his fingers, still smiling a little, nodding and looking at the two.

"This is nice!" Morio raised his voice, despite his earlier concerns. He ran up to the window. "Ooh, you can see the sea from here! Jyuzou, look!"

Jyuzou waddled over, blinking.

"...and now, the ultimate test!" Morio continued, before jumping on one of the beds. "Gaah! Comfy! Although they should be a bit!" he squinted his eyes, pointing to the ceiling. "Up there!"

"S-Sorry for him. He's always like that." Jyuzou turned to the guy, before bowing.

"I d-don't mind." he waved, laughing. He then put his hands on his legs, obviously stressed.

"Ooh!" Morio stood up, before running over to the other room. "Wow! A toilet!" his voice echoed.

Jyuzou sucked in air through his teeth.

"We usually share a bathroom together in Mistwick! Big tubs filled with water outside in the snow! It gets cold sometimes! Neat inventions!" Morio kept yelling.

"Wait, a tub on the inside of a house?" Jyuzou stood up, interested, following Morio into the bathroom.

Their voices echoed to the other room. The Paladian heard them loud and clear.

"You fill it with the water in the bucket! Just like in Mistwick!" Morio explained. "Hey, Jyuzou! Remember when we used to take baths-"

"Shut up!"

"...together- ay, ay!"

"Ugh!" Jyuzou pulled Morio out of the bathroom, pinching his ear, and then stepped towards the guy. He took a deep breath, as his eyes met the Paladian's, who trembled a little.

"Okay, so." Jyuzou uttered. "I don't think w-we got to introducing ourselves yet."

"R-Right." the other guy nodded, before standing up, towering over the Morians.

Jyuzou breathed in through his nose before sticking his hand out, with a tight expression. "Jyuzou!" he yelled out.

"Morio, here!" Morio jumped up. "Hi! Hello!"

The guy unsurely smiled, putting his hands together and nodding, once more.

"We're from Mistwick, and similarly to you, we're going to the Demonear test," Jyuzou added,

"Mistwick? W-Well that explains something," he added.

"Huh?" Jyuzou looked up.

"S-Sorry, you don't like the Morians from around here. Your outfit seems much more... breathable?" he continued.

"Mhm! Great spotter!" Morio stated. "I can't even imagine putting on those stupid hats. It's the same with you, right, um..!"

"O-Oh! Atomu," he spoke. "I'm from Prope Portam, Lignoria. I came here by boat two days ago." he explained.

"Exactly!" Morio snapped his fingers. "Paladians from Prope Portam look much different than those in Saphrith?"

Atomu smiled.

"Really?" Jyuzou put a hand on his chin.

"SOMEONE hasn't been listening to what Mr Bancho said!"

"That's p-pretty neat." Jyuzou beamed, before shaking his head and fixing his glasses. "Listen, uh, we'll try not to interrupt you if that's what you want." he scratched his head. "We'll be setting out tomorrow, so all of this is just for one night."

"No, no, it's fine!" Atomu signalled. "I guess I'm just not used to having h..." he cleared his throat. "P-People around."

"Either way, you're way older than us, so it must be miserable having this child run around the room." Jyuzou pointed with his thumb, and Morio's face was stuck to the pane, eyes squinted to spot the sea.

"He's a funny little dude," Atomu replied, chuckling.

"You wouldn't say that if you had to spend every moment with him. Trust me."

Atomu tilted his head.

"Morio!" Jyuzou turned around.

"Yeah?" he added, tongue-stuck to the window.

"I'm going to take a bath now, so make sure not to interrupt Mr Atomu in the meantime."

Morio gave him a sour look, as Jyuzou confidently headed towards the bathroom.

"Stupid Jyuzou. I'm already done checking everything out." Morio headed towards his bed and laid it on, staring at the ceiling.

Atomu kept quiet, sitting in the same position. He kept playing around with strands of his hair, before spotting that Morio snuck a few glances at him.

"So. Back to that Paladian thing." Morio said, turning around. "I've always wondered how different you guys are from us."

"Well, except for the obvious ones, I don't think there's many."

"People say that Paladians aren't as used to the cold as Morians! How are you handling all that?"

"My clothes are thick enough. I knew what I was setting out to do, so, a bit of preparation and I'm good." Atomu kept nodding.

"Ooh! Well-thought! So tell me, do you like Shimori?"

"I haven't seen much of it yet, but it seems pretty n-nice." The Paladian continued. " I wouldn't call Wendigo too different from Prope Portam. After all, they're the ones who brought all the alcohol in here. I-I don't drink!" he clarified. "I just heard."

"Hm." Morio sat up. "How old are you, actually?"

"Nineteen in Gorro," he explained.

"Ooh. I've turned eleven recently. I wish I were as old as you already! People like that glassy idiot-." Morio pointed to the toilet. "-wouldn't feel so powerful about telling me that I'm not mature enough or something..!"

"Heh. I don't think I'm all that grown either." he signalled with his hands. "Just older. Maybe a little nervous too." he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ya open quickly though, Atomu!" Morio pointed. "Is it alright if I call you that?"

"M-Mister would make me feel old," Atomu snickered.

"Oh, okay!" Morio jumped down from the bed and ran over to Atomu, who moved back a bit. "Then, we can officially call each other friends from now on!"

"Huh?." Atomu smiled awkwardly.

"Well, when I do get to see you during the Demonear exam we'll recognize each other, and laugh about it!" Morio smiled. "Or even smack at those bars there or... heck, anything!"

"S-Sounds fine to me." Atomu beamed, turning to Morio with a little shock on his face.

"Mhm!" Morio closed his eyes for a moment, before his lips made a really strange shape. The Paladian glanced over, with a tinge of concern.

Suddenly, Morio's stomach made a strange noise. "Mh!" he fell to the ground.

"W-What is it?" Atomu looked concerned.

"Talking about food...! I haven't eaten in three hours!" Morio turned, terrified.

"Oh, my." Atomu looked around. "W-We can go and get something if you'd like." he proposed. "We'll leave a note for the other Morian, then."

"Yes..." Morio huffed. "Let's go, Atomu friend...!"

***

Following the same route as beforehand, only now with even fewer people or horses, but brighter lights at the sides, Atomu and Morio reached the Edge Silver Line. They stepped inside, immediately greeted by Bruno, who carried a fainted Morian in both arms.

"A second my boys." Bruno gave them an 'okay', before throwing the man onto a bench outside.

"Won't he get cold?" Atomu asked.

"Pff." Bruno laughed, curling his moustache. "You don't know the lengths these people can go to. Heavy snow, a cold night, nothing will deter them. They'll wake up the next day asking for more. He's been causing more trouble than usual, so he'll sleep out here." he clapped his hands. "What is it that you need?"

"Heard a thing or two about searching for the better, cheaper restaurants around town," Morio said.

"Y-Yeah." Atomu nodded. "The less flashy spots. We t-thought we could ask for some recommendations."

"Ooh, lots of places, all of them far from here, unfortunately," Bruno answered. "Food costs a lot at this time, though, and if I remember correctly, you don't have any money on you, right, Morian?" he asked.

"Um." Morio looked to the side. "No."

"Oh! What a shame!" Bruno put his hand on his forehead. "I guess I'll have to treat you to my cuisine!"

"I have money!" Atomu took out a pouch.

"Sh!" Bruno shushed him.

"But-"

"Shh! Let me cook for you." Bruno nodded.

The two were led to a different room, at the back of the bar, with four square tables, a door to the kitchen and another one pointing to the main bar.

Atomu and Morio sat on opposite sides of the table.

"Okay, then, I'll be bringing you my speciality, on the house, in just a few minutes. Anything to drink in the meantime?"

"Cocoa!" Morio raised his voice.

"Tea, please," Atomu added, nodding.

"Alright, alright! You don't mind if I join you afterwards? I'll be needing a little break soon."

Atomu smiled awkwardly.

"Not a problem!" Morio yelled out.

"Okay! I'll be right with you!" Bruno waved, before treading over to the kitchen.

Morio smiled, following the bartender with his gaze, before his eyes met Atomu's.

"H-How do you do that?" Atomu asked.

"Do what?"

"B-Be this open? All the years I've lived through, I always had people telling me that I'm weird. Even when I was your age." Atomu put his hand on the table, bowing his head down.

"I don't know!" Morio quickly answered. "...and I think you're the first person that doesn't look down on me for acting like this!"

"It's a good thing to have," Atomu raised an eyebrow. "I wish I was this confident."

"See, I like to think that way too! Then comes Jyuzou, lashing out at me for not being the boring plant-interested wanker he is!" Morio signalled with his hand. "I'm still young. We're all young. I could still change, but I enjoy the Morio I am!" he pointed to himself.

"W-Well, if you put it that way..." Atomu nodded. "I might grow more confident as well."

"Of course! Nineteen isn't that old! You should've seen Mr Bancho." Morio smirked.