* * *

Suddenly, a shout from a young girl echoed through the alley, abruptly halting their fight.

"What are you all doing now?"

Her voice resonated, and the fighting came to an immediate stop. Even El, who had been lost in a trance, snapped back.

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice, and to El's surprise, he recognized her.

She was the girl he had seen from his table in the restaurant, emerging from the shadows of the alleyway alongside a boy and several other small kids who had come after the food.

She approached from an intersection opposite to where El had originated, moving out from the deeper, darker part of the alleyway.

“I asked what… oh…” As she scowled while drawing closer after finding no answer whatsoever, her gaze finally landed on El. She swept her eyes over the breathless group, noting Sill and other member clutching their injured hand, and Nore, being his usual cautious damned self he was.

“What do you all intend to do with him? You must be out of your minds! Let me guess, this was Nore’s idea again, wasn’t it?” She glared at them.

The others exchanged furtive glances, avoiding her piercing stare.

Nore replied defensively, “We need money. You know that, too. What better opportunity do we have right now with a kid from the upper side here?”

“And what if the guards come? Who will deal with them? You?” she retorted, sarcasm dripping from her words.

“I have a plan. As long as we’re careful, everything will be fine,” Nore insisted, his frown deepening.

“Ha! Do you mean the plan from the other day when you and the others almost got caught? Is this going to be the same scheme as before…” She narrowed her eyes, confronting Nore's decision.

From the side, El suddenly interjected, raising his hand high. “Excuse me. I think we have an actual problem. I’m actually not from around here. I mean, I’m not from the upper side or even the city.”

He went on to explain that he hadn’t been born in Mirthwater but came from a village far away, located on the border between the Eschaton Empire and another kingdom whose name he didn’t know. It was a non-aligned territory, somehow not officially recognized by either the Empire or the other kingdom.

He deliberately omitted details about his lost memories—or the fact that his village had been a war-torn region for as long as he could remember.

There was also a truth that its residents had refused to acknowledge for years: they would all face death sooner or later, either from hunger, thirst, disease, or bandits.

Another thing that made it worse was that the war, for reasons unknown—though some whispered it was due to witches—had rendered the land barren, killed all crops, and turned fruit-bearing trees into sources of poison. Even the seeds that were planted all perished, unable to survive long enough to sprout.

…

“What? So, it means we... no, you are being dumb then?”

Sill remarked after hearing El’s brief summary of who he actually was.

His gaze fixed on Nore, who appeared sullen under the others’ stares.

Nore had been the one to initiate the plan to kidnap El and demand a ransom from his supposed parents, and now the scrutiny was palpable.

“You were the one who was dumb. How did I even know he was from the outside? He didn’t even say anything when he heard us wanting to kidnap him,” Nore defended himself, pointing an accusatory finger at El. “It’s this kid’s fault. Why didn’t you say anything before, you freaky b*stard? You must be purposely picking a fight, isn’t it?”

The truth was, El felt tempted to agree with that accusation. He had, in fact, been looking forward to the confrontation, which was why he had kept silent.

However, after weighing the pros and cons, he chose to remain quiet and blinked his eyes repeatedly, allowing himself to appear as the innocent lamb, which only made Nore glare at him even more intensely.

“You…” Nore started to approach El, but Sill caught his buddy by the shoulder.

“Calm down, Nore. It’s definitely your fault this time!” Sill whispered in Nore’s ear. “Besides, do you really think you could even land a hit on him?”

“Tchh… anyway, you’re also in on the plan!?” Nore scowled at Sill.

“It’s not me who talks. It’s not me who plans. It’s all on you, bro. Besides, I was the very first to suggest letting him go…” Sill shrugged, gesturing with his hands to indicate he had nothing to do with the initiation of the plan and that all the blame lay with Nore.

“Maybe the kid is lying. Look at his face. I bet his family is rich…” Nore insisted.

“I don’t have a family, though. The person who brought me here has been missing for a whole week now,” El inserted, feeling a wave of sadness wash over him as he remembered the man who still hadn’t come home.

“Uh… you’re lying…”

“Alright, that’s enough,” The girl calmly redirected the conversation. Her gaze turned to El. “So, what were you doing here, anyway?”

“Oh, right,” El replied, snapping out of his thoughts. “I was heading to the mayor’s office. You were there too, weren’t you? At Merriment Restaurant?” He hesitated, then added, “I heard the people who work there are going to be executed today.”

The alleyway fell into an uncomfortable stillness, their expressions turning downcast and bleak.

After a few moments of El fidgeting with guilt, the girl broke the silence, her voice cutting through the gloom. “That’s about right. We wanted to go there too. Come with us.”

El blinked, surprised. “Is it really okay?” he asked cautiously.

“Yes, it’s fine. Come with us,” she reassured him, and turned away.

“Alright,” El agreed, falling into step beside her.

As they began walking together, the others exchanged uncertain glances before trailing behind them.

Nore, however, lingered. His glare bore into El’s back, then shifted to the girl, frustration and distrust evident in his expression. It wasn’t until Sill tapped him lightly on the chest with the back of his hand that Nore snapped out of it, gritting his teeth before reluctantly following the group.

“My name’s Ran, by the way. What about you?” she said, extending her hand toward El in greeting. Despite the cool edge to her demeanor, El found her presence unexpectedly warm. Even without a smile, there was something reassuring about her.

“Ah, my name is… my name is El,” he replied, hesitating for a brief moment. He almost blurted out “Gabriel,” but caught himself just in time. The realization struck him—he felt oddly happy when she asked his name, and even more so when he shared it with her.

The feeling was strange, yet comforting.

‘Maybe it’s because I never really had a name before,’ he mused, recalling his time in the village. There, everyone had simply called him “boy.”

The thought lingered, stirring other memories—memories that unsettled him the more he dwelled on them.

Except for the few who had taken him in and offered him a place to sleep, most of the villagers had treated him like he was cursed.

They avoided him, keeping their distance as though his presence alone carried misfortune. Even the kind uncle and aunt who had cared for him at first, followed by the elders and the grandparents who later took him in, had refused to name him.

Their reluctance had puzzled him deeply, leaving him with an enduring sense of confusion and loneliness.

They had seemed… afraid of him.

‘Did I do something wrong? Or am I truly a plague?’ The thought stung, washing over him in depression.

Yet outwardly, El maintained his composure. A small smile tugged at his lips as he shook Ran’s hand.

He felt oddly grateful for the late auntie who had taught him the gesture—a simple act of connection that, in this moment, grounded him.

She had cared for him like her own son, nurturing him from infancy with kindness that had stayed with him long after she was gone.

“Just El?” Ran asked, her tone curious as her head tilted slightly to the side.

“Yes, just El,” he replied. With equal curiosity, he asked, “And you? Just Ran?”

Ran paused, her gaze drifting before she answered vaguely. “Hmm… I guess so…” Her voice trailed off, carrying a hint of introspection.

* * *