The town appeared normal.
Except it was silent, as if the people inside hadn’t awakened yet.
Like, for them, it was still the dead of night.
Ignoring the silence, Kai stepped inside the town through the gates.
Ren and Elvan followed him.
Ren glanced back.
There were no guards at the entrance.
Yesterday, they had checked his ID before allowing him to enter through the gates.
But today, they weren’t present.
As they walked deeper, the sight of an empty café greeted them.
The sign still read OPEN, yet there was no one—neither staff nor customer.
“…There aren’t any people here.”
Kai said while turning towards the group.
“…Guards too,” Ren added.
“Is it a ceremony?”
“Maybe?”
“…Maybe.”
“Yeah.”
Elvan remained silent, letting the two teenagers converse.
Exhale~~~~
“Let’s keep walking.”
With that, the group began moving.
A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the mall Ren had visited yesterday.
There, they saw a group of teenagers walking out, carrying snacks.
Probably students.
When the group saw them, their eyes widened.
One boy couldn’t help but speak out.
“…There’s actually an adult.”
Kai stepped forward, confronting the group.
“Are there any other people besides you?”
Watching Kai step forward, the group quickly came out of their shock.
The boy took a step back, creating a little distance between them.
Then he turned towards the group behind him.
Sensing their hesitation,
After hearing them out, the group exchanged looks among themselves.
The kid who had stepped back moments ago took out a notebook from his pocket and wrote something on it.
Then he pointed it towards Kai.
From his place, he didn’t step forward.
It read:
“…First, let’s have everyone from your group speak.”
Kai understood half of their intention.
They were trying to expose their voices.
As per the reason, it was also a form of information.
Kai had spoken.
“Boss, your turn,” Kai said, signaling Elvan.
“Yeah, hai…”
Elvan didn’t add anything more.
Ren didn’t speak.
He simply gestured towards the group.
The meaning was understood clearly by the students present.
Everyone, including the kid from earlier, stepped forward and spoke a few sentences.
They naturally avoided mentioning their names or the names of others they knew.
Ren watched them.
All the faces were new to him except one.
The boy who was currently speaking.
The same student from the mall yesterday.
Grey hair.
Silver eyes.
The one the old man had claimed as a Vestige Holder.
After everyone finished speaking, silence followed.
Then—
A girl stepped forward towards Ren.
White hair flowed like waves over her shoulders.
Oceanic-blue eyes adorned her glassy, fair face.
One look, and people could tell she wasn’t from some noble family.
It was the kind of presence that could make nobles feel inferior.
“If we’re going to cooperate, we need to be at least this honest with each other.”
Ren locked eyes with the girl standing before him.
He paused for an instant.
It wasn’t her aura or beauty that caught his attention, but rather the fact that she had stepped towards him.
This was something that stood out to him.
…Before, when Kai stepped forward towards that boy, the boy stepped back.
And he hadn’t taken a step forward since.
It wasn’t out of fear.
Rather, it was…
perhaps nobility.
But this girl took the initiative to step forward.
From what Ren knew, nobles didn’t mock or disrespect commoners.
They treated them equally, in a regard similar to how a human treats nature.
He knew it existed.
He acknowledged it.
But that was the limit.
You don’t see a person asking for water’s feelings before drinking it, nor the land’s permission before stepping on it.
…Her nature is uncommon.
Both the black-haired boy and the white-haired girl became the centre of everyone’s attention.
Silence.
…
…
Even the breathing sounds of the surrounding students could be heard clearly.
Their next words would decide whether the team opposite them was an enemy or…
…a victim, just like them.
While everyone was tense,
Kai and Elvan were staring at Ren and the lady in front of him.
Slowly, Ren raised his hand.
The girl followed suit by holding the sides of her dress.
Gently, both sides gave each other a slight bow.
“…Hello.”
They spoke in unison.
Kai’s lectures about etiquette and social communication were finally coming in use at this moment.
And somewhere in this moment,
Ren found a rather uncommon noble.