Sunlight streamed through the open window, rousing Ren from his sleep. What greeted him was not his room's familiar ceiling, but of the inn he crashed in late at night. Everything felt like a blur. He was still wearing his coat even now, showing how tired he was.

Ren opened the window to let the cool winter air in. He laid out his notebook on the table near the window and sat on a wooden chair.

“First off, I believe I should make an outline of my goals,” Ren said with his mechanical pencil ready in his hand.

Before anything could be written, his stomach grumbled. It was late in the morning, judging from the position of the sun in the sky outside, and he hungered for breakfast. Writing outlines could wait. He left his work on the table, made sure to lock his room and headed downstairs to the inn's reception.

The manager of the inn, a grumpy muscular man in his forties, sat behind the counter. He did not even try to hide his suspicion at Ren, as he watched his every move like a hawk. Ren hesitated to approach him for breakfast. The manager was more fit in a bloody battlefield than a cozy inn like this.

“Ah~ It’s a customer~! Come, Ruu, it’s a customer!”

“Rii, no…!”

Cute pitter-patter of footsteps approached Ren.

It was two little twins — maybe around nine years old — both with the same wavy blonde shoulder-length hair and snow-white nightgown. The one with the oversized red ribbon behind her head excitedly pulled along her poor timid sister, wearing a similar ribbon, only colored blue.

“Hey mister, are you a criminal?” the red ribbon girl asked, eyes brimming with curiosity.

“Excuse me?”

“Papa told me that only criminals go to inns late at night drunk.”

Ren frowned at the false accusation. “Then your papa told you wrong. I am an upstanding member of the community, and I was not drunk last night. Your ale here tastes like a mishmash of carbonated water and flowers anyways, and any drink less than a hundred proof won’t make me even a little bit tipsy.”

The girl tilted her head at Ren’s use of strange terms. “Proof? What’s a proof? And does ale really taste like flowers? Really? Hey mister, mister!”

“Rii! Don’t talk to strangers! Papa’s gonna get mad at us again…” The blue ribbon girl tried restraining her twin sister’s energy, but to no avail.

“Don’t worry, Ruu! He looks like Nana, so he’s not a stranger— maybe! Right, Mr. Stranger?”

Ren nodded. “Yes. You’re exactly right on that.”

Their nonsensical conversation too much for the manager’s ears. He tapped on the desk to catch the two’s attention and gave them an angry glare. “Rii, Ruu, go back to your rooms. Now.”

““…Yes, papa.””

They both obediently followed the manager's order and retreated, one of them with a clearly disappointed face. With only the manager and Ren alone on the reception, an awkward atmosphere began to settle in.

“So, how much do you charge for one night?” Ren asked, taking the opportunity to break the ice between them.

“…You already paid last night,” the manager replied. His suspicion of him grew even deeper than it already was. “One silver a night. Comes along with two meals as well.”

“That’s nice. Where do I get breakfast?”

“You just missed it.”

Ren’s expression froze. “Oh no. That’s not nice.”

His stomach grumbled from the unfortunate news, and the manager showed no signs of making an exception. Instead, Ren decided to weather the uncomfortable sensation in his stomach and wait for dinner. He still didn’t know how far ten silver coins could bring him, aside from the one-silver-a-night lodging. Besides, once he immersed himself in writing plans and recreating the blueprint for the Harmonics Box, he wouldn’t even notice the time.

On the way upstairs back to his room, Ren took notice of the lamp on the wall. Rather than electricity, it was powered by lamp oil. Combined with the fact that he hasn’t seen any kind of electronic device up until now, he could only come up with one conclusion: this world did not have any practical source of electricity. It was almost like a practical joke. Ren grumbled as his workload just doubled.

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Ren unlocked his door and went into his room, only to be shocked by the unexpected visitor.

On his table perched a fuzzy ball of yellow. Perhaps it was a new kind of flightless bird, based on its twig-like legs and the beak attached to it. It was a wonder how it got to the second floor, considering it didn’t have any discernible wings.

Its black beady eyes met Ren, and Ren met its.

Ren was tempted to throw his Swiss Army knife at it. Not because it was creepy, but because the little bastard had his pocket notebook wedged between its beak.

He grabbed one roll of duct tape, unfurled it, and tiptoed towards the table, careful not to startle the yellow fuzzball. In reply, the fiend hopped around the table in an almost mocking manner. It was surprisingly strong, given how it could carry around a notebook with ease.

Ren was two large leaps away from the fuzzball, when it hopped away and perched itself on the windowsill.

“Here, bird…thing. See this? It’s going to keep you warm in winter. It’s a new outfit from a different world.” Ren enticed it with his sweetest tone, trying to trap it with the duct tape. “Come on, try it on you cheeky basta—”

The bird unfurled two tiny wings out of nowhere. Without waiting for a response from the startled Ren— it took off into the skies.

“AAHHHH! Come back here you dumb bird!” he screamed in rage.

He wasted no time in dashing down the stairs, skipping two or three steps at a time. On the reception, he met the eyes of the bewildered manager behind the counter.

Ren, for better or for worse, was a smart person, and he found it appropriate to ask for the common sense of this new world. “Excuse me, one question please. If I walked around town waving a crossbow, would I look weird and eye-catching?”

“……”

“That silence meant yes, thank you very much.”

Ren ran outside the inn and scanned the skies, hoping to catch a glimpse of the flying fuzzball. They were a lot more common in the city than he thought, seeing several of them perched on the roofs.

Ren felt someone tug his sleeves.

“Hey Mr. Stranger! Are you running away from papa too? Customers always run away from papa! He’s so cool!”

“Rii… Let’s go back…papa’s gonna catch us…”

It was the two blonde twins, still in their white nightgowns. Red ribbon girl was as energetic as ever, pulling along her sister who anxiously looked around like a criminal on the run.

Ren tried to swat them away, his head back in the sky hunting for his prey. “Sorry, but I can’t play with you kids. I’m hunting this fuzzy flying ball of yellow, the little bastard took off with my noteboo—”

“It’s called a burd!…” the blue ribbon girl shouted over Ren in a rare show of firm resolve.

“A bird?”

“Burd!…It’s called…a burd…very important difference…yes…” Her intensity dwindled with every passing moment, until it completely fizzled out and she shrank back behind her sister.

Ren would normally argue more about it, but he didn’t have the time right now. “Fine, a burd. I’m looking for a burd. It took a very important notebook — a black pocket notebook — from me.”

“Just like that one?” the red ribbon girl asked, pointing to the roof of a two-story house nearby — where the little fuzzy burd with the pocket notebook looked down upon them three with a mocking gaze.

“Ah, yes, that burd,” Ren replied, ruffling the girl’s soft blonde hair as a reward. “So it was just around. I commend it for its bravery of showing up this early in the game. We shall hunt it! Any suggestions how?”

“Let’s shoot it down with a blowgun!” red ribbon girl — who’s name was Rii — suggested with an innocent smile.

“No!…” her sister immediately rejected.

Ren rubbed his chin, deep in thought for a new plan that wouldn’t end him up in fantasy world prison, and Rii followed suite thinking that it was a very cool pose.

““Hhmmmmmm…””

The timid girl — Ruu, if he was right — raised a shaky hand. “Um… I-I have— I mean, I might have… an idea… if you want to hear it…”

“Sure,” Ren replied, with a lack of a better plan.

“So, um… burds are very attracted to human voices… and, uh, I think if we sing it a song… it will give us back the notebook… I think.”

It seemed like she knew what she was talking about, so Ren decided to give Ruu’s idea a shot. Remembering how his three friends always gave him looks of pity every time he hummed during their work on the Harmonics Box, he gave the stage to the twins instead.

“Me! I wanna sing!” Rii nominated herself with a hand up in the air, but Ruu plunged a hand into her mouth before she could say anything else.

“No!… Rii will scare the bird. I-I will sing!”

Ruu stepped forward. She placed her hands on her chest, a small gesture to give herself courage. A breath in, and she sang with a voice akin to soft chimes of winter bells.

“F-Flying high in the sky~ Is a burd flying high~ Mama burd, papa burd~ Sister burd and brother burd~ Baby burd is flying too~ I also want to fly with you~”

Ren was immediately drawn in by her sweet voice despite the song’s childish theme. The burd, captivated by the tune, fluttered down from the rooftop landing on the cobblestone ground. It hopped closer, and closer, and closer towards the young songstress, and once it was near enough— Ruu offered the burd a hand along with a smile.

A simple smile that brought a shiver in Ren’s spine.

“Come here, burd… Let’s play a game… hehe…”

The fuzzy yellow creature, sensing the dangerous glint in her eyes, took off to the sky once more like a rat in a mad dash for its life.

Rii couldn’t contain her laughter any longer and let the dam burst forth. “Animals still hate Ruu! Ahahahahahaha!”

And poor little Ruu was on the brink of tears.

Ren couldn’t worry about them, as the dumb burd still hasn’t let go of his notebook. It was a wonder what made it so obsessed with it. Perhaps the fuzzball was smarter than it looked, and it knew the madness hidden between the notebook’s pages— that kind of crazy theory.

Ren mentally slapped himself for losing focus. He didn’t know how big this city was, and if he lost sight of the burd, it would be near impossible to find it and his notebook again.

The two sisters blocked his path before he could run for it.

“Mr. Stranger, we wanna go, we wanna go!” Rii said, jumping in excitement at the prospect of a fun adventure. “It’s an adventurer quest!”

“M-Me too!” Ruu followed, her eyes burning with dangerous desire. “I… I want to play with the burd as well…”

Ren winced at their request. If he thought about it, he didn’t really know these kids. They were either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid as well for talking to a complete stranger like him. No, they were incredibly stupid— and so was he. The twin’s figures overlapped with his own little sisters, bringing a prickly sensation into Ren’s heart.

Out of selfishness, he nodded. “Alright, come along— but hold on to my hands. I don’t want to be bothered looking for lost kids. Now let's get moving, we have a burd to catch!”

With frail little hands grasped tight in each hand, Ren set off to catch the burd.

[ Chapter 3: A Wonderful Everyday ]

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The trio ran around the city in merry abandonment, uncaring of the strange looks they were attracting. For them, nothing mattered but that bright yellow dot on the sky carrying a piece of black. Every time the burd rested on some rooftop, the same routine would always occur: Ruu sings her song, the bird goes down, Ruu smiles at it, and up and away the fuzzy ball goes, resuming the chase. The burd never learned and always fell for her song, disproving Ren’s theory that the burd was somewhat smart.

Unless it was doing it on purpose to dispel any suspicions, then the theory stood strong.

Everywhere Rii, Ruu and Ren went, a trail of laughter, soft sobs and mild curses followed.

The residential area gave way to the busy market streets, and they were met with a sea of people. Shouts of bargains, business-like laughter and occasional angry disputes filled the open market air, but it did nothing to disorient the three. Ren and the twins zigzagged through the noisy crowds, never once letting go of each other, but they were obviously falling behind the burd who had no such hindrance up in the air.

Soon enough, Ren felt the twins lagging behind. He stopped and watched as the both of them desperately heaved for air— but their weary eyes still expressed their willingness to go on.

Luckily, fatigue struck the bird as well, as it perched itself on top of a nearby statue of a man in light armor and a sword raised to the heavens.

“This won’t do us any good.” Ren looked around and found a shop close by with a hanging sign that read ‘COFFEE CAFE’. He was really thankful for the strange convenience of this world having the same alphabet as his. “Now who’s hungry for some lunch?”

Upon hearing the word “lunch”, both of their eyes shone.

“Me! It’s lunchtime, lunchtime!” Rii shouted as she jumped all over the place, completely forgetting about her fatigue.

“Haa… me too…” Ruu wasn’t as energetic as her sister, but she still nodded with all she had.

It was time for lunch.

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The tinkling of the bell top of the door greeted them as Ren, Rii and Ruu entered the establishment.

It was a homey little cafe, with tables and chairs made out of furnished wood. The air was filled with the scent of freshly-brewed coffee and a calming silence, greatly contrasting the noisy buzz outside. The only other customer around an elderly lady on the corner, admiring the steady stream of people through her window.

After giving strict instructions to the twins (specifically Rii) not to make unnecessary noise, Ren chose a table beside a window that gave a clear view of the statue. Surprisingly, the burd with his notebook was still on top of it, now joined by several other burds who clumped together like a family.

“Aha, customers! Welcome to the Coffee Cafe!” the cute bubbling waitress greeted with a charming smile as she distributed a menu for each one of them. She wore a white apron over a simple brown dress, fitting the cozy atmosphere of the shop. She tied her dark hair back into two long low-hanging pigtails, swinging left and right with the waitress’ every little sway. “What will it be for our three special customers?”

“Mumumu!” Rii squinted long and hard at the menu, turning it over and under in hopes of somehow understanding it— to no avail. “I can’t read it, it’s too fancy!”

Ruu sincerely gazed at the menu and nodded several times showing understanding, but it was a poor attempt as her menu was turned upside down.

Ren read it for them. “Let me see here. Plain Coffee, 12 coppers. Simatran Blend— let’s skip the coffee. And the tea as well. Oh, here we are, the food menu. What’s a… Pizacato?”

““Pizacato!”” Both Rii and Ruu cheered with the mention of the strange dish.

“Pizacato!” the waitress cheered back. She then shared high-fives with the two kids, and an awkward one with a bewildered Ren.

“Can we have pizacato? Can we, Mr. Stranger, please?” Rii begged with sparkling eyes.

“Mn, mn! Please, Mr. Stranger…” Ruu begged along with her sister. They both looked like puppies stranded in the rain, begging Ren to pick them up. It was worth sacrificing a few his funds for these two creatures, as thanks for the entertainment they provided.

But the waitress heard differently. Her smile at Ren broke and heavy drops of sweat formed on her forehead. “E-Eh!? Mr. Stranger? K-Kidnapper!?”

Faced with this sudden dilemma, she looked around for help but in confusion asked the suspect in question himself. “D-D-Do I call the guards?”

“Please don’t.”

It took time for Ren to clear up the (false) misunderstanding, mostly because of Rii who kept calling him Mr. Stranger over and over again for the sake of fanning the flames. In the end, she redeemed herself as her stupid excuse of “His true name is Stranger Danger!” did the trick for the gullible waitress. Ren simply went along with it since he of all people couldn’t think of a better excuse.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

With the waitress gone to prepare her order, Ren glanced out the window to check if the burd was still on the statue. It was— but Ren could swear that the fuzzball was looking straight at him, waiting for him. It couldn’t be. It was dumb and unthinking after all. Or maybe it was a genius…?

To keep his mind away from it, Ren asked the twins about the many tales of their adventures. Rii tried proudly standing up on her chair which she made a makeshift stage, but Ren scolded her to sit down properly. Still, she happily recounted their story.

“Ruu and I always escape from the house to play around the city, even if papa always gets angry at us after!” she admitted with a big smile. “Then, we always play with Nana and Auntie Roro! Nana is grumpy, but she gives us candies so we keep coming back. Auntie Roro, oh she’s very cool! She brings us lots of trinkets and stuff, and her stories are all super interesting!”

“Mn, every day has just been wonderful,” Ruu added, nodding in agreement with her sister’s sentiments. “…it’s nice, we don’t have to hide in our houses anymore. Very nice.”

“Why?” Ren asked.

“Because of the war?” Rii answered with a tilt of her head, confused as to why Mr. Stranger didn’t know something so obvious. “Papa said only adults like him and mama can go to war. But mama hasn’t returned yet, so we’re going to be adventurers and catch up with her! Right, Ruu?……Ruu?”

“……Mn,” Ruu faintly replied, gazing blankly at the floor. Ren noticed the slight wetness on the edges of her eyes and understood that he really should be changing the topic.

“So, does anyone want to see a magic trick?” Ren asked, taking out a silver coin from his pocket. The word “magic trick” piqued the twin’s curiosity, forgetting about the weird atmosphere from before. He presented his two palms before them, placing the coin on the right. In one swift motion, he turned his hands over as he closed them into a fist.

“Now, if you kids find the coin, you can keep it. You have my word on it,” Ren said with a smile full of himself.

“Really? Yes, free money! We pick right!” Ruu confidently answered. Ruu nodded as well, confirming their choice. Ren turned his hands up— and revealed the coin on his left palm.

Ren’s laughter prevailed over their shock at this unexpected loss. They began accusing him of using magic, to which Ren offered another rematch. He repeated the trick and the twins, believing they were wiser, chose his left hand this time.

Only to reveal that the coin was still at his right hand!

“This is cheating!” Ruu shouted, unable to accept the humiliation.

“Mr. Stranger is unfair…” Ruu said with a pout.

This small game continued like this as the two kept challenging Ren who mysteriously kept winning, until the waitress arrived with their order. It turned out that the pizacato dish was just a fancy term for plain crêpe on a plate smothered with cream. What was more surprising was Rii and Ruu’s surprised looks— they didn’t know what pizacato was as well, and only ordered it as it sounded delicious.

It was dumb luck that it looked delicious as well.

In the instant their food was set on the table, reason left them as they descended upon the feast like rabid dogs who haven’t eaten for days. Hunger was the best spice, and the hungry trio was filled with praises.

“Well. not bad. Not bad at all.”

“It’s the best! I wanna eat this every day!”

“It’s very delicious.”

“Ehehe~ Thanks!” A sweet smile bloomed on the waitress’ face, acting as if the compliments were about her. She went back to her station with a skip on her step, boasting to the old inconspicuous bartender sitting quietly on a rocking chair behind the counter.

With every last cream on the wooden plates licked clean, the bill arrived and asked for one silver and twenty coppers. Ren didn’t want to look like an ignorant fool by asking how money worked, and instead gave two silvers as payment. He got five coppers in return, silently teaching him how: one silver equaled twenty-five coppers.

It was good to know that this small lunch was worth more than one night in the inn with two meals.

With their stomachs full and Ren’s pocket lighter, they left the homey cafe with satisfied smiles.

Funnily enough, the burd on the statue patiently waited for Ren, Rii and Ruu to walk closer to it— before taking off to the sky once more. It confirmed Ren’s suspicions that the burd knew what it was doing: choosing the optimal actions that would piss him off the most.

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The chase continued for quite a while. The burd took them back and forth to the residential areas and the market, tempting Ren several times to just hurl a stone at the bastard and be done with it— but holding the innocent Ruu’s hand made him reconsider. The pizacato break charged the twins’ energy levels, as there were times when they would take the lead and pull the heaving Ren together.

The chase abruptly ended when both Rii and Ruu stopped dead in their tracks, tugging Ren back. Ren was about to ask why they were widening the distance between them and the burd— until he realized that the people around them were purposely avoiding the area as well.

What laid before Ren and the twins was a huge cathedral with alabaster-white walls and long-reaching spires that climbed up to the heavens. Standing on each side of the grand double doors were two strange people, garbed in a long white hooded cloak that spilled all over the ground. They also wore an eerie faceless mask, its surface smooth and without any discernible holes.

The whole cathedral gave off a very unwelcoming vibe around it.

“Papa told us to never go near the cathedral,” Rii said. “Only important people can, and Ruu and I aren’t. If we go near it, a monster is gonna pull us inside and we’ll never see papa again.”

“And who are those?” Ren asked, pointing at the strange men.

“They’re priests,” Ruu answered. “They ask the Goddess to bless our crops and our lands, and to give us the wisdom and knowledge… I think.”

No more words were exchanged between them as they merely watched the burd perch itself on one of the cathedral’s many spires. There was no other choice but to sit on the ground and wait, soaking in the hallowed atmosphere.

A notable amount of time has passed, and the double doors that served as the entrance creaked open, revealing Rosse, still clad in her light armor, exiting the premises with a tired look on her face.

“Ah! It’s Auntie Roro!” Rii shouted the moment she saw Rosse. She ran to meet her halfway, forgetting about her previous apprehension about the cathedral, followed closely behind by a happy Ruu.

And all of a sudden, Rosse was wrapped into a tight embrace by the two adorable creatures.

The twin’s soothing aura wiped off her tiredness, replaced by a soft smile. “If it isn’t Rii and Ruu. Are you both playing outside alone again? That’s very dangerous, you know.”

“We’re not alone!” Rii proudly replied. “We’re with Mr. Stranger!”

Rosse’s eyebrows twitched. “Mr. Strange— Oh, Mr. Ren?”

She finally noticed Ren who walked closer as well.

“Huh, so you know these two kids?” Ren asked, amazed at how small this world was.

“I should ask the same to you,” Rosse replied. “Rii and Ruu here are the daughters of my vice captain’s sister— so they’re basically my nieces.”

Ren shrugged. “As for me, I met them at an inn, and they joined in my quest to hunt down this burd.”

Upon hearing this, Rosse scolded the two kids for following a stranger, even if he really “looked like Nana.” But she was unable to bear their downhearted faces, so the knight rubbed their heads and gave them a candy each, instantly cheering them up.

Ren glanced back at the cathedral. “So what were you doing inside that creepy building?”

“Don’t call it creepy, it’s the Sephir Kingdom’s pride and joy,” Rosse replied. Recalling the events that transpired inside the cathedral, fatigue returned to her face. “As for what I was doing…I don’t even know. The queen said she didn’t care about the broken Harmony Stone since it didn’t have any practical use. Really, I have mixed feelings for the supreme monarch of the kingdom regarding one of our most prized treasure as a glorified trophy.”

Ren felt a tug on his sleeves. It was Ruu, pointing on where the burd once was. “I-It escaped…”

Rii snapped in attention as well. “Ah, it went on that tree!”

The burd landed on a branch of a nearby tree, the notebook STILL on its beak. With her hawk-like vision, Rosse took a look at the burd as well.

“…Isn't that Rena's burd?” she asked. “That’s Rena’s notebook he’s biting, right?”

Ren shook his head. “Nope, it’s mine.”

Rii couldn’t wait any longer and grabbed both Ruu and Ren’s hands and dragged them towards the tree. “Sorry Auntie Rosse, we wanna catch that bird! Ruu, Mr. Stranger, let’s go!”

“…Fine, but don’t stay too long, okay? Look, the sun’s setting.” And true to her word, the sun was indeed beginning to dip into the horizon. “Mr. Ren, can I trust these kids to you? I still have more errands to run for the queen, sadly.”

“Sure, I’ll handle it,” Ren replied. “I’ll bring them back before nightfall.”

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Ren, Rii and Ruu gathered around the tree, surrounding the cornered burd from all sides.

“H-Here goes…!” Ruu prepared for another song, but Rii plunged a hand into her mouth before her voice could escape.

“Ei! Ruu keeps scaring the bird away! It’s my turn now!”

Ren half-expected Rii to sing as well, but as usual, she defied expectations: she began climbing the tree like a skilled monkey, a great feat considering she was in her now dirty white nightgown.

“Rii! Be careful!” Ruu warned her sister with worry. Rii didn’t listen and instead focused on climbing higher and higher, until she reached the same branch as the burd’s.

Ren finally snapped out of it once he realized that the branch was dangerously high.

“Don’t be too reckless, Rii!” Ren shouted, although the irony of those words was lost due to the tense situation.

Rii laughed at the face of danger. “I’m fine, I’m fine! I’m soooo high! Look, Ruu, Mr. Stranger!”

After having her fill with the spectacular scenery above, Rii got on all fours on the branch, and prowled on the burd like a cat hunting for its next meal.

Rii crept closer, and closer. The oblivious bird just stood their, unknowing of its eventual doom. Closer. Closer. Rii was a light person. Her movements shook the branch lightly, but not too much to scare away the burd.

Closer,

and closer.

It was too late to notice that Rii’s branch was a dead branch.

Snap.

“———AAHHHHHH!”

It was all too sudden. Ren’s reflexes weren’t fast, but they were enough. In one moment, Ren calculated where Rii would land— and dove straight to the ground face up to catch the falling Rii.

Thud.

It did not hurt.

Ren’s rib cage cushioned Rii’s fall greatly. Rii safely rolled on the ground, but she couldn’t move from the suddenness of everything. Ren forced himself to stand despite the sluggish feeling in his chest in order to check if Rii was alright.

“I... I-I—” Rii stuttered. Ren noticed that she scrapped her elbow, blood slightly oozing from the wound. As Ren thought about patching it up with duct tape—

“Nooooooooo!!”

The scream of pure terror surprisingly came from Ruu. The moment her eyes met her sister’s blood, her whole body convulsed— and dropped to the ground unconscious.

“R-Ruu!” Rii called out in worry. She stood up and limped over to her sister.

Ren immediately took action and carefully carried Ruu’s body up away from the uncomfortable ground. The normally cheerful Rii was on the brink of tears, feeling the full weight of the guilt. “I-I forgot… Ruu, doesn’t like blood…”

Calm and collected footsteps approached the three. Looking at the messed up scene was Rena, called to deal with her burd by Rosse who passed by the library.

“…What a terrible sight.”

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Rena came to the rescue, healing Rii’s wound and using a scroll with the strange geometrical arcane circles on them to heal Ren’s. Apparently, healing broken bones was a lot harder than healing cuts.

On the way home, Ren recounted their whole events leading up the fall to Rena. She carried the unconscious Ruu on her back, while Ren carried the sleeping Rii, tired from crying, on his. It was a sad way to end their once merry adventure, but there was nothing Ren could do. Everyone was tired.

“I see, so it was all Burdy’s fault,” Rena said, glaring at the burd perched on her shoulder. The burd turned out to be Rena’s pet Burdy, who mistook his pocket notebook for her own. They were quite similar after all. “I was hoping on repaying my doubt to you through this, but it seems like this was all instigated by someone under my command. A shame.”

Rena gave back Ren’s notebook to him, but not before skimming its contents only to be greeted by gibberish numbers and strange figures.

During the trip, Ren noticed the people around did not dare to cross Rena’s path. Everywhere she went, people parted and gave way to her. Ren wanted to ask if she was a bigshot like Rosse, but decided against it. His mind was too muddled to process new information.

Passing by the castle half-eaten by a cliff, an exhausted Rena stopped.

“Haa… Haa… Let’s stop here for a bit…” Rena pleaded.

While resting on the cold cobblestone road, dyed by the color of the sunset, Rena told the story of the castle.

“…Hey Ren, do you know how powerful magic is?”

“Of course not, how should I?”

“Then listen to this story. It’s a short one, don’t worry, and a very simple one at that. You see, long long time ago, around two hundred years or so, there was this great war in this world. Everyone called it the Divine Wars, because back then gods and goddesses fought tooth and nail against each other to grab the divine throne.”

“I must say, I’m not a fan of the fantasy setting.”

“Then worry not, this is no fantasy setting; this is reality. Where was I? Yes, now, during the Divine Wars, there was this terrible dragon. His name was the Elder World Dragon, and his hatred for humans was deeper than the oceans. With a single step he crushed villages, and every time he moved, the air stirred around him and caused a storm. As his greatest show of his hatred, the dragon, with his great powers, tried engulfing the humans’ castle inside a huge mountain created with his powers.”

“…I still don’t see the point of the story.”

“The dragon almost succeeded with his diabolical plan, until one human stood up against him: The First Archmage. His spell, still unknown to this day, slew that great beast, and the Archmage took the Harmony Stone embedded on its chest and gave it to the humans to show that the Human Spit will always triumph against all. Wasn’t it a wonderful story?”

“Wonderful, indeed. So this is the effect of Rosse getting angry at you for breaking that stone.”

“…I have rested enough.”

once again, the two set out back at the inn.

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Rena’s appearance somehow greatly helped the manager’s anger subside for bringing home daughters unconscious, but he still barred Ren from ever staying at his inn. He did not even bother to listen to Ren’s part of the story.

“So in the end, you took my offer of staying in the library,” Rena said with a chuckle, giving Ren a pillow and blanket. “You’ll have to sleep on the cold floor though. Unless you want to sleep on one of the tables, that’s acceptable as well.”

Ren was back at the library where he began. It was too troublesome to look for a new place to stay, and once Rena offered her cold library floorboards, his laziness kicked in and he accepted her offer. For Ren who ran away from home at a young age, any place was fine as long as there was a roof.

“Now if you would excuse me, I’m quite busy with something. Don’t disturb me,” Rena said as she retired to the second floor, leaving Ren all alone in the library.

Ren sat on a chair and placed his pocket notebook on the table.

“…First off, I believe I should make an outline of my goals,” Ren said once more with his mechanical pencil ready in his hand.

But his hand would not move. It could not progress. This whole day, he did nothing but play with the twins — and even that, it even ended on a negative note. It was dumb and made Ren anxious towards the future.

In this other world, Ren slept on the table with nothing new written on his pocket notebook.