As he took a second to adjust to the new lighting, Jaffy walked out of the room and explored it using his eyes. He hadn’t done so when he came in due to his nervousness, so he took this chance to do it now. As Jaffy did that, he noticed a certain friend of his talking to another person.

‘Who is Nata talking to?’ Jaffy wondered as the doctor wrote in her calendar.

There was a fragile, relatively old man talking to Nata. He was blind with one eye, and he appeared quite malnourished. Nata didn’t seem to hate the conversation, but it was clear he wasn’t enjoying it too much either.

For some reason, he seemed very familiar to Jaffy. Perhaps he had seen him somewhere before?

The old man pointed to the boy, and Nata finally noticed his presence as he turned around. When the old man focused further on Jaffy, he also felt a familiarity, and regret.

Slowly, Nata stood up and walked over to Jaffy, picking up his sword in the process. He spoke to the boy with a worried caution.

“So…how was it? Are you okay?”

He noticed the redness around Jaffy’s eyes, and Nata’s face darkened. However, the anger inside him diminished as he remembered just who the boy was talking to prior. Said boy smiled at him sheepishly, his finger scratching the side of his head.

“...Yeah. Yeah! That was–it was a bit weird, Nata. I think I understand what you mean now for the things you told me about the doctor.”

Jaffy beamed at Nata. The old man stood up and talked to the psychologist as the two talked to each other. Nata was relieved.

“It’s kind of nice–I know nothing happened to me, but I feel a bit lighter…even if it took some pain.” Jaffy recalled the storytelling. “A-ah, that doesn’t mean Doctor Jones is bad, though! She’s really nice…Hey!”

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Nata was laughing at his words, but he was truly grateful for what he told him. As Nata apologized to Jaffy, he smiled with a relieved expression. His eyes literally glowed for a short moment, and Nata patted Jaffy’s back.

“Puhahahahahaah…oh, sorry, Jaffy.”

At the mention of the boy’s name, the old man flinched, but he shook his head in doubt. The doctor raised an eyebrow, but they continued talking.

“I’m just glad you feel better now. Are you ready to leave?”

He nodded his head and looked towards the other two people in the room. They were a bit further away, but their conversation was still audible.

“Yes. Let’s go, Nata.” Jaffy smiled, and the two walked together. Nata led the way while Jaffy followed, the former’s hand grasping the latter’s wrist softly.

Nata slowly walked out of the room into their world, but before Jaffy exited into the glowing light, he looked back at the other two. As he looked back, he heard something that rattled him–he didn’t know why, however.

“...yes, I’m Agan from the other day–”

And then, as white captured his eyes, the scenery suddenly changed to a bustling imperial city. Food stalls were all around, and the crowds of the city plunged noise into Jaffy’s ears. Temporarily blocking them, he thought back to what that old man said, the shock still inside him.

For some reason, he couldn’t remember just why it shook him to his core.

Shaking his head to dispel the confusion, he looked towards Nata. The man was looking back with wide eyes, and Jaffy followed his gaze.

‘...Wait. We exited out of a wall?’

There was no sign of the psychologist’s office that existed on the street, even though it was there when they had come earlier.

“Well…I guess the rumors really were true.” Nata put on a hat and beckoned Jaffy to come. “Are you hungry?”

His stomach answered for him. Jaffy supposed he was in there for quite a bit of time. The man chuckled, and together, the two went to go grab some food. However…

A tug on his shirt made Nata look back slowly.

As his heart beat fast, the boy nervously asked. His voice was quiet.

“...Later, after we eat…”

Jaffy made up his mind, a decision finally chosen with the doctor’s advice.

“...can I tell you something?”