Night had fully fallen. The sky was dark with little light, only illuminated by magic lamps standing in rows along the streets. Under that dim glow, Rena ran. Her steps were fast, her breathing steady—if asked, her body clearly wasn't tired.
Her goal was clear: the gate on the outskirts of the city. But her eyes… never stayed still. She kept looking left and right, observing, making sure.
And the more she looked, the clearer it became that something was still the same. Along the streets, the residents were still there… in a bad way. Standing, sitting, or just silently staying in front of their houses. But it wasn't the silence that gave Rena chills—it was the… uniformity.
In the city center she had passed through earlier, activities continued. People walked, goods were moved, work was done. But everything… was synchronized. Too synchronized. As if every movement had been predetermined. As if they were doing it without reason. No emotion, no changing expressions, no conversations that felt alive. Just—activity. Like… machines.
And also some activities from residents who weren't working. A mother hugging her child with an empty stare. A young girl sitting on some steps, head bowed, silent. An old woman standing at her doorway, clutching a man's cloth with trembling hands. Everything… was there, but felt not "present."
Rena quickened her pace. Her heart began to beat harder, as she tucked both hands into her large robe pockets and kept running with arched brows.
…it's still the same….. Nothing has changed.
Some residents who recognized Rena as the problem-solver simply waved at her as she moved. Seeing that, with a thoughtful expression, Rena concluded and said to herself.
This can't be left like this for long. I'm sure… my presence now with Hero Claire will be useful.
Then, with darting eyes, Rena sped up her pace while muttering.
I hope so!!
As she got closer to the outskirts, the scene didn't change. If anything, it became clearer. All the women—none had changed.
Rena kept running. Her eyes swept the streets, looking for one thing. Just one. But… there was nothing. Not a single one. The residents who seemed morally stable. Her steps wavered for a moment.
Tch….
Her mind tried to find answers, but instead something else surfaced—the children. In some corners, pairs of well-matched children cared for by mothers with empty stares could still be seen, but unlike their mothers, they weren't entirely empty. There was still expression, still life. But their thoughts… were simple. Then the eldest, with simple short hair and lifted cheeks, said.
Dad's still away, right?"
Then the younger sibling, brows furrowed sharply as if unwilling to accept it, but still spoke properly.
What are you saying, sis? Did you forget what Mom said?
Dad is with the otherworldly heroes…
The older sibling just smiled at those words, scratched their head, and then both looked toward their mother with the empty stare.
Ah, that's right…
We can't wait to see Dad, Mom…
Those small voices were heard. Light. Without burden. As if that was… normal. Rena gritted her teeth, and this time she couldn't even shift her thoughts or answer the children's questions that crossed her mind as she ran.
….
Rena knew. That wasn't an explanation. That was… a reason given, or believed.
The night wind felt colder. Rena's steps grew faster. The city gate on the outskirts was already visible in the distance. But the atmosphere hadn't changed at all. The closer she got, the stronger that feeling became.
The same feeling as when the Headmaster first came to Rena. Cold—not because of her arrival, but about what would bring Rena there. Watching—not just because of her, but about what Rena would face in the future if she chose to follow the Headmaster.
Rena didn't stop. She kept running, passing through a world that still moved…
And now, Rena chose—a choice she would make by her own will, her own volition. In front of the gate, together with Hero Claire, who would take her on a journey that even Rena herself didn't know anything about. About what Rena would face.
But Rena held onto one belief. With sharp eyes staring at the outskirts beyond the city—filled with forests, cold wind, and land she had stepped on before when she was still in the lawless territories—she clenched both hands, while her right hand thrust forward, exactly matching her sharp gaze. Then she said.
I won't come back until I get what I want!!