With the sun glaring at him no more, the young man’s body cooled down. As a soldier, he was no stranger to being drenched in sweat. Both training and combat drill demanded it. Then again, being unbothered wasn’t the same as preferring the wet and sticky sensation all over his skin like a transparent cocoon locking his limbs.

Noticing his discomfort, she had said: “It will take some time to prepare the food, so why don’t you wash yourself first? But please be careful, the water is quite cold.”

Thus, at this same minute, the young man found himself in a small-sized bathroom. It would be the size of him stretching both of his arms, something impossible for him to do now. Instead of wood, layers of bricks became the surrounding wall, damping the sound further almost like a sacred place.

As expected, he was naked. At first, he didn’t know what to wear afterwards, but the young lady insisted she had clothes for him to borrow. Considering he had woken up dressed in clothes that weren’t his, he didn’t follow through with another question and instead thanked her. Still, it begged the question.

“Is there someone else living here?”

He muttered those words while taking a scoop of water from the basin in front and dumping it from above his head. The splashing sound that echoed across the room steadied his breath and eased his shoulders. As said by the young lady, the water bit him down to his bones. Harsh and unforgiving, but he had never felt so rejuvenated before as heat soon enveloped his body once again. The process began and ended each time he doused his body until the water no longer froze him, yet still freshened his entire existence.

Another object that drew his attention was a box-shaped item placed on the ground. This cube was smaller than his palm. It appeared to be crystal with clear hollow spaces within it to let the light pass through, but not so clear with some parts obstructing the view on the respective opposite side.

If that young lady hadn’t mentioned it to him seconds before his feet touched the bathroom floor, he wouldn’t have dared to touch it. The cube contained a magic mirror, the kind that supposedly emerged after it was activated. The unfamiliarity of these tools contributed to the young man’s skepticism. Similar to a coin, however–be it corroded in rust or coated in perfection–skepticism had a curiosity as its other side, and it seemed the latter had a slight edge occupying his mind.

He gulped, preparing for what was about to come if the situation went south. Gliding across the space, his left hand–his only hand–came in contact with the cube. Upon the incoming contact, a rectangular mirror formed before his eyes. It floated above the cube, right where there was a magic circle on its upper side, staying in stasis until someone would move it to their heart’s desire. Its flat surface reflected the image of a young man just as a mirror usually worked.

“As I expected….”

His hunch was proven correct. The fact that he–a person who had no Mana, Sigil, or Lumen–could activate the cube, it was none other than a magic item, either an Artifact or a Relic though he heavily leant on the latter. He dared to touch it no more, as a single Relic could value up to multiple good coins.

Deciding to leave it as it was, the young man continued to gaze at the mirror. He furrowed his eyebrows at the sight.

His wet, ashen-black hair bowed gracefully, with bangs that almost covered his forehead; some of those strands were just a few millimeters away from caressing his vulnerable grayish eyes. Everything was pretty much the same, except for several white streaks painting the area near his right eye. Those weren’t there before the last time he checked, or at least his hair had always been black-hued since his life began in this world, so this change worried him, as if his age had just decided to accelerate without asking for a consent.

“Even though I just turned 22….” he mumbled, fingers rubbing those strands before letting go.

His physique was on the leaner side with well-toned muscles. As he observed closer, there was another mark that hadn’t been on his body before. It stretched from his left shoulder to his abdomen, gnawing at one-third of his entire body. In contrast to his beige skin, the mark–now better resembled a scar–appeared to be darker in tone, whether red, purple, or between those two colors.

“Could it be….”

Burn marks, seared by the enemy’s magic which had rained upon him. The scar must be the result. After all, such scars weren’t uncommon in wars. From the look of it, that mark planned to stay on his body, inflicting no more pain, which should have been a miracle on its own. But….

“....”

….All of a sudden, a heavy lump weighed his stomach, trying to push him down until he collapsed on the cold floor. When he attempted to stand up, his body rejected his plea, and before he realized it, his left hand was trembling. All of his fingers were stuck in their positions, unable to be bent. His breathing also got affected, rapidly inhaling and exhaling only to feel his insides being tossed upside down, as if the air itself were mercilessly drowning him.

Then, a flood of nightmarish images rushed into his senses. The warm sensation of blood was clinging to his skin. On the entire battlefield were his allies and enemies, all of whom had been reduced to mere remains of a person. That sight had burned itself into the young man’s retinas. Along with it, the scent his nose picked up was of a pungent and suffocating one, while at the same time his tongue tasted the lingering metallic in the air, which made him gag. Screams of death reverberated, orchestrated by the devil himself.

As he tried to compose himself, the terror returned to him all at once. It twisted his guts, then slowly crept to his chest and neck like an invisible hand, trying to strangle him until his next breath became his last.

The next thing he knew, he had already vomited. Clear liquid was all that came out of his digestive system, and along the way also scratched his throat with a hot and painful sensation. His already empty stomach felt emptier now. Gazing up, he saw the pathetic state he was in the mirror–colors vanished from his expression, leaving only moving meat and bones.

He understood it clearly. Although his body had survived the battle, his soul was left with permanent scars.

With trembling hands, he placed his left arm on the nearest wall. It supported his crumbling weight.

“....Pitiful, am I?”

***

The young man exited the bathroom minutes after, now all dressed in a white shirt and brown pants that reached his ankle–a gender-neutral clothing, one would say. A white towel rested on his shoulder, but it was still dry, soaked with no water. Energy had left him to stand there while casting his eyes down, staring at both of his feet that touched the floor. He felt like tumbling down any second now.

“Ah, how was the bath?”

That voice pulled him away from his distracted mind. Sweet and gentle, he couldn’t help himself not to look up, where another pair of eyes met his own. Only after that did he notice the long eyelashes on the young lady’s face, and they fluttered like butterflies with each blink. Her other endearing feature was her lips, curved into a smile that seemed to radiate a glow.

“It was refreshing. Thank–”

Thud, the soft sound cut the young man’s voice. The young lady had just placed two plates on the table, one on each side. On top of each was a mound of white rice. Steam oozed upward, and after a certain distance became invisible to the naked eye. Another steaming plate of what seemed to be cooked fish stood out from the rest. The color was a perfect golden brown, blanketed by a brown sauce he had never seen before. Sprinkled around it were diced-size potatoes, adding more vibrant color that brought the needed contrast to this dish.

“Oh, sorry. I interrupted you, didn’t I? Would you mind saying it again?”

He felt awkward repeating his gratitude, but he wasn’t that heartless. “I said thank you. The bath was very refreshing.”

“That’s reassuring to hear,” the young lady said. Her smile became more relaxed. “Now, let’s have breakfast before the food gets cold.”

You don’t really have to, he wanted to utter those words, but at the same time, preparing all of this must have taken time. Although his experience in the kitchen was close to zero, he knew the hard work a person would put into their craft. He deemed respecting it to be the best compliment a fellow human being can give.

So instead, he just said “thank you” before closing the distance and sitting on a chair. The pleasant aroma seeped into his nose and excited his palate even further–refusing her offer now would be impossible.

“Please wait a moment.”

The words coming out of the young lady’s mouth startled him. It took little for him to think that he had just made a mistake, though she immediately proved him wrong. Her hands reached towards the towel on his neck and rubbed it against his hair.

“We can’t afford for you to get a cold, can we?” she said with a bit of a teasing tone.

The soft sensation that grazed against his scalp was nothing but shocking. Although gentle, it came all of a sudden, making his entire body jerk in that moment. Before he knew it, he was already back on both feet, eyes staring at the girl whom he had just startled.

“S-sorry,” she said, eyes cautiously looking at the man. “Did that make you uncomfortable?”

Only after composing herself did the young man realize what she had tried to do. With the towel still clenched in her hand, she stared at him with weary eyes.

His cheeks reddened. “N-no….Sorry, I was overreacting.”

That answer made her blink twice before breaking into a relieved smile. “I thought you hated it.”

“I’m just surprised.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t clear with my words, too. Sorry.”

“I should be the one who apologizes.”

“But you did already!” The girl clapped her hands once. “Now, can I continue?”

The young man sat again. A second later, that soft sensation returned, gliding across his ruffled hair.

“Thank you…, and sorry for the trouble,” he said.

“Don’t mind it.” Her next few squeezes completely dried his hair. “Also, don’t be hesitant to eat. I made these because I wanted to, not because I wish you to be indebted to me.”

It would have been less suspicious if she had hidden an ulterior motive. But he couldn’t bring himself to hold on to that thought. No matter how much he tried to shine her in a bad light, the fact that she had provided so much remained. Even if she truly had malicious intent behind every action, he would hold on to that sliver of kindness rather than relying on his assumptions alone.

The pressure on his head disappeared, and when he looked up, the young lady had returned to the seat across from him.

“Shall we dig in then?” she asked after clapping her hands once.

The young man awkwardly nodded his head. “Thank….Thank you for the food.”

His response seemed to please the person in front of him, as her lips stretched into another smile. Seconds had passed, however, bleeding into minutes, and he had grabbed none of the utensils presented before him. They sat untouched. While at it, the scent seeped into him, twisting his guts more and more.

A thought in the back of his mind stopped him from doing so, and it wasn’t just his being hesitant.

No–that pressure he’d felt back in the bathroom returned, strangling him until acid was all he could feel in his throat.

“....May I ask you something?”

The young woman noticed that. “If it’s something I can help with, please go ahead.”

“Where are we now, exactly?”

He had every right to ask, so the young woman chose honesty. She even elaborated further, knowing the intention behind that question. “We’re south of the Aethel Kingdom, and a bit to the northwest from where I found you.”

From where I found you….

She must mean the battlefield. At least now he knew he was still within the Aethel Kingdom’s territory, perhaps quite close to the Samudra Sea where another continent and its sole kingdom held high.

The fact there were trees surrounding the area also pieced some blurry images into his suspicion. For now, however, he kept that thought to himself. Under such circumstances, where he didn’t know her motivation, he had to save all the cards on his hand hidden from her.

So he put his worry into something else. How far it was from either the kingdom or the battlefield wasn’t his main concern.

He continued. “I assume you’re the one who brought me here….When you did so, were there other survivors?”

The young woman’s lips parted, then pressed thin again. She’d rehearsed this several times in her mind, but conveying it into words was much harder than she’d thought. Still, it wasn’t her place to deny him the truth.

“....I’m sorry, but I only found you. Hours of searching and only you who was still warm.”

That pressure came back, squeezing his breath away. Somewhere in the lands within the Aethel Kingdom, crows feasted.

“I….I see.”

What made him feel worse, inside his mind palace–although worries lingered–he also felt relief knowing he was the one still standing, breathing, and living. He knew none of his allies. The shock after waking up also muddled most of his memories. He was just another pawn in the army, ready to be sacrificed with the other foot soldiers. When survival was what he fought for, attachment to his fellow soldiers became the last thing he could think of.

It still left an unpleasant taste in his tongue, however. His survival was carved using other’s blood, and it felt as if they were resting on his shoulders.

“Again, I’m sorry. If I’d tried harder, I might’ve been able to save someone else.”

With those burdened limbs, all he could do was appreciate the fact that life still accepted him.

“....That’s fine. Thank you for your effort.”

He pushed the fork in his left hand forward until the pointy tips were buried inside the fish. It took him a bit of adjustment to move his remaining hand accurately, but it was also far from impossible. Luckily, his target this time was unable to resist or dodge, so getting a clean piece was quite easy, which he placed on top of a spoonful worth of rice like a blanket.

Swapping his fork for a spoon, he brought the bite to his mouth and closed his lips. What happened next was an explosion of flavor. The meat melted on his tongue with ease, coating his taste buds with the perfect balance of saltiness and sweetness. As if the fish were still alive, it delightfully swam through the depths of umami, its flavor rippling like waves. His hunger played a part for sure, but that alone couldn’t justify how delicious the dish was.

“Is it to your liking? Cooking fish isn’t my expertise, so it’s rather simple and plain.”

“That’s not true. Emm…, I’m not good with words, but it’s very delicious.”

“If that’s the case, don’t be shy and dig in as much as you like.”

Each bite tasted better than the last, slowly easing his mind from those emotion-eating thoughts. He didn’t know how that could be possible, but what mattered the most now was filling his empty stomach with energy. For the next few seconds, only the sound of him chewing was audible, at least until the young lady opened her mouth again.

“While at it, I believe I haven’t introduced myself.”

Those words stopped the young man, who was in the middle of tearing another slice of fish. He almost forgot to ask that question, and now that the young lady had offered it herself, he didn’t have any reason not to listen.

“My name is–”

“Sorry for cutting you off, but would you mind if I gave you my name first?”

The young man was shocked by what he had said. This entire time, he had been cautious, as one wrong move–even just giving out his name–might backfire on him in the future. But his consciousness refused to be only on the receiving side.

“You have provided so much already, so that’s the least I can do,” he continued.

The young lady stared at him for a while. She did not expect that kind of response from him, though it wasn’t entirely unpleasant since this was his first question–the sign of him opening up.

“Then, can I ask for your name?”

The young man took a deep breath. After this, there was no going back.

“....My name is Pierrot Ernd.”

“And my name is Helena. Nice to meet you, Pierrot.”