《Ferris Perspective》

'I missed this place. ......'

　Looking at the deserted landscape spread out below me, I muttered to myself.

　The city on the Principality's side near the border between the Principality of Ariclase and the Kingdom of Burgas - Prune. Two months ago, Friendship Ball was held in this large town.

　It is also known as the 'City of Light and Shade'.

　As the name suggests, it is a city where riches and poor people coexist.

　Here, the poor who wanted to flee to the Kingdom, but were unable to cross the border, have gathered to form a collony.

 

　Looking down from a small hill, my gaze is met by a pitch-black slum, dyed in the colour of the night.

　While the lights of the city illuminate the night, this place is quiet, as if it has been completely forgotten.

'You say you missed it, but have you ever been here before ......?'

'Yes, I have.'

　Lina, standing beside me, nodded in reply to the question.

　When Kaim informed me that the destination was this place, I was certain that I was right.

 

　Millie Renocent.

　I hoped that maybe the person Kaim was referring to and the person I knew were two different people with the same name - but that was not the case.

　I am not sure how Kaim knew her, he has mysterious powers.

　So I guess that's how he decided that Millie was here this time as well.

'What is this place mean to you?'

　Lina asks me again, and I give her a short answer.

'Home."

"...... I see.'

　Lina looked down awkwardly.

　She must have thought she had stepped on a land mine.

'Don't worry about it. 'My memories of this place aren't that terrible".

　I'm not trying to make her feel better or joke about it.

　I really think so.

 

　I was born and raised here.

　My father died before I was born and my mother died from illness when I was four years old.

　That's my only sad memory, the rest is not so much.

　I was born and raised together with a group of kils from the slums.

　Of course, it was a breeding ground for crime, so there were many difficult situations.

　Still, I lived hard and straight.

　For me, I felt a certain happiness in my difficult days.

　It is a town where there is irrationality, but not despair to the extent that it robs you of hope.

　That is my hometown.

　But then - one day I was kidnapped.

　The group that kidnapped me was the Black Swan.

　As a result, I became a slave of the Black Swan, where I met Flore.

　We were forced to work relentlessly and spend the night together - our bodies and souls were worn out.

　I certainly felt a hell that I hadn't felt even in the slums.

　On a moon red night, when I didn't even know if I was alive or dead anymore.

　Flore-chan, who had been tricked by Reis, took us to an unpopular place - and at that moment, a strong shock hit my body.

　To be honest, I don't remember the details because I was unconscious.

　All I remember was Flore-chan's frightened voice and the distance between us as the ground drained out of my body and my body heat was being gradually depleted.

　-I'm sorry for Flore-chan, but I thought that I was fine with this.

　Of course, I want Flore to escape and live, so I'm referring to my own end.

　This is much better than living every day as if I was dead.

　Without realising it, I was trying to welcome the feeling of death without resistance.

　I was about to give up everything and go to heaven, but I was saved by Kaim.

　A kind person with mysterious powers and extraordinary strength.

　There had been people who had possessed one of these things, but Kaim was the first person who had all of them.

　And - he was also the first person I felt safe around.

　That's why I wanted to follow him. Stand by his side and share his view.

　It was the first dream I had since I was born into the world as a child.

　So surely this command from Kaim is a test for me to overcome the past.

　Millie and I used to be...

"We must go."

"I understand."

　I silently make up my mind, and Lina nods in agreement.

　We were absorbed into the dark slum.