After finishing breakfast, ?lyara said goodbye to Mira and Serra and left their home. She didn’t want to cause them any more stress. Her presence seemed to have unsettled them somehow.
Even Mira—who had been lively and confident before—had fallen silent.
After leaving the house, ?lyara stopped by the inn she had visited the previous day. When she went to pay for the meal, the people inside were noticeably more distant toward her. Everyone had already heard about what happened the night before.
As she walked through the streets, she even caught whispers drifting through the crowd.
The woman protected by the Morhena…
The people at the inn, however, seemed to see her more as a lunatic.
How could a person stand in front of a yargar like that?
?lyara tried not to pay attention to any of it. The innkeeper refused to take her necklace. He wouldn’t accept any payment at all. He was simply grateful that she had protected Mira.
You are definitely an Alkan…
It might burn not only you, but everyone around you…
As she walked through the town, those words kept echoing in her mind. What kind of Alkan could she possibly be? And what exactly was her pow—
“Ah!”
Her foot caught on a stone. Losing her balance, she bumped into someone.
The person she collided with flinched and cried out, “Ah!”
People on the street immediately turned to look at them.
The man shoved ?lyara’s hand away roughly.
“Stay away from me!” he snapped before hurrying off.
?lyara clenched her teeth. She really didn’t like this place.
Maybe I should go back to the tree where I woke up, she thought. After all, that was where she had opened her eyes in this strange world.
The only problem was figuring out how to get back there. She had parted ways with the uniformed man. Just because he had saved her the night before didn’t mean anything had changed. She was certain she wouldn’t be walking that road with him again.
She looked down at the necklace hanging from her neck. Maybe she could sell it and buy a horse. That way, she could reach the place much faster.
But there was another problem.
That human-like creature.
What if it appeared in front of her again?
The thought sent a shiver running down her shoulders.
As she struggled with her thoughts, she heard the sound of a horse neighing.
When she turned her head, she noticed a place that looked like a horse stable.
An involuntary smile appeared on her lips.
Finally, a bit of hope.
Trying not to look too excited, she walked toward the stable. She noticed a horse tied nearby and approached it.
“Hello,” she said softly. “Who left you here?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
She reached out and gently stroked the horse’s head.
At first, the horse kept its distance, but suddenly it lowered its head and leaned closer to ?lyara.
?lyara smiled.
It was hard to find better friends than horses.
“Who do you think you are?” a harsh male voice suddenly said.
“Stay away from my horse!”
The smile disappeared from ?lyara’s face.
The horse tensed and began to move away from her.
The angry man started walking toward her quickly. ?lyara instinctively took a few steps back.
“Careful, child,” a voice said.
The voice came from right behind her.
When ?lyara turned, she saw an old woman. The woman was looking at her with a gentle smile.
“Stay away, you old hag!” the man shouted.
The old woman’s smile slowly faded.
She looked at the man.
Without meaning to, ?lyara turned in the same direction.
A moment later, the anger on the man’s face had disappeared.
“I’m sorry,” the man said calmly. “That was rude of me.”
Then he turned to ?lyara.
“Were you looking for a horse?” he asked.
?lyara frowned.
This change… was very strange.
“Yes,” she said, showing him her necklace. “But I don’t have any money. This is all I have.”
The man looked at the necklace, then back at ?lyara.
“Unfortunately, the necklace doesn’t look very valuable,” he said, turning back to the horse.
The hope inside ?lyara faded instantly. She lowered her head and examined the necklace in her hand.
“My dear,” the old woman said, “I have a few things I need. Would you help me carry them?”
?lyara lifted her eyes from the necklace and looked at the old woman.
“Of course,” she said calmly. She didn’t really know what else to do anyway. Maybe keeping herself busy with something else would ease her mind.
---
While walking through the town, she had heard that the barrier had finally been repaired. It had been cracked for a week, yet no one had come to fix it until now.
This place isn’t so different from my world after all, she thought.
Both of ?lyara’s hands were full now. It would have been difficult for a woman of that age to carry all of this alone. But even ?lyara was starting to feel tired.
“We’re here,” the old woman said.
?lyara raised her head. In front of her stood an old wooden house. The good thing about it was the garden—filled with colorful flowers.
When they reached the door—
“Thank you, my dear,” the old woman said.
?lyara answered with a small smile and turned to leave.
“My dear,” The old woman said again, taking hold of ?lyara’s hand.
?lyara turned back to face her.
“Be careful, child,” the old woman said.
“You may not realize it… but your emotions are spilling out around you.”
?lyara frowned.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Is my expression that obvious?”
The old woman smiled faintly.
“Your expression shows it too,” she said. “But that’s not the important part.”
Then what was important?
“You know that we Alkan have different abilities,” the old woman said.
?lyara slowly nodded.
“But some abilities are rare… and they can be dangerous,” she said quietly.
She glanced around.
“I know your ability. Because I have it too.”
?lyara could hear the pounding of her own heartbeat.
Was she really an Alkan?
“W-what is it?” she asked, stammering.
A glimmer appeared in the old woman’s eyes.
“There are Alkan who can stir the hearts of people,” she said, stepping closer. “People don’t like Alkan like us.”
What was that supposed to mean?
“I understand,” ?lyara said with a smile.
She gently freed her hand from the old woman’s grip.
“I should get going now,” she said and turned away.
“No,” the old woman said.
“You understood nothing, child.”
Then she closed the door.
?lyara turned her head at the sound of the door shutting.
Who was that woman?
She’s just talking nonsense, ?lyara thought as she walked away.
Yet until she had completely left the place behind, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.
---
She approached a small bridge. She hadn’t noticed this part of the town before. It actually gave the place a rather charming atmosphere.
The bridge was made of packed earth, with grass growing across its surface. Yet it was wide and high.
For a while, ?lyara stood there, watching the surroundings from the bridge.
The sun was slowly setting.
She stepped away from the post she had been leaning on.
Across the bridge, she saw the uniformed man. His back was turned to her. He seemed to be examining something.
For a moment, she almost called out to him—but changed her mind.
He had already helped her enough.
Suddenly, an uneasy feeling tightened inside her chest.
She glanced around, searching for the source of that feeling. She noticed the uniformed man beginning to walk toward her, but the feeling wasn’t coming from him.
She looked around again.
A man was sitting on the bridge’s railing.
The way he sat was dangerously unstable. He had climbed onto the very top of the railing, his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach.
There are Alkan who can stir the hearts of people…
People don’t like Alkan like us…
Those words suddenly echoed in her mind.
Maybe she could test whether she truly had that ability.
If I do… maybe I can save him from this.
And if not… at least she wouldn’t have to think about those ridiculous words anymore.
?lyara began walking toward the man.
