The massive gate of the kingdom's wall explodes into pieces. Wood and debris fly through the air as a carriage bursts through the rubble at insane speed. Two horses, pushed beyond their limits, run desperately, driven by the coachman's screams as he cracks the whips without stopping.
Inside the carriage, Shizu Mark screams, his voice torn apart by panic.
— FASTER! GO, FASTER! DON'T STOP!
The coachman replies, his face consumed by despair.
— WE'RE ALREADY AT OUR LIMIT! WE CAN'T GO ANY FASTER!
Shizu grips the small side window. His body is covered in blood and bruises. He lets out a low groan, his eyes hollow, almost lifeless.
— Please… faster… they're going to catch us… they're going to catch us…
The carriage shoots forward like an arrow. Steam bursts from the horses' nostrils and mouths as they are forced beyond what their bodies can endure. Then, an explosion roars behind them. Dust rises into the sky.
Shizu slowly turns toward the rear window.
An intense glow pulses in the distance.
Something large is approaching.
— Ha… HAAAAAAA!
The coachman lifts his gaze—and sees only for a final second.
A colossal chain slices through the air and strikes the carriage with absurd force. Everything is destroyed in an instant.
Silence.
Shizu regains consciousness, opening only one eye.
— Co… coachman… where are you…?
He moves his hand and feels something warm. Blood. Turning his head, he sees the coachman's body split in half, the horses crushed beneath the wreckage.
Despair consumes him.
— NO… NO… HELP—
An unimaginable pain cuts him off.
Looking back, Shizu sees the other half of his own body hanging from the remains of the carriage. He vomits blood as his mind repeats in desperation:
It hurts… it hurts… it hurts…
From within the dust, a shadow emerges.
Glowing eyes, filled with murderous intent.
The entity smiles as it extends long chains that reflect the surrounding light.
Then, everything fades to black.
And so, we return to the beginning… to where it all truly started.
Inside a carriage, two people were heading toward a destination. Shizu watched Anin as she slept sitting down, leaning against the carriage door. Her face was beautiful, and her hair fluttered in the wind. He gazed at her with a thoughtful expression as his thoughts drifted freely.
— "Wow… she's so beautifuuul!"
For a brief moment, a small stone jumps up from the road, kicked by the carriage wheels, and lands on Anin's dress. Shizu notices immediately and thinks to himself in surprise.
— "That pebble!!! It could dirty her dress!!"
He brings his right hand to his chin, staring at the pebble with a serious expression.
— "I could just remove it, right?…"
Indeed, the pebble was covered in dust and could stain Anin's dress. The most sensible decision would be to remove it with his hand.
— "NO WAY! If I do that and she wakes up, she'll think I'm taking advantage and touching her legs!!"
That was something Shizu absolutely did not want. After a long moment of conflicted thoughts, he makes a decision.
— "I've decided! I'll go over there pretending to close the window, say I noticed a pebble, and remove it! That's exactly what I'll do!"
That was his plan, but in practice, he was extremely anxious, afraid she might think he was taking advantage of her vulnerability. He moves closer, tries to close the window, and looks again at the pebble. With a trembling hand, he reaches toward it.
— "I'm just going to pick up a pebble… it's just a pebble… I'll grab it and throw it away, nothing more!"
He moves closer, and just as he's about to grab the pebble, the coachman opens the small front window and speaks loudly.
— We've arrived at our destination!
Shizu jumps back in shock and falls onto the carriage seat, shouting:
— IT'S JUST A STOOOONE!!!
The coachman looks confused and asks what happened. Shizu simply scratches his head, blushing, while looking out the window.
— Ha-haaa! Yeah, we've arrived! So… where are we?!
Anin begins to wake from her sleep as the coachman replies.
— Sir, we are in the nearest kingdom, the Kingdom of Dealgran! More specifically, at the entrance of the city of Citruriam.
Shizu steps down from the carriage and looks at the city's entrance. With an excited expression, he says:
— So this is where we'll be staying for a while? Looks like we'll finally get some well-earned rest!
Anin also steps down, looks around, and smiles.
— Wow!! It's really beautiful!
The coachman turns his face away and whispers softly with a faint smile.
— I guess any view is better than that prison city…
She looks at him doubtfully, asking if he said something. Quickly, the coachman turns back, scratches his head, sweating nervously, and says it was nothing. Shizu looks once more at the city entrance and notices beastfolk staring at them with serious expressions. He thinks to himself:
— Will this really be a rest?…
The coachman says he'll leave the carriage somewhere nearby and return shortly to escort them. Anin and Shizu agree and begin walking into the city to learn more about the place on their own. Anin notices a coffee shop and immediately calls out to Shizu.
— Hey, Shizu, how about we go there? It looks like they serve drinks.
Shizu thinks for a moment and then agrees. The two enter the shop, sit at a table, and begin reading the drink menu. Anin speaks excitedly.
— W-wow! They have so many drink options! Oh, they even have custom ones, that's so cool!
Shizu watches her and smiles softly, thinking to himself.
— "Right… she spent part of her life in that horrible place, so she probably never got to experience things like this. The best I can do now is give her happy moments…"
At that moment, he recalls a memory from the night Laura handed him a bag of coins for the journey.
— "Here, Shizu. It's not much, but it's enough for you to have a good trip. I hope you make good use of the money and don't waste it on nonsense."
He blushes and thanks her in that moment. Returning to the present, he smiles happily as he watches Anin drink a pink beverage with strawberries, her face full of joy.
— "So cuuute!!! Thank you for giving me this power, Miss Lauraaaaaa!"
After finishing their drinks, Shizu asks if it was good. She nods, smiling. Shizu then looks toward a waitress with a cat-like face wearing a maid outfit, signaling for the bill. She approaches them with a look of disdain and disgust.
— Your bill comes to 70 silver coins.
Shizu jumps up from his chair in disbelief.
— What the hell, 70 silver coins??! Was there gold in that drink or something?!
Angrily, she steps closer to Shizu and speaks aggressively.
— Are you saying you don't have money?! Or are you saying we're stealing from you?! Of course it's more expensive for human intruders!
— She's not even denying that she's robbing us!
Shizu snaps angrily. He hands her the 70 coins and asks:
— Fine, fine, here's your money! But tell me, what's with all this hatred, huh? Do you really hate humans that much?
He looks at her face and notices a sad expression. He immediately regrets his words. Calling Anin to leave, they head toward the exit when the waitress begins to speak.
— It was 400 years ago… Humans took everything for themselves… turned us, the ferals, into slaves… destroyed our lives as if they meant nothing. Do you really think it's impossible to harbor hatred toward such disgusting, worthless beings?… After so long, we finally freed ourselves along with this city, and you humans walk in here like nothing happened!
Shizu raises his voice so everyone can hear.
— And who said I did any of that? Just because a bunch of monsters like that existed and did horrible things doesn't mean I did them too!
She clutches her tray and presses her lips together, replying coldly.
— Even so… the hatred we ferals feel toward you will never disappear… not even if it lasts a thousand years!
She bows slightly with the tray.
— Thank you for your purchase. Please do not return.
Shizu watches silently and accepts it. As they leave, he hears a voice from afar.
— Excuse me, miss, how much was my bill?
With a smile, she replies to the dog-faced feral.
— That'll be 10 bronze coins, sir!
Shizu clenches his fists in rage.
— What a rip-off!! They're going to hear from me!!!
Anin grabs his arm and pulls him outside. Once outside, she speaks calmly.
— Shizu, that story she told about what happened 400 years ago is very delicate. We shouldn't argue or contradict them over it. All we can do is listen and ignore what they say, because they have that right.
Shizu looks at her, confused, but scratches his head and nods, saying he'll be careful.
In the distance, the coachman approaches, waving.
— I looked everywhere for you! I thought I'd lost you!
— Sorry, we were just having some drinks at a shop nearby.
Shizu replies.
The coachman grows anxious.
— W-what?! You went to a shop here?! Do you have any idea how much they charge clueless humans?!
Shizu makes a defeated face, answering that he knows. He then looks at the man and asks:
— By the way, we've been traveling together for a while now, but I never asked your name.
The coachman, with brown hair, green eyes, and strange gray clothing, introduces himself.
— My name is Detrin. Detrin Loyad. Nice to meet you! I was hired by Miss Laura to escort you until you dismiss me from my duty. Oh, and it's already getting dark. We should find a good inn for the night. It's time for me to show my researcher skills and prove what a good business merchant can do!
Shizu laughs and thinks to himself.
— "So you thought of even that, Miss Laura? That's awesome!"
The image of Laura giving Shizu a thumbs-up appears in his mind. Detrin finds an inn and starts bragging.
— Listen, this inn is considered the best for humans in this city because it was built by a human!! That means they don't charge the absurd prices the feral inns do!
Inside the inn:
— 200 bronze per person. Take it or leave it!
— WHAT IS THIS?! Are you trying to rob the devil?!
Detrin shouts in shock. The innkeeper responds calmly.
— Listen here, "dear merchant," I'm not charging anything absurd. In a feral inn, you'd pay around 500 silver coins—almost 5 gold coins per night. And we humans living here pay 50% more in taxes, so this is actually a very low price! You should be grateful I'm even offering this after you called me a thief!
Detrin has no argument left and simply asks how many rooms are available.
— Two. We have two rooms available.
Shizu panics internally.
— "Wait… two rooms??! Did he really say that?? Does that mean… me and Anin will share the—"
Later that night, he finds himself in the same room as Detrin, lying on the same bed, staring at the ceiling, with a small space between them.
— Room…
Shizu mutters, finishing his thought.
Detrin breaks the silence.
— So… it's pretty cramped in here, huh?
— Yeah… pretty cramped.
Shizu replies blankly.
Detrin suggests:
— If you turned toward the wall… there might be more space, you know…
— No way I'm turning my back on you, Detrin! Why don't you turn around?!
Detrin snaps back.
— No way in hell I'm turning my back on you either, Shizu!
Both turn their heads away and speak at the same time.
— Good night!
— Good night!
Anin, lying in her own bed, softly says:
— Good night… Gab..
Outside the city gate, the sound of chains dragging across the ground echoes through the night. A shadow speaks in a melancholic tone while lifting the chains toward its face.
— At last… I've reached my destination… hm, hm, hm… this is going to be absolutely… brutal!!