Effect [✔️]

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"Do you live here?"

The boy just nodded at my question.

"I've lived here for years, and I'm assigned to guide you around our world"

He sounds like a nice guy, and he appears to be a very quiet person like Jisung.

He walked up to me and shook my hand.

"I'm Sasagawa Ikki. I was assigned to watch over and protect this world from danger. I can show you all everything there is to see here"

He's a little shorter than me, and his voice is very calm and soft.

"Huang Renjun. It's nice to meet you"

I smiled at him, and he just nodded.

"Follow me and I will show you all the other side of the castle"

He began to walk off, and we hesitantly followed behind him.

"He's not much of a talker is he...?"

"Doesn't seem like it, but he'll hopefully warm up to us soon"

Taeyong seemed pleased with my optimism.

-

"This town goes by the name Aeredale. We specialize in hospitality and healing. Everyone who lives here has a body made out of a type of gem. For example, everyone's bodies are made of the same components as their gems, meaning their bodies are very fragile and can break easily. Ah, here's two of them now"

Two girls walked up to us and Ikki.

One looked very happy, while the other seemed more serious.

"This is Scarlet and Nova. Scarlet's gem is Alexandrite, and Nova's gem is Blue Diamond. The main way you can tell someone's gem is by their hair colors and eye colors"

"Oh! I get it! So Nova is a commanding officer because she's a diamond, and Scarlet is like her guard because she's so strong!"

Chenle happily theorized, actually making Nova smile.

"I like this one. He knows his stuff"

"There's something else about him too! He shares the same energy as a Smokey Quartz!"

"Oh! It's probably because of my power!"

"This is my brother Chenle. He can grow crystals on his body~"

I happily introduced him, and he demonstrated by growing a few crystal shards on his finger.

"Very unusual"

Nova investigated.

I guess she's never seen anything like this before.

"We should help him perfect his power one day! Please Nova~!"

"I don't see why not. Scarlet seems to have taken a liking to you, as have I, so just come find us when you're ready. We're always around town, so it shouldn't be hard to find us"

Chenle joyfully nodded, and she pet him before they walked off.

"They're really close huh?"

Donghyuck questioned, seeing that they've been holding hands since we spotting them.

"They are. Scarlet and Nova may be completely different gems, but they're sisters. They emerged from the same rock"

Well no wonder they're so close!

Despite being so different, they're inseparable, kinda like Mark and Donghyuck in a way.

"Follow me. I'll take you to the dorms"

Ikki walked of again.

-

He led everyone to the dorms, and everyone chose who they'd room with.

I decided to room with Zuho, Yoonho, and Enzo.

Everyone's rooms had the same layout, so it wasn't that hard to choose.

Enzo immediately went to sleep on the couch by our bed.

Meanwhile, the rest of us just sat and talked with each other.

"Do you think everyone here knows about mom?"

"I think they do. They could be living on with her wish to heal others and give them hospitality"

"I wonder if she created them in some way. She did create this world, so why not them too right? And if so, did she create Ikki too?"

"I have concerns about him. He looks like a yōkai like Suko, but I'm thinking he's a gem too. If you recall, he said that everyone's bodies are very fragile because if their gem property, and he has so many bandaids on him..."

"It's like he's both, but his hair and eyes don't look like the others..."

"Very strange..."

Just then, we heard a knock on the door.

I opened it, only to see Ikki with his hand in his jacket pockets.

"What's up man?"

He avoided eye contact, but looked like he had something on his mind, and he did.

"I have something to show the three of you"