Azrael.
It sounded somewhat familiar, but I don't think it's one of the main characters. They were much more common like, John and Bruno or... Carl.
"Oh. Then I'll be in your care, Azrael... At least for a while..."
There was an awkward pause as I grabbed the stick from him.
"What do you think of my name?"
What do I think about it..? Does he want me to compliment it? I didn't realize I was making a funny face when I replied, however, I was serious when I said, "...It's a nice name."
There was another awkward pause as he tilted his head at me. "Indeed..." He chuckled later on. "Where do you hail from?"
I shifted my gaze heavenwards. "That's a secret."
"Hnn... Doesn't matter." He said as he stood up and stretched his limbs.
"Yeah. We're going to part in the future, anyway."
"..In the future..." He paused, seemingly thoughtful. "I have a feeling we won't be parting so soon..."
I eyed him curiously after. Does he mean... He wants to be... friends..? "That... That would be nice! I'd like to have a friend." I grinned. I've never had friends.
A long silence stretched in the background as we stared at each other before a small laugh escaped his lips.
"You've been laughing at every word I've been saying since a while ago." I feel a bit annoyed, to be honest.
"Sorry, miss. Sure, you can think of me as a friend if that's what you wish." He uttered politely before turning away, heading to the horse with a graceful gait.
I glared at him from behind before pinning my attention to the horse staring at me while snorting. And I swear there's something wrong with that horse...
Nonetheless, it's the only means we have to quicken our journey. After breakfast, we rode the horse and departed to Helium─ another distant territory of Grexya Kingdom,
When I first came to this world, I was at a neglected town named Brenia, located west of Grexya. It was near the border separating Grexya from Kiribas, near the main character's hometown. From there, I went to a small town called Ronlon rather than the bigger and more developed town, Iridel. Going through Ronlon will take a longer time to reach Ma-i but I chose the longer route as it was safer compared to traveling alone in the bigger cities where kidnapping commoners to sell them as slaves was rampant.
Today, I finally arrived in Helium, but it turns out it wasn't any better than Irida. I thought it was similar to Brenia, where despite lacking the King's attention, was still thriving. But I was wrong... At one glance, one could immediately tell how impoverished Helium is. A number of families could be seen loitering around, seemingly having no homes of their own. They were looking thinly scary with gaunt faces and malnourished bodies.
"How come... this place is like this..?" I muttered, asking no one in particular.
"Hm? This is normal, isn't it?" Azrael replied beside me.
Normal..? This..?
I was shocked and felt utterly horrified at the reality of the people living here. Their despondent and wary eyes drifted to us, shrinking away when we walked near them. The narrow streets were lifeless and a looming bleak atmosphere enveloped the whole town. Inside the stores, you could hear laughter and buzzes of excitement but out here- it was deathly still as if the lives of the people sitting by the road had stopped moving forward.
