After appraising his system window, a knock at the door pulled Sanato from his thoughts.
"Hero Sanato, may I come in?" a familiar voice called. It was Salina.
"Of course, come in," Sanato replied, quickly clearing his head. Why is she here? Is it about my brother again? Damn it, Meharu… you just had to cause trouble.
Clenching his fist slightly, Sanato prepared himself for another scolding.
But instead, Salina stepped inside with a soft look in her eyes. She walked closer, her voice gentle. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Sanato blinked, completely caught off guard. "Pardon me?"
He stared at her, confused. Wait... what? No shouting? No blaming? She's actually worried? What's going on?
Salina gave him a light sigh. "Taania acted like a jerk yesterday, and your brother is... well, he's SS class. You're E rank. That's got to be rough."
She's being so blunt... does she even realize how that sounds? Sanato's thoughts scrambled. Yeah, thanks for the reminder...
"Yeah, no need to worry. I'm okay," he mumbled, but his face told a different story.
Salina tilted her head slightly, clearly seeing through his words. "Would you mind if I showed you around the capital?"
"Really? I mean, aren't you busy or something?"
She smiled brightly. "Don't worry about that. Just enjoy yourself while you can."
Without waiting for more protests, she motioned for him to follow. Together, they walked through the palace's grand hallways, eventually reaching the main gate. Salina gave a subtle nod to a guard, and the gates creaked open.
Outside, the vibrant heart of the capital awaited them.
The market was bursting with life — food stalls lined the streets, children laughed as they ran past, merchants shouted out deals, and the scent of spices filled the air.
Sanato looked around, overwhelmed and amazed. "Whoa... this place is alive."
He stopped by a stall selling strangely shaped red fruits. "What are those?"
"Dragon Hearts," Salina said with a soft chuckle. "Want to try one?"
"Sure! Are they sweet?"
"They're… interesting," she smirked, buying two. She handed one to Sanato. "Peel the top shell. Then just bite into it."
Sanato did as instructed and took a bite. "Mmm… it's sweet, but kinda sour too."
"Glad you like it."
They continued strolling through the streets, and eventually found a quiet bench beside a small river that ran through the town.
"So," Salina leaned forward slightly, "tell me about your world. What was it like?"
Sanato hesitated, staring at the flowing water. "You really wanna know?"
"Of course."
He sighed. "Well... it's not as magical as this place. No monsters, no magic. Just... machines, buildings, and people running around trying to live."
"No beasts? How do you defend yourselves?"
"We don't need to. There are no beasts like here. We use something called 'technology' — electricity, engines, stuff like that."
Salina's eyes widened, clearly trying to imagine what he meant. "Sounds... confusing. But kinda amazing too."
They talked for hours, Sanato explaining things like vehicles, phones, and cities filled with lights. Salina listened like a child hearing fairy tales.
Before they realized, the sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with shades of orange and violet.
"Oh no," Salina suddenly stood up, "we're late! We should head back."
They hurried through the quieting streets and reached the palace gates just as night settled in. Once back inside, Salina walked Sanato to his room.
"Good night. See you tomorrow!" she said quickly, almost running off before he could reply.
Sanato entered the room, now dimly lit by the silver glow of the moon. For the first time since his arrival, he truly paused and looked around.
He was in another world. And finally, it didn't feel so heavy.