The next day, Gray decided to show End around the village. The boy looked around in amazement, as if seeing something unusual.
"What is it?" Gray asked.
"Nothing… I've just never seen anything like this before."
They entered the local tavern. Gray ordered drinks. End curiously examined the food.
"It smells interesting. Probably tastes good."
He began eating with his hands, having not yet learned to use a spoon.
Meanwhile, a conversation unfolded among the patrons:
"You're lucky you didn't go through what I did," said an elderly man. "First, there was a nuclear war… We hid in the basement… An explosion rang out… We didn't come out for a month, but supplies were running low… Me and a few others volunteered to go to the surface… Ruins everywhere, the city was unrecognizable… In the distance, we saw something huge, the size of a mountain, moving toward us."
"That can't be real…"
"Oh, it was. And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst was when we returned… Lifeless bodies…"
"…"*
"We ran from there as fast as we could… As if someone was watching us…"
"…"
"Eventually, we found a new place to hide, but we were found… That was the first time I saw… that power."
"…"
"That territory was controlled by people who had awakened the Power—the Griefers. We had no choice but to obey… Until an army arrived… Those Griefers who call themselves Administrators… A battle broke out between them, and a kind man led us to a portal… He probably died… That was many years ago."
"Administrators… They're worse than Griefers."
"These… Administrators are the same scum as the local Griefers. They just put on uniforms and made up laws. Now, if you have Power and don't serve them—you're a Griever. But if you do serve—you're a 'lawful regulator.' Hypocrites."
"He must be talking about the Apocalypse, the Dimensional Rift, and the War of the Griefers… Sai told me similar stories."
Gray tensed. He spotted a very familiar figure sitting in the corner of the tavern.
"No way… I was just thinking about him… What's he doing here?"
An old man in a tattered cloak sat at a table. The staff in his hands suggested he might be a wandering monk. The strange glint in his eyes made it hard to tell—sage or madman?
"Sai, is that you? Long time no see! How'd you end up here?"
"Oho, Gray! What a surprise! I'm helping Rain here."
Sai was the one who had taken care of Gray after his village was destroyed. He had taught him how to wield a sword. But Gray had left him as soon as he was old enough.
"You've really grown, Gray! Look at those muscles!"
"Oh, come on… Why did you choose Rayn?"
"Well… He seems… different from the other Griefers."
"Yeah, he's not quite like them… At least he cares about his village."
"And who's this kid with you? He reeks of… Power."
"This is End. I found him on a mission."
After a while, Gray and End headed to the place allocated for their lodging.
"So, what do you think of the village? Better than the places I've been in the last year…"
"Interesting place… Do you always live like this? All together?"
"Huh? What do you mean, 'all together'? Have you… lived alone?"
"I don't remember… Who am I…?"