One hour later, the orange glow of candles illuminated the corner of the room where they were. Outside, the sun had sunk beyond the horizon, replaced by the beautiful light of the full moon and a sky filled with shimmering stars.

  Both of them felt their bodies had recovered, and they all decided to say their farewells and thank Arvrenda for her help and the food she had prepared before night fully fell.

  From a distance, they waved their hands, and Arvrenda simply waved back from the front of her house.

  At the roundabout on Street No 12 Ahiston, the garden where they had gathered earlier, Leo and Liam sat side by side on one of the long benches in front of neatly arranged rectangular planters and an iron fence serving as a boundary.

  The distance between Tezny District and their homes was quite far, hundreds of meters for Liam, and kilometers for Leo in Forgenate, not to mention that night had already fallen.

  They did not know what awaited them on the road. Meanwhile, Zeta and Forn had returned to their respective homes in Tezny District, at the very corner of Street No 12.

  "You should head home," Leo finally said, glancing around before looking at Liam with concern.

  'Good thing I rented an apartment earlier. Yeah, even though it was ridiculously expensive, damn it.' The corner of Leo's lips lifted as the thought resurfaced.

  Yet his words lingered in the air like smoke. Liam lifted his gaze, observing the moon and the shimmering stars in the beautiful night sky as a mysterious question surfaced in his mind.

  Leo let out a long breath before stretching his muscles and standing upright, then slightly lifting his shoulder as a signal for Liam to follow. Liam glanced at him briefly, then rose and walked behind him.

  Together they left the garden, walking along the stone paved sidewalk and noticing how the streets were beginning to quiet down, though a few people still passed by, including pushcart vendors who remained by the roadside with expressions difficult to decipher.

  The two of them suddenly noticed an old man in worn out clothes staring at them, hoping they would buy his goods.

  Leo suddenly stopped, followed by Liam from behind. Leo's eyes grew slightly glassy as he turned around. Though puzzled, Liam immediately understood what it meant. He gave a small nod and thought about buying some of the man's merchandise.

  They approached the cart before Liam asked in a restrained tone, "How much for three apple pies and five boiled potatoes?"

  They both knew the city regulations well. The old man should have gone home since late afternoon like the other vendors. Yet somehow, at 7:30 in the evening, he was still there, not returning to the family who might be waiting for him. The thought crossed both their minds, leaving them with little choice but to buy some of his goods.

  Was it because no one had bought anything yet? Or perhaps he no longer had a family? Those questions surfaced quietly in their thoughts.

  "Ah, I will give you a discount. The total is 8 Pace, sixty five pence," the old man said in a low voice that was nearly inaudible.

  Liam turned around, his face tightening briefly as he extended his hand asking for half of the payment. Reluctantly, Leo handed over half the price, together with Liam.

  Frugal, unwilling to suffer losses, yet still wanting to help others, that was what crossed Liam's mind at that moment. After making sure the amount was correct, Liam handed the money to the vendor with a friendly smile.

  Liam received a paper bag filled with boiled potatoes, while Leo carried a wooden basket containing apple pies covered with a sheet of paper on top. Even though he was old, the man still counted his money carefully before letting them go.

  "Thank you." The old man waved his hand, watching their backs grow distant, leaving him alone on the increasingly quiet roadside.

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  "Huh… so tiring, isn't it?" he murmured with a faint smile.

  Meanwhile, the two of them continued along the silent roadside. Leo suddenly told Liam that he had rented an apartment a few days earlier and offered him a place to stay, even if only for one night.

  'Hmm. Not a bad idea.' Liam thought. His body felt like it wanted to shut down from exhaustion.

  Besides, tomorrow was Monday. He would look for important information that might answer his questions, meeting one of Forn's acquaintances.

  He nodded, accepting the offer.

  A modest two story apartment building stood before them. As soon as they stood in front of it, they were greeted by a box shaped lamp mounted at the entrance.

  They exchanged glances before entering. The front door opened, and Leo and Liam climbed the stairs toward the room at the end of the corridor.

  Silent. Calm. Comfortable.

  Leo inserted the key into his rented room and slowly but surely turned the knob.

  The door opened with a creaking sound loud enough to sting the ears. Before stepping inside, he turned around and patted Liam's shoulder, a strange habit that had already become attached to him.

  "Sorry. For inviting you so suddenly."

  Liam remained silent, choosing not to respond further, thinking it would only make the atmosphere tense.

  Then Leo stepped inside and quickly lit the lantern to illuminate the kitchen on the left side and his room directly ahead.

  Leo stayed in the kitchen to the left, while the lantern rested on a small table near the entrance. On the other side, Liam placed the paper bag on a small table beneath it, took one boiled potato, and peeled it slowly with his hands.

  Two minutes later, Leo came out of the kitchen carrying two plates and a kettle filled with freshly boiled hot water. He set them on the small table, and they sat facing each other.

  Beside the bed, Leo took the basket of pies and placed them onto the two plates in front of them.

  "Why did you choose to stay here?" Liam asked, then bit into the boiled potato in his right hand.

  Leo, who was about to feed himself a spoonful of apple pie, suddenly stopped and placed it back on the plate.

  "It's nothing," he replied shortly, his voice sounding tired and deep.

  Liam took two more bites, chewing, then asked again, "Is it something serious enough that you cannot tell me?"

  The atmosphere suddenly fell silent. Leo's lips trembled faintly as his thoughts drifted back to that incident.

  Maybe it seemed trivial, Leo thought. But in reality, both his parents had died from a strange illness two years ago, right after he graduated. Since then, the way he saw the world had changed. He felt completely alone, with no place to share his thoughts.

  He buried his grief, pretending as if nothing had happened.

  The day after his parents' funeral, he tried to search for his missing older sister, or more precisely, the whereabouts he did not know, including her family, who had not even attended the funeral.

  Sometimes Leo thought his sister might already be dead. But he chose to believe that she was still alive, and he had once promised himself that he would find her, no matter what.

  Until now, Leo had searched throughout Moran for traces of her, asking around everywhere, but his efforts over the past two years had been in vain. Even Forn, who helped him with numerous connections, failed to find her.

  Leo did not want to tell the others about it. Only Forn knew. That was what crossed his mind when Liam mentioned the words serious enough.

  "It's nothing. Let's just eat," Leo finally said, then continued eating the pie still on his spoon.

  Liam looked at his friend's face without knowing his problem at all. After finishing three potatoes, he took the kettle in front of him and poured hot water into a cup.

  Steam rose as the water filled the cup. Liam blew on it before drinking. After about three sips, he stopped, placed the cup back on the table, then took the apple pie in front of him.

  "Do you have any plans to go out tomorrow?" Liam asked, cutting the apple pie with a knife before eating it.

  "Maybe. Tomorrow I will go back home to pick something up." After answering, Leo stood and brought his plate into the kitchen.

  He did not finish his apple pie, placing it on the rack to eat the next morning.

  Liam glanced to the left, observing Leo's movements from the corner of his eye, realizing he seemed lost in his own thoughts. He let out a breath, stood up, and pushed the table to the right corner before placing the small round table at the corner of the room.

  After that, they prepared to sleep. Coincidentally, the apartment had a bunk bed. Liam slept on the top, while Leo slept below.

  Since their stomachs were full, drowsiness slowly came as they lay down. Two minutes later, both of them fell into a deep sleep, lulled by the silence of the night, while something seemed to lurk behind it.

  Outside, the sun had risen. Warm light slipped between the buildings, allowing rays to illuminate part of the room and at the same time waking them from sleep.

  The morning wind blew rather strongly. The bedroom window, left unclosed since the previous night, creaked loudly, enough to wake them both at the same time.

  Liam's eyes snapped open. Reflexively, he reached for his pocket watch and flipped it open.

  Click.

  "08.00, huh?" Liam climbed down from the bunk bed, intending to wake Leo, but Leo was already awake.

  After that, he walked to the bathroom, stood in front of the sink, turned on the faucet, gathered water with both hands, and washed his face.

  "Ah… so refreshing," Liam murmured, enjoying the sensation of water flowing over his face.

  'So that dream appeared again, right? Is there a way to get rid of it, and am I the only one experiencing it?' he thought. He was not used to that dream, being aware, unable to wake up, and feeling disgusted seeing splatters of blood spreading in every direction.

  Before leaving the bathroom, he stared at his reflection, his blue eyes tired and his hair messy, making him realize what kind of day awaited him. He gave a faint smile, turned around, and returned to the room.

  His old black coat was ruined, and he worried people outside would see his disheveled appearance, almost like a madman.

  Because of that, Leo offered his unused black coat, still in good condition. Liam did not know what to say, because Leo practically forced him to accept it.

  "Alright, alright. I will wear it." Liam put on the black coat, the sleeves far longer than his hands.

  He looked like a child wearing an adult's clothes.

  "Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I did not expect your body to still be this small," Leo said, holding back laughter.

  "When we were still in school, your height was different from the other kids, including me. Because of that, you were often bullied by others, called short, dwarf, and the annoying part was that you were often ordered around."

  Leo chuckled softly as he remembered it.

  "Then I will head home first," Liam said with an incredulous expression.

  Leo stood and approached him, then patted his shoulder again and again.

  "Alright. And are you sure you want to leave those boiled potatoes?" he asked with a smile, hoping Liam would leave them behind.

  Liam understood what he meant. A faint smile formed on his face before he stepped toward the door and said, "Just take them if you want." The door opened. He left the apartment and immediately headed toward the meeting place.

  22 October. Monday. 08.00 in the morning.