Kaelis and Carlos were still standing in front of the closed door inside the house. After Kaelis's greeting, no further response had come.

  The girl sitting on the couch and watching them stirred a bit and straightened her posture. Then, looking toward where Carlos and Kaelis were, she began to speak.

  “I guess Asaf is still missing, right?”

  The girl's voice was a bit deep but still retained its femininity. Carlos nodded by bowing his head downward.

  “Unfortunately, Piera, I'll go out searching again sunday.”

  The girl he was talking to was named Piera. Piera seemed a little saddened and nodded to indicate she understood.

  “Who's that next to you?”

  Carlos turned to Kaelis and spoke.

  “How about introducing yourself?”

  “My name is Kaelis Varn, you can just call me Kaelis!”

  His voice came out well with the encouragement from Carlos, and this time he supported his expression with facial gestures. Piera seemed to prefer staying silent, just like Carlos.

  “Kaelis, huh? What a wonderful name!”

  This voice clearly belonged to a man from every aspect. The man who had been lying on the other couch had straightened up in his lying position and shifted to a sitting posture. Then, after listening to Kaelis's speech, he gave a positive response to him. Before Kaelis could start speaking, the man continued.

  “I am Atlas, pleased to meet you, Kaelis.”

  “Mhm, likewise, A-Atlas!”

  Kaelis was successfully passing the introduction phase. He had met the man sitting on the couch. It seemed to have gone quite positively; according to him, the results were like that. He hadn't directly met the girl named Piera yet, but he had learned her name thanks to Carlos. The only person he hadn't met was the one who had just woken up in the bed when they arrived.

  This girl, who had wheat-colored skin like Carlos and Piera, must have been shorter compared to them. Even though she was sitting on the floor bed, it wasn't hard to tell. The girl's brown hair, reaching down to her back, was messy because she had just woken up. She was slowly opening her eyes. She had hazel eyes beneath her brown eyelashes. She was wearing a purple short-sleeved shirt that had probably been worn for a long time and was wrinkled from sleep. Although she looked about the same age as Piera, compared to Piera, she had a flatter body, but this didn't affect her beauty at all.

  The girl brought her hand to her eye and started speaking while rubbing it.

  “Can't you guys be a little quieter? You're too noisy; I can't sleep.”

  After saying this, the girl finished rubbing her eyes and opened them. There were two men standing right in front of her bed by the door.

  One was Carlos, whom she had known for a long time; the other was someone she had never seen anywhere before, and they were standing right in front of her. The girl's eyes widened in a bit of bewilderment. She just stared as if something was wrong. Kaelis, feeling that he was being looked at, tilted his head downward toward the girl.

  “Are you okay? You look like you've gone pale.”

  “Y-yes, I'm fine.”

  Kaelis took his gaze away from there and turned it toward Carlos.

  “Did I disturb her?”

  “Hmm, I don't think so, this is Maisy who can do anything at any moment.”

  “I said I'm fine, and I'm not going to do anything right now.”

  “———”

  “You coming home with others and as I'm not seeing Asaf here right now means you still haven't found him, right?”

  “Mhm”

  Atlas joined this conversation too.

  “So that's how it is, Carlos; my worries are growing every day. May God protect him.”

  Except for Kaelis, they all repeated in unison, "May God protect him." When Kaelis heard everyone saying this, he repeated it the same way so as not to stand out.

  “Where did you find Kaelis?”

  “While looking for Asaf near the Bazaar, I found him in an alley and decided he was one of us.”

  “Isn't it a bit selfish for you to make the decision alone? You could tell us a little.”

  “It would really be good if you explained a bit, Carlos.”

  “I made the necessary explanation to Aunt Catalina, and since I got her approval, I brought him here. If you want it that much, you can get the necessary approval from her.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “———”

  Following this conversation, Maisy started talking.

  “If Aunt Catalina approved, it means there's no problem; Piera, relax a bit.”

  “As you say, then.”

  Kaelis was naturally being interrogated in every place he arrived. This was quite natural; after all, a complete stranger had come to their home, and they had no idea what he was about. These doubts had suddenly ended after Carlos said Aunt Catalina's approval was there.

  Kaelis thought to himself. Who could this Aunt Catalina be? Did she have approval strong enough to eliminate their doubts all at once? They must trust her a lot.

  “Now that your doubts are cleared, it's time to clear Kaelis's doubts, or at least reduce them.”

  “———”

  “Atlas is my closest friend; when I'm not around here, when I'm in the city, he handles the tasks here in my place. Piera is the big sister to most of the little kids here. As she appears, she's a strong girl, so she does the carrying or quick tasks. Maisy, although she looks like a princess, is the one who provides security for us and this place. She has an extremely talented swordsmanship skill. Those swords you see are her weapons.”

  Carlos completed his sentences by pointing with his hand to the two average-sized swords on top of the wardrobe.

  “Hmm alright, but you still haven't explained one person.”

  “Huh Who? Are you seeing people I don't see?”

  “I think so; you haven't explained yourself.”

  Carlos's slightly mocking tone was answered by Kaelis seriously but in a friendly manner. Indeed, up until now, he still hadn't fully explained himself.

  “I am the one who carries the responsibility for all my siblings here—or more accurately, for all the people.”

  “Like a president?”

  “I can't say “president” fits me; I'm just one from among the people, but I'm the big brother or sibling to all of them.”

  “A leader emerging from the people, I didn't think you were such an important person haha”

  Upon Kaelis's response, Carlos and Kaelis burst into laughter. Then Carlos turned to Atlas.

  “Atlas, were things okay today?”

  “Yeash as usual, I didn't see any problems, but there are some rumors about "him" coming.”

  “Hmm... we'll see when he comes.”

  Carlos then turned to Kaelis, who was listening curiously but not understanding the things.

  “Kaelis if you want, sit next to Atlas or, if you're very tired today, you can do it on that bed by the wall since its owner isn't among us for tonight.”

  The bed Carlos pointed to must have belonged to Asaf; it was clear from the sad tone he used. Kaelis was indeed tired. He had met new people in a city he didn't know at all and had racked his brain a lot for that. He couldn't say no to a good sleep.

  “In that case, I'll go to bed.”

  “Of course, as you wish. Good night.”

  “Good night to you too, Carlos.”

  Kaelis slowly headed there and lay down on the bed. The place he lay on wasn't a nice bed at all; compared to his own nice bed, there was a hard pillow that felt like putting his head on a stone. However, due to the day's fatigue, he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep as soon as he laid his head.

  ***

  Kaelis was tossing and turning in his bed throughout the night; his back hurt a bit from sleeping on this hard bed. Also, rays were constantly entering between his eyes. From where were rays entering in this house with a closed ceiling? Kaelis was passing these thoughts through his mind. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was yellow lights entering his eyes.

  For a moment, Kaelis understood what it was; then he sat up in the bed he was lying on and tried to open his eyes again.

  The lights were sunlight. Sun rays were entering through the gaps at the door. These lights confirmed it was morning, but concepts like hours probably didn't exist here yet, so the only information he got was that it was morning now.

  While still looking toward the door, he brought his hand to his back and rubbed it. Kaelis tried to stretch by yawning. At that moment, a voice came from inside.

  “Do you always wake up this early?”

  The owner of this masculine voice was Atlas, whom he had met last night. Atlas had woken up before everyone and was sitting on a chair by the wooden table near the kitchen counter.

  Kaelis turned his head toward the source of the voice—Atlas.

  “Not really.”

  Atlas was sitting at the chair nobly with his kimono-like garment on. There was a cup on the table, and he picked it up and sipped it slowly.

  Kaelis looked around; everyone else still seemed to be in deep sleep. Carlos's covers were open, and he seemed to be using the entire bed space he had. The girls were sleeping normally.

  Kaelis stood up. When he stood, he couldn't fully stand; after feeling like he was going to fall, he gathered his balance and headed toward the wooden table with quiet steps.

  He reached the wooden table and pulled a chair. The chair made a bit of noise, but the others continued sleeping. Kaelis had pulled the wooden chair right across from Atlas. There was nothing on the chair to enhance the sitting feel; still, he sat.

  Atlas continued drinking something from the cup. Meanwhile, Kaelis was watching him—or rather, he seemed to be trying to fully wake up. His face showed he was sleepy.

  “What are you drinking?”

  “Oh that's tea.”

  In response to this question, Atlas first put the cup on the table, then looked at Kaelis with his yellow eyes and gave this answer. The inside of the cup was visible; he had probably left it that way to confirm it was tea.

  Atlas then pushed his chair back and stood up from the table. He headed toward the kitchen counter. Then he bent down and opened the drawer under the kitchen counter. He was trying to take something out.

  He pulled his hand, and there was a bag with bread in it. He stood up and filled a glass with water on the kitchen counter. Then he came to the table slowly. He put the water glass in front of Kaelis. He took a piece of bread from the bag and extended it toward Kaelis.

  “You must be hungry— I mean, Carlos said so yesterday.”

  It was true. The only reason for Kaelis's current state was the stomach rumble there, but he had forgotten these due to the day he lived. Seeing the bread reminded him he was hungry.

  “Thank you”

  “No problem, enjoy it.”

  Kaelis's attention was drawn to the bracelet on Atlas's arm when he gave the bread—a red string with a small white star. It was rare to see men using bracelets as accessories. Watches were more popular accessories. This reflected in his question too.

  “That bracelet on your arm looks a bit strange. Or rather, I haven't seen a man wearing a bracelet much.”

  “Oh— does gender really make a difference? I don't think so; for me, it's an item with very high sentimental value, and that's why I carry it on my wrist without separating it from me.”

  “Ah… you're right, forgive my rudeness. If it has high sentimental value— even if not, it's your choice. By the way, I can say it suits you.”

  “Thank you.”

  After this conversation, Atlas sat back on his previous chair and started watching Kaelis. Kaelis must have noticed these looks because he asked Atlas a question.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Ah, from my side, there's no problem at all.”

  “Umm If you're looking at my way of eating bread, I'm sorry, but I'm really hungry and want to eat it as soon as possible.”

  “Eat as you want; no problem for me. Just…”

  “Just?”

  “You seem hopeless and confused. Or rather, you are directly like that.”

  Kaelis was surprised by the answer he received. It wasn't a sentence he expected. Then Kaelis thought. He was indeed hopeless and confused. After all, in this new place he came to, he had no idea what to do, so his mind was confused, and he didn't have much hope about achieving something. All this confirmed Atlas was right.

  “I suppose so; I'm going through tough times for me.”

  “Don't fall, don't collapse, always stay standing. Only those who stay standing can look at the sky and see the Star's shine. Never let go of the Star; the Star is always with you and gives you hope. Don't abandon the hope it offers and sink into darkness; even if you sink, what you'll see when you lift your head is again the Star. The Star is what you'll see every time you look at the sky, in the darkness of night, in the light of day. Accept the Star and love it; don't even think of letting it go.”

  Kaelis had no idea about what he had just heard. Atlas had suddenly talked about something regarding the Star. After his pause, Kaelis started speaking again.

  “Uh— Is this a kind of creed?”

  “You could say that.”

  Atlas approved Kaelis with a positive facial expression. Next to him, Carlos had started moving slightly among those lying.

  “Are you awake at this hour of the morning?”

  Although he said it in a tone that wasn't fully understandable because he was sleepy, it was understandable.

  “Awakening happens in the morning, and you said it yourself that it's morning.”

  “We had one on our heads; now there are two? Kaelis, do you wake up at this hour too? We're doomed.”

  Carlos was talking in a light joking tone about the severity of the situation from his perspective. Carlos looked around. After seeing the girls were still sleeping, he stood up. He came toward the wooden table.

  “You seem to have fed Kaelis, Atlas”.

  “The hungry one's stomach is filled. So, what are you doing today, Kaelis?”

  Kaelis had nothing planned in his mind; he couldn't say anything definite in the face of this question.

  “To be honest, I have no idea.”

  “Then let's go outside.”

  “By outside, do you mean the other part of the city?”

  “No, no, no, this side of the city. After all, since you're one of us, you should meet your siblings”

  “No choice then; I'll accept your offer.”

  “Are you two going? Then okay.”

  Having received Carlos's approval, the duo Atlas and Kaelis stood up from the table and headed toward the door. When they reached the door, Atlas put on slippers with white soles. Kaelis had nothing to wear. His feet had been bare until now. He couldn't keep cleaning his feet every time he went out and in. So he looked for something to wear.

  “Hey is there anything I can wear for my feet? I already dirtied the house a bit yesterday, and I don't want to keep dirtying it.”

  Carlos went to the wardrobe that looked like a storage cabinet and opened it, took out slippers the same as Atlas's, and threw them toward Kaelis. Kaelis caught them in the air. He brought them to his feet and put them on. They fit perfectly.

  “Thanks, Carlos.”

  Carlos nodded his head as if responding to the thanks. Then Atlas started speaking.

  “Are we going out”

  “Yes!”