Life Unwanted

The reality of my situation was grim. Sure, I wasn't dying in a snowstorm, but I wasn't starting my job at a gift shop like I was supposed to.
All the people I know, I can't contact. All the people here, I don't know. And all the people I don't know, don't trust me.
Still, I'm up and about, eager to jog, I've got a smile on my face. I'm a Hildna, after all; so long as the people I love are still in my thoughts, I have to live proudly.
I think this village I've found myself in needs a bit of pride. This place is a mess. Obviously, there was the snowstorm, that's bad enough, but even if that hadn't happened, I don't think this place had much of a future.
For one thing, the men are all out fighting. I respect wanting to protect your family, but... some of the people here look lonely.
It must be hard to be left behind...
...
I hope I can get back home soon.
Clap, clap! I slap my face with both hands - Rise and shine, me! Worrying won't get me anywhere. Let's go do something!
I keep calling this village "this place", so maybe I should start by learning what it's called. I could take in the sights while I'm here.
It's a slightly rocky place. Looking at the few signs around, some of them I can actually read! It seems to only be the locations that merchants or travelling businesses would care about, though.
There's a mine in the western mountains. A city to the east is named Lann. I think the 'La' is the same as the one in 'Larila'. I could be wrong about that...
The land beneath the northern road is used as a graveyard, so we have to walk that road with respect.
But... there's not even a name sign! What if I head out to the city and someone's like, "Hey, where did you come from?"
I'd respond, with a grin on my face, "I'm from that place!" Yeah, that's gonna get me in trouble, I'm sure of it.
I'd ask the village elder, but apparently she's an important person, and she can't let a potential spy snoop around her house while she works, so...
Oh! It's those girls from before! Uh... what were they called? I only remember 'Arya'.

"Oi, Arya!"

The two girls flinch. When they turn to face me, one wears a shy smile, but the other looks pretty displeased. I think she's the one whose name I called.
Also, everyone else in the area just looked at me. Not for long, but I saw a brief light on their faces before-
Oh, right. I'm a guy. All the men here are gone.
If a man is shouting, then that means they're all returning from the war.
Except... I'm an outsider. I probably just gave them all false hope.
...It'd feel weird to apologise to an entire street of strangers, but I should be more careful in future.
This may not be my world, and these may not be 'human', but they're still people. I don't want to hurt their feelings.
"Why do you look so sad? It's disgusting." Someone spits.
"Arya, don't be mean..." The other follows.
At the very least, I can apologise to these two.

"Sorry."

The girl who just finished insulting me immediately changes her tone. "W-wait, why are you apologising?"
"I was happy to see someone I recognised", I explain, "so I ended up shouting, but I probably shouldn't have."
"Why not?" Now she just looks confused.
I explain my thought process to the two. Arya sighs upon hearing it.

"I can't tell if you're a good guy or an idiot."

The girl beside her smiles. "Both sound good. Better than smart and evil."
Arya brings her hand to her forehead. "We don't need any more of those..."
Their flow of conversation is so natural, I can just tell that they've been friends for a long time.

"Ah, uh, I'm Ven Hildna. Sorry, I heard you were called 'Arya', but..."

"Yeah yeah, I'm Arya." Ever so casually, she brushes off my apology. "This is Sera."
Sera gives a little wave.
"So, Ven Hildna... You're really from Earth?" Arya approaches.
"Mhm." It's a bit weird that I have to even answer that question. Everyone's from Earth! Or so I thought.
"Isn't it weird having two names?" Arya questions. Do people not have two names here?
"Arya...!" Sera tries to shush her.
"The adults will all think it's normal, but we didn't get His memories, so-" the two freeze.

"Ah."
"Ah..."

...They're looking at me like I'm a fire in a snowstorm. Wow, that brief experience really colored my metaphors, didn't it?

"Hey, how old are you?"
"19. Why?"

"Hmm..." The two girls look me up and down with stern expressions.
"Then shouldn't he be fine?" Sera asks.
"Right?" Arya agrees.
"I'm not following. Why does my age matter?" Please tell me they're not going to send me off to where the other men went. I don't want to fight a war.
"Well..." Sera begins, "He left this world over 50 years ago..."
I nod along. 'He' must be the person the village elder mentioned.
She continues, "Only people who were alive back then were given his memories."
"The adults tell us stories, but it's impossible to learn everything." Arya shrugs. "If you are a spy, you could've been taught, but..."
Right, everyone here thinks I'm a spy for some reason. Why would a spy be sent to a dying village like this?

"A lot of the adults struggle to distinguish His memories from their own. They say that 50 years ago, everyone felt like the same person."

The girl, surprisingly analytical in her demeanour, thinks out loud. "It's impossible to have no memories of Larila at your age, but all our stories of Earth are Larilan, so even if you were trained to pretend like you were from Earth, you'd have some Larilan quirks."
"Also he doesn't have a fairy." Sera follows up with a matter of fact statement.
"Fairy!?" Huh? Where did this come from?
"Oh, yeah..." Arya's long analysis appears to have been beaten by Sera's short observation. "Is 'fairy' even the right word?"
"I don't know..." Sera answers.
"Sorry, can you explain that? I'm lost."
I'm not ashamed to admit when I'm confused. Sera seems happy to answer.
"When you turn 15, the orb of light within your palm separates from your body and begins to float beside you." As she speaks, she draws an imaginary pattern on her palm using her other hand, then motions towards the air beside her. She's, uh, just pointing at nothing.

"Right... So, there's a ball of light next to you?"

"He can't even see it!" Arya yells with incredulity. "Is that even possible? Like, did He not see them?"
"We'd have to ask the village elder, but..." Sera turns to me. "Everyone sees them, even those with His memories. It's as obvious as breathing."
I'm sure there's some unspoken depth to this conversation that I'm just not catching, but one question is really begging to be asked.

"So uh, are those light orb things magical?"
"No."
"Oh......"

Don't these settings usually have magic in them?
As if to cheer me up, Sera announces, "The forge god only gave us swords, but they're very impressive!"
Well, I suppose that's good enough. The little boy I once was can still get excited about swords, even if I'd rather see a spell or two.
"Oh, also..." I remember the other question I had been meaning to ask... "Who is 'He'?"