The Letter From A Long Time Ago (1)

The clouds were gloomy this morning, with their grey tint engulfing the sun. The streets were darkened by the shadows cast by the high skyscrapers. The street lights are still turned out, only the colourful, vivid neon lights installed on shop boards or roadside billboards are the source of light.

I could see a metropolis devoid of greenery through the cable car's glass windows. In fact, the city is densely packed with automobiles cruising down motorways and enormous structures of various shapes. And I could see, sometimes, The Graffiti art adorning the bottom wall of the overpass.

The only urban area near our little town, Westbarrow, was Yurisia City. Occasionally, I'm stunned when I glimpse the ripples and the glimmer of the sun on the blue ocean because the city is located near a body of water. The crowds on the pedestrian street are dense, and many people from the surrounding villages migrate here in pursuit of decent jobs. Even though the city employs a lot of robot workers who are more advanced than Viles, they still need sentient labour for certain jobs.

"May I see your ticket, Mr Passenger?" The Robot Inspector approached me and extended an iron hand with four claws. His height is almost equal to Viles, and that iron body's unusual blue hue is a unique characteristic for working robots.

"Sure..." I opened my left palm. From the centre of the claws that he opened, a green light appeared and scanned from the tip of my fingers to my wrist.

He uses biometrics identification to check if we've been registered as passengers or not. When we bought tickets, we had to put one of our hands-on a special machine like a scanner. The machine will save our biometric data and then write a transparent, distinctive code on the palm of our hand. That was the ticket this robot was referring to.

"Thank you, Mr Passenger..."

When he did a scan, the robot inspector would immediately erase the code with the same lights. Of course, that's for keeping track of the use of the cable car as well as preventing ticket misuse, and occasionally it might be useful for a particular situation, for example, tracking down a criminal or perhaps for investigative purposes. Or so, that's how it works according to the manual I've read.

"So it's my turn, right?" With an enthusiastic tone, the voice next to me interrupts. That voice came from Yohan.

Yohan showed his palm as I had done earlier. The robot quickly did its job and then walked away to the passenger seats behind me where the hero was sitting alone.

Yesterday, the hero said that he had just received a revelation from Goddess Lucia. That is also the reason why we are currently going to Yurisia. Of course, I, Yohan, and a few other boys from the church who had reached the age of adulthood were tasked with guiding and assisting the hero. Many of us were nervous, which is why the hero sat alone in the rear seat. We are hesitant to speak without inviting him to join us in our conversation, which is why we remain quiet during our journey.

and..

I don't know how I should behave in front of the hero after the thing happened.

Three days had passed since that night. I still haven't told anyone about what I saw and what I heard. I'm at a loss for what to do. I can't tell this to anyone, they can scold or even punish me. No, that's not what I'm afraid of, I don't want my friend who I considered a brother, to be hurt because of hearing my story. After all, no one will ever believe what I said.

I don't even have any evidence. No, maybe, I can't even make one. In the depths of my mind, I still refuse to believe what I saw and heard that night. I convinced myself it was just a dream, but no matter how much I tried, Sister Nemela's and Mother's moaning voices kept ringing in my head.

I sighed, trying to divert my mind to something else by looking outside the window. My gaze shifted at the dark nimbostratus.

It's probably been three hours since we left this morning. Who would have thought that today would be cloudy? Even though it was almost noon, there was no sign that the weather would clear up soon. Will it rain today?

A few moments later, with the sound of the station bell ringing, the cable car came to a halt. The cable car door opens automatically, and people get up and then walk out. Meanwhile, we waited until all the passengers had left so we wouldn't be jostling each other to avoid trouble.

Welcome to Yurisia City! Make sure you don't forget anything on the cable car and be cautious to not trip over or jostle into each other when exiting the train. Have a wonderful day in this Greatest Port City.

As soon as we stepped off the cable car and onto the station platform, we heard the announcement loud and clear. My hearing was muffled by the sound of ground being trodden on. Only a small quantity of light permeates the station via the glass window, creating a gloomy mood.

"Let's get out of this stifling place first." Jayne made the suggestion; he's a child my age who, like me, enjoys working as adventurers. Because of his tiny stature, those who glance at him from behind often mistake him for lolita because of his long blonde hair.

One more person we took on this trip with was Kayne. He is Jayne's twin brother only his hair is shorter. They share the same eyes. Azure blue— so beautiful like a jewel from the northern sea, I've only seen that thing once.

"Yes, my brother is right, I can't stand this crowd."

We agreed, and we walked towards the tubular elevator with clear glass doors. We accepted their suggestion. My footsteps followed in theirs, and my eyes were drawn to Yohan, who was in front of me, nimbly striding and shifting to avoid the swarm of people.

Finally, we got into the elevator. Through this translucent glass elevator, we could see outside the station. People were squeezing into the station's front yard, and I can imagine hearing them from this third story of the building.

We could see numerous food stalls opening and a large crowd forming as the lift descended to the second floor. I can visualize the aroma of the food or snacks they sell. The distinctive aroma of grilled meat was so familiar in my nostrils that I could smell its scent wafting through the gaps between the elevator doors.

And Yohan, of course, was drooling— his eyes sparkling when he saw the various dishes in front of his eyes. And the hero— he was still silent and didn't react to anything.

"Ahem, You know— we can't waste money since we don't have so much. I've decided where we'll stay and dine, and I've prepared everything." Yohan said that while wiping his drool. Of course, we smiled slightly and held back a peal of laughter at his statement.

Once again, the elevator descends.

When the lift stopped, we arrived at the lobby. People are queuing up at the ticket booth, and the robots are working diligently to serve the customers who come. They even listened patiently to the many people who grumbled at this station.

The door in front of us shattered into small particles just as we were about to pass through the exit. The particles moved on their own, as though pulled to each corner of the door to allow us to pass.

And when we were all outside, I saw the particles quickly return to the shape of a clear glass door.

The modern magic they call 'technology' never ceases to astound me.

"Uhm... So, Let me and Jayne go with the heroes to book a place at the inn. You two, I think it's better if you two prepare something else for our needs tomorrow. Right, Jayne?" Kayne's words surprised me. As if he wanted to make me go only with Yohan.

"Eh... What? But—" Kayne immediately covered his brother's mouth with his palm before he finished speaking.

"Don't worry, just leave it all to us. No problem isn't it Mister Hero?" Kayne spontaneously spoke up and she stared at the hero. I felt as if something was planned by them.

"Oh... Yes." Valis the hero answered curtly.

And they just walked away as if in a hurry to leave us alone. Yohan didn't say anything, while I'm really confused here.

"Streyn..." Yohan called me, but something was strange.

I turned around and glanced at him, who was dropping his head and staring at the ground, pensively. It was like he wasn't his usual self. One time I've known him like this was when he was really holding back sadness.

"You're... hiding something, right?"

My eyes widened, the sounds around me vanished in an instant, and the sound of my heart pounding became audible.

Did he have any clue of what happened that night—?