episode_0001

Through the grand, silver van adorned with metal plates swaying on the “Great Road,” which used to be a suburban residential area in ruins, they were driving.

Behind the wheel was a young man with slightly golden-tinged cream-colored hair neatly styled. Though his actual age was around twenty, his stern expression made him appear older than he was.

Behind the driver’s seat was a space created by tearing out seats to load luggage, containing a trunk for storing clothes, food, weapons, materials, bottles of water, tidy cooking utensils, a tent and sleeping bag, and a cardboard box labeled “Portable Cooking Pot” in black marker on the top. Such baggage was essential for the young man’s occupation.

“…Summer is approaching, everyone. Poets and playwrights collectively sing of summer as the ‘season of remarkably unusual events.’ Personally, I was deeply moved after watching Shakespeare’s comedy ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ It’s an entertaining play, so I recommend you watch it when you have the time. Or reading the book is also good. While it may not match the actual play, the fun offered by the literary giant of the past will surely rival that of a comedy, as guaranteed by the ‘Man Who Reads Literature.’”

The radio in the driver’s seat was tuned to Manchester National Radio Channel. It wasn’t the most exciting channel, but there were only three radio channels available in this area. There was a music channel broadcasting classical music all day starting from the Manchester area, and a religious channel called “Wings,” listened to only in this vicinity, catering to zealous devotees.

Among them, Manchester National Radio Channel was the most tolerable.

“…Speaking of Shakespeare, there are many playwrights in Manchester who claim to be Shakespeare’s successors. They boast of inheriting Shakespeare’s skills flawlessly, knowing Will better than anyone else, and understanding Will to a degree surpassing anyone else…”

The young man changed the radio frequency, hoping to find a new radio channel.

“…Thus, our savior and eternal queen, Karen, the ruler beyond the white realm, has sent forth the all-powerful being, the dazzling chaos residing in a distant place, to rescue our souls exploited by wicked ‘serpents.’ In other words, ‘Wings’ has descended upon our Earth. Karen, along with the all-powerful being, successfully drove out the wicked ‘serpents…and our lives obtained true freedom. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord and the ruler beyond the white realm!”

“Hallelujah, my friends.”

The young man changed the frequency again. Influenced by his mother, a devout follower of ‘Wings,’ he believed in the Lord as well, but he wasn’t as fervent as attending church zealously or praying regularly.

He found the noisy and senseless zealots tiresome.

No new channel appeared. Eventually, the young man settled on the classical music channel.

Ironically, the music playing on the classical music channel was “Chaos Unleashed by Wings of Icarus.”

Oh, Lord. Spread your wings.

Lead the humble believers to the other side.

Oh, Savior. Spread your wings.

Guide the feeble lambs to the other side.

Unlike some hymns embellished with exaggerated liturgical phrases, this was a song his mother favored for its serene expression of faith.

“…”

The young man remembered his mother. She was a wandering alchemist with a free spirit, yet for some reason, she married his noble father to her core and lived a constrained life before succumbing to cancer.

The young man inherited his mother’s profession but was also significantly influenced by his father’s noble values. Despite this, he never truly understood his mother.

Why did his mother marry a man who restrained her freedom and even gave up the joy of wandering by having a child?

And why did she always yearn to go outside until her last moments?

“….”

The young man considered it fortunate that his mother passed away two years before the family faced extinction.

“…? What the…”

Lost in thought, the young man suddenly slammed on the brakes as a dark figure darted onto the road from the right sidewalk.

The van screeched to a halt, leaving tire marks on the asphalt with a chilling screech.

To the young man, it didn’t seem like he had hit the unexpectedly appearing dark figure with the van. There was no sensation of impact, no screams or sounds of collision.

Opening the driver’s side door on the left, the young man got out, turned off the engine, and approached the waiting figure in front of the car, suppressing the boiling turmoil within.

“Damn! Are you crazy? Trying to get killed…!”

A girl.

A young nun.

Clad in a black nun’s habit and veil that seemed out of place, the girl lay on the asphalt as if protecting something.

Her sky-blue hair peeking out from under the habit was being swept across the dirty asphalt like a broom, but the nun had no time to care about it.

The young man’s words were cut short by a strange wail coming from nearby. He turned his head to the right, where the girl had seemingly appeared from.

Before the days of hardship, it was once a middle-class residential area with quaint yards, now reduced to ruins. From inside the missing front door, a human-shaped figure emerged slowly and stopped.

“Aeleneis!”

The young man drew a black automatic pistol from the golden belt around his waist and aimed it at Aeleneis.

Although there were three vials of drugs attached to the belt for emergencies, the gun was sufficient for now.

Responding to the young man with a pig-like wheeze from her throat, Aeleneis, meaning “Anointed One” or “One who has embraced faith” in Canaanite, referred to a human affected by the divine essence of the “Wings,” a term widely used after the Days of Hardship, along with phrases like “I’m hungry” and “Please save me.”

Engaged in a standoff with Aeleneis, the young man noticed that while she could walk on two legs, her right shoulder drooped lifelessly with wires, hoses, and twisted veins instead of an arm, and a thick blue piston twitched in the eye socket where her left eye should have been.

A mechanical Aeleneis, a common sight in the Merbia region, consisted of a combination of bluish organic tissues and mechanical parts.

The young nun sat up slowly, her yellow eyes alternating between the young man and Aeleneis.

“I was looking for food… but… there’s a monster… under the bed… please help!”

With a terrified voice, the young nun pleaded for help from the young man while Aeleneis, indifferent to the nun, gazed at the young man with her sky-blue eyes devoid of pupils.

“What thoughts lie beyond those eyes, or does she even contemplate at all?”

Maintaining his stance against Aeleneis, the young man pondered, warned by his experiences that most Aeleneis were no different from beasts, but occasionally there were surprisingly clever ones.

Eypal Erenis stared blankly at the young man without making any preemptive moves. It was unclear whether he was waiting for an opportunity to attack, expecting a comrade, or simply gazing absentmindedly.

“….”

A tense standoff ensued, filled with anticipation.

“….”

Erenis let out a sigh and slowly made his way inside the front door. For some reason, he seemed to have lost interest in the young man and the little nun.

“Sigh….”

The young man relaxed, holstering his gun.

“T-Thank you! Thank you!”

The young nun stood up, clutching her paper bag to her chest, bowing deeply in gratitude.

Only now did the young man look at the nun’s face. Despite her mischievous or perhaps uncouth appearance, her courteous gratitude seemed incongruent with such a personality.

“No, Sister. I just did what needed to be done. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I’m not… hurt…”

The young nun was taken aback by the young man’s polite response, adjusting her own demeanor accordingly.

“You don’t need to be so formal! I’m just a novice nun who barely shed her novice badge two days ago!”

Despite her lively and playful appearance, she displayed humility and courtesy.

“Whether you’re an archbishop or a priest, I must treat you with the respect due to a noble religious figure.”

“…Even though you cursed me when we first met…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Could you please repeat it?”

“It’s okay…”

The young nun sighed.

“I’m fine, so feel free to relax around me. I’ve never received such treatment at the monastery before…”

The young man persisted, leading to a brief exchange.

“…It’s a bit awkward standing here talking like this. Would you like to come into the car? You can sit in the passenger seat. The passenger seat is on the right side of the car, which is where the round steering wheel is located.”

“I know that much. Anyway, I appreciate your warm kindness.”

The young nun approached the van and reached out to open the passenger door, but the young man beat her to it.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The young nun entered the van and sat in the plush passenger seat, while the young man gently closed the door and took the driver’s seat.

The young nun looked curiously at the makeshift luggage compartment created by removing the back seats.

“Do you travel alone?”

“Yes.”

“It’s fascinating that you use such a vehicle for solo journeys. I thought it would be swarming with menacing mercenaries carrying guns.”

“I hear that a lot. Once, I was mistaken for a radar target and attacked by the military.”

“…Impressive.”

The young nun fidgeted with the paper bag on her lap but didn’t pull anything out.

“By the way, I didn’t introduce myself properly. What’s your name, nobleman?”

“How did you know I was a nobleman?”

The young nun smiled at the young man’s words.

“It’s obvious. You can’t hide your nobility.”

The young man smiled wryly.

“I thought I had shed much of my nobility during my long wanderings in the wasteland, but apparently not yet.”

“To truly rid yourself of it, you’d have to rot here for thirty more years. You still have a ways to go.”

While the young man’s hands were slightly rough, they were pale and soft compared to those of a wastelander used to harsh labor. Even if the roughest task the young man had undertaken before the genocide was separating bones and flesh for alchemical ingredients, it was understandable.

“So, what’s your name, nobleman? I hope it’s from a family I’ve heard of.”

“Far away from here, you probably haven’t heard of this place before. I am Elaiza Rusta, the viscountess of Amehain.

“Indeed, it’s a family name I’ve never heard of in my lifetime. My name is Risa Flague. I am an official nun of Libra’s ‘Blue Cog Monastery.’ Ahem!”

Risa spoke enthusiastically, as if proud to be a nun.

“It may sound strange, but are you really a Flague by birth? It’s quite an unusual surname.”

“I think it’s a wonderful name. I’m grateful to the parents who gave me this name.”

“Haha, I like your positive attitude. But Sister Flague, do you live in Libra?”

Risa nodded her head.

“Yes, that’s right. Oh! Are you headed to Libra by any chance?”

“What a remarkable coincidence. I was actually on my way to Libra too. I plan to stay there for a while.”

“Ah, the all-knowing and diligent servant of the Almighty, thank you for sending a good Samaritan to me.”

With a bright expression, Risa clasped her hands together in prayer.

“When I return to the monastery, I’ll ask the abbess to fill up the cart with oil. The monastery has been struggling lately, so I’m not sure if she’ll allow it… but if I ask nicely, it should be fine! I’m sure of it!”

With these words, Risa revealed a smile. It was then that the young man noticed how sharp her teeth were.

Like the fangs of a carnivorous animal.