Until guides appeared, there were more than one or two cities destroyed by Esper rampages. As a result, people who lost their homes, workplaces, and families overflowed.
As such situations repeated, Espers were targets of persecution and exclusion by their very existence. Even if it was something they committed because they couldn’t suppress their own rampage, that couldn’t be a reason for rationalization. Since they couldn’t deal with excessively strong Espers, harming their guides also frequently occurred. In the process, some Espers killed those who touched their guides and then flowed into the underworld.
At this rate, humans and Espers couldn’t coexist. Even though Espers also originated from humans.
Eventually, those with purpose gathered to establish the Esper Union. They approached each continent’s interim government to negotiate, saying that ability users were members of society and would help rebuild this collapsed world. Eventually, all continents approved the Esper Union’s full-scale appearance. Espers used their power to rebuild collapsed buildings, revive dying people, and worked to obtain stable food resources.
It was also the Esper Union’s achievement to launch airships instead of airplanes that could no longer fly. They connected inter-continental exchanges that had been almost severed unless through ships, and had mental-type Espers restore the collapsed communication network.
They permeated the public as harmlessly as possible, such as building a corporate image by naming it ‘Northern Light’ instead of the designation ‘Esper Union.’ These efforts were achieving considerable success. The Esper Union gradually absorbed the governments of each continent, and before long became the final decision-maker limited to the summer continents.
The aircraft gently rising into the sky had almost no noise. Chris, briefed about the six-hour flight ahead, closed his eyes.
No sooner had he rested his head than he fell asleep. As always, an unforgettable dream swallowed him. Beyond it was both peaceful and frightening, but Chris threw himself into this profound darkness time and again.
It was because of the feeling that he had left behind something important. Since he could barely remember the past before joining Northern Light, Chris thought this dream held the key.
‘… …… …’
An unknown person says unknown words.
Chris reached out to them, but it was a struggle that would never reach. Chris, who had never once felt emotional turmoil, barely realized he was crying out, and then forgets everything before emerging from sleep.
“We’re already arriving?”
“Yes.”
Waking from sleep at the surrounding commotion and opening his eyes, he saw a mother and daughter in the diagonal seats gathering their luggage to disembark.
Chris took a deep breath. In the brief time he’d dozed off, he felt cold sweat had formed. This often happened when he dreamed of things he couldn’t even remember.
“Whew…”
Calming his mind and looking around, the airship was nearly empty. While he slept, they had passed the September Continent and seemed to have stopped at the October Continent. Most of the remaining people disembarked, and the airship soon moved again.
Apparently, passengers heading to the November Continent were rare. The November Continent, which could be called the boundary between the autumn continents and winter continents, was a hotbed of crime with the mafia holding out and had poor public safety.
Even those remaining on the airship now didn’t seem to be travelers, but residents returning after visiting other continents on business.
[This airship has arrived at the November Continent’s dock. Passengers, please—]
How much time had passed, the airship finally arrived at Chris’s destination.
Along with the captain’s announcement, Chris gathered his luggage and turned on his terminal to recheck the schedule. There was no gathering scheduled for the day of arrival. Since the transportation and arrival dates of Team Crow members deployed to the November Continent on the same mission as Chris were all different, it was impossible to gather everyone on the first day. For now, he planned to go straight to the safe house prepared by Northern Light and survey the surroundings.
Chris, who disembarked from the airship, entered the November Continent after receiving a light inspection. And he immediately headed to Aurum, which could be called the central area of the November Continent.
***
He could take a Cab that would take him to his desired location for credits, the currency used across all continents, but he didn’t feel inclined to use one rashly as unauthorized Cabs were rampant in the November Continent with its poor public safety.
Instead of a Cab, Chris waited for the tram that moved along the central district of Aurum City. After waiting about twenty-five minutes, an old green tram stopped at the station.
Chris, riding a tram for the first time, was quite tense even while buying a ticket. The tram captain handed Chris, who had paid in credits, an extra ticket. Whether such belated ticketing was a daily occurrence, Chris felt relief rather than displeasure at the captain’s face where irritation was ingrained like a habit.
Chris, who finished punching by inserting the ticket into the machine at the tram entrance, went and sat in a suitable remaining seat.
It was fortunate he’d asked for simple tips from an Esper who had visited the November Continent before. Acting clueless in places like this could attract unnecessary attention.
[Our tram will soon arrive at Aurum District 4, Aurum District 4. Passengers disembarking—]
Looking out the window, he saw desolate and old buildings from the old era. Though it bore the name of gold, compared to Joon where Northern Light was located, it was a somehow gloomy city. Although Aurum was a large city, it was difficult to find newly built buildings since the November Continent itself had been excluded from reconstruction. Even Aurum becoming a large city was likely because many buildings and facilities survived due to being less affected by disasters during the great upheaval.
Such were the shabby circumstances of the winter continents. To put it nicely, it was antique, but to put it differently, they lacked the capacity to create new things.
[Our tram will soon arrive at Aurum District 8, Aurum District 8. Passengers disembarking—]
The tram that had traveled around every corner of the city finally arrived at the place where Chris needed to get off.
After getting off and walking about fifteen minutes inside, he saw the destination building. The old building that looked to be decades old at a glance was the accommodation assigned to Chris for performing this mission, a four-story apartment.
Unlike at Northern Light’s dormitory, he felt it would be inconvenient in many ways. Looking around, he wondered how much further into the outskirts of District 8 he had come—only wild mountains were visible.
“Whew…”
Chris, who swallowed a sigh helplessly, found the management office as written in the terminal’s confidential document, received an old key, and went up to the 4th floor of the apartment. Given its scale, there was no elevator to be found.
He slowly stepped up the stone stairs that would feel somewhat steep to short people. If he rolled down from here, he would be seriously injured.
Room 404.
Chris inserted the key into the doorknob and turned it. Though it rattled for a moment as if caught on something in the middle, it eventually opened. When he turned the doorknob and pulled the door, the interior became visible along with a creaking sound.
Though old, it wasn’t as bad as he’d thought. After locking the door well, Chris, who put down his luggage inside, checked everything: one room, one bathroom, and a kitchen connected to the living room.
He felt relieved that there were shower facilities in the bathroom, so he didn’t need to go to a communal shower room. Chris first entered the bathroom to wash up.
When he turned on the water, he saw that the tiles in the corner of the shower were broken. And on the ceiling side, there was a slightly yellowed stain. Though he wasn’t the type to fuss over cleanliness, this environment felt quite unfamiliar to Chris.
When he turned on the shower, water began to flow. The water quality looked quite clean, and the water pressure wasn’t bad either. However, one minor problem occurred.
“Damn.”
No matter how long he waited or turned the lever this way and that, no hot water came out at all. It seemed the system was different from Northern Light’s dormitory, where hot water poured out just by turning the faucet. He went to the door to head to the management office and discovered a booklet attached inside.
“I have to turn on the heating to use hot water?”
Chris clicked his tongue and found the heating lever while holding the booklet. When he turned it, he saw a green light blinking.
After waiting a bit, lukewarm water came out. Not a satisfying temperature, but still much better than cold water.
Just as he was about to take off his clothes, he suddenly heard irritated knocking at the door. Chris tensed for a moment.
When he opened the door, a scrawny man immediately started complaining.
“Don’t you know that Line 4 can only use hot water during even hours?”
“What?”
Chris asked back somewhat dazedly. The man facing him clicked his tongue.
“What, the person who originally lived here hadn’t been seen for a while… Did you just move in? Anyway, only turn on hot water during even hours. I was taking a bath and nearly had a heart attack from the cold water baptism!”
Chris could see the neighbor who had been chattering hesitate as he raised his head. It wasn’t particularly surprising to Chris. Perhaps because his impression was rough, everyone would get flustered after making eye contact with him once.
Since he couldn’t create friction with neighbors on the first day, Chris cobbled together a suitable excuse in a gruff voice.
“I’m sorry. I just moved in today and it was too cold.”
Compassion crossed the face of the neighboring man who had come to complain but was somewhat intimidated by Chris’s build and sharp impression.
“Tsk tsk, if you’re that cold, why don’t you turn right at the apartment entrance and buy a bottle of strong liquor at the grocery store you’ll see. You seem to be from another continent, but winter here is really cold, so it’s hard to get through without alcohol.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
