Mulen

"What's up?" He made an effort to break the ice by asking the most generic question.

"Travelling along with you. Can't you see that?" she tilted her head in confusion, shutting him up.

She was a straightforward person when it came to talking. Not the type to engage in lengthy conversations unless necessary. Aside from her friends, not many could strike up a prolonged discussion with her. Befriending her also required quite an effort to break the ice.

"Ahh... You are right. I meant, how are you feeling? I meant to ask something like that," he playfully tried again.

"Umm... Nothing, actually. I am just following you," she looked at the straight road leading them to the subway.

'This girl... Not the talkative type,' he assumed from her straightforward and concise answers.

"Well, you are right about that. So, did you come from Naya's place too?" He asked different questions, hoping to find a topic that might lead to a more engaging conversation on their way to the subway.

Hoping for a long and engaging answer, she simply nodded, her lips sealed without movement.

Undeterred, he wasn't the kind to give up easily. He believed it was better to ask questions and not receive a proper reply than to walk silently, listening to the white noise of nature.

"So, can you tell me about that place?" He hoped this question would lead to a more elaborate response and potentially engage in a longer conversation.

"No," she replied with a cold tone, shutting down any further exploration of the topic.

No fairy would answer a question invading their privacy unless they fully trusted the person. Information about their village would only be shared with those they considered extremely trustworthy, like Naya and Alaya, or individuals chosen by the godmother.

'This little fuck... so annoying... I will squash her...' His face turned visibly tomato red, with veins popping on his forehead.

He grew increasingly irritated by her introverted nature and felt frustrated by the perceived disrespect he had endured in just a few minutes of attempting to start a conversation.

....

For the next ten minutes, he persisted, hoping something would work, but he was left crushed. There wasn't a crack in her lips, and he felt completely exhausted. No matter what questions he asked, he couldn't melt the glue that sealed her lips. Eventually, he gave up, realizing it was futile to expend so much energy on something unyielding.

As they continued walking, gazing at the snow-covered footpaths, he remembered the phone on his wrist. He could use it to surf the web and watch something to keep himself engaged while walking.

"Such a dumbass I am," he cursed his forgetfulness as he opened the holographic phone on his wrist.

Navigating through it, he played music, entertaining himself and alleviating his boredom as they made their way to the town subway.

While the town wasn't densely populated, it was spread widely with houses scattered throughout the area. This dispersion increased the overall surface area of the town, but with a relatively low population density, which also explained why public transport was situated far from his house.

After an hour, they reached the subway.

"Well, now let's find which train heads to Mulen," he said, looking up at the announcement board that displayed the schedule of arriving trains.

Scanning through the lists of trains, he found the one and only train heading to Mulen.

"It's delayed too," he grumbled, realizing that the only train heading to Mulen was delayed by four hours.

'For fuck's sake, my luck is sooo shit! Well, not like I am not used to delays; I have waited for half a day myself for a train back in my country, but fuck, I didn't expect that to happen here too!' he ranted about his frustration, expressing visible disappointment on his face.

"Sigh, there's nothing we can do now. Let's just go and buy a token, then I will sit and wait in the lounge," he sighed, accepting his luck and acknowledging its similarity to his experiences on Earth. He then headed to the ticket counter.

At the ticket counter, he used his card to purchase a first-class ticket to Mulan. While he was considerably wealthier than middle-class individuals, he was not as affluent as other wealthy folks and families. So, it was evident that he wasn't broke but reasonably well-off.

After buying the ticket, he headed to the lounge, where he reclined on the couch, resting his legs on the glass table. He scrolled through social media, checking out the latest updates and catching up on any interesting breaking news.

"That's adorable, my god, it's running after its own tail, lol," he awed, watching videos of cute little adofos doing silly yet endearing things.

Adofos, a domesticated pet species descended from Finra, which were once ferocious predators in the wild. Adofos resembled dogs, mostly husky-like, and some were similar to golden retrievers. They had lush fur, were extremely friendly, and became ferocious when trained. With all the functions of a normal dog, they were often used as guard dogs.

As he scrolled through his phone, he observed that there weren't many passengers in the lounge—most likely none at all. The only passenger present was Lloyd, alongside staff members in their respective positions.

"This place is pretty lonely," he remarked, moving to the counter and sitting on a spinning chair. The cafeteria staff member was also present, passing the time by swatting mosquitoes, much like Lloyd, who was immersed in his phone.

"You're right. There's barely anyone going somewhere in the winters. You might be the first and the last passenger here for today," the cafeteria worker shifted his focus to Lloyd and said with a smile, glad to have someone to talk to in this quiet place.

"But shouldn't you be enjoying your free time? Like barely anyone has luck like you..." Lloyd asked, genuinely curious about why the cafeteria worker seemed to dislike having no work.

"You are right, but it gets boring pretty quickly when you have free time every day, and it also makes our body inactive," the cafeteria worker answered while preparing a warm drink.

Understanding and relating to his perspective he couldn't help but nod himself in agreement.

****

Mulen... City of our growth... Let's go Mulen everyone!

Discord:https://discord.gg/QyWy85y3G4