Arrival (1)

Bustling streets filled with noises and laughter, for some reason I was excited to see that sight, but again I didn't know why.

There were merchants, restaurants, and all kinds of places where you could buy things.

Hiroshi said that the walk to his place takes around half an hour. But we've been walking for almost an hour and we're still not there.

I sighed, tired of the endless walking.

"A-are we almost there…."

Hiroshi shrugged.

"Ah… I'm old, I forgot how long it took."

"It's fine."

However I shouldn't be complaining, he's doing this all for me, and I should be grateful that he's even doing it.

Well, he is old, so it can't be helped.

But still, shouldn't you know how far your house is?

And what I just said sounds like a child talking to their parents.

It's a pity that I don't even know myself.

Well, it can't be helped, complaining about it won't suddenly give my memories back.

Although it's already late, a lot of people are still outside, though I wonder what it's like in the morning.

The market has numerous stalls where you can buy all kinds of things. I've noticed that most of them sell food, but some sell clothes and even weapons.

The market is located in the "poor" area compared to the buildings all the way behind the small houses.

There were towering skyscrapers everywhere, and although it looked close to the "poor" area I noticed that it was far away. The huge buildings created an illusion that they were close by.

Well, for me I don't need those extreme luxuries.

A house where you could properly live is enough.

It feels like I've lived in a small house before, but I can't remember any details about it.

Maybe that's the reason why I don't care about luxury.

Still, it would be nice, but is it really necessary?

I wonder if the "rich" part is even part of the city.

If that's the case then it means that the city has 2 parts: "rich" and "poor".

It was clear that I wasn't on the rich side.

Well, not that I desperately wanted to be on the rich side.

But I wonder how the people on the "rich" side are.

The people on my side of the city were clumsy and noisy.

Some of the streets had cracks on the ground. While others had potholes filled with nasty muddy water.

The buildings are old, some of them even had graffiti on them.

Well… It does look like a good spot for using graffiti, I mean it's noisy and people are busy so they probably won't even notice you.

Though, it isn't a good thing to do.

Some houses had broken windows, and most of them were covered with rusted metal bars or cheap tattered curtains.

There were trash bags all over the streets, creating an awful smell all over the place.

I even saw a bunch of stray cats eating that garbage.

Well, I'm sure the rich people have it differently than the rest. Although I'm curious I'm not suddenly going towards the rich side, I mean what business do I have there?

…

Thankfully the surrounding area started to get better and better.

The environment looked way different compared to the nasty streets, but at the same time, it wasn't as luxurious as the houses on the rich side.

But I was more than happy.

The place looks like an upper-class neighborhood.

I wonder if he lives here though, since we did walk for an hour or two…

Well, maybe he does, since he did slow down after arriving in the neighborhood.

There's also a chance that he's just tired because he's pretty damn old.

Suddenly Hiroshi stopped.

"We're here."

In front of me was a small house, the smallest one in the neighborhood. It might even be smaller than some of the houses on the "poor" side, considering this neighborhood is above average.

The house, or a room seemed so small that it looked like it couldn't even fit a person or two.

Which means: can I even stay there?

Well, maybe I need to stop overthinking it. Maybe it's bigger inside, and the outside just created an illusion making it look smaller.

I need to stop being a brat…

Quickly, I slammed my fist against my face with all the strength that I had.

"Ouch!"

I whispered, "What am I thinking…" in a tone where he couldn't hear me.

Reminders were important, I almost forgot that I'm completely nothing in this world. Someone as kind as him taking me in is truly a blessing.

"Thank you, Hiroshi, for giving me a chance!"

He smiled, a proud expression on his face.

"It's nothing."

Well, maybe I should flatter him more.

…

"…"

I gasped.

"Just what the hell is this?"

There was a staircase going downstairs, the place was ridiculously huge. It might be considered a mansion, no… Something even bigger; a mega mansion!

Going down took quite some time, but it was worth it.

This was way beyond my expectations…

I'm speechless.

"So are you impressed?" Hiroshi asked with a grin on his face.

"Of course I am, this was beyond anything I could expect!"

It looked like an underground building, but everything was so detailed.

Arts galleries were hanging on the walls, I wonder how much they cost because they're insanely detailed. Every piece of art he owned looked like a masterpiece, a perfect piece of art.

Everything was high quality; the floor, the ceiling, and pretty much everything.

Who would've guessed that this old man was this rich?

It's way bigger than any houses in the neighborhood, from the outside it seemed small, but from the inside it's huge.

This taught me not to judge something just by knowing the outside.

I truly was blessed.

…

The floor has a kind of white color that resembles luxury. And that's the same case with everything else.

The ceiling was an art of its own. The huge ceiling was completely covered in beautiful drawings that looked like it was made by God itself.

Just how is this possible? I mean, how did he achieve all this…

Just what did he do to earn all this…

But there weren't any maids, caretakers, or just someone to keep the house clean.

Is he doing all this by himself?

But this looks like a museum.

That's impossible right…?

Then I realized there were lots of bedrooms at the end of the hall.

I quickly turned to Hiroshi.

"Are there other people who live here?"

"Of course there is, there isn't any point in living in such a huge place all by myself right?"

Well, that's true, I mean if you were to have such a huge house all by yourself, what's the point? Just lay around all day and stare at your art? Well for some people that might be their life goals, but for Hiroshi it's different.

But is it a lie then? That he wanted to talk to me since he hadn't talked to anyone in ages.

Well, I probably shouldn't ask that though, in case he gets mad. I mean I didn't see him mad before, but I only know him for a short time, who knows, his real personality might be different.

…

"This is your room."

What…

I was flustered, nothing came out of my mouth.

The room wasn't that big, but the decorations were amazing.

The bed was huge and there was a huge closet, but I didn't even have many clothes.

And there was a wooden desk with strange scratches that looked like weird symbols.

"I'm going now."

Hiroshi left the room, closing the door behind him.

Well, I have no words other than amazing.

I don't deserve this, but I'm going to appreciate his kindness.

To be more precise, the room had everything you wanted; a clean bed, a desk, a closet. For some reason it also has a bookshelf and that made the room even better.

It was indeed an ideal room, a dream, in other words; perfection.

…

"Ah!"

Quickly, after jumping on the bed like a baby, I discovered that the bed is as soft as a feather.

"I want to live here forever!"

I bounced back and forth, the mattress was ridiculously bouncy but also comfortable at the same time. In other words; a perfect combination.

The bed sheets also felt comfortable, it seemed like everything was a high-quality masterpiece. Though the wooden desk was a bit out of place, it was just a plain old-looking desk.

It didn't fit with the rest of the furniture, but I couldn't care less, I'm happy he even provided one.

But for some reason, the desk felt familiar, and although I didn't know exactly what it was, I still felt a connection to it.

…

I was excited about my life at this place, even feeling excited was a new experience for me.

Though I wonder what my job would be.

But I'm sure it isn't a big deal.

Well, everything seemed perfect for me, I mean who would offer someone all this and even a job?

Although people would assume this is "fishy" I think it's something Hiroshi would do.

Well, I wonder if he does this to other people too.

But I haven't met anyone else besides him yet.

While I was thinking about my future, I stared at the ceiling.

I've noticed that the arts have people on them, but they aren't just "normal" people. They look like Gods, an art resembling Gods.

But as expected I didn't recognize any of them.

One of them was a female, with extraordinary white hair, and she also had beautiful purple eyes.

Next to her was a man with black hair and golden-yellow eyes.

However, he looked a bit strange because one of the eyes gave a timepiece-like appearance.

Next to him was someone I couldn't identify as a male or a female because the only visible thing was a blurry face. Though he was wearing a kind of suit, so I assumed it was a male.

…

Suddenly, I started to hear footsteps. I wanted to assume that it was Hiroshi, but I could sense that it was someone else.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, are they perhaps looking for me?

Knock, knock—!