Reality resembles a biting cold blizzard.
We can only light a fire to warm ourselves.
That flame can warm a hand, yet it can also burn down an entire forest.
That rosy flame is what I call romance.
...
Patter~
The sound of trickling water dropped gently onto a pure white umbrella.
That striking umbrella suddenly blended into the gloomy sky that was gradually brightening.
The sky cleared, the rain ceased, and a chilly breeze stirred.
It was indeed an ideal moment to enjoy a long, refreshing sleep.
Yet the person holding that umbrella was different; that individual possessed a emaciated frame, clad in a worker's brown outfit of third rate quality, a face lined with wrinkles, and sparse hair.
It was hard to believe he was merely twenty seven years old; he looked as though he had just endured an era of economic depression.
Noticing that the windy sky had stopped raining, he lowered his umbrella and stepped into a roadside establishment.
"Five cups of sweet tea, to go, no lemon, thank you."
He dropped by the shop, scanned the interior once, then sat down in a secluded corner of the establishment.
He removed his hat, revealing a jagged patch of hair that looked as if it had been scorched.
Rubbing his tangled head, he could only click his tongue, his face bearing a subtle, indescribable regret.
He pulled out a newspaper, then employed magic to make it levitate in midair.
"Hmm."
He leaned his head against the seat back, his hand casually holding a pen to occasionally make notes upon the newspaper.
His weary eyes frequently half closed as if on the verge of passing out, yet for some reason, a faint smile remained permanently resting upon his lips.
Suddenly, he knitted his brows, then let out a sigh.
"Here are your five cups of tea, young man."
The shop owner brought out a paper bag and handed it to the young man; he nodded and stood up.
"Five coins?"
He produced five silver coins and handed them to the old woman, but just as he grabbed the bag of tea, he was suddenly stopped.
"Wait, hold on, you gave the wrong currency; these are five Agler coins, it ought to be five Palec coins."
Hearing that, the young man scratched his head as he suddenly recalled.
"My apologies, ma'am, my apologies.
I just returned from abroad, so I made a slight error."
Flustered, the young man pulled out five noticeably different coins from his trousers pocket and handed them to the old woman.
"Tsk! Young man, be careful next time; I am an educated person so I recognized it, but if you ran into others, they would have beaten you up already, now go on."
Having collected the money, the old woman promptly shooed the young man away, and he quickly scurried off out of embarrassment.
Yet it seemed those five original coins were still waiting for him.
...
"Phew~"
The young man cracked his joints by twisting his torso, while also retrieving a bottle of perfume from his coat pocket and spraying it directly into his mouth.
"Cough, cough!"
Did he assume that was a mouth spray bottle?
"Gag, cough!"
After a moment, he finally managed to compose himself and continued forward with confidence.
"Excuse me, miss, may I ask..."
He quickly approached a girl wearing a white and black nurse uniform, then pointed toward a newspaper levitating in midair.
"Is there an Olly hospital nearby?"
"..."
The nurse remained silent, then let out a sigh and nodded.
"Then, could you assist me in locating it? I need to find that place for a moment."
The nurse stayed silent, then nodded and pointed behind her.
"Straight ahead? Thank you, miss, thank you."
With that, the eccentric fellow began taking his leave, leaving the nurse bewildered, treating it as starting her day with an oddball.
...
CRASH CRASH!
"SLOW DOWN!"
"CALM DOWN, BIG BROTHER!"
"Please refrain from running in the corridor."
"My apologies!"
The eccentric young man ran like the wind through the hospital hallway, and only began decelerating after being admonished.
However...
"WAAAAAAAAAAA."
"WAIT, HOLD ON!!"
Crash!!
In a sharp corner, he inadvertently stepped upon a young boy crawling nearby, causing him to lose his balance and launch high into the air.
'Damn it!'
His eyes widened; even with magic, employing it now was far too late.
Was it time to say goodbye to this unsightly face of his?
Nevertheless, a miracle occurred; as his breath concluded, the young man felt his body become completely weightless, suspended in midair like a roast duck over a fire pit.
'Ha—ha~~'
"T—Thank yo—u."
He glanced up at his body, only to realize that surrounding him were dense black strands hoisting his frame in midair.
"Think nothing of it."
From behind, a young boy of around fifteen years old wearing a patient gown stepped toward him. He possessed slightly curly brown hair and distinctive golden eyes.
That younger boy held a black cane used for support and walking; evidently, he suffered from a few injuries.
"Is that you, little boy? Allow me to thank you, you..."
"Please address me as Ron Irus, sir."
Ron approached, then snapped his fingers, whereupon the young man plummeted straight to the floor, nearly disfiguring his face.
"Arghh."
"Please exercise more caution in the hospital next time, sir."
Ron smiled, then bowed his head and took his leave.
"T—Thank you."
The young man sat up, sighing while awkwardly scratching his head as he met the displeased gazes of the surrounding people.