They simultaneously search for a shop and the place Timekeeper mentioned.
"The almighty Timekeeper told me it's a strange-looking building on Moonlid Path."
"Is that the street name? Not sure how we would find that... Can't read for it."
"Let's go ask around! There's got to be someone who knows."
"Asking people hasn't gone the best before... But I guess we have to."
"Ever the pessimist..."
The two wander about the streets. They ask people for directions to Moonlid Path, and occasionally get vague directions from pointed fingers. They head in those general directions, asking for further help on the way. Unfortunately, they are often shut down by the fact that they are 'Witch Spawns.'
"Yeah... This is getting us nowhere. Maybe there's an information center... or something?" Korlin drags his feet on the pavement.
"That would just add more steps. There's no guarantee that even exists."
"Hm... Oh- What about that place?"
Korlin points toward a dark building nestled between two trees. The structure is completely out of place and does not match its surroundings whatsoever. A sign sits outside, on it is a painted symbol of a hand with an upside-down question mark in the middle.
Before Sirius can get a word out, Korlin rushes over to the doorway. The boy passes under the dark arch and enters the lightless room.
An old woman sits in the center behind a low counter. Shrouded solely in shadows, an ominous aura surrounds her. Her wrinkled eyes remain tightly shut.
"Welcome, beloved child."
"H-Hey..." Korlin's drive hits the brakes. Nervousness creeps into his chest. "Does this place give out information... or anything?"
Sirius enters behind Korlin.
"Certainly. Come over to me... and I will show you what you desire."
"Uh, I don't- uh..."
"Come on, man, you got this," Sirius nudges Korlin forward.
"Dude-! She's going to murder me!"
"You never know, she could teach you magic."
The old woman smiles eerily, not moving in the slightest.
Korlin exhausts a sigh and steels himself. With false confidence, he approaches the woman.
"So... I-I was wondering-"
"Let my hand rest upon your chest."
"...Huh?"
"..."
"...Uhhh, sure..." Korlin takes a half-step toward her.
Reaching out, she places a withered palm against his chest. After an awkward pause, a soft, red glow radiates from her hand.
"Magic..." Korlin's fears instantly subside. "What are you doing?! It looks awesome!"
"I am reading the shape of your soul."
"Not sure what that means, but it sounds really cool."
In deep concentration, the woman strains her wrist, causing the light to shine brighter. Her eyebrows furrow, and the red radiance starts to flicker.
Suddenly, her eyes snap open, and her wrinkled face morphs in anger.
"Witch Spawn..." the woman whispers.
"Huh?"
"Witch Spawn... Witch Spawn! Witch Spawn!" Her muted voice rises into a furious rage. "Witch Spawn! WITCH SPAWN! WITCH SPAWN!"
"Uh, granny..."
"WITCH SPAWN! WITCH SPAWN! WITCH SPAWN!"
"I'm going to leave now..." Korlin slowly backs away until he bumps into Sirius. He jumps in fear. "Dude, what the hell is going on?!"
"I don't know, but I think we should go..."
Korlin nods, and they slowly step to the exit.
"WITCH SPAWN! WITCH SPAWN! YOUR MOTHER WON'T TAKE ME YET! WITCH SPAWN! WITCH SPAWN...!"
The woman's voice trails off as they run out into the town. They sprint two blocks until they stop to catch their breath.
"Dude-" Korlin can't catch his breath. "I'm pretty sure the whole Witch Spawn thing is just racism."
"You're probably right..." Sirius composes himself. "I still don't understand how people can even tell we're Witch Spawns. Apart from our hair color, we look just like most people."
"Well, she did say she was reading my soul..."
"Do you just believe everything everyone says...?"
"Hm... Shall we go find out?"
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now! Come on! Side quest time, baby!" Korlin drags Sirius along to find someone who can clarify the meaning of 'Witch Spawns'. "Alright, Sirius. You see that guy over there?" He points to a young man with teal hair and dark wings. "Go ask him."
"Uh, sure..." Sirius walks up to the man and throws on a polite demeanor. "Excuse me, could I ask you a question?"
"Hm? What's your ques... Oh..." The man turns around, only to become immediately disgusted. "What do you want, Witch Spawn?"
"Aha... That's actually part of my question. How can you tell I'm-"
"Yeah, I don't have the time or patience to talk to you. Filthy Witch Spawn..."
The man walks off in anger, leaving Sirius smiling by himself.
-Figures... I really don't belong here...
The boy turns to Korlin and shakes his head. Korlin ponders for a moment, then runs off to a pair of young, white-haired people.
"Hello there!" Korlin greets them with an overblown grin. The boy wraps his arm around the shorter of the two men. "Quick! What is the difference between me and him? Besides our hair color."
"What the... The difference is you're a fucking Witch Spawn!"
"How do you know that?! By that definition, almost everyone here looks like a Witch Spawn!" As Korlin shouts, an anthropomorphic turtle walks by. "...Except that guy."
The guy Korlin's arm is wrapped around starts to cry.
"Do I... Do I really look like a Witch Spawn?" he weeps.
"Of course not!" The other white-haired man tugs his friend away from Korlin. He shoots a nasty glare at the boy. "You know, it's bad enough you exist at all. You don't have to be an asshole about it..."
The two men stomp off, leaving Korlin confused by himself.
"What the hell..."
Korlin regroups with Sirius, dragging his feet.
"At this rate," Sirius spirals. "We're going to get beat up just for talking to people."
"Nah, I'm sure there are laws in place. Besides, not everyone has murderous intent. I think you can afford to trust people a bit more."
"I don't know... I think I'll pass..."
"Hm... Oh! I have another idea! Watch this!"
"Huh- Oh, alright..." Sirius watches as Korlin runs up to a random lady with horns.
"Yo!" Korlin slides in front of her. "What do you think of my Witch Spawn outfit? Pretty accurate, huh?"
The woman is startled for a moment, then quickly mellows out.
"Oh my! You're right, that's really good! It's almost like you're actually one of them..."
"I know, right?! Tell me, what do you think the best part is? Or, the most accurate part."
"Hm..." The woman motions for Korlin to step closer. He does as instructed, and the lady leans into his ear. "All of it, you swine. Get out of this city, rotten crick corpse... Or better yet, die."
The woman tramps off in a fit of fury, brushing her clothes off as if they were dirtied.
Korlin stands with his mouth agape, in shock at the exchange.
The boy stiffly turns to Sirius, an exaggeratedly sad expression on his face.
"S-Sirius... These people are mean..."
"There, there..." Sirius walks up and pats the boy's head. "Come on, let's go back to finding the wizard."
Korlin, depressingly, nods in agreement.
...
-Three hundred and sixty-five days... As if memories could be erased just like that. It defies all logic. I haven't seen any proof of my memories disappearing... Korlin hasn't shown any signs either. That old man was just lying... He has to have been...
"Oy! You listening?" Korlin waves his hand in front of Sirius's face.
"Hm-? Y-Yeah."
"These NPCs are all very hostile... What do you think we should do, Sirius? How do we approach this conflict?"
"We just have to get lucky, I guess... I don't know."
"You say that a lot, you know?
"Say what?"
"You say 'I don't know' a lot."
"Ah... I'm not a very decisive person."
"Hah, well, lucky for you, I, the protagonist, am here to guide you."
"Right... So then what's the game plan, oh mighty Wizardseeker?"
"We continue asking around!"
"...Seriously?"
"Onward!" Korlin blazes off, a determined look in his eyes. He begins asking around, and despite consistently receiving failure, he persists. He scurries around, giddy as can be, getting distracted by magic at every opportunity.
It's like he doesn't even care that this world hates him. It's as if he's the happiest, most carefree person...
And it starts to make Sirius wonder...
-Why can't I be like that...?
...
Sirius stares at Korlin as he frolics. He stalks the boy's smile.
-Why... Why don't I find joy in this? Why can't I be like that? Why was I reborn...? Why me? I don't... I don't belong here.
...
Korlin strolls over.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Korlin flicks Sirius on the forehead. "You're spacing off! You must focus!"
"Ah-" Sirius snaps out of his daze. Holding his head, Sirius reminds himself of his resolve. Bury it. Be perfect. Throwing on a convincing smile, the boy brushes off his thoughts. "Sorry- It's nothing. Let's keep going."
...
As they roam the city, Sirius finds that the vast majority of people remind him of Aureole.
Teal hair. Gradient teal eyes. Pointed ears. Dark wings sprouting from their backs. And while they share these common features, each individual is unique. Males and females, short and tall, different facial structures... Just like humans, really. Perhaps this race, or species, is the main one of this country.
Korlin sends Sirius to confront one of them. A young male with short, teal hair. He doesn't wear anything nearly as fancy as Aureole did; no one does. The man is sweeping the pathway towards a building.
"Hey," Sirius greets him kindly. "Do you know where we can find Moonlid Path?"
"Huh? Oh, sure, take a right about three blocks down. That should place you along it," he smiles warmly.
-He actually gave an answer...
"Thank you," Sirius says, putting on his best friendly face. "Also, do you know where I can find something to place nem in?"
"Ah, a rich lad, are we?"
"No, nothing like that, just not much pocket space..." Sirius scratches the back of his head.
"I'm just messing with ya, but... are you dumb?"
"...Maybe?"
The man leans on his broom and points behind him. "What do you think this shop is?"
"Oh... Right... Sorry, I can't read very well."
"No sweat," the man smiles, then continues to sweep.
Sirius motions Korlin over, and they enter the stone building. Unlike other stores, this one is still stone on the inside. It's a little jarring to look at. Appearance-wise it gets two stars at best.
They scour the store for a wallet. Sirius stumbles across a small, fabric sack with a knitted image of nem on it. Taking it off the shelf, Sirius takes out his gems and places them into the sack. Strangely, the bag doesn't get heavier. He shakes the sack, there is no sound inside... Getting concerned, he looks into the bag and finds a black void.
The tiny bag swallowed all of his nem... Sirius reaches into the darkness, and somehow, his hand immediately hits smooth gemstones. Grabbing one, he pulls out a purple nem.
-Huh...
He places it back inside the sack, and it disappears from view. He reaches back inside and imagines himself pulling out a blue one. And what do you know, he pulls out a blue one.
Sharing his findings with Korlin, the boy explains that the sack, according to him, is like a pocket dimension. Whatever nem he places inside can be taken out if he thinks about it. Oddly, this only works with nem, not the inkclaws or journals. Other objects only sit in it like a normal bag.
The sack, surprisingly enough, only costs nineteen nem. He spends his red, blue, and four green gems. The only gems remaining are two purple and two green. Two hundred and two nem.