Chapter Text
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The Sumeru rainforest is known for its tranquil aura. Birds echo through its green landscapes, mushrooms grow across the vast paths, and the occasional caravan passes through.
But today, when the forest was in near-total silence, a scream echoed from deep inside a rather well-hidden cave.
"Son of a bitch!"
The cave, hidden from the eyes of the ignorant, looked like an ordinary one. Anyone trying to enter would be stopped by a large wall of piled-up stones, as if a collapse had sealed it off.
But for someone observant and curious enough, it was easy to notice that the stones weren't as heavy as they seemed—they could be moved aside without much effort, revealing a hidden entrance.
Inside, one thing immediately became clear: the place was a disaster.
In the center were several tables covered in scientific tools, so many papers scattered across them that they practically formed a second surface. The floor was uneven rock like any natural cave, but it was buried under piles of documents stacked on top of each other.
In one corner stood a simple bed, the blanket messy and the pillow thrown to the edge. On the opposite side was a small makeshift kitchen, just enough to survive.
Against one wall was a bookshelf filled with books—mostly scientific works, textbooks, and notebooks full of observations. But on the last shelves, a few fantasy novels could also be found.
"Fantasy helps expand imagination, making me more likely to find unconventional solutions" — the owner used to repeat to himself when picking them up, too embarrassed to admit he actually enjoyed them.
In a more isolated part of the cave, surrounded by tall rocks with only one entrance, there was a functional bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet.
The wooden panels lining the walls gave the hidden cave a surprisingly warm, home-like feeling.
But the most important part of the cave was its owner.
He was running around frantically, grabbing and dropping papers in chaotic bursts. With each passing second, his expression grew more and more desperate.
As a last resort, he grabbed a blank sheet and quickly wrote a single phrase:
"Fuck you!"
Various thoughts filled his mind—the last words of each of the other segments echoing inside his head.
《 It has to be a joke!》
《 What an irrational choice》
《 Capable of betraying himself...》
《 No, wait! Not like this...》
《 This won't end here! I'll get revenge!》
《 You'll regret this》
One by one, those thoughts faded—just like their owners had. He added his own final contribution.
《Go to hell!》
He curled up on the floor, closing his eyes, waiting for his fate. Until...
"I didn't disappear?" he murmured in shock, staring at his own hands.
The owner of the cave was a teenager, around 15 years old. His hair was a minty blue-green, parted from the roots with slightly messy bangs. It reached nearly his shoulders, so he usually tied it up to avoid it getting in the way of his research.
His eyes were blood-red, with faint brownish tones near the lower part of the iris. He had slight dark circles under his eyes, though not too heavy.
He wore a white long-sleeved shirt with fitted cuffs at the wrists, and loose-fitting pants with tight cuffs at the ankles.
His hands were covered by gray gloves with white line details along the sides.
On his belt loop hung a sealed test tube filled with a light blue liquid.
"How is this possible?! A few seconds ago, the connection was broken! I was supposed to disappear!"
He slowly stood up, testing his limbs to make sure nothing was fading. Once he confirmed everything was intact, he began checking the papers explaining the fragmentation phenomenon, searching for answers.
《This doesn't make sense... what happened? Which one of them broke the connection? Why am I still here?》
《Let's see... Scaramuccia should have become a god just moments ago. The plan was supported by all of us... or by Dottore? I don't even know what to call ourselves anymore.》
《Did something happen? Segment 45 left Sumeru a few days ago, and 35 arrived recently... did 35 do something? He's the most selfish of us. He would do something like that for personal gain.》
He grabbed his cloak and quickly put it on, the hood covering most of his head except part of his face, slightly shadowing his eyes.
He took a small pouch of Mora just in case and headed for the cave entrance. He moved the stones aside, sealed the entrance again, and stepped out.
Then he adjusted his cloak and began walking through the Sumeru rainforest with a single goal in mind:
Sumeru City.
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The adolescent arrived in the city of Sumeru. The city was almost empty due to everything that had happened in the past few hours. He walked along the walls, avoiding all possible Matra agents.
His plan was simple: he would look for traces of fragment 35. If he discovered that fragment 35 was the cause of all this, he would make a tactical retreat and reassess his situation in the cave.
《I don't have the necessary power to face 35... I'm sure he knows of my existence. The best option is to gather the necessary information to decide my next move》
He moved as discreetly as possible until reaching his destination, observing the Sanctuary of Surasthana from the branches of the city's great tree.
Camouflaged with the trunk and leaves, he watched to see if anyone would leave the sanctuary.
And someone did. The very same person he expected to be behind the disappearance of the fragments.
《35, you piece of shit》 — the adolescent thought angrily, clenching his fists so hard his nails left red marks on his palms.
He watched as the now main segment moved away, disappearing from his sight. He stayed in his hiding place for a few more minutes, alert in case Dottore himself decided to return.
But since he didn't, he slowly climbed down from the tree while thinking about what course of action to take. Once he reached the ground, he began walking quickly back toward his cave-home.
《If 35 erased the other fragments, it means the Archon must have offered him something that benefited him disproportionately. The Gnosis, maybe? If he returns to Snezhnaya with a Gnosis, there is a high chance they will give him more resources for his experiments》
《The Archon must have learned about the existence of the fragments and requested their deletion in exchange for the Gnosis... Did she tell him about my existence? Dottore wouldn't gain anything by telling her—if anything, it would benefit him not to. But the Dendro Archon is the Goddess of Wisdom; it should be impossible to hide information from her》
《If she told him, then they will likely come looking for me. Although according to them, I could be anywhere in Teyvat. But the Archon has the Irminsul—she could find my location at any moment》
《This is bullshit. The odds are against me. I should hide in my cave for a few days, and based on Matra activity, see whether they are searching for me or not》
The adolescent was so absorbed in his thoughts that when he turned a corner, he ended up colliding with something. Or someone.
He fell backward, instinctively closing his eyes during the fall. He landed on his butt with a "puff," letting out a painful grunt.
"Ugh..." — the segment groaned, opening his eyes to see the cause of his fall.
And he was certain fate had frustration toward him, because there was no way that out of all people, he had just collided with the damn Akademiya scribe of Sumeru.
《Why him?!》
The adolescent decided in under 4 milliseconds what to do. He would act like a scared child and leave. Based on the current situation and how busy he likely was, he wouldn't pay attention to some random frightened kid he had bumped into.
"I-I'm sorry, sir!" — he stammered, putting on the most scared and nervous expression possible, perfectly playing his role.
The scribe looked at him for a few seconds, as if evaluating him.
《You're fine, he shouldn't be able to recognize me, plus I have the cloak.》 — he reassured himself, though his nervousness was becoming real.
"It's fine, your parents must be looking for you. Go back home," the scribe finally replied, helping the adolescent up.
"Thank you very much, sir!" — he said quickly, running toward his supposed 'home' without looking back.
Alhaitham watched the child leave. He seemed completely normal, like any other child in Sumeru. But as he ran, something fell from inside his cloak.
The man was about to tell him he had dropped something, but when he looked up, the adolescent had already disappeared. With a sigh, he walked over to where the object had fallen.
When he bent down, surprise and curiosity spread across his face. It was a small vial containing a light blue liquid. It looked like a small test tube, sealed so the liquid wouldn't spill.
He brought it closer, examining it carefully. It was nothing like anything he had ever seen in all his years as a scribe and former student.
He frowned, looking back in the direction the child had run. Who was he, and why was he carrying this?
He stood up and looked at the vial for a few seconds. Then he sighed and closed his hand around it. He gave one last glance toward where the adolescent had gone and headed back to the Akademiya, where Cyno was supervising the sages before carrying out the punishment for their actions.
And on the way, he was going to ask the General Mahamatra if he knew anything about this mysterious liquid
________________________________________________________________________________
《Shit, shit, shit! Where the hell is it?!》
Segment 15 sprinted around the cave, rummaging through everything within reach. His cloak now lay discarded on the bed after being shaken countless times in search of one particular item.
He had searched every corner of the cave without finding his precious possession. His thoughts were in complete disarray. That object was incredibly important, and losing it could mean a devastating setback to his life's work.
《Did it fall somewhere?! I need it—I can't lose it! The Elixir of Immortality is irreplaceable! I can't even recreate it without the formula anymore! Damn it, 35! Why now?!》
After turning the cave upside down for the third time, desperately searching for the test tube he always carried with him, he let out a long sigh and dropped to his knees, curling into a ball.
"Ahh... damn it. What do I do now? Maybe I dropped it while I was gathering information in the city."
15 ran a hand through his hair, absentmindedly twirling one of the loose strands as he thought.
He could return to the city... but there was a chance he'd get caught. Dottore was now one of Sumeru's greatest enemies, and by extension, so was he.
But if he didn't recover it, the research he had dedicated his entire life to would suffer an enormous blow. He needed that sample of temporary immortality if he ever hoped to achieve true immortality.
He let out a shaky sigh before standing up with determination. Grabbing his cloak, he pulled the hood over his head.
He was going to recover his precious elixir... without getting captured.
He picked up his Mora pouch along with one of his inventions: a dagger capable of switching between Dendro and Electro energy to trigger the Quicken reaction.
He needed something to defend himself with, just in case someone found him.
The chances of them already searching for him—or ever searching for him at all—were relatively low.
But Segment 15 was one of the most paranoid people in all of Teyvat.
He fastened the dagger into the sheath on his belt, specially designed to hold it, and stepped out of the cave with a plan already forming in his mind.
He would retrace his steps.
About thirty minutes had passed since he'd returned to the cave and realized the test tube was missing from his belt. There was still a decent chance it hadn't traveled too far.
He walked through Sumeru's rainforest along the exact same route as before.
Every now and then he ran into Fungi, dispatching them without much effort. The whole incident had left him in a foul mood, so at least he could vent some of his frustration on the mushrooms.
Fifteen minutes later, he finally reached Sumeru City.
The streets had become livelier than before. People were leaving their homes again, slowly returning to their daily routines.
The shops had reopened, restoring the city's familiar, welcoming atmosphere.
He passed the food stall where he occasionally bought meals. The delicious smell drifted through the air, making his stomach growl. He swallowed the saliva beginning to pool in his mouth and kept walking.
He had a mission.
Besides... from now on, he'd have to start saving money.
Every six months, all the Dottores held a meeting in Snezhnaya. Almost none of the Segments ever agreed with one another, but the meetings happened anyway.
The one good thing about them was that every time one was held, the Regrator—Pantalone—would give the younger Segments an "allowance."
Since there had only been three underage Segments, the amount they received was fairly generous. It was basically their salary.
Now that 35 had destroyed all the others, those meetings would never happen again.
Which meant... no more allowance.
And honestly, it was probably for the best to stay as far away from the Fatui as possible. He wasn't particularly loyal to them. They were just an organization he happened to belong to.
It wasn't like the other Harbingers cared much about him, either.
To them, Dottore was a despicable man. They merely maintained a working relationship because they were colleagues.
And since he was one of Dottore's Segments...
That made him just as despicable in their eyes.
Truthfully, he didn't care. He barely knew any of them.
Besides...
If Dottore had erased every other clone...
What was stopping him from erasing him too if they ever met again?
He was already halfway through retracing his route, yet there was still no sign of the Elixir of Immortality. He pulled one hand out from beneath his cloak and absentmindedly twirled one of his bangs.
It had become a nervous habit.
Much like tapping his foot against the floor over and over.
Lost in thought, a voice suddenly pulled him back to reality.
"Young man! Over here!"
15 turned toward the source of the voice.
It came from the bookstore he occasionally visited. An elderly woman ran the place, making it easy to overlook—exactly the kind of shop he liked buying books from.
The old woman had a wrinkled face, yet somehow looked incredibly kind. Exactly what came to mind when someone said "grandmother." She waved him over with a warm smile.
《Maybe she found the test tube and is asking passersby if it belongs to them!》
A small spark of hope appeared inside him, though his face remained as expressionless as ever.
"Good morning, young man. The sequel to the book you bought a few weeks ago finally arrived."
"'The Fox in the Sea of Dandelions,' wasn't it?"
The old woman's voice was warm, kind. That still felt strange to him. Why was she so nice to everyone? Her customers were strangers. Most of them probably wouldn't even remember her.
Still...
Her words immediately caught his attention.
He had bought the novel two weeks ago and finished it after spending nine nights reading before bed.
He had genuinely enjoyed it.
Not that he'd ever admit that out loud.
And he'd been eagerly waiting for the sequel.
Since the books came from Mondstadt and had only recently started being distributed in Sumeru, they were difficult to obtain.
He pursed his lips while looking at the books on display.
He had something extremely important to do.
But...
If he refused now, someone else might buy the book before he came back.
《Idiot. Don't let trivial things interfere with your plans.》
That was the logical side of his mind speaking.
《But we're greedy by nature, aren't we? We can have both.》
That was the more human side.
It was like the classic angel-and-devil-on-your-shoulder situation...
Except both of them were devils.
He sighed, exhausted by the argument happening inside his own head.
"I have something important to take care of right now... but if you could hold onto it until tomorrow, I'll come buy it then."
"Of course, dear. Here, take this so you can pick it up tomorrow."
She smiled warmly as she handed him a reservation card with the title of the book and tomorrow's date written on it.
15 nodded before walking away, slipping the card into one of the inner pockets of his cloak.
After taking a few steps, though...
He turned back and gave the old woman a small wave.
She answered with an even brighter smile.
"I'm an idiot..."
he muttered, quickening his pace.
He shouldn't let something so trivial interfere with his research.
Five minutes later, he arrived at the spot where he'd bumped into the Scribe. Nearly an hour and forty-five minutes had passed since then. He scanned the ground carefully.
There was a high chance the test tube had fallen when he'd hit the ground.
Unfortunately...
There was nothing.
"Tch."
His eyes narrowed in irritation.
There wasn't much of his route left to check. And the odds of finding it kept shrinking.
Then...
He heard footsteps. That particular street was usually quiet. Very few people ever passed through it. Especially after everything that had happened today.
15 looked up.
And he could've sworn fate...
Or perhaps the heavens themselves...
Hated him with every fiber of their being.
Two people were approaching from about ten meters away.
One of them was impossible to mistake.
The jackal helmet. The unusual shorts fastened with an equally unusual belt. White hair. Red eyes. The General Mahamatra himself.
Cyno.
The person walking beside him wasn't any better.
It was the very same Scribe he'd collided with earlier. His face was so expressionless it somehow surpassed even 15's own.
Alhaitham
And in his hand...
Was the test tube containing the Elixir of Immortality.
《Shit!》
15 immediately ducked behind a wall.
This was bad.
Very bad.
If those two had the elixir... Getting it back would be nearly impossible.
And judging by what happened next, that seemed to be exactly the case.
"Are you sure it was here?" Cyno asked, folding his arms.
"It was. The child was wearing a cloak, so I couldn't see his face clearly. But according to Lesser Lord Kusanali, he should be one of Dottore's Segments."
"I'm already tired of dealing with that bastard," Cyno growled as he crouched down to inspect the ground for elemental traces. "We just finished saving Sumeru. I don't want to deal with another crisis caused by the same man."
"Likewise," the Scribe replied while calmly scanning the surroundings. "But we need to capture him. We have no idea what he's planning."
Meanwhile, the teenager pressed his lips together, barely daring to breathe.
As much as he hated admitting it...
Some people in Sumeru were frighteningly intelligent.
If the Scribe had identified the elixir and was now searching for him knowing who he was...
Then he'd already spoken with the Dendro Archon.
Which meant...
Lesser Lord Kusanali herself had ordered a search.
That explained why the General Mahamatra was here too.
15 slowly backed away, carefully walking on the tips of his toes to make as little noise as possible. He almost managed to leave.
Almost.
A strong gust of wind swept through the street. The wind billowed everyone's clothes. Including his cloak.
By some miracle of terrible luck...
A corner of it peeked out from behind the wall.
And of course, Alhaitham noticed.
"There."
Cyno immediately lunged forward, entering pursuit, with Alhaitham close behind.
Meanwhile, the teenager bolted as if his life depended on it. Which, to be fair, it did.
《There's no way I can outrun the General Mahamatra. A teenager isn't faster than an adult trained specifically to capture people!》
"Stop right there!" Alhaitham shouted as the two closed the distance behind him.
《Damn it! Think, think, THINK!》
15 sprinted through the streets, weaving around people and obstacles while his cloak fluttered wildly behind him.
He dashed past the Adventurers' Guild reception. Then, beside a bench, he spotted salvation.
A large bucket filled with water.
Summoning every ounce of strength he had left, he surged forward just enough to grab it. He spun around without slowing down and hurled the entire bucket at his pursuers. As the water splashed over them, he drew his dagger and switched it to Electro Mode at maximum output.
The water drenched both Cyno and Alhaitham. Neither seemed particularly bothered, still running
Perfect.
15 threw the dagger directly into the puddle.
Instantly, purple sparks exploded across the water. The electricity surged through the puddle and raced into their soaked bodies. Both Cyno and Alhaitham cried out in pain, their momentum stopping for just a few precious seconds.
That was all 15 needed.
He darted into a side street and disappeared around the corner. A few moments later, the pair recovered and resumed the chase.
As they rounded the corner, Cyno caught sight of part of the teenager's cloak sticking out from behind a stack of crates.
Without hesitation, he activated his Elemental Skill and tackled straight toward it.
But instead of flesh...
He hit wood.
Confused, Cyno yanked away the cloak.
Underneath it stood a wooden mannequin.
"He must've used the few seconds we lost to set up a decoy," Alhaitham said, frowning.
"Damn brat..."
Cyno growled as he picked up the abandoned cloak.
"Let's recover the dagger. It might give us another lead."
Alhaitham nodded and turned around.
The Segment had escaped.
But this wouldn't be the last time they saw him.
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"Yes! I got away! Take that, you fucking idiots!"
The teenager stood in front of the entrance to his cave. He had run back so fast that it had taken him less than twenty minutes to return after shaking off his pursuers.
He pushed aside the rocks blocking the entrance and opened the hidden door. After carefully putting the fake rocks back in place, he stepped inside.
He staggered toward his bed, but before he could reach it, the adrenaline finally drained from his body. His knees gave out, and he collapsed onto them.
《Shit.》
"That was way too close..." the boy muttered, breathing unevenly. One hand clutched at his chest as he lay flat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
He had escaped—but not without paying a price.
His beloved dagger was most likely in the Matra's hands now. And he had also lost one of his favorite pieces of clothing.
With a tired sigh, he dragged himself over to his bed.
He could figure out how to recover the Elixir of Immortality later.
The moment his head touched the pillow, he passed out.
________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile...
"Lesser Lord Kusanali, how should we proceed?" the scribe asked, crossing his arms as he looked at his Archon.
Nahida stood within the Sanctuary of Surasthana, carefully examining the two items resting atop her desk.
One was a gray cloak decorated with white details. It had several inner pockets, but after searching them, all they had found were used tissues, candy wrappers, a single untouched piece of candy...
...and a small bookstore reservation card.
The other item was a dagger.
It had a black hilt decorated with faint glowing lines and a silver blade. A button was embedded into the grip, and every time it was pressed, the color of the lines changed.
One press turned them green, coating the blade in Dendro energy.
Two presses turned them violet, surrounding it with Electro energy.
《A remarkably sophisticated mechanism. Containing two elemental energies within something this small is no trivial feat. As expected from one of the Doctor's segments.》
"What should we do?" Alhaitham repeated.
"Wait. He won't return to Sumeru City today. But judging by his behavior... there's a good chance he'll come back tomorrow."
"Are you certain? Returning to the city while the Matra are searching for you is completely illogical," the scribe replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I am."
"The two of you should stay around this area tomorrow morning. There's a high probability that he'll appear."
"Hm. As you wish," Cyno replied, folding his arms.
"Good, good. Cyno, could you deliver this letter to where the Traveler is staying?" Nahida asked, picking up the letter resting on her desk.
"Of course. See you later—or should I say see you Nara-ter?"
And with that terrible joke, the General Mahamatra left the Sanctuary, leaving behind an amused Archon... and a slightly irritated Alhaitham.
"Hehe. Anyway..." Nahida chuckled. "May I speak with you for a moment, Alhaitham?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"Well... during my negotiation with the Doctor, he shared some rather interesting information about how the segments are created in exchange for the Electro Gnosis."
The Archon cleared her throat before recounting everything. The scribe listened in silence, his mind working at full speed as he processed every piece of information.
Once Nahida finished, he nodded thoughtfully.
"That would certainly explain why he's still alive," he said. "But why are you telling me this?"
"Because... I'd like to ask you for a favor, if you don't mind."
The Archon smiled warmly at him before explaining her request.
At first, the man looked genuinely surprised, his eyebrows rising slightly.
But as the explanation continued, his usual expressionless face returned.
"Hm.It's feasible and I trust your judgment. I'll take care of the preparations."
"Have a good night, Lesser Lord Kusanali."
Nahida let out a soft laugh, waving goodbye as her scribe turned to leave.
"You too, Alhaitham."
《Tch... damn it.》
The teenager slowly sat up in bed, lazily scratching at his hair.
He blinked a few times, recalling everything that had happened the day before.
《Hm... I'd better stay inside the cave for the next few days.》
Dragging his feet, he wandered into the kitchen.
He filled a cup with cold water and stared at it.
He was far too tired to bother heating it.
He dropped in a lemon tea bag.
Then a little sugar.
Well... more like a lot of sugar.
After spending a few minutes absentmindedly staring into space, he removed the tea bag and tossed it into the trash.
With a resigned sigh, he carried his breakfast back to his bed. As he sipped his tea, he glanced at the clock hanging beside the bookshelf.
《6:15, huh? Earlier than I usually wake up.》
He quietly hummed to himself before taking another sip. There was always something pleasant about waking up just as the sun began to rise.
His eyes drifted toward the bookshelf, debating what he should read next.
Then he remembered.
《Shit! The book! I'm supposed to pick it up today!》
"Let's see..."
"I'm supposed to go get the book."
"But they're searching for me, so it'd be smarter to stay here."
"...Still, that lady reserved it for me, and it's really hard to find..."
"Tch."
The teenager sighed before heading over to his workbench.
It didn't matter. He wasn't about to risk getting captured over a book.
That would be stupid.
He resumed his research.
Well... as much as he could without the Elixir of Immortality available for observation.
But no matter how hard he tried to immerse himself in his work, his thoughts always drifted back to the same thing.
《What if she sells it to someone else?》
《It's difficult to get a copy.》
《She specifically reserved it fo—》
The teenager interrupted his own thoughts with an irritated growl. It was becoming increasingly annoying that he couldn't focus.
《If I can't concentrate on my research, maybe I should distract myself with something else.》
He walked over to his bookshelf and grabbed a random novel.
He tried reading. But before long, his mind wandered back to the same thought.
He tried cleaning instead. That only gave his brain even more opportunities to dwell on it.
After the fifth irritated growl of the morning, Segment 15 tossed the broom back into its corner.
《Fine.》
《It's a rare book, and who knows when I'll get another chance to buy it.》
《Besides, we had a verbal agreement that she'd sell it to me.》
《And they've never actually seen my face without the cloak. They can't know it's me.》
《They're not going around interrogating every green-haired kid in Sumeru... right?》
《There's no objective reason to keep avoiding the city.》
And with that final attempt at convincing himself, Segment 15 left the cave, his small pouch of Mora tucked safely into his pocket.
He knew he was being an idiot.
With every step he took toward the city, he became more aware of just how stupid this decision really was.
Yet another part of his mind kept repeating the same arguments that had brought him this far.
It irritated him. Why did he keep doing things like this?
He knew it was illogical. He knew it was reckless.
He knew there was a real chance of being captured.
And yet...
There he was, walking through the streets of Sumeru toward the bookstore.
"I'm such an idiot..."
he muttered under his breath, thoroughly annoyed with himself.
But it was already too late.
He was almost there.
"Good morning, ma'am."
"I've come to pick up The Fox in the Sea of Dandelions, volume two."
The elderly woman looked up from the book she had been reading.
She blinked in surprise upon seeing the teenager. Then her expression softened into a warm smile.
"Oh, young man! I almost didn't recognize you. You're always wearing that cloak, so I've never really seen your face before. You should dress like this more often."
"It's been awfully hot lately for someone to be walking around wrapped in a cloak."
"Hm... I suppose you're right," the boy replied, absentmindedly twirling one of his hair strands around his finger.
"Hehe. Well then, here you go."
The old woman handed him the book, carefully wrapped in decorative paper.
"Thank you. How much do I owe you?" he asked, reaching for his pouch of Mora.
"Oh, don't worry about it.It's a gift from the shop. You looked awfully stressed yesterday, so I thought it'd be nice to give it to you."
"Besides, you've been one of my most loyal customers."
Segment 15 frowned, utterly confused.
Why was she giving him a free book? She could have made money by selling it. So why give it away?
"Ma'am... I can't accept that. Please tell me how much it costs."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I already told you—it's a gift."
"But if you really insist on paying me back somehow...Just keep coming by every now and then."
He kept frowning, trying to understand the logic behind her decision. Maybe it was some sort of marketing strategy? Whatever the reason, one look at her expression was enough to tell him she wasn't going to change her mind.
"Very well. I suppose I won't be able to convince you otherwise. Thank you very much."
"And have a nice day... Mrs...?"
"Lyris."
"Mrs. Lyris."
"Hm."
"Have a nice day, Mrs. Lyris."
He turned around to leave.
"Hehe. You too, young man."
The teenager walked away at a slow pace, staring thoughtfully at the gift-wrapped book in his hands.
"Tch... She really should've let me pa—"
Before he could finish speaking, a precise, powerful strike landed against the side of his neck.
Pain shot through his entire body. His vision blurred instantly.
His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground before he could even scream.
And then...
Everything went black.