She wandered across the field, observing her surroundings as she moved. As the hours passed, she walked continually without having a destination in mind and the sun began to set, but she decided to continue walking until night fell. She believed she could endure the coldness of the night, but as she walked towards the endless road, a cold breeze hit her and it brought a shiver down her spine. Her nose was running and she stopped, looking as deadpan as ever.And then, memory appeared.
She was sent on a mission to locate the distress call from a group of scouts. The Special Forces team consisted of four members. Oris, the leader, Leona, Rael, and lastly Nemi. Under the intense blizzard, they crossed the mountain and walked into the mist of snow, and one person raised a question."Hey, Nemi! Are you good behind there?" —Rael called over the howling wind."Yes," —a cold response from Nemi."What was it again? Our ultimate soldier can't feel what cold is? Must be convenient, no? Nemi?" —Leona, who envied Nemi's existence."Yes, I believe such a sensation will hinder the mission," Nemi stated flatly."Guys, stop it. We all know she didn't volunteer to become a cyborg." Oris said while leading the formation."Yeah, yeah, but still!" Rael pointed his finger at Nemi. "Look at her! We're dressed up like shit, and she's out here in just a uniform. Crazy, right, Cap!? Though if she could understand my love, that'd be even crazier. What you think, Nemi?" He grinned."Having a romantic relationship between personnel is prohibited," Nemi replied."Ugh! How in hell can you even love someone like her, Rael?" —Leona groaned."Ooh! You jealous!? You wanna date me instead?, Leona?!" —Rael teased her."FUCK OFF!" —Leona responded.The memory surfaced. Nemi hugged her body tightly, whispering, "It's cold...."But as she tried to picture their faces, they were blurred—scribbled out, as if her mind refused to remember. She shut her eyes and shook the thought away.However, she didn't have any other choice but to keep walking. As she walked for half an hour into the night, she started to feel a strange discomfort in her stomach, but she ignored it. Then it shocked her when it started growling. "Huh?!" as if there was a malfunction in her cyborg body.
Normally, she would go to Rael to check if there were any malfunctions in her cyborg body. But this time, she didn't even know where Rael was.
She kept walking, but the discomfort grew sharper, twisting inside her. For the first time, a sensation she couldn't understand unsettled her—hunger. She didn't know what to do.
After a few minutes, she saw a light far away—a sign of civilization. She felt relieved because she might see someone she recognized. But as she arrived, it was neither a soldier camp, nor a facility, nor what she expected—it was a town. All of the buildings were made of wood, brick, and stone. Nemi was stunned, though her deadpan expression remained unchanged. "... wow.."
The town was alive, filled with the sounds of laughter and talk. Warm orange light glowed from windows and lanterns, and the steady rhythm of footsteps echoed through the streets. As she stepped into the town, an appetizing smell immediately caught her attention.
She instinctively followed the scent, spotted a small stall, and her eyes locked onto the freshly baked bread. She stared at it, and without realizing, drool slipped from her mouth and trailed down her chin—her expression still deadpan.
The shopkeeper pulled out the freshly baked bread from the brick oven. As she turned around, she saw a figure of a woman staring intensely at the bread while drooling. The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, and she burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Miss, you're drooling!" The shopkeeper let out an energetic laugh.Nemi immediately snapped back into her senses and took time to process what had just happened before wiping her drool with her hand when she realized something cold on her mouth down to her chin.
When Nemi was about to walk away, the shopkeeper stopped her and said,"Hey miss! Take these," handing her a bag filled with three freshly baked breads.Nemi stared at the bag for a moment and asked, "Why?"
"You look damn hungry and I bet you don't have any money with you, no need to pay just take it as a gift" —the shopkeeper replied.
A flashback then appeared in Nemi's mind where she only had to eat tasteless food that seemed colorless to her all the time due to her cyborg parts that nullified her sense of taste. Nemi hesitantly took it and looked at the freshly baked bread in her hands before bowing slightly to thank the shopkeeper. She walked away while looking at the bread and asked herself, "I...look damn hungry?"Nemi then took one of the breads from the bag and took a bite. As she munched on the bread, she stopped walking. The sounds around her faded into silence, and a fragment of her memory merged into her mind—the moment when the figure of her "mother" had given her freshly baked bread. It had been warm in her hands. It had been delicious. And this... this was nostalgic. She kept eating, and before she knew it, the strange sensation in her stomach was gone.
Nemi continued walking through the lively town, hoping to see someone familiar. She didn't know what to do next. She didn't know where she should be heading. As she wandered, she noticed a building with a sign that read "Inn" on the door. Thinking it would be good to find a secure place to rest and clear her thoughts, she stepped inside. But as soon as she entered, she realized—she had no money, no goods for trade. With no other choice, she turned and continued walking, unsure of what to look for.
She kept walking and came across another building with a hanging sign that read 'Adventurer's Guild.'She then entered the building; it was silent and nearly empty inside due to midnight, there was only a receptionist doing some paperwork at the reception desk and one young woman who was sleeping on a table at the left corner of the room. Nemi then saw a "useful-looking thing" inside the building—the Quest board.
Nemi approached the receptionist and asked, "If I do a quest, will I get money?" The receptionist blinked in surprise upon hearing an obvious question coming from a person who didn't express a single emotion and had messy white hair. But the receptionist remained professional.
"Y-Yes, by doing a quest, we will pay you accordingly. You look like you just arrived in this town, are you a traveler?" —the receptionist answered Nemi's question.Nemi simply answered with a simple nod. And she asked, "Is there any mission available?" —Nemi mistook a quest and a mission.
The receptionist kept up her professional smile, but she was surprised on the inside."Mission? Do you mean a quest? I can get you one right away, but I recommend you take on a quest tomorrow. We don't know what might happen in the dark, after all..." —the receptionist replied with the hope she would stop asking.
Nemi then replied, "No ma'am, this is the right time" —She answered with an expectation of receiving new orders from the receptionist, but when Nemi tried to meet the receptionist's gaze, her vision wavered. The weight of eye contact made her chest tighten, and she quickly looked away.In the receptionist's mind, while keeping her professional smile— "GOD! Please! Make her go away! I would rather die than wait for her to complete a quest throughout the night!! Please!! I wanna go home!"
Nemi kept her gaze lowered, avoiding the receptionist's eyes. Just as the receptionist hesitantly reached for the paper to hand her the quest, a girl who had been sleeping in the corner suddenly disrupted the conversation."e-e-excuse me....." — the girl called out for Nemi nervously.Nemi turned away without a word, her expression unreadable, her gaze drifting past the girl instead of meeting her eyes.The girl felt uncomfortable but she decided to brace herself and asked. —"W-would you like to form a team with me!?" she bowed closing her eyes and hoping she accepted the invitation.Nemi stood there for a while before replying, "We do not know what will happen at night, it's dangerous," repeating what the receptionist said.
The receptionist was pissed but kept smiling."Let's do it tomorrow!" —the girl raised her head with a nervous expression, facing Nemi."But I need to get money for a secu-" —before Nemi could complete her sentence, the girl said,"I have money to spend a night in the inn for both of us !!" —the girl blurted out.Nemi stood still, processing the offer. She wanted to take on a "mission" immediately—it felt unnatural to delay—but after a pause, she simply said, "Okay."The girl's expression changed from nervous to a wide smile. While Nemi was still unable to meet her gaze."Wynstelle!" — she offered a handshake."Nemi" — She accepted her handshake.Thus, they both left the building. The receptionist fell on the chair and said, "Thank God..."