Prologue
"Ahh… finally done."
From the seat across from me, I hear my senior colleague’s voice announcing the end of his workday.
Lucky him. I’m nowhere near finished.
"Hey, how’s it going over there? If you’re done, wanna go grab a drink?"
"I’m still swamped. It’s gonna take a while, so go on ahead without me."
"Gotcha. Well, I’ll head out first, then. Don’t overdo it—make sure you get home at a decent time."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, have a good night."
With that, my senior colleague left.
He could’ve at least offered to help…
Once he was gone, I was the only one left in the office.
I don’t mind the quiet atmosphere of an empty floor, but knowing that I still have a mountain of unfinished work ahead of me just makes me feel even more drained.
Not that I have anyone waiting for me at home. No family, no girlfriend. All I’ve got waiting for me is a backlog of recorded DVDs or unfinished games.
…Wow, that sounded depressing.
Slightly disheartened by the bleak state of my life, I continued working. By the time I finally wrapped up, it was past ten o’clock.
"Sigh… Finally done…"
After staring at my computer screen for hours, my body was stiff and aching. I stretched as I stood up.
"What now?"
Should I grab a bite on the way home? Or just pick up something and eat at home? Not exactly earth-shattering decisions.
Unable to make up my mind, I stepped out of the office.
Looking up, I could see faint stars in the night sky, their brilliance dulled by the city’s neon lights.
For some reason, I suddenly found myself marveling at the sheer strangeness of existence—the fact that I was here, living my life on this tiny speck of a planet called Earth.
Why did that thought cross my mind? No idea. But it just… did.
Lost in those musings, I started walking toward the station.
"Hey! Get out of the way—run!"
A desperate shout rang out.
And then—
My memory cut off there.
---
An elderly man walked along a country road.
He appeared to be nearing sixty, his attire—a robe commonly worn by magic users—suggesting he was one himself.
Gazing up at the sky, he muttered to himself.
"Looks like rain is coming…"
Seeing the ominous clouds rolling in, he quickened his pace.
And sure enough, before long, rain began to fall.
"Knew it… There should be a forest up ahead. I’ll take shelter under the trees there."
With that, the old man hurried forward.
However, when he finally reached the forest, the sight that greeted him left him speechless.
"This… Was this the work of monsters…?"
What lay before him was the aftermath of a brutal attack.
A caravan of wagons had been utterly destroyed, their wooden frames reduced to splinters. Scattered amidst the wreckage were the lifeless bodies of those who had once traveled in them.
"Such cruelty…"
From what he could tell, there were no survivors. The scene was so gruesome that even the falling rain seemed to accentuate the tragedy.
"At the very least, I should give them a proper burial…"
Sighing, the old man began gathering the remains of the fallen.
Then—
"Aah—!"
A baby’s cry pierced through the sound of the rain.
"What?! A baby?! Where?!"
The old man frantically sifted through the wreckage, searching for the source of the voice.
Finally, beneath a pile of broken wagon parts, he found an infant—soaked by the rain, crying its heart out.
"My word… To have survived a monster attack… It’s nothing short of a miracle."
Carefully lifting the baby into his arms, the old man noticed that the child had injuries. Without hesitation, he cast a healing spell and wrapped the infant in a fresh cloth from his belongings.
The moment he did, the baby stopped crying and began breathing softly in sleep.
"What a strong child…"
Looking around, the old man searched through the belongings of the deceased, hoping to find something that would identify the child’s family.
But no clues emerged.
"…Is this a sign? Am I meant to raise this child?"
He lifted his gaze to the rain-filled sky.
"Perhaps… this is fate."
A firm resolve settled in his expression.
Holding the baby close, the old man turned away—not toward the nearby town, but back toward his own home.
——.