The sky that was once blue slowly turned orange. The birds returned to their nests after exhausting days.
After the girl removed her face covering, Krisna froze—because the girl was his No. 5 favorite character, Ichinose Asuna.
Ichinose Asuna is a cheerful, kind, warm girl. She is a member of the organization C&C, or Cleaning & Clearing.
As far as he remembered, Asuna was lively, with a zest for life written on her face. But the figure before him looked so different: her face seemed to lack any spark of life.
Krisna's mouth opened slightly as he stared at Asuna.
Asuna was calling someone, but she stopped at once when she felt Krisna's gaze. She glanced around, and when she saw the suspicious box she walked closer.
Krisna shut his mouth tight, making no sound at all. His heart raced; cold sweat drenched and trickled down his forehead.
Closer, ever closer.
Just as her fingers were about to touch the wooden box where Krisna was hiding, her phone rang, stopping her movement to pick it up.
Asuna stepped away but kept her eyes on the wooden box she found suspicious.
Inside the box, Krisna exhaled in relief. Still, sweat kept running and soaked his clothes. He began to peek through the small gap.
Asuna appeared to be talking on her phone. Though Krisna couldn't hear it, he knew it was an important conversation.
When Asuna finished the call, her expression remained flat and lifeless.
She tilted her head up to the golden-orange sky. Her look seemed to say,
"What does… life mean?"
Her eyelids blinked slowly, then she took a deep breath—preparing herself.
In one bound, she leapt roughly five meters, from Krisna's point of view, then jumped from rooftop to rooftop like a squirrel.
At last Krisna could truly breathe again—he was safe.
Slowly he opened the box, careful not to wake the helmet gang members sprawled nearby.
Soft sunlight touched his skin again. As he looked around at the fallen helmet gang members, a strange idea crossed his mind—the idea to remove the helmet of one of them, since in the game their full faces were never shown.
He moved slowly toward the nearest unconscious helmet gang member.
Krisna rubbed his hands together, tongue poking slightly out. "Time… for the plan to begin."
Gently he removed the member's helmet. Brown hair fell out a little—Krisna felt he was close to solving the mystery.
Somehow the screen reappeared.
———
Oy, you better stop...
———
"Why? Won't she die because of this..." Krisna retorted, insisting.
———
That's not respectful, come on.
———
Krisna paused a moment. "Aren't you curious too?"
———
Um... yeah... but that doesn't mean I agree.
———
"So you are curious?"
Krisna immediately put his plan into motion. His chest trembled; sweat again soaked his brow.
Half the face was visible first—cute pink lips were the first thing he saw.
Krisna inhaled and braced himself.
He continued until the girl's face was fully revealed. A girl with brown hair, cute lips, and curled eyelashes—an adorable girl stood clearly before him.
"Wow."
———
Wow.
———
They both said "wow" at once, stunned by how cute she was.
While Krisna sank into the girl's cuteness, he didn't notice one helmet gang member stirring. With his strength not yet recovered, the member readied his aim at Krisna.
The screen suddenly flashed in front of his face. ———
Watch out!!
———
Seeing it, Krisna rolled to the side. Luckily he dodged the bullet; when he turned his head, the girl was already preparing for a second shot. Summoning all his strength, Krisna ran through an alley.
Still weak from fainting, the girl could only watch him dash into the shadows. But then she noticed one of her comrades without a helmet.
From a distance Krisna heard the girl's shout. He felt guilty, yet the screen appeared beside him.
———
New reward!
———
While running, Krisna saw it and said, "wow... a reward... what?"
———
Pervert.
———
"What!!"
———
1,500 con have been received.
———
———
You filthy pervert!!
———
"What did I do wrong?"
———
Don't ask. You exposed the face Of a girl.
———
Krisna raised an eyebrow a little. "Is that… all?"
——— The girl hides Her face for her future husband And you went and revealed it.
———
At that, Krisna stopped dead.
"What? Should I go back to apologize?" he asked, wiping his sweat.
———
Who knows.
———
Guilt stabbed Krisna's chest; had he known the girl kept her face hidden, he would never have uncovered it.
The thought of returning to apologize crossed his mind. But remembering they carried weapons and could kill him, he buried the idea.
Krisna kept moving, running aimlessly. He paused occasionally to rest, then ran again.
As if guided by threads of fate, he ended up at the dumpsite that would change his future—and himself.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Krisna stood still, staring at the gate that read "dumpsite."
Trash piled into mountains.
Krisna intended to find a place to sleep but had no money. He passed several decent spots, yet felt uneasy staying in any of them.
The sun began to set, replaced by the slowly ascending moon.
Without much thought, Krisna entered. Scraps of equipment and metal formed huge heaps. Strangely, no foul stench lingered anywhere.
After wandering for a while, he found a gap. For some reason he crawled inside—and was astonished to find a truck with cushioned seats. The truck was buried under so much scrap. "I'm so lucky," Krisna thought.
That night he spent mulling over his strange first day.
Krisna had let go of his old life—he lived in the present and did not cling to the past.
He spent the night hungry but warm inside the truck.
---
The next day.
The sun reclaimed its throne. Clouds wandered across every inch of sky. The blue was dotted with strange circles.
Krisna still slept inside the truck. A harsh vibration woke him. With heavy eyes he peeked through a small gap.
It was a scrap truck. An orange truck with a flying car logo and "Orlandus" emblazoned on the door.
He stared hard at the scrap truck—the logo caught his attention. After the truck finished unloading and drove away, Krisna came out.
He looked around in every direction, searching for CCTV cameras to avoid being caught.
He examined every corner thoroughly; no small detail escaped him.
Now Krisna stood alone at the dumpsite. No one else was there. Only a few pigeons flew about.
Krisna searched for anything useful. His stomach growled, demanding food.
In his mind he said, "Screen... are you listening?"
———
Why? You miss me??
———
"No, I'm hungry. Can I exchange con for food?" he asked while hunting for useful items.
———
Sure, one moment...
———
———
-Bread----100 : 1×
-Water----50 : 1×
-Random seeds----150 : 1×
———
His gaze fell on the random seeds. "What's this?" he pointed at the random seeds.
———
Oh... just seeds.
———
Krisna squinted. "I'll take two breads, then."
———
-200
Remaining con 2,300.
———
———
Pleasure doing business with you.
———
Blue particle boxes assembled into a loaf. In an instant, bread formed in his hands.
He tilted his head slightly. "Can... this be eaten?" he asked.
———
Of course, you idiot. Why would I poison you? What would I gain?
———
"O-okay."
While chewing, he kept searching.
Twenty minutes later—
A bucket, a stick, rope, and a broken radio. Krisna gathered all the gear in front of his hideout. He put the radio in the truck.
He connected the stick and rope to a forked piece of metal until he had a makeshift hoe.
———
What... are you going to do with that hoe?
———
After finishing the hoe, he began digging. So focused, he ignored messages from the screen.
———
Hey! —
——
Krisna was a little startled. "Why?"
———
It's fine. Hmm.
———
He frowned. "By the way, do I have stats?"
———
Strength: 9
Stamina: 14
Vitality: 10
Intuition: 14
Perception: 10
Intelligence: 16
Luck: 11
Charisma: 15
———
After studying them for a moment, Krisna asked, "Can these be increased?"
———
Don't know.
———
"Hey..."
———
What?
———
"Are you sulking?"
———
Maybe. Find out yourself.
———
"Whaat?? "
---
From afar, pigeons perched on a building, surveying the world from above. Among their ranks, a white-haired girl with a pigeon on her shoulder looked at Krisna, a small smile on her face.