"What?" I said in surprise.
"Where are you from?" the guard repeated, his voice louder this time.
It had already been loud from the start, but now he raised it even higher.
"I… would rather not say," I replied.
The guard stared at me carefully. His eyes narrowed, then he said, "Is there a reason?"
"Of course, sir," I said. "But I cannot explain further."
"Hahaha!" the guard burst into laughter.
"Everyone knows the reason. Don't worry—in the City of Sunrise, there is no racism. You'll see for yourself. Go on in."
I moved forward, step by step, into the city.
Did that really just work?
I had invented something out of thin air.
And yet… it worked. How?
What if someone was watching me right now because of that nonsense I had said?
I should not have tried to improvise like that… but I truly did not know what name to give.
I walked several meters. The tunnel through the wall was long, perhaps five or six meters deep.
And when I emerged from it—
