Since Anas's childhood, he had always read and learned anything he found along his path, no matter how trivial, as long as it pleased him. He did not care about the usefulness of what he learned, because deep down he knew a time would come when what he had acquired would benefit him—or perhaps not. But he never really cared; it was all the same to him.
So when he realized that Naivy could not read, it struck him as strange.
"Well, now going home has become necessary."
Naivy stared at him, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks as her eyes darted between Anas and the ground.
"W–why? Is it a problem that I can't read? I know letters and words, I just can't understand some difficult words, and I never had the chance to read books because I never had the money."
"It doesn't matter. We'll go home. I have plenty of books because I used to buy them whenever I found them for a low price. Come on, let's go."
Anas spoke in a flat tone, as if commenting on today's weather, ignoring Naivy's words entirely.
Naivy was about to open her mouth to protest, but she saw in Anas's eyes that she had no choice. She had witnessed how he returned for the monster's remains without hesitation, so she knew changing his mind without a convincing reason was impossible.
Speaking of the monster's remains, Naivy was curious about what Anas had obtained from it. She had many questions, but Anas had already started walking.
Naivy moved her small feet as quickly as she could to keep up with him and walked by his side.
Anas noticed this, and with that, she had passed the test of loyalty. Even though Anas had not cared much about it in the first place. It was merely his habit to grant people a high level of trust until they proved otherwise, and once they did… let's say, bad things happened.
It had become instinctive for him, carried out by his mind without consent. But the restlessness of his mind, though annoying, was extremely useful in many situations. Annoying and useful at the same time.
He called it "the cursed blessing."
Suddenly, he realized he had begun to drift off and bit his tongue.
'Damn it, do I want to die? I don't mind as long as I die while thinking, but I haven't yet satisfied my curiosity about this world! This is annoying!' Anas thought irritably about this cursed ability given to him by time.
Naivy had no idea what was happening inside Anas's head; she only saw someone maintaining calm.
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Night had already fallen outside, but thanks to Anas's vision, he could see well, even distant places as if they were close.
Of course, his enhanced vision was limited, but far better than normal sight.
He could see the highest point of the wall gate, which rose about fifty meters above the ground, as if it were nearby, and as he looked further upward, the distance began to feel greater.
'So my limit is fifty meters? That's a bit annoying, (sigh) but there's nothing to be done.'
Naivy, walking beside him, heard his sigh, took a deep breath, and finally decided to ask him. This was the right moment.
"Anas."
Anas turned toward her and gazed into her eyes, noticing a gleam. Yes, he knew that gleam.
It was curiosity.
Seeing him turn, Naivy continued.
"Why did your eye glow red? And… why were you carrying a weapon just now? Were you planning to attack them?"
Anas tilted his head slightly, staring at Naivy.
He had three options: tell the truth, lie, or tell half the truth.
He thought for a moment, knowing that Naivy did not want to invade his privacy at this moment or ask about his abilities; she was only asking about his motives to understand him before passing judgment.
"The eye is something I gained from the monster's remains, and the sword… even I don't yet know where it came from. But what I do know is that it probably caused my previous pain."
The girl stared into his pink eyes briefly, as if searching for something—tension, deceit—because she had become adept at reading people from so much observation and exposure to deceit. Life had been her only teacher, and life is both the worst and best teacher: it tests you, teaches you lessons, slaps you repeatedly without explanation, but you never forget any lesson. This time, however, she found nothing in Anas's dark eyes.
In the end, he truly knew only this information, so it could not be considered a lie.
"If that's what you say, I believe you."
Anas stopped amid the ruins, looked into Naivy's eyes, then continued walking. Naivy followed him.
She had earned his respect; few appreciated withholding everything at once and understood that everything would be revealed in its own time.
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As they moved through the ruins, Anas guided Naivy through the dilapidated buildings and shadows, using the night's darkness and his enhanced eye to choose the safest and best path.
Naivy managed to keep pace.
Perhaps it was due to the nature of the life she had lived.
What impressed Anas most was her careful steps, silent and precise.
'It seems living in the slums has its advantages, at least from what I see,' Anas thought, glancing at Naivy occasionally.
In truth, Anas had momentarily forgotten his desire to hunt that monster—or so it seemed. He observed every monster he saw, analyzed it, but was cautious to avoid danger that could also threaten Naivy. That was something to avoid.
The problem was, he felt no threat from them. He didn't know if the flaw was in them or in himself.
Not to mention, every time he saw a monster, he imagined numerous ways to kill it, even if it meant losing a limb or sustaining injury.
His mind created quick battles in his head, gathering information about them.
Naivy noticed and monitored every movement of Anas, to the point that she began mimicking him unconsciously, making their progress through the ruins appear professional… until she felt a familiar sensation, cold sweat running down her body. She was startled to see that Anas had led them toward a broken wall, casting a shadow on the ground and making the place darker.
Anas had already sensed a strange figure, but this time it made him uneasy. He did not feel threatened; rather, he noticed the absence of monsters for several meters, then found one walking as if it cared for nothing. If that wasn't suspicious, what was?
So he pulled himself and Naivy under the wall, slowed his breathing, which slowed his heartbeat, and erased all expression from his face. Naivy felt as if Anas… had disappeared?
She could see him, yet it seemed as if he were not there. As if life had vanished from his eyes, leaving only two dark glassy orbs in a frozen statue, with his chest rise and breath barely noticeable.
She remembered his words about hiding like animals, and it seemed she was now witnessing the application firsthand. She began to emulate him herself, merging her prior experience with her ability to mimic, doing almost exactly what Anas did, though with some difficulty. The important part was that the life seemed to leave her eyes slightly, then she felt something pull her and gasped.
It was Anas's hand covering her mouth and nose, allowing her to breathe just a little, pulling her toward him. The girl froze, her body rigid, but he did not care; there was no time to teach her to hide properly now.
Before Naivy could understand anything, a familiar hoof fell right in front of her, very close. Then that hollow eye appeared, like an abyss attached to the creature's skull. But this time, the equation was different; the one with her was eccentric in its own right.
As soon as the eye appeared, Anas thrust his hand swiftly into it without thinking, forcing the monster to pull back its head violently, dragging Anas with it, swinging his head in all directions while screaming.
His scream sounded like a rasp from hell.
Naivy stared, unable to comprehend what had happened.
'Did he attack it directly?!'
No sane person would do such a thing. She had seen everyone freeze just from seeing it, yet Anas attacked it directly, making her reinterpret what "sane" meant.
Anas did not let the monster escape; he pushed his hand deeper whenever he could, gripping the edge of the eye socket with his left hand to prevent being thrown away.
Strangely, he felt no resistance from the monster's eye; it felt hollow, no blood splattered, just emptiness.
Then…
He felt something cold in his hand.
He didn't hesitate, realizing that it was an extension of his hand, something that belonged to him—which meant it was the sword, or at least that's what he believed.
He pushed his hand deeper, feeling something break, making the monster's screams louder and movements more violent. But…
Fortunately, Anas's hand was short, and the sword was short as well.
'I won't let you escape just like that, bastard!'
It wasn't his genes in his hand, but this opportunity was in his grasp: either he wasted it and died, or used it and changed the outcome.
He reversed his grip on the blade and raised it upward.
He felt slight resistance for a moment before…
Crack… click-click-tap!
The monster's head began to crack from the side of its horn above the eye, then shattered. Anas's arm shot out, propelled by the monster's head movement, but he stabbed the short sword into the ground to reduce friction. However… the sword pierced the ground with relative ease, forcing Anas backward until his shoe tore from the friction.
The monster also sustained heavy damage to its face, a large gap near its horn.
For a moment, Anas stared, then saw a wave of black form and quickly ducked.
When he lifted his head, the building behind him had split in half.
The monster had bled profusely from the split after his attack, screamed loudly, and began fleeing.
Naivy watched everything, then slowly approached Anas to check on him, but he pulled her inside the house quickly and shut the door.
Moments later, footsteps and deep snoring could be heard moving in the same direction the monster had fled.
When the footsteps disappeared, he returned to his normal state, leaning against the wall. The black sword had already vanished from his hand.
"Can you continue walking, or should I help you?"
"No need to continue walking."
Naivy stared at him in confusion. Why not continue? Anas was the strangest person she had ever met, breaking all the patterns she had imagined about people in a few moments. But Anas had not said it carelessly.
"We're already at my house."