"Did I… get lost?"
A few hours later. I was somewhere in a residential district — well-kept gardens, large houses lining the streets. A tall wall rose behind the buildings.
I was inside the wall at Marten's center. The so-called noble quarter.
Lost was a slight exaggeration. The main road was out there somewhere, and once I found it I'd be out easily. The situation wasn't dire — just inconvenient. I'd wandered into a tightly arranged residential area and getting back out was going to take a little time.
I looked around. Birdsong. The noise of the market and the main avenue might as well have belonged to a different world. A stillness hung over this place as if it had been set apart from everything else, and there was something oddly pleasant about it.
That said, I couldn't just wander here indefinitely.
I kept walking, looking for the main road, and noticed a demikind figure sitting alone in the garden of one of the houses. Seated in a garden chair, eyes closed.
Almost the moment I spotted him, he opened his eyes.
Grey skin. Long white hair. A long beard. The first race I'd seen since arriving that I couldn't place. Hexagonal-like markings patterned his skin. He had noticed me.
I was about to pass the house when he spoke.
"You there — the human traveler."
I stopped, probably looking visibly flustered.
"Y-yes?"
"If you have time to spare, would you sit with an old man for a while? Sitting here alone gets dull."
He had the bearing of someone with considerable standing, but his tone was that of someone just genuinely bored. I wasn't in any rush, and I could ask him for directions to the main road once we'd talked.
"Of course — if you don't mind me."
"Thank you. No need to stand in the garden — come inside."
I followed him in.
---
The interior was clearly the home of someone of rank. Decorations placed with care throughout — not excessive, but chosen with intention. The overall palette ran toward dark tones, giving the rooms a composed and understated atmosphere.
Inside the entrance stood a young demikind woman.
My eyes went to her clothes first. A simple, practical outfit underneath a thin apron that covered most of her front — something like a traditional work coat. Her appearance was close to human, but her skin was a faint bluish-white, her hair a blue-violet cut short. On either side of her head, dark blue-black horns curved forward, following the shape of her skull, undulating slightly.
Her eyes were open just enough, and her expression gave away very little.
If she were human, I'd have put her at sixteen or seventeen. But my first impression had been of a grown woman — something in her manner, and the way the apron-like garment carried itself, read as older than her face.
"Master — have you brought a guest?"
"Yes. Would you show him to the sitting room? I'll be along in a moment."
The woman inclined her head. "Of course. This way, please."
She led me to a sitting room.
---
Chairs and a table, decoration present but restrained — the same quiet atmosphere as the entrance. The table was a dark brown wood, polished to a low shine that caught the room's light without quite reflecting it.
"Please make yourself comfortable. I won't be long."
I sat in the indicated chair. She went through a door at the far end and into the next room.
The chair matched the table in wood and color. The seat had a cushioned cover and was genuinely comfortable — the best chair I'd sat in since coming to this world.
I was looking around the room when the far door opened again. The elder entered, the woman behind him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
He took his seat. The woman placed two teacups and two small plates on the table — the cups already filled with tea, the plates with cookies. She'd prepared them in advance.
"I should have introduced myself sooner. I am Riyuudo. And this is—"
He turned toward her.
"I am Riyo. I attend to Master Riyuudo."
She bowed deeply.
I stood up quickly. "Ah — I'm Yohei. It's good to meet you both."
"Likewise. Please, help yourself to the tea and sweets — no need to stand on ceremony."
I was tense from the formality of it all. Riyuudo's voice settled something in the room.
"Then — thank you."
I brought the cup to my lips. A comfortable temperature, not too hot, with a taste like unsweetened black tea and a mild astringency. I tried a cookie next. Firm — it made a satisfying sound when I bit into it — and sweeter than I expected, with something almost fruity in it. The sweetness seemed designed to work against the tea's bitterness, and it did; I kept reaching for more without meaning to.
"Did Riyo make these? They're genuinely delicious. I could eat them indefinitely."
At that, Riyo's expression shifted — just briefly, a flicker of something.
"I'm very glad you find them to your liking…"
Unless I was imagining it, something softened around her mouth.
"Good, isn't it? Yes, yes." Riyuudo watched the two of us in turn with obvious satisfaction.
Then I noticed: Riyo was standing. Had been the whole time.
She was an attendant — standing was probably standard. But I wasn't used to it, and it nagged at me.
"What is it, Yohei?"
Riyuudo had caught my expression.
"It's nothing, just — Riyo has been standing this whole time, and I thought she might be more comfortable sitting."
Riyo's eyes opened slightly wider.
I caught up with myself a moment too late. Against the customs of this world, that had probably been an odd thing to say.
Riyuudo made a quiet sound — a considering sort of hm — then turned to her. "Riyo. Sit."
"Yes. Thank you."
She sat in the chair beside Riyuudo. There was a brief moment that felt like it might become awkward, but it passed without incident.
"Well then." Riyuudo's voice dropped a register. "Shall we talk."
He folded his hands on the table and let his gaze settle downward, as if on something only he could see.