Growing up in a single-parent home, Ryan had helped his mom chop firewood and cook since he was little. It had made him tough, and even after suffering such an injustice, he figured he could accept it.

He’d been through worse than this. He could curl up in a corner for the night. As long as tomorrow’s Element Awakening ceremony gave him a decent affinity, he’d still find a way to earn money and survive. All he could do was hope for a chance at a good elemental affinity tomorrow.

Wait, they didn’t take my token, did they...?

Anxiously, Ryan felt behind himself for the silver token he’d hidden there. His fingers met cold metal, and he let out a sigh of relief. At least those two had some conscience—they hadn’t stolen it. Though if they had, he would’ve pursued the matter to the end. To those of high rank, the tokens carried a strong aura of the four basic elements. If one went missing, they could surely track it down.

Those two were pretty smart, at least...

The matter of the Element Awakening ceremony was settled, but a deeper question rose in young Ryan’s heart.

Was there really no such thing as absolute trust between people? Did they have to scheme against each other just to survive?

Was what Mom had told him really wrong?

Ryan didn’t dare say anything. He didn’t dare ask, either.

At his age, he could never figure out those questions or make sense of them. So he curled up, covered himself with some scraps of cardboard from a nearby corner, and tried to sleep. Going to bed early was the only way to escape the night’s cold and the storm that was about to break.

But just as Ryan was about to fall asleep, cold raindrops began soaking into his skin one by one. The icy sensation seemed to seep right into his bones, filling him with pain and jolting him out of his drowsy state. He braced himself against the downpour, ready to try sleeping again.

Then came the sharp pangs of hunger from his stomach. The double torment of body and mind nearly brought Ryan to tears, but he didn’t cry out. He had no right to. If he yelled on a night like this, no one would feel sorry for him. They’d only curse him for disturbing their sleep. So he had no choice but to endure the pain alone.

Ryan struggled to sit up and faced the outside, quietly staring ahead. No one should come to a place like this. If he couldn’t sleep, he might as well let his mind wander.

But to Ryan’s surprise, a petite figure appeared at the mouth of the alley. She looked like a little girl.

She wore a blue-and-white cotton dress, and a strand of golden hair peeked out at her temple. Her pale blue pupils narrowed slightly, making her eyes look almost like a cat’s. Even in the dark of night, those two features stood out. She came padding over with catlike steps, apparently chasing something.

Her skin was so smooth and fair, too. She must’ve been a pretty little noble girl. An ordinary girl wouldn’t have skin that lovely. Ryan just couldn’t figure out why she was hiding her face under a hat and mask. He scratched his head, utterly baffled. After thinking it over for a few seconds...

Ryan stopped thinking.

No matter how pretty the girl was or how high her status, what did any of it have to do with him? He was just a commoner with nothing to his name. He couldn’t possibly hope to catch her attention. There was no way she’d be interested in a guy who couldn’t even afford a meal and had to sleep in a corner.

Forget it. He’d see what she was chasing. It looked like some kind of little creature. He’d catch it for her so she’d hurry off and stop bothering him while he tried to sleep.

......