Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

Until Malin pulled his gaze away from the stars and let go of his yearning for the past.

"You like watching the stars; why is that? Are the stars really that beautiful?"

"Because when I was a kid, there was nothing else worth looking at. Sometimes, I got so bored that I’d start counting stars."

Malin spoke the truth. A long time ago, back when he was still a child, on the rooftop of the orphanage, he and... he and someone would do just that.

Doing something so foolish, yet relishing it endlessly.

Malin found that he had forgotten who else used to share in that boredom with him, but... it must have been a very close friend.

Thinking of this, Malin let out another sigh. Despite having achieved a legendary status, why had he forgotten who that person truly was? Could this be another interpretation of senility?

With such self-mockery in mind, Malin sat up.

"Counting stars... now that’s undiluted boredom you can see with the naked eye." Meng Quyi chuckled as she scratched her head, then tilted her gaze toward the stars again.

"And you? What do you do at night?" Malin pressed his hands against the wooden planks of the rooftop. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to ask, wanted to know an answer.

"Back in Thainan, when I was a child, I used to study War Witch crafts under my mentor. As my skills progressed, I grew up, and soon my peers started inviting me to join their banquets. You know what banquets signify—places brimming with all sorts of arrogant, ambitious young males chirping as tirelessly as sparrows." Meng Quyi sighed at this point. "For reasons unknown, they all seemed to like me, though I never liked them."

"I heard you’re a half-blood." Malin asked.