"Compatriots? Who told you we were compatriots?"
A cold snort escaped from the dying man's lips. His eyes looked like those of a starving dog. The kind willing to tear its own owner's throat out just to survive.
"Don't look at me like that. Dogs that don't bite bark the loudest."
The boy crouched slightly, resting one arm on his knee.
"You don't trust me? Then ask me something."
The homeless-looking young man shut his eyes for a second before speaking slowly.
"Who discovered the law of gravity?"
"Newton."
"Which country defeated Nazi Germany?"
"…If I had to pick one? The Soviet Union."
"What caused World War One?"
"The assassination of the Austrian crown prince."
Silence.
Then the man finally exhaled.
"…Alright. I believe you're from Earth."
He paused briefly.
"One last question. What's your name?"
The boy smiled faintly.
"Ron Irus. And you?"
The man stared at him for two full seconds.
"…Ron Irus? No fucking way."
The street was nearly empty beneath the fading glow of sunset.
The evening light painted the old stone road in warm orange hues, carrying a strange kind of romance that reminded one of ancient Parisian streets. Above them stretched a cloudy sky that swallowed most of the stars, leaving only a dim moon faintly visible through the drifting mist.
Two figures walked side by side along the neatly paved road.
One was a brown-haired boy with slightly curled hair, dressed like the child of a middle-class family. Black shirt, dark gray coat, polished appearance. In his hand rested a black cane engraved with spiral-shaped golden patterns.
Beside him walked someone entirely different.
By modern standards, Quân either looked stylish as hell or completely broke. Possibly both.
His silver-dyed hair was slicked backward, though without gel it looked more messy than cool. He wore a black tank top and loose gray pants while clutching an absurd amount of grilled meat skewers in both hands, eating fast enough to suggest genuine survival instincts.
Who knew how long he had been starving?
Still, Quân remained careful. Eating too much after prolonged hunger was a wonderful way to make your stomach feel like it was being strangled from the inside. Humanity really loved abusing itself and then acting surprised when the body protested.
So he limited himself to finishing only the skewers in his left hand first.
Ron was the one who spoke first.
"So your name is Nguyễn Quang Quân?"
Quân nodded lazily while chewing.
"Yeah."
"Nineteen?"
"Mm."
The response sounded less like speech and more like an animal refusing to stop eating long enough for conversation.
"And you're Vietnamese?"
Quân kept chewing before mumbling:
"…How'd you guess?"
Ron chuckled.
"You know the 'Nguyễn Nation' joke, right? Nguyễn is basically Vietnam's national trademark."
"…That sounds mildly racist, but yeah. Anyway, I'm from 2025. Been here about two weeks."
After finishing the last skewer, Quân wiped the grease from his mouth and casually tossed the wooden sticks onto the street despite this clearly being a public walkway.
Some things transcended worlds. Littering, apparently, was one of them.
"Oh? I'm from 2024 myself. Pretty close timeline-wise."
Quân glanced sideways at Ron several times, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"You've been here a year already? Rough life, huh? Still… judging by your clothes compared to everyone else around here, you're doing pretty well for yourself."
He scratched his cheek.
"Lucky bastard. That kind of luck matters a lot when you're still going through puberty."
Ron's expression shifted ever so slightly.
"A year?"
He shook his head.
"No. You misunderstood."
The wind grew colder.
"I've lived here for over fifteen years."
Quân stopped walking.
"And unlike you…"
Ron's golden eyes turned toward him.
"I was reincarnated."
A brief pause.
"You were transported."
"…?"
Quân's body stiffened instantly.
The curiosity in his eyes vanished almost immediately, replaced by something far more cautious.
Fear.
'This bastard could be lying.'
'No… that's not the problem.'
'If he really carries memories from another life, then he could fabricate an entire personality around them.'
'He'd understand modern values. Psychology. Trust.'
'He could manipulate people slowly without them even noticing.'
Quân's fingers twitched slightly.
People like that were worse than monsters.
Without realizing it, he took half a step backward.
Fragments of their first meeting surfaced inside his head again.
Back then, Ron had checked his watch while pretending to stay patient. Silent pressure. The kind that made other people suffocate on their own nerves. His lips moved slightly before switching to sign language instead. He inhaled deeply without exhaling, while one foot subtly shifted position like he was preparing to do something extreme at any moment.
To be safe, Quân had thrown a broken brick first just to test him.
The result had been… deeply concerning.
At first, Quân thought Ron was merely the type who looked dangerous on the outside. The kind you could still send to buy groceries without issue.
But after only a few conversations, it felt like there was something underneath Ron's skin pretending to be human.
And that was infinitely worse.
Ron suddenly walked toward the bridge railing overlooking the river.
Leaning against it, he spoke in a calm, almost mechanical tone.
"Hehe… relax."
His eyes remained fixed on the dark water below.
"I'm not like you."
The wind stirred softly around them.
"Yes, I was reincarnated. But I don't remember my previous identity."
He tapped the cane lightly against the stone ground.
"I don't remember my name. My family. My life."
Another pause.
"But I remember knowledge."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Lessons. Skills. Fragments of emotions."
"And memories that don't even feel like they belonged to me."
Quân frowned hard.
"…So you lost your personal memories but kept experience and information?"
"The hell kind of setting is that? You making this shit up?"
Despite his suspicion, he slowly sat down near the bridge anyway, leaning against a nearby pillar to rest.
Running around immediately after eating was objectively stupid behavior. Human beings were very committed to self-inflicted suffering.
Ron merely smiled faintly.
"To be honest, my life wasn't some overpowered fantasy."
He looked up at the cloudy sky.
"I used to be treated like a mentally disabled child."
"…That explains a surprising amount, actually."
Ron laughed softly.
"Fair enough."
Then his expression gradually became calmer.
"Này, Quân."
His voice turned quieter.
"Do you want to return to Earth?"
Quân froze for two seconds.
Memories surfaced faintly in his mind.
A tiny apartment.
A glowing phone screen.
Late-night exhaustion.
Nothing vivid enough to feel precious anymore.
Eventually, he clicked his tongue.
"…I don't know."
Ron blinked once.
Rain began falling shortly afterward.
Tiny droplets struck against their clothes and the stone bridge beneath them.
Ron glanced upward before tapping his cane twice against the ground.
Tap.
The black cane suddenly unfolded into a dark umbrella lined with muted golden metalwork.
He tilted it over both of them.
Because he was shorter than Quân by nearly half a head, Ron had to rise slightly onto his toes to make it work properly.
"Then…"
His voice remained calm.
"I don't really have anything else to say."
He adjusted the umbrella slightly.
"But for now, come to my place first."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"At the very least, getting cleaned up wouldn't hurt."