(Six hours ago.)
I felt a nudge on my shoulder, and my eyelids slowly opened. The first thing that came into my field of vision was the skewed seats of a skewed train.
Right... I had taken the train to Wiathen last time. But… why did I wake up? And I'm sure I didn't take a pillow with me.
"Uh, I was wondering if you could move over a little bit."
When I heard a voice coming from my pillow that shouldn't exist, I just looked to the side and then locked eyes with a boy with ghostly gray eyes.
Then I realized that my 'pillow' was actually this boy's shoulder.
"I- I apologize..."
I retreated from my seat in an instant, angry with myself.
How did I get into this situation…?
"No problem."
After this short and flat answer, which I never expected to receive, I couldn't help but be dumbfounded. Because after these two words, the boy turned around and focused out the window.
Normally when people see me, they stutter, get scared, or start apologizing for no reason. Thanks to my family and my power, I'm a bit of a celebrity, so I'm pretty sure he knows who I am.
I studied him briefly to see if he was pretending, but I couldn't find a tremor or any sign that he was really pretending. Then I remembered those colorless, gray eyes that I had seen right after I woke up, and suddenly recalled them.
I had to leave the field after the duel, so I didn't see it happen in person, but there were rumors about a boy who had been the talk of the first week at the academy.
Rumors of a boy who was as knowledgeable as the professors in almost all the classes, strong enough to defeat a 'professor' even though he had limited his power for the students, ordinary looking and with colorless gray eyes.
His name was...
"You... Was your name Aiden?"
The boy turned to me with a look of utter confusion on his face, but I ignored it and looked him in the eye as I poured mana into my passive skill.
Sixth Sense, which I had recently managed to raise to grade C, started to work to its full potential, especially when I poured mana into it, and I suddenly got the impression that the person in front of me was unnecessarily weak.
"Yes?"
He nodded, but disappointment was already written all over my face.
If he was really like the rumors, then I thought it was definitely a good idea to try to convince him to join the guild, but he's not even average...
"I apologize again, I just had something on my mind."
To avoid being in a situation like the one I had just been in, I slid into the already empty seat number thirty and turned on my watch to pass the time.
Then I realized that my eyes were slowly closing on their own, and the deep sleep that had overtaken me whenever I boarded the magnetic trains was back.
I turned off my watch when sleep started to creep in, then leaned my seat back very slightly, but before I gave myself over to sleep, I looked to the side for no reason.
This boy, whose name was Aiden, had closed his eyes like me and seemed to be asleep as if nothing had just happened.
Although he had a rather ordinary face, I felt strange when I remembered his gray eyes.
I turned back in front of me, about to give myself over to sleep, but it didn't take long for me to feel that something was… different.
Just as I closed my eyes, a strange sensation enveloped my whole body, and then I shivered involuntarily. All my sleep was shattered in an instant, and my eyes flew open.
It was coming from the boy sleeping next to me.
My skill, which I had possessed since childhood, was making me feel something completely alien, something I had never encountered before in this world.
I could not define the feeling as good or bad, safe or dangerous.
I was confused as if I smelled something I had never smelled before, as if it did not belong to this world; as if I had encountered a color that I had never seen before in my life, not in the visible spectrum.
This thing I felt... This boy is responsible, I am sure of it.
Could it be that the source of his much-talked-about intelligence and power is something that does not belong to this world? Is that why I thought he was so weak at first?
It's the first time that my skill has made me feel something so clearly… incomprehensible. There is definitely something about him.
This strange feeling I experienced for the first time was confusing me and preventing me from sleeping properly, but when I realized that I was getting a headache, I forcibly tried to stop my passive skill from working. That way, the feeling slowly disappeared and I felt relaxed again.
Everything was back to normal, but I still remembered that feeling that I would probably never forget.
In these thoughts, my eyelids slowly began to close as the thing that was preventing me from sleeping disappeared. Sleep came again and I allowed myself to drift off to it, continuing to think about what secrets the boy who had just caused that strange feeling might have.
Maybe... maybe he really is important enough that we should recruit him to our guild.
*******
My eyelids fluttered open at the announcement on the train, and I realized we had arrived at our destination.
I yawned slightly, then slowly sat up.
For a moment I remembered the feeling I had felt just before I fell asleep, curiosity gripped my whole body.
I slowly turned around, looking at the source of the alien feeling. With that, our eyes met and I involuntarily frowned.
"What's wrong? I'm just looking ahead."
I've never been scolded by anyone in my life, and no one has ever dared to frown at me, but now this boy is doing this...
Is it possible that he doesn't know me? Or... Does he know me and act like this even though he is so weak?
That's what I was thinking, but then it dawned on me... That alien feeling I had... Could it be that this boy is really strong? So much so that he can see me as nothing…?
Then... maybe he might actually be useful.
"I'm sorry..."
I turned back in front of me and just three seconds later, we received a notification that we had reached our destination.
I actually wanted to talk to him. I wanted to check if he was really strong. I wanted to make sure he was someone we could use in the future. This curiosity gripped my whole body, but I restrained myself.
Because I had come here for a purpose and it was already too late. I didn't have time for him.
I put the boy named Aiden out of my mind for the time being to investigate him later, and then quickly mingled with the crowd, grabbed a taxi, and headed for the Wiathen Auction Hall.
Even though I was a bit late due to the city traffic, I arrived at my destination without any problems. Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the imposing building. After paying the entrance fee without any problem, I headed inside. My goal was to participate in today's auction, which would start soon.
But... something happened that I didn't expect. That alien feeling, that thing that my skill made me feel on the train, suddenly came back.
I turned around reflexively and looked in the direction of the feeling.
I wanted to be sure, I tried to see the source of this feeling, and I did.
I saw Aiden, the boy wearing the same clothes I saw on the train, walking into a bar not far from here.
Why did he go in there? Is it an acquaintance's place or something? Then I'll have to keep that in mind when I'm going to investigate him.
I was lost in my own imagination. I was looking at the bar where Aiden had entered, but then someone standing behind me started yelling and I involuntarily came to my senses.
I was standing in front of the line and the people behind me were waiting for me.
"What are you waiting for, walk!"
A woman shouted angrily at me and I turned back to her.
I was going to apologize, but then I heard her muttering.
"Tch, what stupid people here."
Our eyes met after she said those words in a voice I could specifically hear.
I am the one at fault for standing in the middle of the line... I realize that, and I was really going to apologize but… I hate people like that the most.
I narrowed my eyes, then looked hard and cold at the shouting woman. When she saw me, especially my face which was recognizable, her face fell and her eyes widened.
"I... I apologize..."
Yes, that's how people reacted when they met me. It didn't matter if they were rich, powerful, or indifferent... Almost everyone in this kingdom was afraid of my family.
I looked back at the sign that said Riala Bar, then turned away with a sigh.
What am I doing? Even if I wonder what that alien feeling is, I'm about to attend an important auction, I need to focus.
"Pay a little more attention next time."
With that, I cleared my mind, quickly entered the building, and participated in the auction that started only a few minutes later.