---
The stars in Astrell flickered softly that night, dotting the sky like distant fires. The outer fields were quiet, save for the occasional hoot of an owl or the rustle of grass in the wind.
The boy lay under a tree, arms folded behind his head, staring upward.
He had no name in this world.
No family.
No place he belonged.
But still, he lived.
Still, he walked.
He wondered what Ji-Hye thought when she saw him—if she even remembered. Maybe she just saw another face in the crowd.
But… he had seen something else in her eyes.
A flicker.
A moment of frozen breath.
She had recognized him.
---
Side Story: The Broken Statue
That morning, a panic broke out near the town temple. One of the ancient guardian statues—a massive stone lion—had cracked and toppled, pinning a child beneath its heavy paw.
"No magic is working!"
"It's cursed stone!"
"It'll crush him if we try to lift it!"
Dozens gathered in horror. The child's mother screamed in agony.
The boy stepped forward silently.
"Move," he said calmly.
The villagers looked at him in disbelief.
"You can't lift that alone—!"
But he didn't hesitate.
He crouched, slid his fingers beneath the massive stone, and—
Lifted it.
The stone rose like it weighed nothing.
Gasps echoed across the square.
He pulled the child out gently, then lowered the statue back down.
Everyone stared in silence.
"…How?" someone whispered.
He shrugged, brushing dust off his shirt. "It wasn't that heavy."
He walked away before anyone could ask more.
---
Later that evening, in the royal training yard, the six summoned heroes were gathered under the guidance of a battle instructor. Ji-Hye stood off to the side, sharpening her sword with focus.
Jin-Ho, the boy who had noticed him before, stood nearby.
"You've been quiet lately," Ji-Hye said without looking up.
"You saw him too, didn't you?" he asked.
She paused. Just for a second.
"…Who?"
"That guy. The one at the merchant hall. The one who saved that little girl. And that kid at the statue this morning."
Ji-Hye stayed quiet.
"I don't trust him," Jin-Ho said. "He's hiding something."
"Everyone's hiding something," she replied.
"He looks like he belongs here… but he doesn't. He walks like a farmer, but moves like a ghost."
Ji-Hye clenched her jaw.
She knew he was right.
But her heart wavered. She remembered the boy from her childhood—bruised hands, quiet eyes, crying silently in corners. The boy she didn't help.
Why is he here?
---
That night, as the boy returned from his quiet walk to the edge of the woods, he found someone waiting.
A figure in armor.
Ji-Hye.
She stood beneath the moonlight, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade, but she wasn't threatening.
Just still.
"I knew it was you," she said softly.
He didn't respond.
"You… died."
He nodded once. "I did."
"…How are you here?"
"I don't know."
Silence.
The wind blew gently through the field between them.
"I watched you leave," she said after a long pause. "That night. When Mom kicked you out."
He looked at her.
"You didn't say anything," he replied flatly.
"I know."
Another pause.
"I wanted to," she added. "But I was afraid."
He looked up at the stars. "It doesn't matter now."
"…Maybe not. But I remember."
She stepped closer.
"You're different," she said. "You feel different."
"I'm not a hero like you," he replied. "I'm just someone passing through."
"That statue. That child. The monsters. You're not normal."
He turned toward her fully now. His expression calm—but unreadable.
"I don't want to be noticed," he said. "Not in this world. Not again."
Ji-Hye's eyes softened. "But you've already been noticed."
---
Side Story: The Assassins in the Fog
The very next day, under heavy fog, a group of masked assassins attempted to infiltrate the guest estate where the summoned heroes slept. They moved like shadows—swift, silent, deadly.
The guards were taken down one by one.
But just before they reached the inner courtyard, something stopped them.
A single boy stood in their path, holding a broom.
"You should leave," he said.
They laughed.
One rushed forward with a blade.
And dropped instantly—unconscious, his weapon broken in half.
Another charged with poison-tipped darts.
He caught them midair. Blinked. Tossed them back.
Within moments, all seven assassins lay sprawled in the grass, groaning or unmoving.
He didn't even break a sweat.
He sighed and sat on a stone nearby, waiting until the guards arrived.
When asked what happened, he just said: "They slipped."
---
Back at the estate, Ji-Hye stood with crossed arms, looking out the window as guards carried off the attackers.
"You saved us again," she whispered.
Down in the garden, the boy watered a row of carrots.
The world didn't know his name.
The system had abandoned him.
But little by little…
The truth was beginning to show.
---
To be continued…