6th arrondissement, Rue de Verdun, Paris
The afternoon was sunny and warm, with the sun hanging high in the sky. Its light illuminated everything, making it clear that it was the source of all the heat.
A lady was walking on the footpath by the street. Her skin was as fair as a fairy's; anyone with eyes could tell that she was quite the beauty. She had long blonde hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. Her face was pretty with pursed lips, a high-end nose, and watery, unfocused eyes that made anyone notice her absent-mindedness. Her black eyelashes were thick and long, her eyebrows matching her hair. Her grey eyes looked around and saw a long row of cars parked on the other side of the somewhat narrow street.
She wore a brown-black gown with a few pieces of jewellery on her wrist and neck. As she continued walking, she passed by many people, most of them elderly. After walking for some time, she let out a long sigh and made a regretful and worried expression.
"I really should not have come here in such a hurry," she thought, followed by another sigh. Her name was Kalamine Patrin, a Bachelor of Computer Science. She was born and raised in Belgium and had completed her studies at the University of Ghent, a college in Brussels. She had been eager to leave her country and work abroad, and in the end, she chose Paris. However, she had made no plans before coming and booked a plane ticket with the "I'll think of a plan after getting there" mentality.
Upon landing here, she had been filled with enthusiasm and excitement over the idea of living alone, earning her own money, and starting a new life. But two months had already passed, and she had yet to find a job. All the money she had brought was close to being fully spent. She was in a worried, panicked, and regretful mood all the time.
"Should I try to become a model? Everyone back home always complimented me on my looks and beauty." This idea had been in her mind for a long time, and she knew she could become a model with her beauty, but getting into the industry was easy with connections (which she didn't have), while getting out could be very hard. She had no intention of going against her dreams.
She turned left at an intersection and looked at the houses, which were of medium or small size, and let out another sigh of exhaustion and regret.
As she kept walking, still lost in thought, she suddenly startled when she noticed the grass in the backyard of the house she was passing suddenly shake, as if a snake or animal was hiding there. But the grass stopped shaking shortly afterward, and she sighed in relief and continued her walk.
"I am sighing a lot these days," she reflected. Behind her, from the backyard of the house she had just passed, a light-green liquid with dark-green—almost black—particles floating in it emerged. The liquid turned its "head" to look at Kalamine walking away, as if it had a life of its own. It shook upon seeing her figure slowly receding and shaped itself into a leech. With a huge leap, it reached her back, grabbed her dress, crawled to her waist, and passed through the fabric as if it did not even exist, entering her body.
During this whole process, Kalamine didn't feel a thing and kept walking normally as before.
"Gurgle!"
Her stomach suddenly made a growling sound, indicating that she was hungry. Kalamine was first embarrassed; her face turned red with shame. She looked around and made sure no one was nearby.
Even as a carefree and nonchalant lady, she still cared about basic etiquette, and having her stomach growl so loudly in the middle of the road was definitely not etiquette in any form. After confirming no one around could have heard her stomach cry, she sighed in relief as her embarrassment faded bit by bit.
"I'm pretty sure I had lunch just a few hours ago, and I stuffed my mouth with all kinds of food to lower my stress. How am I so hungry again!?" she thought as she raised her pale, white right hand to her stomach and rubbed it a little.
"Come to think of it, I am getting quite hungry. I should eat something before returning home and continuing to look for work. Every second matters. What if I miss a chance that someone else takes because I'm wasting time!" She decided in her mind, motivated herself not to waste time or money, and continued her quest to find a job.
She sped up her pace and soon found a small restaurant run by an old couple and their children. She sat down in a very respectful and civilized manner at an empty table and picked up the menu in front of her. The more she looked at the options, the more her hunger increased, until it reached a point where she felt it wasn't just her stomach that wanted food but her entire body.
Every part of her body seemed to have a life of its own now, making her hungrier by the second. Every part was like a hungry monster that hadn't eaten for months, finally in front of food after starving for so long.
The hunger continued to grow, and Kalamine tried to control her body and persevere. She couldn't decide what to eat because she was too hungry; she felt she could eat anything right now. She looked at the cute young girl in front of her, called her with her sweet voice, and ordered one of everything on the menu.
The girl was shocked but didn't question her and told her to wait a while since it was a huge order. Kalamine nodded and sat quietly in her seat.
As if like a dog told to quiet down and wait for its food, Kalamine's body suppressed the hunger to a huge extent after the order was placed. Kalamine, who had been about to start shaking from hunger, felt relieved, relaxed, and even happy that it had subsided.
After thirty minutes her food arrived, and her table was filled with delicacies: La Poule au Pot (chicken served with potatoes and vegetables), Baba au Rhum (a cylindrical sweet soaked in sugar syrup usually flavoured with rum and filled with cream), La Galette des Rois (puff pastry filled with frangipane, a sweet almond cream—sometimes chocolate or apple), Omelette de la Mère Poulard (a souffléd omelette with added crème fraîche).
That was not all; there were also classic French pastries like macarons and crêpes, savoury dishes like escargot and croque monsieur, and the ever-present baguette. All of this made her salivate; she gulped multiple times. Her body, which had suppressed its hunger for the last thirty minutes, suddenly erupted. She rushed to grab the food and started to eat—no, devour it—making the others around her feel as if she hadn't eaten in days. After three hours, she finished, and finally, the hunger in her body was controlled. She felt relieved, with all her stress gone. She wanted to burp right then and there, but remembered her etiquette and held it in.
The cute young girl came to her and handed her the bill. Kalamine used all her effort to stand straight, and when she looked at the bill, her eyes widened in shock; sadness and regret filled her heart.
...
Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow
Eric Heisenberg and Max Water Charles in suits, Ruby Whiteheart and Zoe Kolin in beautiful dresses, finally reached the airport in a taxi they had booked.
This airport was 17 miles away from the Khamovniki District where they lived, and it had taken hours to reach by taxi, but it was nonetheless the nearest airport from which they could fly to Paris.
Max was, as always, very energetic and running around the place while Zoe tried to catch him and stop him. Ruby was browsing in the nearby shops. Eric was silently sitting on a bench with his eyes closed, lips slightly pursed. He was waiting for their flight, which still had one hour left.
Just as he sat silently, thinking about what he should do after reaching Paris, an ethereal voice echoed in his mind. It seemed to come straight from his soul.
"Be careful." The voice vanished as quickly as it came—like a whisper he could hear very clearly. From the outside, he showed no reaction or sudden movement. It was clear he was used to this voice.
He opened his eyes, looked to his left, and started to deduce the meaning of the message.
"Be careful? So there will be dangers in Paris. As expected—no matter where these visions and voices lead me, there is always danger." He heaved a sigh and continued thinking. "The only problem is that the voice and visions are always vague and give little information, forcing me to deduce everything. The core of the warning just now was simply to be careful. If the voice—which rarely speaks—has personally given me a warning, it indicates that the danger in Paris will be extremely great, with death or worse looming over me all the time, ready to pounce at any moment. So I not only need to prepare ahead but also stay wary of my surroundings and take every action after much thought, leaving enough backdoors to escape in case I fall into a trap or need to flee a fight or ambush. Hmm... I will first settle down in Paris and start collecting information. After becoming a police officer, gathering information will be even easier." He deduced the warning and planned his course of action upon reaching Paris. He was fully confident about passing the test and becoming a police officer.
He stood up silently and looked up at the big black screen displaying plane names, their destinations on the right, and arrival times.
Eric's pursed lips curled into a smile as he spoke in a soft tone.
"This journey is going to be an exciting one."