Breaking out of his thoughts, Leon focused on the girl in front of him. She wore a tattered gown, patched mostly in plain white, with pieces of different-colored cloth sewn in — likely a quick repair job. Her face was covered in dirt and soot, her black hair clumsily cut down to shoulder length.
Leon was confused about what to do. His first instinct was to shove her away and scream,
"Who are you??"
But he held it in — he didn't know this girl, but by the look in her eyes, she clearly knew who he was. Maybe... maybe he could get information out of her.But how? That's what bugged him.
He couldn't just say,
"Hey there, I just happened to transmigrate into this body and don't know where I am or who you are — could you help me, please?"
Wait… wait… maybe... this could work.
Leon suddenly let out a painful wail and clutched his head.
By this time, others had already gathered around him. Seeing him cry out in pain, one of them spoke up:
"Stop it, Lisa! You're hurting him!"
Lisa — the girl who had been pressing him for answers — panicked and let go of Leon's shoulders, raising her hands.
"I'm sorryyy! I'm sorry, Leon! Are you hurt??"
Her voice was still as loud as before.
Still clutching his head, Leon made his voice sound as painful as possible."No… it's not your fault… it's just… my head hurts like crazy. It's been like this since I woke up."
Lisa looked surprised."Woke up?? Have you been sleeping in that trash field for four hours??"
Leon clenched his teeth, rubbing his forehead."I don't know... was I sleeping there or not? I just woke up to dogs fighting nearby and got scared, so I ran here... ohh… ouch..."
He screamed at the end of his sentence.
Lisa looked at him worriedly. She tried to reach for his head but, seeing how much pain he was in, hesitated and pulled back.
"What happened, Leon??"
Leon gritted his teeth."I don't know… I just tried to remember what happened, and it got worse. I don't even remember who I am."
His words shocked everyone.
Lisa, being the closest to him, blurted out,"DO YOU REMEMBER ME?? I'm LISA!"
Leon let out another painful grunt, clutching his head even tighter.
A boy stepped forward, shoving Lisa gently aside."Lisa, stop it. Can't you see he's hurt?"
He looked around and pointed to another boy."Roan, go get some water for Leon."
Roan darted off with quick feet and returned seconds later, holding a clay bowl filled with water.
Leon gulped it down. The water rushed through his dry throat and made him feel briefly rejuvenated — but the feeling vanished just as quickly. The bowl, though it looked large, had a big chunk of its lip broken off and held much less water.
Seeing Leon's face still parched with thirst, Roan snatched the broken bowl from his hands and ran off again. He returned with another bowl of water.
This time, Leon drank slowly. Satisfied, he placed the bowl down.
"You need more?" Roan asked in his childish voice.
By the look of it, he was the youngest of them all — even younger than Leon's current body.
"No thanks," Leon replied, and couldn't help but pat the boy on the head.
Everyone looked at the scene with skepticism, as if Leon had done something wrong.
"Who are you?" Leon asked, looking toward the boy who had told Roan to bring water.
The boy responded calmly."You've lost your memories, haven't you? I'm Mathew. And you're Leon — one of us."
Mathew pointed to the whole group.
He was the tallest among them, probably the oldest too. He had black hair and blue eyes. Even with all the grime covering his face, he was quite a looker.
"So you already know this is Lisa, that small one is Roan, the blonde one is Mira, and that one's Bear."
Leon looked at the people Mathew introduced.
Just behind Lisa stood a girl of similar height, with blonde hair and blue eyes like Mathew. Her face, though, was excessively dirty — as if smeared on purpose.
Beside Mathew stood a boy slightly shorter than him, thin and wiry — very unlike his name, Bear.
Leon slowly stood up and looked around him."And who are we? Where are we?"
He tried to keep his tone childlike, but only slightly.
At his question, everyone's face dropped — except Roan's, who looked at Leon strangely.
"We… we're family. As for where we are — you don't need to know. Not now, at least. Get some rest first," Mathew said.
His tone remained steady, but Leon — mentally much older — could sense the sorrow hidden in his words. Still, he chose to remain silent.
Mathew looked back at the group."It'll be evening soon. Let's head back early this time."
Lisa interjected,"But Mathew, we haven't completed the qu—"
Before she could finish, Mathew cut her off."I know. I'll handle it. It's already late. Let's go. Don't you guys feel hungry?"
He said it in a cheerful voice, then grabbed Roan's and Leon's hands and took the lead. The others followed quietly behind.
As they walked out of the dark alley and entered a street, Leon saw a completely different world.
The street was busy, filled with people walking about. To his shock, he saw men and women in leather armor with swords strapped to their backs or waists. Some carried bows and quivers.
Suddenly, Mathew pulled him back with force. A pair of black horses passed right in front of Leon, pulling a carriage — its wheel rolled over the very spot Leon had almost stepped on.
"Be careful, Leon."
As Mathew said that, Leon noticed how the carriage driver hadn't even flinched. He was completely unbothered by a child almost going under his wheel.If something like this happened in my world, Leon thought, the driver would've been beaten up by onlookers.
But here, no one paid it any mind.
As they walked further, the group turned into another dark alley. This time, they emerged in front of a worn-down wooden building.