"Hey, hey! Hurry up! Time to sing the hymn!"
A booming voice came from outside, instantly interrupting Gerrick's conversation with us. He stood up happily. "Ha, the gathering's starting! Shuizhu, hurry up, get ready to go out."
The little girl named Shuizhu put down the hard food she had only half eaten and trotted over to open the door. She really was a child who did not like talking. From the moment we arrived until now, she had hidden by herself in the corner farthest from us, eating her own food and watching us strangers with wary eyes. Only Older Sister had managed to exchange a few words with her. The rest of us could only learn about this little family from Gerrick—purely out of curiosity. We were curious how ordinary siblings like Gerrick and Shuizhu survived in this twisted world.
"Gerrick, where are your parents? Is it just you and your sister at home?"
Saeko happened to think of that question. We had not seen any adults in this little household from the very beginning. Today was supposedly the town's rest day, when all the adults who normally worked at the Metal Station stayed home, yet so far the only one who had appeared before us was a quiet little girl. Where were Gerrick's parents?
"Mom left a long time ago. When I was five, she was working at the Heavy Element Manufacturing Machine and got infected," Gerrick said, looking a little downcast, though not overly sorrowful. He had probably accepted the fact long ago. "Dad hasn't come home in two years either, but he's an incredible big shot!"
The moment Gerrick mentioned his father, who had not returned home in two years, pride immediately appeared on his face. "He works on the big ships. He even took a