In front of the station, a fierce-looking young man suddenly pushed open the door of a teppanyaki restaurant.
With a vicious gaze, both hands shoved into his trouser pockets, and a slight hunch in his step... the moment anyone's eyes met his, they would instinctively look away.
The diners all lowered their heads and ate the food on their tables. The restaurant seemed to fall silent all at once.
The fierce-looking young man walked straight to an empty table at the very back of the restaurant—but unexpectedly, he did not sit down right away. Instead, he pulled out a stool and let a child sit down first.
It turned out that a child dressed in white robes had been following behind the fierce-looking young man all along... It was just that the young man looked so fierce that everyone had overlooked the child behind him.
Speaking of which, the child looked rather unusual as well—for example, the white robes that resembled those worn by bhikkhus in myths, and the ribbons wrapped around the child's eyes.
"Five portions of monjayaki!" The fierce-looking young man sat down and shouted toward the restaurant's owner.
"Yes, yes! Right away!"
Seeing the owner hurriedly lower his head and start cooking, the fierce-looking young man clicked his tongue. Then he glanced at the child beside him, poured a cup of warm water, grabbed the child's hand, and stuffed the cup into it.
"Just wait. It'll be ready soon." The fierce-looking young man spoke in a rather unpleasant tone—but his voice was already much softer.
The child merely nodded and said nothing.
The child could not remember how they had ended up following this person. They did not really remember who their parents were, either, only vaguely knowing that they had parents—the memories were all extremely blurry.