"Mani, don't run so fast! You'll get lost!"
From the quiet alley came the lively, Primeval Essence-filled laughter of a little girl, followed by a boy's anxious voice.
Mani ran ahead while Aiou chased closely after her. After they passed through the alley, a small courtyard suddenly appeared before them.
Over the past few days, they had wandered through streets and alleys without really leaving this area. Before they knew it, they had gone quite far, but Infinite City was vast beyond measure, and they had only discovered a tiny, tiny part of it.
The courtyard smelled of machine lubricant. Parts were scattered everywhere, and a boy around five-foot-three seemed to be assembling something. With his back to Mani and Aiou, he squatted on the ground, tinkering away.
"Excuse me, may we come in?" Curious, Aiou walked to the courtyard gate and asked.
The boy seemed not to have heard him. He kept tinkering, occasionally reaching for a part as the constant clack-clack of assembly rang out.
Aiou asked a few more times, but still received no response.
"Let's go. Maybe we aren't welcome," Aiou whispered to Mani.
Mani's nose twitched. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she said, "But there's something delicious inside, Aiou."
She pulled a jelly cup from her pocket and hurled it at the boy with all her strength. It struck him squarely on the head. Only then did he react, turning around in a daze after noticing the jelly on the ground.
"Excuse me, may we come in?" Mani shouted.
The boy nodded vaguely to indicate that they could, then rose from the ground.
"Hello, I'm Aiou, and she is—" Aiou smiled faintly and began introducing them.
Before he could mention Mani, the boy cut in, "Mani. I know, she's little Mani. My name is