Chapter 2: A Familiar taste

She wanders across the field, observing her surroundings as she moves. As the hours pass, she walks continually without having a destination in mind and the sun begins to set, but she decides to continue walking until night falls. She believes she can endure the coldness of the night, but as she walks towards the endless road, a cold breeze hits her and it brings a shiver down her spine. Her nose is running and she stops, looking as deadpan as ever.

And then—memory appears.

She was sent on a mission to locate the distress call from a group of scouts. The Special Forces team consisted of four members. Oris the leader, Leona, Rael, and lastly Nemi. Under the intense blizzard, they crossed the mountain and walked into the mist of snow and one person raised a question.

"Hey, Nemi! Are you good behind there?" —Rael called over the howling wind.

"Yes" —a cold response from Nemi.

"What was it again? Our ultimate soldier can't feel what cold is? Must be convenient, no? Nemi?"—Leona, who envied of Nemi's existence.

"Yes, I believe such sensation will hinder the mission" Nemi stated flatly.

"Guys, stop it. We all know she didn't volunteer to become a cyborg." Oris said while leading the formation.

"Yeah, yeah, but still!" Rael pointed his finger at Nemi. "Look at her! We're dressed up like shit, and she's out here in just a uniform. Crazy, right, Cap!? Though, if she could understand my love, that'd be even crazier. What you think, Nemi?" He grinned.

"Having a romantic relationship between personnel is prohibited" Nemi replied.

"Ugh! How in hell can you even love someone like her, Rael?"—Leona groaned.

"Ooh! You jealous!? You wanna date me instead?, Leona?!" —Rael teased her.

"PISSED OFF!" —Leona responded.

The memory surfaces. Nemi hugs her body tightly, whispering, "It's cold...."

But as she tries to picture their faces, they are blurred—scribbled out, as if her mind refuses to remember. She shuts her eyes and shakes the thought away.

However, she doesn't have any other choice but to keep walking. As she walks for half an hour into the night, she starts to feel a strange discomfort in her stomach, but she ignores it. Then she is shocked when it starts growling as if there is a malfunction in her cyborg body. Normally, she would go to Rael to check if there is any malfunctions in her cyborg body. But this time, she doesn't even know where Rael is. She keeps walking, but the discomfort grows sharper, twisting inside her. For the first time, a sensation she couldn't understand unsettles her—hunger. She doesn't know what to do.

After a few moments, she sees a light far away—a sign of civilization. She feels relieved because she might see someone she recognizes. But as she arrives, it is not a soldier camp, not a facility, or what she expects—it's a town. All of the buildings are made from wood, bricks, and stone. Nemi was stunned, but her deadpan expression remained unchanged.

The town is alive, filled with the sounds of laughter and talk. Warm orange light glows from windows and lanterns, and the steady rhythm of footsteps echoes through the streets. As she steps into the town, an appetizing smell immediately catches her attention. She instinctively follows the scent and spots a small stall, and her eyes lock onto the freshly baked bread. She stares at it and, without realizing it, a drool drops from her mouth down to her chin while looking deadpan. 

The shopkeeper pulls out the freshly baked bread from the brick oven. As she turns around, she sees a figure of a woman staring intensely at the bread while drooling, and the shopkeeper is stunned for a moment, and she bursts into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Miss, you're drooling!" —The shopkeeper let out an energetic laugh.

Nemi immediately snaps back into her senses and takes time to process what just happened before wiping her drool with her hand when she realizes something cold on her mouth down to her chin.

When Nemi is about to walk away, the shopkeeper stops her and says,

"Hey miss! Take these" — handing her a bag filled with three freshly baked breads.

Nemi stares at the bag for a moment and asks—"Why?"

"You look damn hungry and I bet you don't have any money with you, no need to pay just take it as a gift"—the shopkeeper replies

A flashback then appears in nemi's mind where she only had to eat tasteless food that seemed colorless to her all the time due to her cyborg parts that nullified her sense of taste. Nemi hesitantly takes it and look at the freshly baked bread in her hands before bowing slightly to thank the shopkeeper. She walks away while looking at the bread and asks herself, "I...look damn hungry?".

Nemi then takes one of the breads from the bag and takes a bite. As she munches on the bread, she stops walking. The sounds around her fade into silence, and a fragment of her memory merges into her mind—the moment when the figure of her "mother" had given her freshly baked bread. It had been warm in her hands. It had been delicious. And this... this is nostalgic. She keeps eating, and before she knows it, the strange sensation in her stomach is gone.

Nemi continues walking through the lively town, hoping to see someone familiar. She doesn't know what to do next. She doesn't know where she should be heading. As she wanders, she notices a building with a sign that reads "Inn" on the door. Thinking it would be good to find a secure place to rest and clear her thoughts, she steps inside. But as soon as she enters, she realizes—she has no money, no goods for trade. With no other choice, she turns and continues walking, unsure of what to look for.

She keeps walking and comes across another building with a hanging sign that reads 'Adventurer's Guild.'

She then enters the building, it is silent and nearly empty inside due to midnight, there is only a receptionist doing some paperwork at the reception desk and one young woman who is sleeping on a table at the left corner of the room. Nemi then sees a "useful-looking thing" inside the building—the Quest board. Nemi approaches the receptionist and asks, "If I do a quest, will I get money?" The receptionist blinks in surprise upon hearing an obvious question coming from a person who doesn't express a single emotion and has messy white hair. But the receptionist remains professional.

"Y-Yes, by doing a quest, we will pay you accordingly. You look like just arrived in this town, are you a traveler?"—the receptionist answers nemi's question.

Nemi simply answers with a simple nod. And she asks "Is there any mission available?"—Nemi mistook a quest and a mission.

The receptionist keeps up her professional smile but she is surprised on the inside.

"Mission? Do you mean a quest? I can get you one right away, but I recommend you take on a quest tomorrow. We don't know what might happen in the dark, after all..."—the receptionist replied with the hope she stops asking.

Nemi then replies "No ma'am, this is the right time"—She answers with an expectation of receiving new orders from the receptionist, but when Nemi tries to meet the receptionist's gaze, her vision wavers. The weight of eye contact made her chest tighten, and she quickly looked away.

In the receptionist's mind while keeping her professional smile— "GOD! Please! Make her go away! I rather die than wait for her to complete a quest throughout the night!! Please!! I wanna go home!"

Nemi keep her gaze lowered, avoiding the receptionist's eyes. Just as the receptionist hesitantly reaches for the paper to hand her the quest, a girl who has been sleeping in the corner suddenly disrupts the conversation.

"e-e-excuse me....."— the girl called out for nemi nervously.

Nemi turns away without a word, her expression unreadable, her gaze drifting past the girl instead of meeting her eyes.

The girl feels uncomfortable but she decides to brace herself and asks. —"W-would you like to form a team with me!?" she bows closing her eyes and hoping she accepts the invitation.

Nemi stands there for a while before replying "We do not know what will happen at night, It's dangerous" repeating what the receptionist said.

The receptionist is pissed but keeps smiling.

"Let's do it tomorrow!" —the girl raises her head with a nervous expression facing nemi.

"But i need to get money for a secu-" —before nemi could complete her sentences the girl said.

"I have money to spend a night in the inn for both of us !!"—the girl blurts out.

Nemi stands still, processing the offer. She wanted to take on a "mission" immediately—it felt unnatural to delay—but after a pause, she simply said, "Okay."

The girl's expression changes from a nervous expression to a wide smile. While Nemi is still unable to meet her gaze. 

"Wynstelle !" — she offers a handshake.

"Nemi"— She accepts her handshake.

Thus, they both leave the building. The receptionist falls on the chair and says "Thank God..."