A few days earlier, in the Christina Town of Feropia, Manabu Satoshi had lived since he was four or five with his late grandmother, who had recently passed away.
On an early, chilling winter morning, Manabu was under his soft, thick woolen blanket, struggling to open his eyes despite the alarm ringing twice. The warmth of his bed enticed him to stay cocooned. With a soft groan, he stretched his legs and arms, thinking he'd take another five-minute nap, which lasted forty minutes. He wasn't late, but he was quite work-shy. Even if he managed to get up earlier, he was as slow as a sloth on a branch. After his so-called five-minute nap, he tried to get out of his bed-fence. Manabu was his teachers' favorite, excelling in math calculations, sports, detentions, and, most importantly, teasing everyone, even his teacher's pet rabbit. He sat on the bed lazily and, still half-asleep, forced himself to stand. He noticed the date on the calendar; it was November 27, 1899, meaning only a few days remained before the winter holiday. He stretched again and looked at the watch. It was already 8:00. He wasn't late; he still had one hour.Manabu always tried not to rely on alarm clocks, believing they were unhealthy and that, scientifically, it was better to wake up naturally. But this logic didn't save him from detentions. He was punished for being late almost every day. He grabbed his numerical, water-resistant wristwatch from the cupboard beside his bed, which had a designed glass pot of flowers on top of it. He headed to the bathroom and switched on the light. Turning on the tap, the cold water bit at his skin, making him shiver slightly. He reached for his toothbrush and squeezed toothpaste onto the bristles. "Six years ago, winters weren't this harsh, but now? The cold is unbearable. It seeps into your bones. Water has become my beloved enemy."An icy splash on his face jolted him awake. As he brushed his teeth, his thoughts wandered. When he finished, he spat, rinsed, and headed to the door to fetch the newspaper, but there was none. "What the… Where's the newspaper?" He was annoyed with the delivery guy, who often forgot to deliver the paper. "The delivery guy didn't show up today either?" With a sigh of irritation, Manabu went back inside, as it was too cold outside. "Faacckk~ It's so cold!"Rinsing his face one last time, he splashed tap water on his face; the frigid water invigorated him, turning his face red from the cold. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked to the guest room, where, under the couch, he kept a weighing scale. He pulled it out and stood on it. Manabu was particular about his diet, meticulously checking his weight every week. The scale stopped at 66.5 kg—one kilogram overweight.Manabu was 17 and would likely turn 18 by the end of the next month. Today, he skipped breakfast, having wasted too much time getting out of bed and ironing clothes. He sacrificed his meal to stay on schedule. As he prepared to leave, his gaze fell on a framed photo of himself and his grandmother on the hall cupboard. He was probably seven when the picture was taken; she was healthy then, but her heart condition worsened over time. He picked up the photo, wiping dust off with his sleeve. Her kind eyes looked back at him—a bittersweet reminder of her absence. She had passed away seven months ago due to heart disease, and though time had moved forward, the void lingered. Manabu loved his grandmother the most. With no parents, she had been his world. He held the picture to his chest for a moment, then left.It was 9:01 AM, and the first period was at 9:30, so he rushed. Talking to himself was a habit, something he found oddly comforting. Sometimes, he laughed at his own jokes, imagining a second person in the conversation. Manabu wasn't lonely—he had friends—but he was peculiar. He had been talking to himself since childhood.On his way to school, he thought of calling Taiju Hiroshi, his best friend since childhood. Pulling out his phone, he tried calling Taiju, but it went to voicemail. "His phone's switched off?" He tried again but got no response, so he dialed Mai's number, wondering if they were together. At that moment, Mai and Taiju were on the school rooftop, furiously working on a laptop, deep in the throes of hacking. When Mai saw the incoming call, she turned to Taiju. "Manabu's calling. Pick it up," she said. Taiju grabbed the phone and spoke, still focused on Mai's work. "Sup, buddy? We're at school. Where are you?""I'm on my way," Manabu replied, asking, "What are you guys doing? Your phone was off."Taiju looked up with a disappointed expression and recapped the event. "Yesterday, Mai broke my phone. She was playing games, but someone called at the wrong moment, and she threw my damn phone at the wall. By the way, we just managed to hack the scammers' computer. Mai did it for me."Manabu's voice perked up. "What? Cool. How'd she even do that? She's a freaking genius. Her big sister is a programmer, right?" (Mai had learned coding from her elder sister, becoming obsessed and fluent in programming over the years.) But before Taiju could reply, Mai screamed at the laptop in frustration. "No! Damn it! Shit, shit, fuck, fuck! Why!? No!? You asshole! You motherfucker!"Taiju tried to calm her, but Mai slammed her hand on his laptop and lifted it with no good intentions. Taiju screamed, grabbing his laptop to save his 1220 Das (Feropian currency) machine. "Why do you have to break everything?! Just calm down! What the hell just happened?!" he yelled at her. She was about to destroy a thousand-Das machine. Mai ignored him and lay on the rooftop floor, crying dramatically as if she had faced the greatest defeat of her life. Five days of effort wasted. She had been trying to hack a scammer's computer to expose their live location, reconnecting her device with them while pretending to be someone else. But just when she was a hair's breadth from exposing them, the scammer cracked her hack and escaped, making the hot-tempered Mai go wild. Those who had witnessed her furious side knew she couldn't be stopped without mango juice.Manabu, listening to their chaos, chuckled. "Alright, alright, forget about it. The scammer was probably troubled too. Not a big deal, calm down."Taiju asked how long it would take Manabu to reach school. Manabu was almost there—two to three minutes away. Taiju then asked Manabu to grab something to eat and turned to Mai. "Want something too?"Mai sighed and said nothing."So, that's a mango juice," Manabu muttered and hung up as he resumed walking. A little further down the road, he spotted Sayuri Mion walking ahead and called out to her. She turned, frowning, but ignoring her confusion, Manabu grabbed her hand and walked with her. While walking, he explained everything that happened today. "For the past four or five days, a scammer has been trying to access Mai's device. At first, Mai couldn't figure it out, but she caught on and scammed them back. The problem is, the scammer probably wiped everything on their end before she could trace them."During their small talk, Sayuri looked down, her face warming as she realized Manabu hadn't let go of her hand, even as they walked through crowded streets among other students. People were noticing, making her blush more. Tugging her hand back, she said, "I can walk just fine, and people are staring." Manabu blinked twice in confusion, glancing at their hands before releasing her with an apologetic laugh. It's alright, Manabu.She wouldn't have minded holding hands, but too many people were watching, and it was embarrassing for her; she is naturally pretty shy.They reached the school and went to their respective classes. Manabu and Sayuri shared the same classroom, but Taiju and Mai were in different sections. Their school, DSHC (Detens Scholar High School and College), was the most renowned institution in Feropia. Established in 1798 in Christina Town, it gained an immense reputation within ten years and now held the 2nd rank in the country.At DSHC, students were called Scholars not just by name but by their qualities, values, and morals, shaping them into accomplished individuals. This is Manabu's first year in the college. Their class commenced with the first period—Physics. The teacher, Mr. Futaba, entered the room. As head of the physics department, he was friendly and somewhat childish for his age. He was not only their main class teacher but also Naomi's father.Naomi, who was like a sister to Sayuri, had been her closest friend since childhood and was also Manabu's close friend.The bond between Sayuri and Naomi was inseparable, and they always stuck together, even as they grew older. Similarly, the brotherhood between Taiju and Manabu was well-known on campus, since they somehow proved science correct as they seemed like two actual descendants of monkeys.Once school was over, Manabu and Taiju took off on Taiju's bike, zipping through the streets, enjoying the fleeting freedom of youth. Intentionally overspeeding and breaking traffic rules, they embraced the thrill of recklessness. Taiju came from privilege—his father, a highly successful businessman, was among Feropia's wealthiest elites, owning twelve high-rise apartment buildings, each 20 to 40 floors tall. A self-made billionaire, his father had assigned an entire apartment to Taiju, entrusting him with its management—collecting rent and overseeing maintenance—to teach him independence and responsibility. In the evening, the gang—Manabu, Taiju, Sayuri, Mai, and Naomi—gathered at Taiju's apartment. Their study sessions mixed focused reading with endless chatter, blending discipline and camaraderie. Despite their varied personalities, they were united by a shared, uncompromising sense of justice.Manabu had an obsessive interest in criminal studies, religiously tracking news reports, crime records, and psychological profiles of criminals. This fascination materialized into a meticulously maintained notebook, a personal archive. His understanding went beyond surface-level curiosity, excelling in biology and mathematics.A shameful secret lay hidden in Manabu's home washroom, concealed behind a cleverly crafted fake ceiling board, undetectable to the naked eye. Within this compartment rested his prized possession: the notebook. Manabu alone knew of its existence, not out of selfishness but because he feared ridicule, dismissing it as an odd or juvenile obsession.The notebook, titled The Night and the Blood, was inspired by one of Manabu's favorite novels—a thriller steeped in supernatural tragedy. Manabu loved reading novels and had read countless stories that fascinated him. Within the notebook's pages, he recorded profiles of real criminals, detailing their crimes, mindsets, and stories. These weren't fictional characters but real individuals, many still under investigation.During study sessions, the group often discussed criminology, law enforcement, novels, movies, or TV shows, sharing insights and engaging in spirited debates. These gatherings were more than academic discussions.Manabu's obsession with justice was rooted in his bond with his grandmother, his guiding light. Her words of wisdom echoed in his mind. A paragon of kindness, she always saw the good in people. She was everything Manabu aspired to be, yet he believed he could never achieve it. He often thought poorly of himself, feeling he could never make her proud. He even claimed that he could never feel proud of himself either since his grandmother "decided to die" out of his sight.His grandmother had been his role model until her last breath. Even as she lay dying, her thoughts were filled with compassion. But Manabu could never forget the regret that consumed him the night she passed. They had argued. His grandmother had given a man a large sum of money with no guarantee of repayment. Manabu called her a fool for being so blindly kind and went out to Taiju's place.
Instead of staying, he spent the evening riding Taiju's bike around town, trying to cool his frustration. When Taiju heard about the argument, he insisted on taking Manabu home.But by the time they returned, it was too late. They found her lying on her bed, completely still. At first, they thought she was asleep. It wasn't until dinner, when they tried to wake her, that they realized the truth. Panic set in as they called an ambulance and rushed to the hospital, but the doctor's words shattered Manabu's world forever:
"She had passed away hours ago."
Her heart had enlarged beyond its normal size due to her heart disease, and she died.
"If only I had stayed with you…" Manabu muttered, staring at her empty room—like his hollow heart. That regret only grew. He always blamed himself for almost everything that went wrong, believing it was always his fault.
Since that day, he changed. He became kind and helpful, unwilling to risk losing someone he loved. He didn't want to lose someone precious to him again.After his grandmother's death, something stirred inside him. He dedicated himself to her ideals, not because he was told to, but by his own will.At night, he had a bad dream 'once again'. He would wake screaming, haunted by nightmares that refused to fade.Since childhood, strange nightmares had plagued him, feeling more like memories than dreams. He had once visited a doctor with his grandmother, undergone mental evaluations, and been prescribed medication.
But for the past few weeks, Manabu hadn't taken his medicine regularly, and the nightmares crept in during the dead of night, pulling him into the shadows of his mind. Memories blurred with dreams, a torment that refused to leave.Many years ago, when he was a little child, a family incident from June 21 replayed in his head like a cursed film. He would cry in his sleep, whispering strange things, calling for his mother. He could see only two figures: a child who looked just like him, with white hair and bright skin, and a woman with white hair and purplish eyes. Both were crying, holding each other close. The mother's tears crawled from her cheeks to her jaw, dropping onto the child's hand, burning Manabu in the same spot like a drop of lava.Then suddenly—she disappeared. Wolves were chasing her. He chased her too but failed to find his mother, and then, when he woke up, her memories would vanish.He couldn't remember her face anymore, but her warmth always consoled him. That night, he had lost something precious. But what?— he tried to remember but it felt like that part of the memory never existed, or his brain was simply trying to forget. A complex-emotion.The weight of that night pressed on his soul like an invisible chain of regrets. When he woke, he had only teary eyes, confusion, and an empty heart. Manabu often took sleeping pills, which is why he couldn't wake up on time and was punished as usual—cleaning the hall, watering trees, collecting playground garbage, or attending detention classes.