Chapter Six: Return on the 18th

Young Rant clutched a sputtering old gas stove, wrapped in ragged clothes made from patched scraps, lying on the thick ice and snow at the mountainside, gazing at the distant Day One Mountain Range. Nearby, several other Rhine people, like him, were lurking in the snow. They, too, were bundled in heavy clothing, holding gas stoves for warmth. Some had new and exquisite stoves, their clothes pristine white, better suited for hiding in the snow. Others, like young Rant, had worn stoves with patched clothing made from colorful scraps.

Even so, this old gas stove was Rant's treasured possession, bought with all he had. It was the only way he

Rant

“Just staying

I

In contra

He should be living in the upper district of the God-given city, basking in sunlight, sipping wine, while the lower-class peasants sacrificed their cheap lives for the nobles, who would then reward them with mere scraps. But since his father had become a cri

“Patrolling mec

Young Rant peeked through a crack in the snow to observe the mechanical demon passing by. It was his first sighting of the legendary creature—a massive metal body with six stout mechanical legs thudding against the snow. Rant

It

“Quick, move! The patrolling mechanical demon just passed, and there won’t be another one for a while. Now's the best time!” the middle-aged man shouted, leaping fr

Though Rant's f

The vast Old D

What th

Now, f

The

“Uncle Simon, what... what should we do?” Young Mali addressed Simon for the first time. Faced with the threat of death, the noble boy finally let go of his pride. Unfortunately, Simon didn’t know what to do eit