My father and Lina's father both work in the oil palm plantation, so our destination is the same.
When we arrived, we saw my dad and Lina's dad sitting on a long bench resting, along with a few coworkers.
The moment Lina saw her father, she shouted and ran toward him.
＂There he is! Dad!＂
＂Lina, did Mom ask you to bring me lunch?＂
The man speaking to her was her father—a man with short golden hair tied into a small ponytail at the back. Their whole family had hair that shone brightly like sunlight.
It seems that in this world, the concept of black hair pigment doesn't even exist. People here are born with bright hair colors—red, yellow, blue, and so on. Black hair, in contrast, is extremely rare. I happen to be one of those rare black-haired boys.
Normally, children inherit their father's hair color and their mother's eye color—though sometimes the reverse happens. Either way, it's always from one of their parents.
But I have black hair and black eyes, and Lina has snow-white hair and bright blue eyes. Neither of us inherited any traits from our parents. It's strange, but since both of us were born from our mothers' wombs, it's an undeniable fact. So, we're treated as the "odd ones."
Lina nodded hard at her father.
＂Mm!＂
＂Good girl, Lina.＂
Her father patted her head, and she smiled happily at the praise. After that, he took the lunch box and immediately began eating.
Seeing Lina run to her father, I noticed my dad lowering his head for some reason. I called out to him, and when he looked up, he saw me holding his lunch.
＂Dad, here's your lunch.＂
＂Karen! You finally came! Dad's starving!＂
He had short, neat ash-brown hair and well-developed muscles.
Dad stretched his arms out toward me, rushing forward for a hug. I dodged just in time to avoid ruining the lunch box, and he ended up hugging the air.
＂Karen, why did you dodge Dad's hug!?＂
＂Because you stink.＂
＂You're still as straightforward as ever… Dad's hurt, you know.＂
He covered his eyes dramatically and started making fake crying noises.
＂Stop pretending.＂
I cut him off. Dad froze for a second, realizing I'd caught him, and quickly changed the topic.
＂Did you learn that dodge from your mom? You moved exactly like her when I was trying to win her heart back then!＂
＂Is that so.＂
I replied flatly. Sounds like Mom really had a rough time back then.
＂It reminds me of how I heroically saved her once… and she saw my sincerity, so she agreed to be with me.＂
Dad got lost in his own romantic memories again.
＂Just remember to bring the lunch boxes back after you eat, or Mom will get mad.＂
I cut him off, steering the conversation elsewhere.
＂You don't want to hear your father's great love story!?＂
＂I've heard it too many times already. Besides, break time's almost over—Uncle Gray's halfway done eating.＂
Dad glanced over at Lina's father, who was already eating quickly, and panicked.
＂Oh no! Karen, give me the lunch, quick!＂
＂Here, but don't be late.＂
He snatched the box, opened it, and started wolfing down the food.
Once that was done, I looked over at Lina and called to her.
＂Lina, we've delivered the lunches. Let's go.＂
＂Okay.＂
Just then, Lina's father called out to me.
＂Karen, take good care of Lina for me.＂
Before I could respond, Lina shouted first.
＂Geez! Mom said the same thing, and now you too? I can take care of myself!＂
Her father chuckled and said warmly,
＂Is that so? Then take good care of yourself, okay?＂
＂Mm!＂
Lina nodded confidently, then waved to both fathers.
＂Bye, Dad! Bye, Uncle Elvin!＂
＂Bye-bye!＂
As we walked away, we waved goodbye. Then Dad shouted loudly after me,
＂Karen! Make sure you protect Lina, or there'll be punishment when you get home!＂
＂Got it.＂
I replied. The "punishment" probably meant him hugging me before taking a bath.
But what happened afterward… turned that farewell into the last words we ever exchanged with our parents.
Lina and I walked toward the river in the forest south of the village. There was an open clearing there—no trees, no grass—perfect for playing. I called it simply "the field."
When we arrived, Lina spoke up.
＂Karen, what should we play today?＂
＂Hmm… how about shooting practice?＂
＂Sure! You make the target, okay?＂
＂Okay.＂
I placed my hands on the ground and said, ＂Wall.＂ A rectangular wall of soil rose from the ground in front of us.
After all, this is another world—of course, there's magic.
Magic here has six attributes: fire, water, wind, earth, light, and dark. Everyone can use magic, but most people only have one attribute. A few rare individuals have two.
I'm one of the majority—with only one. Lina, on the other hand, is one of the rare ones, having both water and wind.
I drew a target pattern on the earthen wall using a stick.
＂Karen, I'll go first!＂
＂No, I'm going first.＂
There wasn't any real reason to fight over it—we both just wanted to go first.
＂You went first last time.＂
＂Then let's play rock-paper-scissors.＂
Unable to argue, I suggested a fair game.
＂I won't lose.＂
＂And I won't let you win.＂
We declared our confidence and started the chant together.
＂Rock, paper, scissors!＂
We both threw scissors.
＂Again.＂
＂Okay.＂
We played again.
＂Rock, paper, scissors!＂
We both threw rock.
＂Again!＂
We were so in sync it was almost funny—we repeated nearly 20 rounds before a result came out. I lost.
When I saw Lina's fist clenched, I thought she was going to throw rock, so I threw paper… but at the last second, she opened two fingers.
＂Yes! I won!＂
Lina's scissors beat my paper. I stared blankly at my hand.
She tilted her head, puzzled.
＂Karen, what's wrong?＂
Never mind. There's no point dwelling on it.
＂Nothing.＂
＂Then I'll start!＂
Lina stood 10m away from the target, raised her right hand, and prepared her spell.
＂Water Shot!＂
Water droplets gathered in her palm and shot out as a thin stream. The earthen wall darkened where it hit—but it missed the center, striking the outer edge instead.
＂Ah… I missed…＂
Lina lowered her head in disappointment. Then it was my turn.
I raised my right hand and cast my spell.
＂Stone Bullet.＂
A small rock formed in my hand. I aimed carefully at the target's center—then fired.
With a bang, cracks spread across the earthen wall. Dead center.
＂Nice! Right on target!＂
Magic power grows with age. Counting my previous life, I'm already 23 years old, but I held back my strength so the wall only cracked a bit.
＂I was just in bad form, that's all. Normally, I'd never miss.＂
Lina made excuses for herself.
＂Hahaha, sure you wouldn't.＂
I said lightly, and she instantly puffed up.
＂You are laughing at me!＂
＂No, no, I'm not.＂
My cheerful tone didn't help.
＂You totally don't believe me!＂
＂Alright, alright. I believe you. Let's just do another round.＂
If I didn't stop her, she'd never let it go.
We continued playing for several more rounds after that.