When Frieren stepped out of the coffeeshop, the hush of night wrapped around her, softening the world's edges. She stared at the white lights that glowed like pale embers.
"It feels… less noisy now," she murmured.
She breathed in slowly, letting the quiet settle against her chest.
The breeze cooled her skin, nudging her deeper into the quiet of the night.
"It's getting cold… huh," she murmured as she adjusted her hood slightly, shielding her ears from the chill.
A few people passed by, ignoring her entirely. Their blank, distracted faces reminded her of how quickly humans rushed through life.
Some walked with phones in hand; others wore headphones, lost in their own worlds.
Frieren watched them, unimpressed.
She blinked once, nothing more.
Her gaze tracked the glowing screens in their hands, puzzled by their silent intensity.
"Ah, how they walk and still maintain their pace without watching the path," she mused.
"They seem… busy, and not busy at the same time," Frieren thought as she watched people pass by.
They move so quickly, yet look so lost. I wonder why?
Her hands pulled the edge of her hood down, covering her head almost to her eyes.
"It's cold…" she whispered, a faint fog slipping from her lips.
She kept standing, observing the people walking by, their numbers decreasing slightly.
Huh… I don't see any children… or animals… she thought.
At least the noise has calmed… she noted, letting the silence settle around her.
Then she noticed two people sitting on a public bench, the woman resting her head on the man's shoulder with a quiet smile.
Humans still sit together like that… some things never change.
Frieren's gaze shifted to another bench nearby.
Oh… this wooden thing. It looks like the chairs I used to sit on in the markets, she thought.
Frieren sat on the chair; it felt cold the moment she settled onto it.
For humans, it must have been very late, far past the hour most would still be outside.
But to her, it felt like only minutes had passed.
She simply watched the moving metal carriages—"cars," they were called.
Why do these metal creatures keep moving without rest? she wondered.
She tilted her head unconsciously, resting it slightly on her shoulder
then tucked her chin down, trying to shield herself from the chill..
"I should find an inn… or a hotel to rest," she murmured.
"But how?"
Her eyes gleamed as she scanned the area, stretching her vision across nearly a kilometer, searching for any hint of life beyond mere humans.
If only a single flicker of magic remained… Still no mana, she thought.
Her eyes dimmed slowly, resisting the urge to drift into sleep.
Then two lights appeared in the darkness, blue and red, signaling movement across the night.
A police car approached.
Curious… they shine, yet carry no magic, she thought.
The car slowed as it passed, its siren silent for now, the flashing colors slicing through the darkness.
Then a person stepped out of the vehicle.
"Are you alright, miss?" he asked.