"A person from the City is here!"

"Are… you sure!?"

​​

"Yes!"

The heavy breaths of the guard whispered through the office. Even the Chief, who still held calmness in his words even as he argued with Eugene, was now standing up from the sudden news.

"Let them in, let them in!"

The Chief quickly went to Eugene's side, leaving his seat for the guest to sit on. There is a certain obvious gap in the hierarchy and status between the people from the Wall Villages and the people from the City.

Most people in the Wall Villages could no longer go back to the City, and sometimes, those of low birth were sent here right after they came of age to pay their family's debt.

The people here have already been exposed to the secrets of the Wall, while most citizens from the Cities were not even aware of the existence of the Portal and were forbidden to go to the Wall.

Those who were brave enough to try or were unlucky enough to get lost were no longer welcome in the Cities and will be branded as what they call a Waller.

In a way, those who live in the village were also trapped inside a Wall, an invisible one that they may never ever pass through.

The reason that the Chief gave way to the guest was that those who were allowed to come and go as they please in the village usually held a certain position of power.

"This place is always so depressing."

Eugene and the Chief quickly fixed themselves in their spot as they heard the voice of their guest enter the room. Just from the first glance, one could see the disparity between him and the rest of the people from the Village.

While Eugene and the rest wore the skin of wildlife, the guest from the city was adorned with cotton and silk.

"Welcome to the village, sir."

The tone of respect in the Chief's voice was obvious to hear for everyone present. Even Eugene, who usually had a haughty temper, now had his mouth completely shut.

Their guest, however, ignored the Chief's respectful greetings and walked straight towards his seat and casually sat on it.

Eugene's hand started to tremble, itching to smash their guest's head in for the disrespect he showed their Chief. True, he always argued with the Chief, but at the end of the day, he always pays his respects. To see some unnamed stranger just waltz inside of their Chief's office, even if he was from the City, truly agitated Eugene.

But alas, his trembling hands were tied. He couldn't do anything, as offending their guest might put their Chief in a bad position.

"...I heard your scouts went beyond the Wall," the man slowly lifted up his legs and placed it on the Chief's desk, not even minding the papers that fluttered and dropped to the floor.

"..." Eugene could not help but furrow his eyebrows as he heard the man's words. It has only been a day, and they have already heard about their expedition?

"...Yes," the Chief nodded his head.

"I see," the man let out a tiny scoff, "You went beyond the Wall and mixed with the savages without even reporting to us first?"

"I--"

Eugene was going to answer on the Chief's behalf, but before he could do so, the Chief stopped him. "I believed it was adamant that our men go inside the Wall at the time, and reporting it to the City would take a while."

"And what was so important that you sent your Scouts to death? 3 of them died, I believe?"

"...We discovered a little boy inside the Wall," the Chief let out a small sigh, "I believed that time was of the essence, but it was my mistake to rush the operation, causing my people to lose their lives."

"C… chief?" Eugene's stuttered whispers escaped from his mouth. What was the Chief saying? He thought. It was because of his stubbornness and insistence that they went inside the Wall, so why was the Chief taking all the blame?

"And where is this boy now?"

"...I am afraid he is still inside the Wall."

"So let me get this straight, old man." the guest removed his legs from the desk and leaned in closer, "You brought them food in exchange for the lives of your men, and then brought them more for the little boy… and yet you have nothing to show for it?"

Wait, he already knew that? Then why was he still asking all of these questions? Eugene's trembling hands were starting to itch.

"...Yes."

"So you sent people inside the Wall, they got caught and almost half of them died, you spent 4 carriages worth of food, and the very reason you went there in the first place is now still inside the Wall."

"...Yes."

"Pathetic. You Wallers should be inside the Wall as well."

"Ye--"

"!!!"

Before the Chief could even answer their guest, a thunderous snap reverberated throughout the room as Eugene smashed the desk that their guest was leaning on, completely forgetting that it was their Chief's.

"Eugene, enough!"

Still, their guest from the City did not even flinch a single finger but instead just casually stood up, "Proves my point," he said while brushing off the dust littered on him.

"But still," he then let out a short sigh as he looked towards the Chief, "We can't let the barbarians think less of us because of this… sorry event."

"...Sir?"

"Round up all the men you can gather…

...It's time for a Culling."

"!!!"

***

Back inside the Wall, Gil stared at the immaculate body of water that laid in front of him. His eyes, reflecting the blue skies that mirrored on the clean water. But after a few seconds, he let out a sigh.

"...This isn't a river, though. It's a lake."

"Does it matter? It's what we have," Nisha could not help but furrow her eyebrows as she looked at Gil.

"Where is the water coming from?"

"They lead to a river outside or something."

"Maybe we can go out from there!?"

"...You really think the Prisoners haven't tried that? And why do you have so many questions, just take a darn bath already!"

"O... okay!"

Gil quickly rushed behind a huge tree to undress. Van, on the other hand, just started undressing where he stood. He carefully took off his uniform and undershirt, revealing his slightly skinny body.

But although he could still be considered as skinny, it was a far cry from how he was before, with his bones almost sticking out of his skin. He now had muscles as well, but still, skinny.

"...You have a tattoo?"

Nisha could not help but take in a deep breath as soon as she saw the scars on Van's body. He did tell her that he was abused by his father but to this extent? What kind of monster will do this kind of thing to their own child?

Even Cynthia, the woman that they were accompanying let out a tiny gasp before she covered her mouth.

"I didn't figure you for the tattoo type," Nisha continued, not mentioning the scars at all.

"Oh this? It's a birthmark."

"Sure it is," even though they have only spent less than a day's time together, Nisha had already learned to ignore Van's obvious lies. However, Van's next action completely made her react-- Van started taking off his pants.

"!!!"

"W… what are you doing!?"

"...I am undressing."

"I see that! But why here!?"

"What if someone atta--"

"Go undress somewhere else!"

"Tch," Van could not help but click his tongue as he lifted up his pants and found a spot to undress in. He didn't immediately jump on the lake, as he washed his clothes first, quickly removing the dried up blood and gunk from it, causing a very small portion of the lake to turn dark.

After firmly hanging his clothes, he then jumped on the water.

'...Cold,' he thought as his jaw shivered. He looked towards the horizon of the lake, wondering how this lake was so clean even with 100 people washing off their dirt in it.

The water was so clear that Van could still see his… feet. The warm rays of the sun and the cold breeze of the air completely wrapped around his body, making him relax enough for his eyes to close. He then slightly lowered his head into the water, holding his breath for more than a minute before emerging back to the surface.

"Haaa…" His heavy breaths almost rippled the water in front of him as he pulled back his hair, completely revealing the scar that trailed across his left eye.

'This place… is my new home. Isn't it?' He thought as he once again looked towards the short horizon.

It took half an hour for Gil and Van to finish taking a bath. Van's uniform was still wet, so he left it hanging for now on a branch and just wore his undershirt.

Nisha and Cynthia quickly chose their dressing spots and proceeded to jump into the lake without any delay as the walk to the lake made them sweaty, leaving Van and Gil to stand guard… for almost an hour now.

Gil checked if something bad might have happened to the two of them, but alas, his skull was almost skewered by Nisha's dagger which came out of nowhere.

Van just shook his head, sighing at Gil as if he was some pervert.

"I just wanted to check if they were alright!"

"Sure, I believe--"

"Who's there!?"

Before Van could finish his words, the two of them heard a rustle coming from the bushes near them. And slowly, as the leaves were parted, a man revealed himself.

"Where… where is that woman!?" The stranger yelled.

"..."

Hearing the man's words, Van could not help but let out a sigh. Of course…

...that woman was trouble.