Humanity's First

"Nice to meet you"—I'd decided not to say it.

That greeting would have been a lie to someone I'd known for three years.

◇

Breakfast was portable rations. I handed out one pickled plum to each person. On mornings when I knew it would be a long day, nothing else would do.

"Old man, what about the pits?"

"Don't swallow them. Bring them back with you. It's for luck."

We descended the path that had opened ahead of us in single file. Night Crow-kun's markers lit up at regular intervals, and the sounds of the world receded another step. The scattered lights of other people grew more numerous the farther down we went. They belonged to no one. If I had to name an owner, they were the lights the owner had lit by the entrance.

"Supplement. It is against etiquette for an invited guest to turn back at the entrance. That's all."

"Mio-san, is that encouragement?"

"It's a fact."...