Along the cobblestone sidewalks, people walked from one side to the other, from store to store. Magical items and handicrafts were sold in stores, and children entertained themselves with samples of "cold fireworks". The colorful popsicle stands were all full, and the ice cream sellers no longer knew how to deal with such high demand.

The smell of fried foods, sweets, clothes, and fabrics entangled with each other; street artists performed, people talked amid the laughter and screams of excited children, the clinking of glasses and bowls from food stalls, the voices of vendors, and the square's bell that played a different melody every hour. The sounds and smells intertwined, completing the aura of the vivid shopping center on a scorching day.

The breeze was so stifling that people walked around with caps and umbrellas. The most prepared people carried paper fans and bottles of water, as well as a towel around their neck or shoulder to wipe off sweat.

“Cousin, I’ll die,” Mine said, panting and with red, sweaty cheeks. Beside him, a tall, young man walked, carrying a backpack on his back and some other bags in his hands. Despite his bear-like looks, the natural spark in his eyes made his aura shine.

“Take your umbrella, lazy ass,” the other boy chuckled, taking one of Mine's bags. As soon as he took the last bag from his cousin's hand, his gaze fixed on one spot, and he widened his eyes. A free bench!

They both sat on a perfect bench in the shade. Finally, a good place!

The tall, young man settled himself into a seat and removed his cap, revealing a mop of bright, fiery red hair. Its brilliance was akin to flames, with accents of vibrant orange. The man had a unique appearance, with a face that seemed delicate, in contrast to his build. His striking green eyes were thin and alluring, drawing the attention of those around him. The young man also had an endearing smattering of freckles on his nose and shoulders along several moles that spoke to a life spent working under the sun, perhaps due to his habit of taking care of his mother's plants and crops. Well, he used to walk under the sun, but his cousin, on the contrary…

"I'll melt anytime…” Mine complained dramatically.

“I told you not to walk too much in the sun…” Mashitsu sighed and poured water on his cousin’s head. “You’re lucky you didn’t get sunstroke,” he grumbled, wetting Mine’s hair even more.

“The sun is nothing to your ol’ cousin!” Mine grumbled back, still with her head positioned for Mashitsu to wet it more.

Mashitsu chuckled softly and took a towel from his somewhat worn backpack. Amidst the mess inside, Mashitsu realized that, despite having filled his backpack with stuff, there still seemed to be a few things missing here and there. “Oh, I forgot to bring some things from home…” he clicked his tongue, somewhat sadly.

It was a struggle for Mashitsu to go to the city because he lived in the island's countryside - which seemed more like a jungle. The teleportation arrays were frequently unavailable due to the forest gnomes' mischief, and the trucks that transported the fields' crops (aka ride) took a long time to reach the metropolitan area. Fortunately, Mashitsu found his neighbor heading to the city soon, so he took a ride in her truck, carrying only a backpack with a few clothes, water, and money to buy what his mother needed.

“We’ll buy it,” Mine waved his hand. “Now help me out, man! Your old cousin is about to catch fire in front of you!”

“Here. Don’t you dare complain,” Mashitsu placed his sweaty cap on Mine’s damp head, who immediately grimaced. “You’re welcome,” he laughed, arranging the sweaty cap on Mine’s head again.

The shy trees moved slowly in the breeze which caused some of their dry leaves to fall to the ground, already wrinkled and brittle. Although the view was disturbed by the excessive brightness of the sun, the bushes were green and happy in the sun, some plants cried out for rain, and new sprouts of luminous grasses were vibrant, although they only appeared at night alongside other distinct flowers such as one of yellowish color with black spots that scared cats that wanted to scratch it.

“Hey Mashitsu,” Mine called, “take your ol’ cousin to the ice cream shop over there… or I’ll die,” he dramatically said, bringing his arm to his forehead.

“You can’t die because you’re craving ice cream, dummy," Mashitsu shook his head.

"… pretend that I can," Mine grumbled at his cousin’s lack of creativity.

Finally at the ice cream shop, the duo felt an incredible refreshing sensation caused by the air conditioner blessing every new customer inside the establishment - like sipping cold, refreshing water on a hot day.

The heat outside seemed like a mere nightmare as the duo sat down at the only table available next to the glass window – which could feel the hot steam of the sun through it. Mine accidentally touched his elbow to the glass, and he quickly moved his arm, getting goosebumps because the glass was hot. Despite the proximity, the hot breath from the glass wouldn't bother them enough.

Mashitsu's eyes scanned the room and landed on the mint green curtains, which hung gracefully from the window frame. The curtains contrasted beautifully with the light grayish-brown walls, giving the room a serene and calming feel. As he looked around, his gaze fell on the plastic plants arranged neatly on a shelf. Despite their realistic appearance, Mashitsu couldn't help but notice that they were, in fact, fake. A sadness filled his heart, because real plants would give the place a little more grace. Meanwhile, Mine was busy arranging the numerous bags and making sure that the purchases were organized in a way that made them easier to transport later.

"Say, when is your Uni's admission test?" Mine asked curiously.

Mashitsu dryly gulped, "I-It's gonna be next week. I'll try to enroll for Medicine Herbology… it sounds… cool," he sheepishly grinned.

"Oh! So, you'll follow Auntie Matsumi's path?" Mine’s eyes lit up with sparks. Mashitsu's cheeks flushed slightly from a bit of embarrassment, but also from pride.

"Y-Yes! Mom told me I could take her Herb shop, so I need to study and work hard before doing so," he said determinedly and saw one of the waitresses pass by their table. “Ah! Miss, can you bring us today’s special?”

The waitress turned and wrote down their orders, leaving the counter alongside a small kid wearing a pink dress and a white hat. The kid took the trash from the tables alongside the other waitress, who told her to go to play, but the kid refused, stubbornly picking more trash.

Mine chuckled, remembering how Mashitsu was as stubborn as the girl when they were kids. The red-like-fire-haired toddler used to run around the fields and stain his clothing with dirt and fertilizer. His father always had to take him to take a bath right after playing and Mashitsu ended up getting even dirtier when he saw the tank with water and his shampoo next to it. Besides, little Mashitsu developed a great curiosity for heavy work, especially with instruments that were bigger than him.

His mother always died a little by seeing her precious son getting hurt, bruised, and dirty. When she took him inside, he always hid behind his older cousin, Mine, who told his aunt that he was watching the toddler attentively – which was and wasn't true because. When Mine wasn't around, he used to hide behind his older brother or climb high trees to run away from his mother's demands.

His mother's concern only increased when Mashitsu said he was going to stay in the city, but that he would visit her often. However, Mashitsu didn't give any details about his stay, rent or anything. He didn't even know what to do, since he came with the face and courage to ask his older cousin about what to do.

Mine almost had five different types of fits when Mashitsu explained to him about his sudden visit, and he had six more when Mashitsu said he was going to take his university exam soon. Logically, Mine gave Mashitsu a good tug on the ear and quickly dragged him to get his life in order, starting with buying the basics and looking for a good rental.

“Mashitsu, stay at my place until the exam,” Mine offered after checking Mashitsu’s rental contract. “I’ll take care of you like the exemplary older cousin that I am,” he posed proudly.

"I don't want to bother you…" Mashitsu fidgeted, saying it a bit shyly. "Also, my routine is quite... different from yours, so I'll bother you in the morning..."

“That’s not a request,” Mine raised her eyebrow just like his mother and Mashitsu nodded.

“Thank you, cousin,” Mashitsu smiled, displaying the same warm smile as always. “What about the university job? Uncle Kamine said you’re a tutor now!” Mashitsu’s eyes lit up.

Dad and his oversharing… Mine facepalmed. "Yeah, I'm tutoring a newbie teacher. I think he'll be your teacher too. His name is Addai- and what's with this face?" he scrunched up his forehead in a disapproving manner as he gazed at his cousin. 

Mashitsu, in turn, leaned his head on his hands, propping his elbows on the table, and looked back at him with a calm expression on his face. "How's he? I bet he's cool," he grinned, half teasingly, half joyfully.

Mine stopped for a second and recalled Addai's words telling him that he wasn't a bad person. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, he's not that bad. I mean, he is a bit brute and sometimes has a talent for making me frown, but..." he faintly smiled, "he can be good sometimes, but only sometimes."

Mashitsu still grinned at him the same way, but now his eyes turned sparklier.

"Shove that assumption in you-know-where," Mine threatened and half of Mashitsu's smile faltered.

On the way back to Mine's house, the duo had to take the subway as the teleportation platforms were crowded. The subway was no better. People were crammed into the carriages as if they were sardines squeezed into a can – and even the smell of some was the same.

The gloomy lights, the occupied seats, the aisles with several people standing holding on to the suspended handles and iron bars to keep from falling, everything was a scorching nightmare. Luckily, Mashitsu found a seat, so Mine could sit with the bags resting on his feet. The nearby old lady kept looking at Mine (and judging him), who didn't care at all and pretended to be sleeping by covering his face with Mashitsu's cap, who was standing in front of him. Some people nudged Mashitsu to give them space, and others took advantage of his height to hold onto his arm when he offered.

Getting out was a mess. Mine's bags got caught in the door that ended up closing, and he had to use good old brute force to pull the bag while Mashitsu packed the scattered items from the other bags.

The station stank of sweat and cement from the recent renovation, people stepped hurriedly on the loose tiles which made squeaks and muffled noises. The stairs had a large volume of people going up and down, as the escalator was turned off that day.

The cousin duo still needed to take another subway but at a different station, so they had to walk a bit – and keep an eye on the city hall's subway lines app. Halfway through, Mine began to overheat like a Volkswagen Beetle without maintenance and Mashitsu insisted on carrying him on his back, however, when they looked to the side, they saw a young man in the same situation as Mine, but the young man was already passed out from the heat.

Mine had to hop off his cousin's back, gathering strength from God-knows-where, while his cousin hurriedly approached the young man. Mine took his froggy umbrella from one of the bags and opened it to cover everyone.

“Hey!” Mashitsu patted the young man’s cheek. “Sir! Are you okay?” he called as the young man opened his eyes and, still quite dizzy, coughed.

“Wa... water...” the person mumbled.

“Here,” Mashitsu offered the bottle of water that Mine had given him, “you can keep it, come to shelter from the sun,” he helped the young man to stand up and Mine followed them.

The shade had to be enough, even if the tree was still young. Mine, still overheated like the Beetle without maintenance, leaned against Mashitsu who held him and put him on his back as before.

“Thank you…” the young man sighed after chugging down the water.

“Here, take the umbrella,” Mashitsu handed Mine’s umbrella to the young man, who widened his eyes.

“Oh no, I can’t accept it...” the stranger waved his hands.

"I insist. The sun is harsh, and I have my cousin's cap with me, so don't worry!" Mine smiled.

"Ah… I'll have to accept it then," the stranger chuckled, "thank you again."

After the duo departed, the mysterious stranger stood up from his seat and opened the umbrella, which had a frog design imprinted on it. He chuckled to himself, a hint of amusement as he recollected the random people who had stopped to offer him a helping hand. The stranger felt grateful for the kind gesture.

Lost in his own musings, the stranger got startled when someone approached him from behind and gave him a hearty slap on the back.

"BELI- Bella~ hehe~" he snickered, gulping down his bitterness.

"Azazel, where did you get this…," Bella looked up and down, “… eccentric umbrella?”

"A good soul gave me this, look how adorable it is," the demon showed the umbrella to his companion.

The little frog eyes were the charm of the item, and Azazel couldn't help but daydream while looking at the umbrella's adorable design... but Bella wasn't very much pleased with the whole thing, as she sensed something odd in it.

“Azazel, there’s something in this umbrella,” Bella warned.

“Eh? You’re just jealous that a human was kind to me and not to-”

“You idiot!" Bella gasped when the umbrella emitted a foggy aura. 

Quickly, Bella slapped Azazel’s hand from the umbrella’s holder. The little frog, previously light green, turned black, and the eyes, which used to have a black iris, turned yellow and seemed to blink, focusing first on Bella and then on Azazel. Before the two could track this spell, the illusion passed by as quickly as a leaf that flew away in a gust of wind.

“... Who gave you this?” Belial asked, bewildered.

“A short green-haired guy…” Azazel replied, also bewildered.

"Avoid him," Bella said and Azazel looked at her, confused. "He's being tracked, actually, he's being watched.”

"What?" Azazel asked. "And what does that have to do with us, you weirdo? It's his problem, not ours,” prompted to take the umbrella back, but Bella kicked the item away.

“The caster… was this man,” Bella sweated. She touched Azazel's forehead, giving him the man's info.

Azazel blinked a few times, and a smile began to creep across his face. “Interesting...” he chuckled, feeling the weeds of curiosity fill the monotony. “Why is that guy after the little guy?” Azazel caught the umbrella with a levitation spell and broke the tracking spell.

Bella- no, Belial, hesitated, but she spoke, "It's a warning. He's telling us that the boy is his."