They leapt across the rooftops until they reached the city center—a busy area where cars moved back and forth through a massive five-way intersection.
They stopped near one of the corners, in front of a small red-brick building.
Vines stretched between the bricks, and yellow-flowered shrubs colored the walls. It was as if nature itself had reclaimed its place over the bricks, painting them with the color that had saved humanity from extinction.
In fact, nearly every visible building in the city shared a similar appearance. It was like looking at a city conquered by nature. Immense trees stretched toward the sky—green and healthy. Bushes were everywhere. Birds of every kind sang among the branches, and small rodents lived within the tree trunks.
In this era, humans had made sure not to repeat the mistakes of the past. They gave nature free rein to weave itself into the city.
Anyone might think it's a bad idea to let vines and plants consume entire buildings, but in this age the materials used in construction are far more resistant to the erosion of time than those of Old Earth.
They approached the black wooden double doors of the small two-story establishment.
Groan… The door opened on its own with a deep creak.
No one was surprised except Miyu, who nearly choked on her fish-shaped pastry—something Nova had bought her on the way.
Even though the self-opening door was something everyone expected by now, she still flinched every single time. You could see her hair bristle and her body tense up in fear.
Suddenly, a small, chubby, flying reptilian creature darted out from inside the building and landed on top of Nova's head.
Its scales were red like a blazing flame, with a pale hazelnut-colored belly and a plump little tail that looked far too heavy for such a tiny body. The little reptile smiled with sharp teeth, and its fin-shaped articulated ears twitched happily.
It was an extremely adorable creature—so adorable that even Miyu mumbled its name with her mouth full.
"Poki!"
The creature paid her no mind and kept its gaze fixed on its closest friend—Nova.
"Hey, Poki. Where's the Doc?" the team leader asked, completely ignoring the fact that the adorable creature had claimed his head as territory.
Understanding Nova's words, Poki let out a high-pitched roar and took flight again with his small red fan-like wings. He flew deeper into the building with visible effort, as if his whole body weighed too much, then hovered near the entrance, waiting for them to follow.
Clearing her throat so she wouldn't look ridiculous after getting startled—and because the little reptile had completely ignored her—Miyu swallowed the rest of her pastry and said,
"We've gotta hurry. We have to celebrate!"
Before anyone could respond, she followed Poki inside.
'She's way too hyped today. Did that pastry have too much sugar?'
There was no way to know. Nova glanced at Elara. She shrugged. Both of them looked at the doorway and walked in.
The interior of the building was filled with cardboard boxes stacked with papers and assorted documents. There was a desk in the back and two couches along the sides. The entire place, with its dark wooden walls, smelled like old paper and writing ink.
On the far right side stood the old creaking staircase that led to the second floor. Sitting on those stairs was a young, slender boy with messy brown hair. His eyes were black, and judging by his clothes, he was a student from a nearby school.
The boy held his communicator in one hand, clearly distracted by whatever he was watching.
"Miyu?" Elara asked him.
Without taking his eyes off the communicator, the boy pointed upward. Nova followed his finger toward the top of the stairs.
'She's so fast… Someone should really install a brake system on her or something.'
Well. That meant Miyu had already gone upstairs, following Poki.
"Thanks, Loki. See you later."
Elara gave a slight bow as she climbed the stairs. Nova nodded so Loki would understand he was saying goodbye, and the supposed teenager lifted a hand silently in farewell.
Nova followed her up the staircase. The girl's armor continued to creak as she moved forward with elegant steps. After a few seconds, they reached a more open area. Since the building was small, there was only space for two rooms on the second floor.
In the first room, with its pure white walls and long, flat ceiling lights, there was a white-sheeted examination bed along with basic medical tools, cabinets filled with medication, boxes of various supplies, and that sort of thing.
A metallic scent filled the air, mixed with a faint trace of medicine. Well, this was a doctor's office, after all.
As they passed the doorway of the clinic, Elara glanced at Nova and raised an eyebrow, subtly gesturing down the hallway toward the next room. Without a word, he understood and nodded.
The armored girl continued down the short wooden corridor and disappeared through the door at the end.
Meanwhile, Nova entered the clinic and laid Rober down on the examination bed. He stared at him for a few seconds and sighed.
'You're reckless, man… My enhancement doesn't boost your physical resistance that much. You should be more careful,' he let out a brief chuckle at what he was thinking. 'Like you can even hear me…'
Setting those thoughts aside, blowing up alongside an Aberration wasn't exactly the smartest idea—but Rober seemed to enjoy blowing things up and blowing himself up with them. The canine boy already had a reputation for explosive incidents. Whenever it happened, it was always quite the spectacle.
Nova pulled the sheets up and covered him. Since Rober was fairly small, he didn't even fill the entire bed. He almost looked like a kid with ears and a tail. Well, you could say he is a kid. He's the youngest on the team.
'Seeing you this defenseless reminds me of that time we drank until we passed out,' Nova thought. A brief image from the past flashed through his mind—himself staring into a mirror with his face completely scribbled over in black marker. 'That marker didn't come off with water…'
A faint sarcastic smile curved his lips.
'You know what? I think that deserves payback.'
Approving his own idea with a nod—like a total nerd in the darkness of his own mind—he walked over to the Doc's desk. He pulled a black marker from one of the drawers and removed the cap.
'I was never good at drawing, but let's see how well I can paint on this nearly blank canvas.'
He ran the tip of the marker across Rober's face from side to side. Scribbles began to appear over the canine boy's brown skin as Nova moved his hand. He even drew an adorable little Poki on one side of his face.
'Perfect. I'd laugh out loud if I could, but I won't. Besides, they're waiting for me in the other room. See you later, Rober.'
After humiliating his friend like that, Nova put the marker back where it belonged and headed to the next room.
As he passed through the doorway, he noticed Elara had left her shield and sword by the entrance. He stepped inside and found the two girls waiting, seated on an old black leather couch in front of a desk and a chair facing the window.
Miyu was hugging Poki with all her strength, and poor Poki was clearly suffering because of it. Elara, on the other hand, had her eyes closed as she rested beside the feline girl.
Calmly, Nova sat between Miyu and Elara. The armored girl opened her eyes when she felt him sit down and looked at him briefly before turning her attention to the empty chair. Miyu nodded cheerfully at him, then went right back to smothering poor Poki.
'Alright then… let's see what you've got for us today, Uncle.'