Unfamiliar pink hair, skin even paler than that, and gray eyes of unfathomable depth. A child who looked as if they had come from another world stood there, clutching my father's sleeve tightly while staring at me.

I did not avoid that gaze. Instead, I looked closer. Trembling fingertips, a slightly bitten lip. Yet, within those eyes, I could glimpse an unidentifiable curiosity. It was a look that seemed to want to approach me, even while hesitating.

Eventually, the child stepped forward first to offer a greeting. I didn't miss the opportunity; I approached the child and spoke first.

"I'm Kyle. And you?"