Summary

As a child, he never knew the reason his parents vanished from his life. He only knew that he had to steal so he could feed himself and build a home in the wasteland within the big city. Coming from a species that struggles to die, it was always torturous to go without food for days, as he could deal with starvation longer than a normal human. Even if he wanted to, it would be impossible to end his own life without severe torture.

The only thing powerful enough to tear him out of his sad reality was watching TV at the local shop’s furniture showcase; it was always turned on to the same channel. Every Thursday evening, Agate would watch “The Comet from the West” on that very television. The cowboy lifestyle was one he wished to achieve one day, so he decided to adopt the protagonist’s surname, making it his life-goal to one day be as strong as his hero.

One day, in his early teen years, he wished to taste alcoholic drinks; just like the cowboys did on his favorite series. It seemed fun! Unfortunately, stealing his drink of choice from a bar called Nightingale proved harder than he bargained for, and the owner caught him before he could run away. Agate begged for his life to be spared, even though he knew he couldn’t die so easily. Gustav, the owner, seemed to have other ideas; he decided to hire the boy. A child from the stars was not common in this city, he’d never come across one before. Maybe, he thought, this could help boost his bar’s sales.

Proving his theory correct, having Agate working at his bar turned out to be a huge success. The rarity of his species and charming appearance brought in all sorts of new customers, turning many of them into regulars. Most people had only heard about the astrafilius in stories or internet rumors, so coming across one working at a bar out in the open was huge news indeed.

From there, his life escalated. Eventually, some of the bar’s patrons started to hit on Agate as he worked. This led to a steady income of extra money from night outs with drunk clients--he loved the attention, and his uncle, the owner, loved the money. As soon as he found out McAlcor was getting all this extra cash, Gustav supported the idea in an instant. They created a booking schedule for him, allowing for clients to properly book dates with the bartender--for a pretty penny, too.

From that point on, Agate’s life has become very busy. He does sex work during the day, and at night, he’s a bartender. He has done work as well for criminals and mafia leaders, where he’s acquired various substances to use on himself. The perks of being an astrafilius is that nothing can kill you; at least, not to Agate’s knowledge. McAlcor is very satisfied with how things are for him right now, but now that he has a name and a home for himself, he still wished for that cowboy lifestyle he always wanted since he was a child… and somebody to share it with.