Chapter 141: Children Who Had to Grow Up (7) (Part 3)

In front of the boy’s cottage in the forest.

Amy, who had been telling her story, finally explodes. She throws a tantrum, waving her arms and legs, screaming at the sky.

“Does he think that makes sense?! He says he’ll cut off someone’s wrist just for hitting one of those hideous dog?!”

Not done venting, she stomps her feet and circles the clearing.

Meanwhile, wearing a grim expression, the boy calmly asks.

“So, are those hideous dogs actually running around the streets now?”

“That’s what I’m saying! They’re roaming the streets like they own the place, scaring everyone! That baron is seriously deranged…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

The boy’s worried eyes settle on Amy.

“Then, Sister, isn’t it dangerous for you to be coming here?”

Amy looks at him for a moment, as though she’s been struck. Then her face turns red and she stamps her foot.

“Do I look like the kind of person who’d be scared of some stupid mutt?! Me, your older sister?!”

“No, that’s not what I…”

“Then what did you mean? Rem, I’m really disappointed. Do I seem that unreliable to you? Huh? Hmm?”

“No… that’s not what I, no, never mind.”

The boy lets out a long sigh, then looks at Amy with serious eyes.

“For the time being, Sister, you should stop coming here. Just stay at home until Sir Sinclair finds a way.”

That was the boy’s sincere advice.

He knew that if she got hurt while trying to come see him… He wouldn’t be able to bear it.

The problem was, Amy was an incredibly stubborn girl.

“No.”

“Sister…”

“Don’t look at me with those sad eyes. No matter what you say, we are siblings. Siblings must see each other every single day.”

“Sister, there are plenty of siblings who live apart…”

“Those people are old! You’re barely eight years old.”

“I’ll be nine next month…”

“Anyway!”

Amy stomps her foot, putting a forceful end to their conversation. She grabs the boy’s cheeks firmly and looks him straight in the eye.

“Don’t worry about your sister. Just wait for me again tomorrow. Got it?”

“But still…”

“Ah ah, I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you! Anyway, I’ll assume you said okay!”

And with that, Amy leaves the cottage as though fleeing.

The boy can only stare blankly at her retreating figure.

Finally, Amy’s figure disappears among the trees. The boy lets out a heavy sigh and slumps down on the spot.

“Well, she’s my sister… She’ll take care of it herself.”

She was the one who had carried him, a sickly boy, all the way from that far-off orphanage, alone.

Back then, he’d been nothing but a piece of baggage, so it must seem foolish for him to worry about her now.

…Yes, surely it’s foolish…

“Haa…”

The boy exhales again and stands back up.

It seems that logic is powerless in the face of worry.

Of course, the boy wasn’t planning on becoming Amy’s bodyguard or anything. After all, Amy was twice as strong as he was.

But… he just wanted to make sure she got back safely. Only then would his mind be at ease.

The boy skillfully follows Amy’s footprints. He’s done this several times before, so it doesn’t take long for him to spot her.

“Hmm hmm~”

Fortunately, Amy appears to be in perfect shape. She even hums a little tune as she walks along, looking rather cheerful.

Only then does the boy let out a relieved sigh.

But it didn’t last long.

Before he knows it, the boy’s eyes drift toward the other villagers.

Their faces held a mixture of fatigue and fear. Almost no one walks alone, and the women try their best to hide their children in their skirts.

Of course, unlike Amy, the boy was rather indifferent to the villagers, but…

Even he could tell that this wasn’t normal.

“I hope Sir Sinclair comes up with a solution soon…”

It was while mumbling this.

*Woof! Woof woof!!*

A sound more like air being torn apart than a dog’s bark.

Startled, the boy turned his head.

“…!”

*Grrrrr…*

It was one of those notorious hunting dogs.

The moment he sees those razor-sharp fangs, the boy immediately understands the villagers’ distress. Who wouldn’t feel their knees give out if such a creature roamed the streets.

But why is it looking at *him* with such hostility…

The realization struck the boy like lightning.

He recalled that dogs identify people primarily by scent. Perhaps the reason these vicious animals don’t attack the villagers is because they smell like ‘normal humans’ to them.

You know, the smell of bread, the smell of paper, the smell of dust. The smell of someone who lives in a village.

But the boy dwells in the forest. Even though he does wash to some extent, his scent likely resembles that of a wild animal more than a human.

In other words, he smells like prey.

The boy’s heart and head turn cold. Ominous thoughts and regrets cling to him like thin ice.

But the boy wasn’t given the time to ruminate on them.

*Bark bark!! Woof woof!!*

Because at that exact moment, the hunting dog lunges at the boy.

The boy surrenders himself to his primal fear.

*Woof woof! Woof woof!! *

“Hah…!! Hah…!!”

Thus began the start of a tragic chase.

***

How long had he been running.

“Hah!! Hah!! Ack!!”

The lush green blurs and sticks to his vision. He can no longer distinguish the pounding of his heart from the pounding of his feet. His heavy legs threaten to collapse at any moment.

But the boy couldn’t stop running.

*Bark bark!! Woof! Bark bark!!*

The barking strikes his back like a whip

Terrifying thoughts circled through his hazy mind.

Surely, the dog is right behind him. No doubt, it’s waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The boy can already feel the animal’s hot breath against the back of his neck…

Ah, maybe it wasn’t just his imagination.

“Aagh!”

Unable to bear the weight of the pouncing dog, the boy tumbles to the ground. The dog, now straddling him, stretching its yellow jaws wide.

Not seeing the blade flying toward its eye.

*Yelp-*

Letting out a pitiful sound, the hunting dog leaps back. The boy, who barely managed to stab the knife into the dog’s eye, lifts his upper body, panting as he stares at it.

He hopes this will scare the animal off.

*Grrrrr…*

But his hope does not come true.

Instead, having lost one eye, the dog appears not frightened but enraged. Dripping red blood, it approaches him once more.

“I-I have to run… Ahck…!”

The boy stumbles as he tries to stand. His disbelieving eyes drop to his ankle.

His ankle, swollen red.

Perhaps he sprained it when he fell.

“No, no… Move! Move, dammit…!”

*Grrrrr…*

“D-Don’t come any closer… I said, don’t come closer!!”

With a face drained of color, the boy uses his hands to shuffle backward.

*Thump-*

But the moment his back meets a tree trunk, that brief escape ends.

The boy’s terrified eyes turn to the hunting dog.

“N-No…! D-Don’t come closer… Please…”

Would the boy’s story end like this? So meaninglessly?

No, a meaningless death would be fine. What truly terrifies him is dying alone.

Like the last time he died, with no one to hold his hand.

He doesn’t want to grow cold alone again.

Suffering a second lonely death seems unfair.

Please, he’s not asking for much.

In a broken voice, the boy murmurs.

“S-someone, please…”

And God grants wishes only at the cruelest moments.

“Yaaaaaaaah!!”

With a shout, a wooden sword slams into the dog.

*Yelp-*

The dog recoils as pitifully as before. But this time, its opponent does not let that unguarded moment go to waste.

A golden beast rushes in, tangling with the black dog.

A chaotic ensemble of screams, whimpers, and barks. Blood and drool paint a gruesome abstract. Screeches and cries tear the air apart.

But it didn’t last long.

Finally, the golden beast pins the dog down. Pulling out the knife that had been embedded in the dog’s eye, it swings upward.

*Squelch.*

*Squelch.*

*Squelch.*

Three gut-wrenching sounds.

The dog’s body quivers, then goes still.

And then the battered beast stands upright.

No, it’s Amy, covered in blood.

“A-Amy, Sis…”

The boy’s face, which had been blankly staring at Amy, suddenly crumples. Tears well up in his eyes.

But those tears never reach the ground.

“Shhh…!”

Amy rushes over and pulls the boy into a crushing embrace. Even though she herself is on the verge of tears, she absorbs the boy’s sobs.

She strokes his head as though trying to calm his fear.

“It’s, It’s okay. Si-Sister is here now…! I’m sorry… I’m sorry I got here so late…! But now your Sister’s here…”

But the boy’s tears do not stop.

Is it relief, you ask?

No, the boy is far too intelligent for that. The moment Amy killed that dog, he realized everything.

The Baron had said he would cut off the wrists of anyone who harmed the dogs. So, what kind of punishment would he inflict on the one who *killed* one of his dogs?

Trembling uncontrollably, the boy clings to Amy.

“I-I’m sorry… Si-sister, I’m sorry… Be, because of me… b-because I…”

***

I muttered the words I hadn’t been able to utter back then, sounding rather indifferent.

“I should have just died back then.”

If only I had died then, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Even now, my thoughts haven’t changed much.