Night had fallen.
When the young girl woke up again, her eyes were greeted by a sky filled with twinkling stars, while the chirping of insects and calls of birds echoed in her ears.
Beside her, a warm fire was burning…
Fire!?
The girl sprang up from the ground in a single leap.
“You’re awake?”
“Don’t eat me! I’m not delicious, I have no meat, just bones; there isn’t a single soft spot on my entire body, everything is hard as rock, you’ll just chip your teeth if you eat me…”
The girl spat out a long string of words without taking a breath, which left Duya speechless.
“Calm down, child. I am not a monster.”
Duya tried to explain his human nature, but no matter how he phrased it, the little mushroom-gathering girl remained terrified, huddled to the side, hugging her head with teary eyes as she stared at him.
Seeing her like that, one might assume this was an 18+ scene featuring a creepy old man kidnapping a little girl.
But clearly, Duya was a good person… or at least, that is what he believed.
“Take a closer look, please. I am truly not a monster.”
Hearing Duya’s words, the girl finally trembled and looked up at the man before her.
After washing away the grime and tidying up his appearance, Duya’s features were indeed those of a handsome, ice-cold man.
For a girl just starting to experience the pangs of youth, his looks were quite impactful.
That is, provided you ignored the pile of mysterious bones nearby!
So, no matter how much Duya tried to explain, the girl remained terrified and frightened, curling up like a hedgehog and trembling uncontrollably.
Duya seemed to understand the girl’s concerns.
He thought for a moment, then spoke.
“Those bones belong to a wild boar I just killed. They are not what you think they are.”
Though the boar bones might be far off from the stack behind him, they were surely enough to fool this girl.
“Besides, if I really wanted to eat people, why would I have kept you until now? Just look at how long you’ve been asleep.”
Duya’s calm, flat voice raised the girl’s trust level by a few percentage points.
It wasn’t much, but at least it was no longer in the negative.
She looked at the man’s cold, grim face and asked with uncertainty.
“You are really not a monster?”
“Do you think a monster would be sitting here talking to you so calmly?”
“No…”
“Then there you have it.”
Duya shrugged.
It had been a bit of a hassle, but at least he had made himself understood to this little one.
“More importantly, what is your name, and where did you come from?”
Having been lost in the forest for three days, even with his rich experience in wilderness survival, it was nearly impossible for Duya to walk out of this forest alone without a map or instruments in such an unfamiliar environment.
He needed this little one’s help, or at least to find a place inhabited by people.
Only then could he further pursue clues about the Bubble Shadow.
“My name is Bulanni… I came from Moon Crescent Town.”
As the girl calmed down little by little, she patted her cheeks and let out a soft, sweet voice.
“What about you, big brother?”
“Me?” Duya asked, spreading his hands.
“Just call me Duya. I’m lost in this forest right now. Can you lead me out?”
“Ah…” The girl parted her lips, then nodded.
“Okay.”
But a child of her age had difficulty distinguishing between good people and bad, especially a girl who had always lived a peaceful life; she was certainly prone to believing others.
“Follow me, big brother.”
Looking at this completely unguarded girl, Duya couldn’t help but ask.
“Do you trust me just like that? Aren’t you afraid I might be a bad guy?”
“Huh?” Bulanni blinked, looking at Duya.
“But big brother, didn’t you say you were a good person? And you didn’t eat me just now.”
Seeing the girl’s pure demeanor, Duya couldn’t help but sigh.
Clearly, she didn’t know that there were people who acted as “guides” for the enemy, nor did she know the phrase, “This way, Your Excellency.”
If he were truly a bandit, he might have wiped out that town entirely.
But then again, did bandits even exist in this game’s world?
Duya pondered this while following the girl forward.
After about 1 hour, the two crossed the forest and reached a hillside.
Without the trees blocking the view, Duya finally saw signs of human life.
Even at night, the lights of the Renaissance-style town in the distance were dazzling.
“That’s Moon Crescent Town!”
Bulanni pointed to the town in the distance, speaking happily to Duya.
“We need to go back quickly, or Grandpa will be worried.”
“Right.”
The two followed a small path back into town.
However, on the way, Duya sensed that something was wrong.
Logically, if Bulanni had been missing for over half a day, there should have been a search party out.
Why was there… absolutely no one on the road?
No torches, no shouting, only the faint sound of wind blowing through the wheat fields.
The town in the distance was brightly lit, but it felt entirely devoid of life, as if it were… a ghost town.
Yet, the girl kept a happy smile.
She walked ahead, the basket of mushrooms swaying with her light, brisk steps.
“Big brother, why don’t you stay at my house for the night?”
In this cold and eerie world, only the kindness of the girl before him could bring a faint bit of warmth to Duya.
But for the sake of this overly kind little one, Duya couldn’t help but say.
“Aren’t you afraid of what I might do to you at night?”
“Hmm?”
Bulanni just tilted her head, asking in confusion.
“What do you mean by that, big brother?”
“…”
Clearly, this little one had no knowledge of such things.
Continuing the topic would more or less be seen as corrupting a child, so Duya could only use a metaphor.
“Men are all big hungry wolves. Who knows? I might eat you up at night.”
“Ah? No, no, no. I’m too thin, I don’t have much meat—I’m not delicious!”
It seemed he couldn’t explain it to her at all.
“Forget it, I’ll just find somewhere else to spend the night. And little one, don’t just bring strange men home; it’s very dangerous.”
Seeing they were about to enter the city, Duya decided to part ways with the girl and find somewhere to sleep, perhaps under a bridge.
However, before he could take two steps, a small hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Duya looked back to see Bulanni holding onto him.
She spoke in a soft, faint voice.
“But… if big brother sleeps on the street, that would be too pitiful.”
Faced with those sparkling eyes and the little one’s request, even as cold as Duya was, he couldn’t find the heart to refuse her.
Besides, it wasn’t great to let such a young child walk back alone this late.
It would be better to see her home.
“Fine.”