### Chapter 5: Don’t Eat Me, I’m Really Skinny!
I quickly sprang into action, hesitating only briefly between hiding and lying back down, before sneaking behind the bookcase, clutching my chest and holding my breath, waiting for the footsteps to arrive in the darkness.
What to do…
If it’s a member of the Church, or that Romani Doctor, or the Birdbeak Doctor, or Margaret… in my current state, I wouldn’t stand a chance against any of them. But if they find out I’m awake…
What should I do…
I was frantically anxious, my mind racing.
From the wooden door, a faint glow of firelight leaked in through the crack, followed by the sound of chains being pulled. The door creaked open, and it seemed there was no wind outside. A small, lithe figure holding a lantern tiptoed inside.
…Huh?
The light from the lantern instantly illuminated half of the room, and the sudden brightness was blinding. My eyes stung, and I instinctively shrank back. I could vaguely see the silhouette of the figure stepping in. It looked like…
A little kid?
Only a child had entered…
I paused, still processing, as I watched the child mumble something quietly to herself and head straight for the bed where I had been lying. Her small face was lit by the flickering firelight, and I could slowly make out her features—silver hair and sky-blue eyes. She was quite the delicate little girl.
An Eastern Continent person…
“I’m not scared… not scared at all… not scared, not scared…”
The little girl’s face showed some tension as she murmured those broken phrases, as if trying to build her own courage. She cautiously drew closer, not realizing that the bed was already empty, her eyes fixated on it, completely oblivious to my hiding spot behind the cupboard.
She looked to be around eight to ten years old, her footsteps light. Judging by her crouching, wary posture, she was definitely not a trained warrior; her back betrayed a myriad of vulnerabilities. In a second, I could have taken her down three times over, but let’s not rule out any miracles…
I quickly calculated in my head.
Just a little girl, after all. Even though I had no idea why she was here, she would soon find out that I was awake.
Before that happens, I better subdue her first.
Crack!
I grabbed a decaying wooden slat from a corner of the old bookcase. The sound startled the little girl, who squeaked in surprise, like a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights. In an instant, she turned to flee—but in the next moment, I lunged at her from behind, covering her mouth tightly, my wooden slat’s tip pressed against her throat.
“Don’t… say a word…”
Don’t talk, don’t move, or I’ll finish you off—at least, that’s what I intended to convey, trying to lower my voice to sound more threatening. But what came out was a jumbled mess, with my tongue tripping over itself. I made a muffled sound, and she responded in kind. Her body tensed up, frozen in place.
Ow…
My tongue twisted uncomfortably in my mouth. I opened it to see she seemed to be behaving well, so I slowly lifted my hand from her mouth, switching to grasping her neck instead, my fingers pressing down delicately as I asked, “Where… is… the… exit…?”
Ugh, so annoying…
Why can’t I get my words straight? Does she even understand what I’m saying?
“…”
The little girl remained silent for a while.
I asked again, “How do I… get out…?”
“…”
Still no answer. I couldn’t tell if she simply didn’t understand or was too scared to speak. I couldn’t see her face from behind, but I could feel her little body trembling violently and heard her breath coming in short gasps, as if she would faint at any second.
“Listen… don’t… scream…”
Are you even understanding me?!
I was getting increasingly frustrated.
Suddenly, I felt something warm dripping onto my hand that was gripping her neck.
…?
Wait, why is she crying now?
“Hey…”
I was starting to lose my patience.
Sure, she was young and looked even more timid than her age suggested, but where were we? In a “clinic,” where the Holy Church conducted all sorts of unspeakable deeds and inhumane experiments. If this girl was here, she was likely connected to all that in some way.
Having witnessed so many horrific things, why would she just break down crying as if nothing happened?
The little girl tried to suppress her sobs, managing only a faint “mm” before bursting into a fit of choked cries. She trembled even more, her legs almost giving way, and rather than making a sound, she kept her body completely still. I switched my grip from her neck to her chin, pushing up with my right arm to keep her from flopping over. The warm tears ran down her chin and onto my hand, which only added to my distress.
…Is this really a “clinic?”
I suddenly felt uncertain.
Clearing my throat again, I asked, “Where… exactly… is this…?”
Speaking slowly, I tried to make my pronunciation clearer while simultaneously fearing she might cry out or do something stupid. I pressed the sharp end against her neck again. She felt the pressure and stiffened, rigid as a board.
Another weak “mm,” and she quickly bit her lip to hold it in.
“Great… great… Deity… Lady, Lady Diana… inheritor… please… don’t eat me… I’m… I’m really skinny, not at all… not at all tasty…”
Finally, she managed to speak, her voice thick with tears.
She had a strange accent, somewhat like a dialect, something I’d never heard before, but I could still understand her.
?
Inheritor?
What kind of nonsense is this…
This little girl actually knows about the Deity!
And she knew the name of the Goddess of Sin!
“There are tastier options in the town, fatter people… oh… really… I can bring them to you… just don’t eat me, I’ll… bring them to you…”
Hey…
What do you think I am, some monster?
“Stop crying.”
I scolded her in a low voice, keeping an eye out for any movements outside the door, while my mind processed what the girl had just said. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in my head — this was not a clinic.
This might not even be the Western Continent!
“Who are you?”
“Sir… Sister… I’m… Betty… I’m not tasty… oh… not tasty at all…”
Ugh…
No way to communicate.
I suddenly felt a bit tired, loosening my grip on the little girl’s chin, letting the sharp edge fall away, tossing it aside carelessly. I took a step back, creating some distance between us. She stumbled a little but straightened up again in the next moment, holding her lantern tightly, standing frozen in place, afraid to cry loudly or even turn around.
It was as if she was terrified I would actually eat her, so much that she didn’t even think about running away.
This kid…
I didn’t know what to say. One thing was clear: she couldn’t be a member of the Church.
“Face me.”
I ordered her, and the little girl trembled again, obediently turning around, shoulders hunched and head down, clearly not daring to look at me.
I then commanded, “Look up.”
She lifted her head.
Caught in the firelight was a delicate little face with silver hair and blue eyes, glistening like dew.
Definitely an Eastern Continent person.
So…
“This… this is… an… Eastern Continent… town?”
“Yes…”
The girl looked at me timidly, steadily nodding.
Uh-oh…
I was in the Eastern Continent.
I—
I looked at the clothes the girl was wearing. They were indeed not the usual style worn in the Western Continent, and my conviction that I was far from home only grew stronger. Tilting my head to think, I was just about to ask her something else when my stomach let out a loud growl.
“Grrr.”
I froze for a moment.
Embarrassment hadn’t even settled in when I saw the expression on the little girl’s face suddenly turn to sheer terror. She shivered, and I heard the sound of liquid rushing. Following the flickering light, my gaze moved down toward the girl’s lower half.
And there it was—her light-colored pants rapidly darkening, yellow liquid streaming down her legs and pooling into her shoes.
I opened my mouth, unable to say a word for a while.
…cr*p.
She just wet her pants.
