Chapter 75: The Brother and Sister

Chapter 75 - 75: The Brother and Sister "Wahhh~~" "Thank you all! It's been so long since I've had such delicious food~~" "Me too! This meat tastes amazing~~" "Dad, you eat first~~" "Alright. Laya, you eat too. Your big brother and sister brought plenty." "Okay! Then I'll go thank them in a bit!" "Big sister, thank you for bringing us food~~" Three-year-old Laya ran over to Nami. "Hehehe, no need to thank me. I have lots more, so eat up!" Nami said sweetly, thinking how adorable this little girl was. "Okay! Big sister, you eat too!" Laya said, handing Nami a piece of cake. After a while, the food-sharing turned into a full-blown feast~~ "Cheers!" *Clink* "Ahh~~" "It's been so long since I had a drink. This feels great~~" "Hahaha!" "Thank you, Ryuen!" "Yes, Ryuen, I apologize for our behavior earlier!" "Hahaha, don't mention it. You had no choice; we don't hold it against you." "Ryuen~~ How come you have two heads~~ Hiccup~~" "Hey! Daisy, why are you drinking?!" The celebration was lively. In the empty space on this broken-down street, dozens of people seemed to forget their troubles and enjoyed themselves fully. The atmosphere was joyful. ~~~~~~ Early the next day, Ryuen and the others prepared to leave after leaving a good amount of food behind. They didn't leave any Berries because money would be of no use here. Giving them Berries would only lead to conflict. Kolbo's group was very grateful to Ryuen's group because they'd dealt with Kate's gang. Now, no one else would threaten their food supply in this area. Without Guyte's gang causing trouble, they could slowly start planting crops again. "Goodbye, Ryuen!" "Nami, I'll miss you. Bye!" "Goodbye, Nojiko, Kuina, Daisy!" "Goodbye!" "Laya, grow up strong and healthy!" As they said their goodbyes, Ryuen and the others left the area. Along the way, the girls were all in high spirits, chatting about yesterday's events. They felt proud and fulfilled from helping so many people. Nami was also busy, drawing maps of the area as they walked. Ryuen and the others helped her by handing her a pen or chopping down branches so she could do her work more easily. The mood was light and happy; they joked and played as if time had stopped. But as soon as they arrived at a small village, the cheerful atmosphere vanished. The village was eerily quiet, with almost no sound coming from it, making them feel uneasy. Curiously, they walked toward the village to see what had happened. The moment they stepped into the village, they were shocked by the scene in front of them. The place seemed empty, filled with only an eerie silence. On the outskirts of the village, there were fresh burn marks, as if there had just been a fire. Even more disturbing, there were a few bodies lying in the fields and grass outside the village, with patches of blood staining the weeds—a chilling sight. "A battle must have happened here not too long ago," Kuina said gravely, taking in the scene. Her tone showed both a respect for life and a sadness over the harshness of war. After the joy of yesterday's events, seeing this scene dampened everyone's spirits. "So, should we go in?" Daisy asked hesitantly, looking at the lifeless village. The other three girls looked at Ryuen. "Let's go inside and take a look. I have a strange feeling about this place..." Ryuen said, then walked in. The others immediately followed. Inside the village, things looked as ruined as expected, except for one house, which was much cleaner and seemed to have a light on inside. They exchanged glances before walking towards the house with the light. "Is anyone there?" Nojiko called out. After a moment, there was no response. Just as they were about to step inside, they heard a voice from within, "You... you can't come in! If you do... if you do, my brother will come back and beat you up!" Ryuen and the others looked towards the voice and saw a little girl hiding behind a door, her face filled with fear. Ryuen didn't say anything; the girl was clearly very wary. Speaking up might only make things worse. "Hello, don't be scared. We won't hurt you. Can you tell us what happened here?" Nojiko asked gently. "I... I'm not talking to you..." the little girl said, trembling in fear. "Growl~~~" Just as she finished speaking, her stomach growled loudly. "Little sister, we just want to know what happened here. If you tell us, I'll give you this cake, okay?" Nami said, opening her bag and pulling out a cake, speaking softly. The little girl looked at the cake with clear desire in her eyes—she wanted to eat it! But she still shook her head, rejecting it: "No, I'm not hungry!" "Growl~~~" Right after she said she wasn't hungry, her stomach growled again. "Hee hee hee, since we're not asking any more questions, here's the cake for you. Go ahead and eat it~~~" Nami said, placing the cake inside the house and stepping back. "Don't hurt my sister!" Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind them. Ryuen and the others turned around to see the little girl's brother charging toward them with an axe in hand, moving incredibly fast. Ryuen stepped forward and blocked his attack, though he frowned slightly. This guy's strength is pretty impressive! "Brother!" Seeing her brother's attack blocked so easily, the little girl immediately shouted. "Idiot!" "Ah!!!" The boy struggled to free his axe and swung it down at Ryuen again. "You're no match for me~~~" "Don't get so worked up. We're not here to fight you, and we won't hurt you," Ryuen said while dodging the attack. "Brother, they really haven't hurt me~~~" the little girl added. Hearing this, the boy stopped attacking and looked at Ryuen and the others warily, saying, "You're not from the neighboring village?" "Of course not. We're from outside. We just thought something seemed strange here, so we came into the village," Daisy explained softly. "Brother, they were just asking me about what happened here earlier~~~" The little girl ran to her brother's side and whispered. "Uh (⊙o⊙)... then sorry, I misunderstood you. I apologize." The boy apologized but still seemed very cautious. "It's okay. Can we sit down and talk?" Ryuen asked quietly. Meanwhile, Nami pulled out some food from her bag. It had been so long since they'd seen such delicious food, and both siblings were eyeing it hungrily but didn't feel comfortable asking for some. ---- You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my pat reon.com/GMadman