Led by Luta, we walked around the royal capital.

　The royal capital, Mulia, is a city of 300,000 people and is very large. The area I'm walking now is the first time I've ever walked there, and it seems to be on the east side from the center of the capital.

Mahr.

　Hmm?
　Ms. Illtimina called out to me so that the two people walking in front of me couldn't hear me.

The next block is the slum. Please stay away from that area.
What?
It's a bit of a crazy place in there, don't you think?

　As she said this, her gaze was looking at the more eastern side - the compartment closer to the city walls.

(Is that so?)

　You know, I've been warned about this before.
　Yeah, let's be careful.

　Eventually, the two of them stopped at a section of the city that was not a favela, but was inhabited by people who were not wealthy in their own right.
　In the midst of a row of houses that were noticeably dirty and damaged, there was a large, single-story building.

(Is this the orphanage?)

　In the weed-filled garden, children between the ages of 3 and 15 were playing.
　They were swinging on the swings hanging from the branches, chasing each other, and some of them were reading a wrinkled book in the shade of a tree.

　And the children soon recognized Asbel and Luta.

'Oh, brother As, sister Luta!
Welcome back.
Welcome back.

　Everyone smiles and rushes over in unison.
　Oh?

(They're both very popular.)

　Even Asbel-san, who had been depressed just a moment ago, laughed at the smiles of the children and picked some of them up to say "I'm back". Luta-san was also gently stroking the slightly damaged hair of those children.
　Their smiles were so warm.

''Who are you?''

　Hmm?
　A boy about my age notices me, too.

　I bailed.

"Hello,
What, you new here with the Ass brothers?
Nope.

　Shake your head.

Are you a friend of Mr. Asbell's, in case you were wondering?
Oh, yeah?

　He looks at me with a jittery look.

　The other children have also gathered and are looking at me with interest. In particular, they seem to be curious about the 'fairy sword' on my waist and the 'silvery white cuirass' on my left arm.
　Hmmmm?

BAM!

　I let the red 'magic emblem' shine on the back of my right hand.

　Pooh.

'Oh!'

　They cheered.

'You were an adventurer!
Well, yeah.

　He looked at me with respect. It feels kind of nice.
　I'm good at it.

'But it's red, I'm a beginner.'
What?
I knew my brother Ath and sister Lutha would be better than you.

　The kids nodded their heads in agreement.

''..........''

　After all, the two of you are more popular from this orphanage, right?
　Shikushi.

　When I noticed, Illtimina-san, Asbel-san and Luta-san were watching me from behind, and the three of us were giggling and laughing.
　Ku, d*mn.

　When I was doing that.

'Asbel, Luta, how nice of you to come?　Welcome back!
"Mother Della.
Mom, we're home!

　A well-dressed middle-aged woman came out of the building and hugged them both.

'How are you doing?'
Yes, sir.
All right. All right.

　crumpled

　With a friendly smile, he ruffled their hair.

　They looked troubled, but happy.
　I was a little surprised, because the two of them looked like little kids at that moment. Surely they had been loved by her in the same way since they were very young?

Mom. We brought you this. Do we share it?
Oh, my goodness, Lutha. As always, I'm sorry. --Thank you.

　Della receives the wrapping.

　The kids around her say, "Wow! He cheers.
　The two of us look happy to be pleased, too.

　Then, Della-san's gaze turned to me and Illtimina-san.

'Oh, who are the two of you over here?'

　We bail.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Iltimina Wong, an adventurer in their guild. This is...
Merle. Hello.

　Della said, "Oh my God.

So it's two friends of yours?　You're welcome.

　She looks very happy.
　Asbell-san looks a little embarrassed, and Ruta-san smiles softly.

'There's nothing to see here, but come on, come on?
Uh-huh.
Yes. Excuse me.

　So, with Della's guidance, we entered the orphanage.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　The inside of the building looked like a nursery school.

　The older children were taking care of the younger ones while the children were having their own way. There were only three adults, including Della.

'Mother?　Is the management in good hands?
I've got the support of the state, so I'm still trying to figure it out.
Okay.

　Mr. Asbell and his friends are having such a conversation.

　Me, on the other hand.

Come on. You want one?
Oh. Thanks.

　The other kids shared some of Luta's souvenir snacks with me.

　Mug.

　Yes, it's delicious.

　Not to thank them for that, but I, too, seemed to be interested in them, so I told them about my adventures so far.

　My first time defeating a goblin, I failed.
　And then, revenge.

　I defeated the hobgoblins, dove into the Dior Ruins, killed a bunch of skeletons, and finally confronted the Skeleton King.
　Then, I came back alive with Asbell-san and the others.

''Oh!

　Everyone listened with a twinkle in their eyes.
　It was kind of nice.

　But the most exciting story was the story of Kirt Amandes, the Golden Mark demon hunter, slaying a vast sand sea monster, a 30-med giant sandworm.

(I knew Kirt was popular!)

　Finally, I thought to myself.

　Iltimina-san was looking at me, gathered with these children, with a strangely kind look in her eyes.

　And a little girl by her side.

Are you Merle's sister?
What?

　I asked such a question.
　Ms. Illtimina was surprised, then gave a small grin.

'Yes. A guardian, a lover...?
Hmm?

　The girl nodded her head, as if she didn't understand.

(............)

　I heard a whisper in my ears, and I was so happy and embarrassed at the second word that my face turned bright red.
　The kids around me have a strange look on their faces.

(...but I'd love to get the first word off someday.)

　That was me.

　Incidentally, Asbel-san, who was taking care of the other children, fortunately or unfortunately, didn't seem to hear what Illtimina-san just said. But Ryuta-san seemed to have heard, as she was giving him a pitying look.

　And, as he was spending time like that.

Mom! Mom!
Oh, my God!

　Suddenly, the children came back from outside with such a voice.
　As it was, they jumped on Della-san as if in a hurry.

(Hmm?)

Hey, what's going on?

　Della is surprised.
　The children say, half-heartedly.

'Poe, Poe's gone!
We were playing tag on the street outside, and before you know it!
What?

　Lost?
　Asbell and Luta also frowned.

'Mother, what's Poe?　New girl?
Yeah, I just took in a girl three days ago. She was lying in an alleyway.

　Really?

　Della's expression clouded over as she looked out.

That's why I'm still new to the geography of this area. ...I hope I haven't gone to the favelas.
..........
..........

　An uneasy murmur.
　I felt a nasty feeling, like the hairs on the back of my neck stood up against me with a zap.

　The children who were with her felt responsible, crying, repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," as if they felt responsible.
　Della was desperately trying to hug and quiet those children.

　The two blue-marked adventurers quickly stood up.

''Okay,''
We'll go find him.

　I looked at Illtimina.
　She nodded.

'We'll come with you.'
'Yes, sir.' --First of all, can you tell me more about the child, what he or she looks like and where he or she got lost?

　After hearing the story, the four of us immediately ran out of the orphanage.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Lost and found, Poe.

　From what I've heard, he's about 9 or 10 years old.

　Her hair is golden.
　Her hair is soft with a peculiar color, and her hair looks short like a boy's at first glance.

　Her eyes are bright light blue.

　Her skin is white, and she is a little skinny.
　She is a little thin.

"...she's a bit of a peculiar child.

　The orphanage's mother, Della, said.

　The name Poe was given to her at the orphanage; she hadn't spoken her name since we took her in three days ago. Maybe she doesn't know.

　Poe is a very laid back person.
　Her name comes from the fact that she's always in a relaxed mood.

　He doesn't talk much, just stares blankly at the sky.
　If you don't talk to her, she spends all day.

　But the kids at the orphanage liked him. They all seem to be trying their best to take care of her, saying, 'We have to protect Poe. Just a small smile from her was enough to make everyone happy.

(..........orphanage mascot, or something like that?)

　So now all the kids look sad.

　Yeah, we have to find them soon!

　In search of the lost Poe, me, Illtimina, Asbel, and Luta, we came to the street where she was said to be missing.
　It's a pretty wide road.

　But there was trash and debris, and visibility was poor in places.

　We split up to look around, but Poe was nowhere to be found.

This is not good.

　Mr. Asbell mutters.

'The side streets in this street all lead to the favelas. Poe's guy, really, could have gone that way.
..........
..........
..........

　The favelas.
　For the first time, when I came to this royal capital, Mulia, it was the first place that Iltimina-san warned me not to go there,'' she said.

　The Silver Seal Demon Hunter looks at us.

''Let's go.''

　I said.

'But you must never be alone. Asbell with Luta. Marle must remain here.
What?

　Am I a housekeeper?

　Mr. Illtimina crouched down in front of me.

'In the favelas, the people who are most targeted are children. They will be attacked as s*x tools, as a commodity, and for many other reasons. Even if you have a strong marl, I wouldn't recommend going there.
..........
And there's a chance this Poe kid could come back here. I don't want to be the wrong person.

　If I looked, Asbel-san and Ryuta-san both nodded their heads.
　I bit my lip.

'....Okay.
Thank you, Merle.

　kiss

　Ms. Illtimina kisses my forehead.
　Wha?

　Mr. Asbell, astonished.
　Mr. Luta, holding his mouth in his hands, astonished.

''Then I'll be off.''

　Illtimina-san smiled gently and stood up.

　Luta-san patted the pensive Asbell-san on the back, and then the three adventurers went straight into a side street.
　Soon, their backs would be out of sight.

(............)

　I can't wait to grow up, I thought strongly.

　Then I scoured the street once more, biting down on my frustration. Instead of just waiting, I decided to look for something I'd missed or a clue.
　I searched for about ten minutes.

'Oh?'

　There was one shoe that had fallen off in front of a side street.

　Children's shoes.
　They are common, cheap, commonplace.

　But I recognized them.

(Are these the exact same as the ones all the kids in that orphanage were wearing...?

　Maybe Della bought these shoes for her children.
　I mean, are these....Poe's?

..........

　I looked at the end of the side street.

　A favela.

　Unfortunately, Illtimina and the three others hadn't gone down this side street. I don't know if I should take my time. One of these shoes had come off.
　If I waited for the three of them to return, it might be too late.

(Okay, let's go.)

　I made a decision and stepped into the narrow alleyway.

　I might get angry with Illtimina-san later........as I walked, I suddenly thought about that.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　I entered the favela.

　Of course, there was no sign that said 'This is the favela district'. But I recognized it right away.
　The air was different.

　There was a strange tension in the air, as if it stung my skin.

(.........what is this?)

　It was like being alone in the depths of the Great Aldrian Forest.

　The weak and the strong.

　Such a word comes to mind even though I'm supposed to be in King's Landing.
　The vigilance inside me was screaming that I shouldn't let my guard down here. I keep my right hand on the hilt of the sword, so that I can pull out the 'fairy sword' at my waist at any time.

''..........''

　The streets are narrow and dirty.

　There is a sudsy smell.

　Some of the houses are nearly abandoned, but there are signs of people inside. There is graffiti, feces and urine on the walls and blood.

　There are a few people out front, too.
　Skinny people sitting on the ground.

　Men and women.

　Young and old.

　They look exhausted, but their eyes are glazed over, and they send me persistent looks.
　My feet are heavy, as if tangled in spider silk.

　Some of them get up and follow me.

　I didn't look back, and only paid attention to their presence, never letting them get too close.

(Poe.....

　If, indeed, she was here, I could see that it was very bad.

　The child's shoe in her hand and the child's shoe against her nose.

　Cunn.

　If you call me a pervert, call me a pervert.
　If it helps you, Poe, I'll gladly accept the stigma.

　God's Dog.

　To live up to that name, I closed my eyes, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath while concentrating only on my sense of smell.

(............)

　This way?

　It smells like a fresh sunny day in this snug, smelly environment.
　It's the same smell as my shoes.

　I began to pace toward it.

　Within five minutes, I had reached a dimly lit alleyway that was empty and unpopular.

"--shh, --

　I heard a voice.　
　I stopped in my tracks.

　Around the bend in the alley ahead of me, the voice came from there.
　It's some kind of arguing voice.

　I killed the sound of footsteps and approached.

"What the hell, man!　Suddenly you've got the wind of cowardice in your sails?　Ah!
No, no!

　Just a peek at his face.

(There was.)

　Habitual blonde hair, a girl who looks like a skinny boy with white skin, and only one shoe.
　It's Poe.

　There are about a dozen men beside her, all of whom look uninviting.

　A one-eyed man, who seems to be the biggest of them all and the leader of the group, has his burly hands on Poe's thin wrists. But she has her back to me, so I can't see her expression.

　It was a square surrounded by buildings.

　On the other side where I am, there is another narrow street.
　Other than that, it's a wall.

(In other words, those two escape routes...)

　They were shouting at each other in front of me as I checked my surroundings first.

"Hey, I don't get it!　But the kid is in trouble!　You'd better not mess with it!
Oh!
'What?　Or should we let him go, brother?　

　One of his minions says something like that.

　?

　The unexpected words startle me.

　And in the next moment, his minion was punched in the face by the fist of the leader, a one-eyed man. Whoa?

　Five meds flew.

　Fresh blood flowed from his nose.
　With that amount of blood, my nose could possibly be broken.

"You've gotta be kidding me!

　The atmosphere trembles with an angry voice.

　A series of angry kicks are dropped on the fallen man. A dull thud follows, and then the voices begging for forgiveness turn to screams, and then they are inaudible. He was alive, but every bone in his body was broken and his body was swollen.
　Still, the one-eyed man did not stop attacking.

　The minions around him did not move.

　No, they couldn't move.
　There was fear on their faces, and they were even killing for breath to prevent their leader's anger from turning on them.

(Chance.)

　Everyone's attention is on those two men.
　Take a deep breath.

　tat

　I jumped out of the corner of the alley where I was hiding, low.

　Pulling out my sword.

　Passing through the rogues and approaching the leader, I don't hesitate to cut off Poe's left wrist, which is restraining his wrist.

　Hukon.

Huh?

　One eye looked at me.

　At that moment, I was already grabbing Poe's hand and running for the other side of the road. I ran through the gap between the surprised minions at once. A man's scream from the intense pain echoed at my back.

(As is, I'm going to run away!)

　As soon as I thought that, my left arm was pulled hard.
　Eh!

　I stepped on the tatara and turned around in a hurry.

　Poe had fallen down.

　It was so sudden that she couldn't react. Her legs were tangled and she had fallen face first to the ground.
　I rushed to hold her.

　Frantically, I tried to run the other way, but I couldn't get there in time.

　Two of my men were already standing there.
　This is not good.

　I hurriedly change directions to the corner of the square to avoid being surrounded, hiding her behind my back and holding my "fairy sword" at the rogues.

(Shh, I missed!)

　Inwardly, I'm getting impatient.

　The leader of the group, a one-eyed man, draws a huge axe from his back while shooting me an angry glare. The men under his command are also holding their weapons at the same time.
　Condensing killing intent.

''Goooooooo........you little bastard, what are you?　No, whatever!　I'm going to pull your guts out of your body and kill you!

　Anger due to severe pain.

(............)

　The last time I heard from Mr. Kilt, he told me

"If you can kill someone, you have to kill them. Don't hesitate.

　And.

　To the demon hunter, the 'demon in the hand' was the most dangerous state of affairs.

　Anger and survival instincts.

　They would make the demon's combat power jump up by leaps and bounds.
　Carelessness would also disappear.

　If they couldn't kill him when they could, the chances of them being killed themselves would be greater.

(........and yet...)

　I hesitated.

　--I was human.

　I've killed a lot of demons in my life. But I've stabbed a human, but I've never killed one yet.　
　That caused me to hesitate.

　I should have cut off the real head, not the wrist.

(Crap.)

　It's too late to regret it.

　There's a girl at my back that I need to protect.
　My escape route has been blocked.

　Against 10 rogues, I still have no choice but to do it.

Come on.

　I told them briefly.

　Piquantly, their reaction changed. The room, backed by their numbers and size, had vanished.

　The air was tighter.

''Oraa!''

　One of his minions pounced on him.

　Geez.

(!)

　The moment he taunted the forceful sword with no technique, he was shocked by its speed and power. Not just any human........these people are the 'Demon Blood People'!

　I was astonished.

　Because the 'demon blood people' that I knew were all 'good people'.
　Of course, I knew in my head that there were bad people too.

　But seeing them for the first time, and almost getting killed, made me a little upset.
　I could have fought back, but I couldn't react.

(Pull yourself together, Merle!)

　I chastise myself and decide.

'Ugh, die!

　Another man, one of his minions, swings his sword down in a big way.

　Cain.

　Carefully prevented.

　Phew.

　He stroked his neck - stroked it.

　Fresh blood gushed out like a broken fountain, and the startled man backed away, holding his neck. He stared at me with frightened eyes and fell on his back.

　I finally - I became a 'murderer'.

"..........

　But I didn't have time to think about it, nor did I have time to regret it.

　They didn't retreat because of the damage to their comrades, but rather exploded in anger and rushed to me.
　At the same time, they attacked me with a myriad of deadly weapons.

　Kink, gun, gin, hyphen.

Huh.

　Desperately, dodging, taunting, preventing, fighting back.

　There's a girl behind you, a girl to protect, and you can't avoid her in a big way. You'll need to twist multiple opponents, outnumbering them in strength and speed, with swordplay alone.

(Don't lose!)

　I scream with my mind.
　The experience of fighting a bunch of skeletons in the ruins of Dior came alive.

　My sword slashes at them while preventing their attacks.

''Guh!''
d*mn ... what's with the kid?
What the hell?

　He kills two of them and inflicts deep wounds on three of them.

　But finally the leader, the one-eyed man, swung a huge axe and rushed in at a terrific rate.

'Eeeeee, move!'

　The guy in front of me gets blown up.

(Ugh, not good!)

　That huge axe strike is indeed too much for the sword to catch. It's not something that can be done by the side. But if I avoided it, the horrible battle-axe would hit Po-chan behind me.
　What to do!

　The moment you get lost.

　Gigi .........

(!)

　I thrust the 'White Silver Armor' on my left arm forward.

　Gigi, gah, gaaaah.

　The green magic stone at the joint of my wrist shines, and the silvery white ore that overflows from it covers my left arm in a sizzling manner, becoming a huge, dragon-like 'silvery white left hand'.

　It moves on its own according to my will.

　Gakiin.

　Easily, I grab the axe and catch it.

"What?

　The one-eyed man is astonished.

The left hand of the silvery white hand, bites into the metal part of the axe and throws the one-eyed man grasping the handle to the side.

　Boom, boom.

　A man, nearly 100 kilos, flew through the air, slammed into the wall of the building and fell to the ground.
　Cracks ran across the wall in a spider's web of cracks.

''Hi, hi.''
Holy shit...?

　The remaining minions are aghast.

　I can feel the will to fight fading away.

(Good.)

　Run away, I hoped, but I was shocked to see the impossible in my vision.

　I hoped so, but I was shocked to see an impossible sight in my field of vision.

　This is because more than 20 new rogues have come from the back road leading to the plaza in a hurry.
　........Isn't that a lie?

　With the appearance of his friends, the lost will to fight returns.



　I held up my 'fairy sword' again, with despair.

　I don't know if I can win.
　But I have to protect the girl behind me.

....

　Perhaps frightened, Poe remained crouched on the ground for a long time, slumped over, not saying a word. Her knee was bleeding, as if she had cut it when she fell.

　The twenty new hands all entered the square.

(.........Huh?)

　Suddenly, I noticed the expressions on their faces.

　They all looked strangely dark and tense.

　And the cause of this comes from the tail end of the line.

'--Oh, Merle?'

　A tall, beautiful woman with a white spear in her hand.
　Her crimson eyes found me and curled up in surprise.

　I, too, was stunned.

''I, Illtimina-san?''

　She remained silent, staring at me with my sword at the ready, the girl at her back, and the rogue men facing each other with their weapons at the ready.
　Suddenly, the air around me became cold.

''--I see.''

　She muttered.

　The new rogue men's expressions are strained with fear.
　The men in front of me gasped, too.

'We'll hear the details later. Marle, you'll have to wait a bit, won't you?
..........

　When she told him this, she smiled beautifully, like a demon.