A 'Strange' Girl

…

"What do you want little girl?" Sean asked with an unkind voice. There's a little girl in front of him. She is wearing an abnormally big cape for her size. Judging by her clothing and scruffy mid length tan hair, she looks like an impoverished child.

The little girl in front of him did not relent from coming close. She held her tattered cape tightly around her body like she was hiding something. Seeing this, Sean thought she was naked, so he veers his sight away.

"U-Um…" she began speaking with a low voice.

"W-What?" Sean said nervously. Marco wondered why Sean was sweating and had his eyes rolling around. Marco looked at the little girl and saw her bare foot covered with bandages. He thought she was damaged, so he quickly comes to her proximity.

"Hey, there…" Marco greeted meekly.

"Um… h-hi!" she greeted with a shy voice. "I… uh… my tummy… rumbling!" she said while rubbing her stomach which was covered by her cape. She implied her starvation and Marco realized it.

"Ah, you're hungry, eh? Well, then, have a seat. I'll get you something reaaallly delicious."

The little girl's face smiles brightly. She quickly takes a seat. While doing so, she lifted her cape slightly, making Sean blushing with embarrassment as his notion still stands.

"Wha-he-hey! Stop that!" he yelled at her.

The girl paused and stared the knight with curiosity. She tilts her head slowly, "What's wrong, mister?" she asked with a cute voice. Sean who kept his facings at bay said that the girl should lower her cape, as he thought it was the 'only' cloth she wore.

"Mm?" she did not understand what he was trying to imply. "Mister… you… scared of me…?"

"Huh? Me? A knight? Scared of a little kid like you? H-Hah! Don't make me laugh!" he replied while facing the other way. "I-It's just that… please, don't lift your cloth. I-I-It's inappropriate."

The girl tries to figure out what he's telling her. Instead of lowering back her cape, she lifted it even higher. Sean peeps a bit to her and realizes her. In his surprise, he tries to stop her.

"W-woah-woah-woah, hold it right… there…!" he screams to her, but soon realizing that she is wearing a short dress beneath that big cape. Sean was extremely relieved. He's incredibly sweating greater than a rainstorm. He thought the girl was undressed, turns out to be incorrect.

"A… a girl should not do something like… like that!" he scolded awkwardly. "Why…?" she asked.

Sean blushes even more, "B-Because it's… it's…!"

"It's…?" the girl silently goes onto the table and near Sean, surprising him. Sean backs off from his chair.

"It's inappropriate, you idiot!"

"Inappropriate? This? My clothes aren't cute?"

"H-Huh?" Sean got confused. The little girl wasn't in one connection with him. "F-Forget it! L-Look, the food is coming."

"Wah!" she screams with joy. Marco is coming with a plate of egg fried rice. The girl returns back to her seat and is eager to eat. She looks so happy.

"Thanks for waiting~ Off you go to your tummy!" Marco says smilingly while passing the food to her. She drools with amazement when the plate is right in front of her. She smells the food. She can easily tell that it is super good, even though she hasn't eaten it yet.

Suddenly, she immediately eats it… in an odd way. Marco and Sean were shocked by her attitude. Well who wouldn't? She ate the food with her bare hands which could've been dirty. The way she munches the food gluttonously makes the explorer and the knight surprised.

"H-Hey! Eat with a spoon! Have you no manners?" Sean asked.

"Yum… nom-nom-nom…"

In Sean's mind speaks out, "S-She ignored me…"

Marco simply dismissed the way she ate and thinks of it as something that probably 'normal' in Alidia Kingdom, which soon gets turned down by Sean because even the visitors here was eating just normal.

"Well… you're right, though. I don't see any people here eating straight with their hands," said Marco while looking at some customers who also eat.

"See? I mean, just how delicious the food be—

"Mister, *yum* you want *nom-nom* some, too?" the girl offered while chowing down her food. "H-Huh?" Sean got confused.

"Come on, come on, Sean~" Marco teases, "Don't make a little girl cry~"

Sean looked at the lavishly cooked fried rice, garnished with garlic, an egg on the side. Very appetizing to anyone's eyes, even Sean did not realize he was drooling a bit.

"W-WELL!" he shouted. "I-If you offer me, then I suppose I will give a taste. Be happy, kid, for a knight shall taste the food you share!"

Sean was reluctant to eat a food from a kid whose hands were probably dirty as shit. But he remembers General Rhun, who was so humble that he would eat alongside the poor. He gathers his will and eats the rice.

"…rumble…rumble…WHAT THE HELL?! Why is this so good?!" he screams out loud as the delicacy passes through above his tongue.

"See, see? This… really good!" said the little girl. "Obviously it is, hahahahahaha! It is made exclusively by me, after all!" Marco revealed that he was the cook.

From just sharing the same meal and shared the same taste, Sean realized that it wasn't so bad to eat alongside an impoverished people. He soon forgets the fact that the girl's hands might be dirty.

…

..

.

As the dusk comes, Marco returns back to the inn with his friends, including Sean, that is. Nina stated that they should have enough money by now to continue their journey. Aily is the first to agree her, since she pouts how tiring it is to serve so many people. Not to mention she felt embarrassed being stared by so many people because of the waitress outfit both she and Nina wore.

Scias on the other hand, says the job was quite easy to do. Aily complained how Scias was never sweating a single drop, even though they were in the middle of desert. Scias implies that he was once serving as a soldier in a greater temperature than this, so the so-called 'high' temperature was simply nothing to him. Unusually, he is smiling, although a bit. He has a sack of coins tied to his waist bag.

In his mind, he reminisces, "Selling ice… is a good idea, especially in this kind of place."

…

While they're on the road, Sean tells Marco something. "Hey, Marco…"

"What?" Marco looked at him with a relaxed voice.

"That little girl from before…"

"Uhuh…?"

"She's following us, you know?"

"Oh, really?"

Marco looked to the back and notices the girl was following them. "Huh… you're right."

"What's all this fussing about?" Scias asked. He then joins Marco's line of sight and noticed the little girl following them while occasionally hides behind a gas lamp to avoid detection.

"Marco… what did you do this time?" Scias suddenly questions Marco.

"I didn't do anything. That's for real." Marco replied calmly. "Ah, you're lying." Scias sounded displeased.

"Oi, seriously, mate. I didn't do anything."

"I guess she's following us because you gave her something to eat?" Sean guesses. "Ach… see, you really did something again, M-Marco." Scias stated coldly.

"Huh? How would anyone follow you if you just simply gave them food?" Marco wonders.

"Everyone has different valuing of things, Marco," said Scias. "You could've saved that girl's life from starvation…" he added. "I wonder how on earth an experienced explorer like you would not know something like that." Scias teases.

"Huhuh, I don't wanna hear that from you, big guy."

"Huh… now on to point, what are you gonna do? It doesn't look like she's gonna give up following us…"

Aily turned her body around and asks, "What are you boys talking about?"

"We're just discussing what are we gonna do… …to that kid over there." Marco points out. Aily who was walking in reverse noticed the clumsy little girl who was following them till now. Nina who got quite curious, stopped right away, followed by the rest of the party.

"Who is that clumsy girl?" Nina asked. "I dunno." Marco replied casually. "Sean and I met her not so long ago, but I don't even bother asking her name."

The little girl realizes the party stopped and is looking at her. She tries to hide behind a barrier, but obviously, she would be noticed already. "My, how cute she is." Nina commented. She then approaches the kid slowly.

The girl wants to run away, but as soon as she makes her first step, Nina calls out, "It is okay, little one. We will not hurt you, please come here."

The little girl looks full of curiosity like a little kid who's visiting a new place. She is reluctant to meet her closely, so she stayed on her foot.

"S-Sis… is it okay to go near her like that?" Aily asked from the distance while closing her range to her sister.

"It's okay, Aily. She won't hurt us. That's because… she doesn't have the will to do so." Nina stated so while going to the girl's side. Nina's iris was lighting up. She was using her Mana Perception ability.

The girl looked at Nina who was taller than her, she realizes her active eyes.

…Suddenly, she unveils what's hidden beneath her big cape.

A pair of rope darts tied around her arms, the darts is sharp and quenched, made out of iron. Her eyes are sharp and stare wildly. Scias and Sean quickly grabbed the handle of their swords simultaneously as a backlash.

"That kid…!"

She grabs her darts and is eager to throw.