A Person!?

"Mmm...…"

Sunlight streamed in through the window, forcing me to furrow my brows as I was rudely dragged out of my sweet slumber.

It would've been nice if Uncle Alex had installed some curtains before he left. Still, waking up on a soft, warm, and cozy bed for the first time made this morning feel not so bad.

"Mr. Bed, why does morning even exist...?"

Hugging my pillow tightly, I posed the question to my dear bed.

A breeze slipped through the cracks of the window and gently brushed against my cheek, as if to say, 'Stop spouting nonsense and get up already, you sleepyhead.'

"…I don't want to get up, though."

Kids love sleeping.

And that makes mornings hard for them.

So isn't it okay to sleep a little longer?

I'm still a kid, after all.

Though, mentally speaking, I'm technically an adult.

Besides, I don't have anything to do today.

Sleeping in on a weekend morning is basically a sacred rule. I don't actually know if today is a weekend, but if I say it's the weekend, then it is.

With that flawless logic, I decided to dive back into my golden, sweet slumber. I pulled the blanket over my head.

Sorry, Mr. Bed. I'm going to rely on you for a little while longer…

"Ugh."

Just as I wriggled around, trying to find the perfect sleeping position, a whistle-like sound blew through the window again, and an even stronger gust of wind surged in.

My blanket flapped wildly in the wind, relentlessly twisting and turning.

"Uwaaah…!"

Thanks to that, I tumbled around helplessly.

Ugh, seriously. It seems like Mr. Bed has no intention of granting my request.

"Why are you doing this to me? Fine, fine, I'll get up already!"

In the end, my ambitious dream of going back to sleep crumbled pathetically.

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I had no choice but to drag myself out of bed.

"...It's cold, even in the morning."

I started by shutting the pesky, drafty window before plopping back down on the bed.

"..."

Sitting there, zoning out.

Now and in the past, whenever I wake up tired, this is my go-to routine.

I don't even know why I do it. Maybe it's just because I've always been bad at mornings.

Waking up and doing absolutely nothing but staring blankly into space has somehow become my norm. And even though I've ended up in different world, it seems that hasn't changed.

"Uuugh..."

The sunlight streaming through the window was warm and pleasant. With the cold wind gone, a cozy drowsiness began to envelop my body.

The soft blanket on the bed was pulling me into its embrace, lulling me into a dangerous sense of comfort.

"Huuhhh!"

But I couldn't just give in again after coming this far, so I stretched out my stiff body with a long yawn.

If this had been my old, worn-out adult body, I would've heard a symphony of cracking joints right about now.

"…My body feels light."

It's probably because this body is still that of a child. No more creaking bones or stiff muscles.

All I could hear was the faint, squishy jiggle of my slightly pudgy belly.

Still, why is my stomach this round and full when I'm so hungry? What a mystery.

"Hm?"

Fully awake now, I was just about to get up for breakfast when something odd caught my eye.

"What's that?"

A small trail led from the back of the orphanage into the forest. It was the entrance to a mountain area marked with grim warning signs about monster appearances.

And there, just at the edge of the path, something black, like a plastic bag, flapped in the wind.

"…Doesn't look like a monster, though."

Alex did say he regularly cleared out the monsters near the village. It probably wasn't one.

Besides, I've never seen a monster that looks like that.

Though, to be fair, I haven't seen any 'real' monsters here yet. But based on the typical slime or goblin designs I've read about in novels, it didn't match.

"…Huh?"

As I scratched my head, trying to figure out whether it was a monster, a person, or something else entirely, the black object fluttered again in the strong wind.

This time, something flesh-colored—an arm and a leg—peeked out from beneath it.

"It's a person."

It was a person.

The black plastic bag-like thing was actually a black robe, and underneath it was someone who had collapsed!

"I have to help…!"

Whether they were starving, dehydrated, or injured, anyone lying there was undoubtedly in danger.

They must've been exposed to the freezing wind all night long. Their condition was probably terrible.

"Hold on! I'll be right there!"

* * * *

"Gasp"

Lying on the narrow path was a small, frail child.

But this wasn't an ordinary child.

Perched atop their jet-black hair were what looked like animal ears, and swaying in the wind near their hips was something that resembled a tail.

"A beastkin?"

Beastkin.

A unique race characterized by animal-like ears and tails.

I remembered hearing about them from Alex. It was back when I first met him, during the time he offered me that lizardman skewer.

* * * *

"Uncle, is a lizardman considered a monster?"

"Hmm? That's an interesting question."

Normally, lizardmen aren't something you'd expect to see served as skewers in fantasy settings. They're often depicted as intelligent creatures, after all. My curiosity got the better of me, and I had asked.

"Well, it seems you're not too familiar, so let me explain from the beginning."

"Yes, please!"

"Races can be broadly divided into five categories. There are humans with high intelligence, beastkin with superior physical abilities, demons with powerful magic, celestials with divine magic, and monsters—who don't specialize in anything but have all sorts of unique traits."

"Oooh, so there's beastkin too?"

"Once upon a time, the five races lived in harmony. But one day, the demon king appeared…"

The story that followed was predictable but still managed to feel unique.

The demons, seeking power, targeted monsters first. Monsters, while numerous and diverse, were typically weaker than other races.

"...Most monsters, except for a few, fell under the demon king's spell, losing their intelligence and turning into mindless beasts."

Using these brainwashed monsters as living shields, the demons then began attacking the other races.

"That's when the beastkin split into factions. Half of them sided with humans and celestials, while the other half allied with demons and monsters. The lizardmen were among the beastkin who chose the demon's side."

"I see."

"Sadly, the demons didn't spare their beastkin allies either. They were all subjected to the demon king's magic, just like the monsters, and lost their intelligence."

"...That's such a tragic story."

Since then, the war had stagnated, dragging on endlessly to this day.

"With their intelligence gone, there's no way to negotiate with them. They've become nothing more than killing machines, slaughtering humans, celestials, and even other beastkin on sight."

"..."

"Because of that, beastkin in general aren't looked upon kindly. After all, half their kind betrayed the others…"

"..."

"To this day, innocent beastkin still face unjust discrimination. Thankfully, there aren't many people like that around here, but in the capital, it's a different story."

At the time, Uncle Alex had a sorrowful look on his face. I had wanted to ask him more but decided against it, changing the subject instead.

* * * *

And now, one of those beastkin was lying in front of me.

Collapsed, unconscious, and pale, they looked like they'd been through a lot. Their frail body showed no signs of movement, and it was clear they were in bad shape.

Perhaps they'd been attacked by a monster nearby… or maybe…

…First things first, I need to treat them.

Their right leg was bleeding heavily.

A deep, clean cut, likely made by a blade, stood out against their pale skin.

Alright.

I could do this.

Even though I didn't have any formal medical training, I could at least handle basic first aid.

No—I had to handle it.

Back in my old life, I often taught my subordinates how to treat battlefield injuries. All I had to do was follow those same principles. This wasn't any different.

If someone like me, who had earned the title of top tier soldier five times in a row, couldn't handle this, who could?

"Hang in there. I'll save you no matter what!"

And…

"I promise!"

Let's do this!

* * * *

Thankfully, the first aid was a success.

While the wound was large, it was only a superficial cut, so it wasn't too difficult to treat.

After carrying the child into the orphanage, I laid them on a bed and properly stopped the bleeding. Their complexion seemed to improve slightly as a result.

I had torn off part of my own clothes to make a makeshift gauze and bandage, which seemed to work well.

As expected of me.

"They're sweating a lot…"

But despite stabilizing their wound, the child's overall condition still didn't look good.

They'd probably been exposed to the cold wind for a long time, leading to a fever.

I needed to wipe the sweat off with a damp cloth, but…

"Where can I find a towel?"

No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find one.

The orphanage, despite looking fine on the outside, was still an abandoned building with most of its supplies stripped bare.

"…Ugh, whatever."

If there were no towels, I'd just have to make one.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I ripped a piece of my clothing.