NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56 - Episode 056: Little Girl, Expanding Her World (Part 1)
Episode 056: Little Girl, Expanding Her World (Part 1)
“Hey, Tina-chan, where did you come from?”
After the self-introductions were done, Lelei and the others surrounded Tina, starting to ask questions.
“I don’t know. It’s far away.”
“Oh, I see.”
However, Tina couldn’t answer that question.
She had lived in a village on the border of the country to which the city, where the last stronghold of the Morning Star Falcon was, belonged. Except for Ack, she had hardly received any formal education. Naturally, she knew nothing about the country to which her birth village belonged.
Due to her distinctly different appearance with both her parents from the other villagers, she lived quietly in a corner house in the village, shunned by the villagers along with her parents.
However, when she turned three, her parents were killed by monsters.
Tina miraculously survived thanks to being hidden by her parents, but with her protectors gone, her treatment in the village worsened further. She was not only subjected to verbal abuse but also often had stones thrown at her.
The only person who took care of Tina was an elderly woman who was like a living encyclopedia of the village. Through her care, Tina managed to survive, albeit barely.
However, when Tina was five years old, that elderly woman also died.
This triggered the villagers to plan Tina’s murder, seeing her as a bringer of death. Tina, who happened to learn about this plan, escaped the village and fled into the forest.
Tina ran desperately. She just kept running.
However, she was just a child, after all. It was only a matter of time before the villagers chasing her caught up.
However, luckily, Tina found a hollow in a tree and managed to evade the villagers by hiding there.
Later, while wandering aimlessly in the forest, Tina was unlucky enough to be found by slave hunters.
She tried to escape, but there was no way she could outrun the adults who had some combat experience.
She was quickly captured, knocked unconscious, and when she woke up, she found herself locked in a cage on the back of a carriage, being transported.
After that, she visited many places, and the number of women in the cage increased.
It was around the time they had come near the country’s border that they were attacked by orcs, and by some twist of fate, Tina was rescued by Ack and brought here.
Ack, who hadn’t asked about Tina’s past because he didn’t want to ask about it, didn’t know which village in which country Tina had come from.
So even though she had been taught about the surrounding countries to some extent, Tina didn’t know where she had come from.
“Where do you live now, Tina-san?”
“Outside the city gate.”
“Eh, isn’t that dangerous?”
Sona was flustered upon hearing the answer to the question. Lelei, Ruru, and Bell also had similarly puzzled expressions.
For anyone other than adventurers, mercenaries, wizards, and traveling merchants, outside the city was a dangerous area. Unless there was a good reason, people didn’t go outside, and many ended their lives within the city walls.
The same was true for these children.
They had been taught by their parents that it was dangerous outside the city, and since there were gatekeepers, they hardly ever left the city.
That’s why they were surprised to hear that Tina lived outside.
“It’s okay. Ack will pick me up and drop me off.”
“Ack?”
“My family.”
“Is that person an adventurer?”
While Ack was indeed an adventurer, his main job was being the owner of the Fluffy Café.
So Tina decided to mention his main job.
“He’s the owner of a café.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
Sona remembered the café owners in the city, but she couldn’t imagine them being able to fight. So she had doubts.
“It’s okay. Ack is strong.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah. He even cut a big snake in half.”
“That’s amazing.”
Tina expressed the size of the snake she had encountered on her way here with her expressionless face.
“Heh, that’s obviously a lie.”
Lelei and the others nodded in admiration, but then a voice cut into the conversation between the girls.
“Who?”
“Oh, I’m Gaspar.”
When the voice spoke, Tina and all the others turned to look. Gaspar blushed as he introduced himself, his gaze fixed on Tina’s face.
He was larger and more solidly built than others his age, with a tough-looking face and short brown hair. He gave off the impression of being the leader of the kids. However, he couldn’t meet Tina’s gaze directly due to her exceptionally beautiful face.
He was pure-hearted.
“Oh, I’m Tina. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you? That’s not it at all!”
Gaspar exclaimed indignantly in response to Tina’s self-introduction.
He had expected Tina to be more confrontational.
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘What’? There’s no way a café owner can be that strong. My old man is an adventurer. He’s definitely stronger than your café owner.”
Tina tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what was wrong.
Gaspar, pointing to himself with his thumb, boasted proudly.
He admired his father, who was an adventurer. He believed that his strong father, who earned a living by hunting monsters, could never lose to a mere café owner.
That’s why he had interrupted Tina’s conversation with the girls. However, it was only a slight reason, and the truth was that he just wanted to get Tina’s attention.
Unconsciously awkward and unable to be straightforward, Gaspar was a clumsy boy who didn’t know how to attract the attention of girls.
“Yeah.”
“Heheh. How about that? Are you scared now?”
Seeing that Tina didn’t retort, Gaspar smirked condescendingly.
Tina’s lack of response was simply due to her lack of interest. She knew that Ack was strong. Whatever others said about it didn’t matter to her.
“Hmm, not at all.”
“What did you say!? Fine, I get it. I’m also getting training from my old man. I’ll fight that café owner and prove it to you!”
“You can do whatever you want.”
“Don’t you dare run away!!”
Gaspar, frustrated by Tina’s complete lack of interest in him, spat out a parting shot and walked away.
His attempt to get Tina’s attention had completely failed.
“Are you okay? I heard Gaspar’s father is strong. And Gaspar himself is unbeatable among kids his age.”
“It’s fine.”
Although Ruru asked with concern, Tina remained unchanged, giving a thumbs up.
“I see. You’re confident, aren’t you?”
“Mm.”
Even if Gaspar’s father was strong, Tina believed that there couldn’t be anyone stronger than Ack.
Having witnessed Ack’s battles so far, Tina was convinced of that.