"That's amazing, Krai-san," Siti gasped, her unsettling smile returning in full force. "You read its exact trajectory and used the environment to set a perfect trap without even drawing a weapon."
"Umu," Anz rumbled his approval.
Eeeh? What is she talking about? Is he praising me for running away? Krai thought in confusion.
-
The terrified children slowly opened their eyes. The dead monster lay perfectly still on the wooden planks. Their fear instantly morphed into awe as they stared at the boy who supposedly killed the beast.
Dozens of small, sparkling eyes locked onto Krai. They looked at him like he was a legendary hero descending directly from the heavens.
Krai pressed a hand against his bleeding nose and groaned loudly. A sharp sting pulsed right between his eyes.
He had just tripped over his own feet. He completely failed to understand why a crowd was suddenly forming around him.
A tiny boy with a dirt-smudged cheek crawled out from under a shattered table. He reached out and tugged gently on Krai's sleeve. "Thank you, sky-man! You saved us from the scary dog!"
"Ehh...?" Krai mumbled. He wiped a fresh streak of blood from his upper lip.
A little girl rushed forward to grab his free hand. Her face beamed with absolute admiration. "That was so amazing! You just used the floor to crush it!"
"You are incredibly strong, big brother Krai!" another orphan shouted.
They immediately swarmed him. Tiny hands pulled enthusiastically at his scratchy clothes and patted his shoulders. Krai sat motionless in the dirt. His face throbbed with intense, blinding pain. He desperately wanted a cold rag.
"Un, un," Krai nodded slowly. He forced a weak, pained smile for the kids.
It hurts.
Krai closed his eyes. Please, just send me back to the clan house.
Ten minutes later, the howling completely stopped.
Covered in dark mud and foul-smelling monster blood, Lushi, Lize, and Ruke walked slowly back through the shattered doorway. The yard outside was littered with the broken corpses of over thirty Gray-scaled Hounds.
Sitting against the wall, Krai watched the glowing red SYSTEM interface suddenly flicker. The ancient language text vanished, and the screen reverted back to its peaceful blue state.
Breathing heavily, Lushi wiped a smear of blood from her cheek and then looked around the broken hall, her expression grim.
"This is very bad," Lushi announced loudly. "Our base is now entirely compromised. The scent of blood is everywhere. More monsters might follow the trail and come here later."
Hearing the terrible news, the brief moment of awe shattered. The younger children immediately began crying again, terrified at the prospect of more monsters returning in the dark.
"Hold on, that was not bad at all," Siti chimed in. She stepped over a dead hound and poked its ribcage with her boot. "Actually, this is incredibly good luck. We can sell these monster parts in the market. Their fangs and pelts are worth a lot of silvers. With this many, we can eat delicious meat for a week."
At the word 'meat', the crying instantly stopped.
The terrible fear gripping the hundred orphans completely vanished. Several of the older kids actually started drooling. Their hollow, desperate eyes drifted from the door to the dead hounds scattered across the floor. They looked at the horrifying beasts not as threats, but as a massive, walking feast.
"Look at the good side," Siti continued, her voice light and cheerful. "If the monsters come straight here every single time, we do not even have to go out and hunt deer or frogs anymore. We can just stay comfortably inside while the money comes right to us."
The children nodded aggressively, their faces suddenly filled with bright anticipation.
Lushi stepped forward and glared fiercely at the pink-haired girl. "Stop it, Siti. Do not teach the children that being attacked by deadly monsters in our sleep is a good thing. They might actually believe that garbage."
Crossing her arms, Siti opened her mouth to argue back. She turned her head, looking toward the wooden pillar for support.
"Do you not agree, Krai-san?" Siti asked.
She blinked. The space by the pillar was completely empty. There was no blue light. There was no groaning boy. He had silently vanished while everyone was distracted by the argument over monster meat.
"Krai-san?" Siti tilted her head, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second. "Where is Krai-san?"