After staying in Gazania overnight, we left first thing in the morning, walking down the dirt path to our destination, Magnolia.
"How far away are we from Magnolia?" "Ha, weren't you the one talking about adventure this and adventure that?" Leaning forward with an accusatory gaze, Cana narrowed her eyes at Lucy, who awkwardly coughed before averting her gaze. "I-I'm just curious, that's all. "Hmm, sure."
With Cana letting Lucy off the hook, she sighed in relief before glancing back at me. "Two days." Responding with a yawn, we briefly descended into silence before Lucy and Cana started playing I Spy.
"Hmm, I spy with my little eye, something brown." "Trunk? Dirt? Feces? A bird?" As Cana spouted answers one after the other, Lucy promptly shook her head to each; Cana continued to guess for a few more minutes, naming every brown thing she could see before giving up. "Haa, alright, you win. What was it?" "Heh, it was big bro." Grinning victoriously, Cana rolled her eyes before starting her turn.
While they did that, I led them, taking a detour to the left as we entered the forest, purely because it was, ironically, calming to me. 'Well, the forest is akin to a second home to me.' Hearing birds chirp, critters running about, and faint growls and roars of predators, I heaved a deep breath, enjoying the familiarity.
"Anyone hungry?" Turning around, I glanced at the two of them, though they promptly shook their heads. "No, thank you." "Yeah, I'm good." "Hmph, you didn't have to respond so quickly." Scoffing, I faced forward and folded my arms.
"Um, big bro, what were your parents like?" After a brief bout of silence, Lucy broke it by leaning forward and looking up at me, causing me to furrow my brows. "Where'd that question come from?" "Just wanted to know more about your past." Glancing at the innocent curiosity in her eyes, I softly sighed and shrugged my shoulders.
"My parents were how all parents should be. Loving, comforting, selfless, supportive, and most of all protective." As the memory of my father and mother sacrificing their lives flashed through my mind, I shook my head and glanced at Lucy, who beamed. "They sound like wonderful parents." I just nodded in response since she was exactly right. "Do you still remember their names?"
"Their names? Jack was my Father's and Lucy–" "Hmm, yes?" "No. Lucy was my Mother's." Lucy's eyes briefly widened in surprise at my words. "Huh, I think that explains a lot of things." "What are you talking about?" Glancing at Cana with a raised eyebrow, she proceeded to elaborate.
However, I was no longer listening as my focus had been stolen by the sight of small footsteps heading deeper into the forest. 'That's a human footprint, and at that, it must be a child.' Having stopped in place from my findings, Lucy and Cana eventually noticed something amiss. "You okay, Big bro?"
Frowning, I approached the footprints, squatting down before them as I closely inspected them while the two others arrived on either side of me. "Eh, are those footsteps?" "Yeah, but don't they look kinda small?"
The idea that a child would be out here, in the dangerous forest, was ridiculous, but my instincts were buzzing in the back of my head, warning me that something was wrong. Slicking my hair back, I brushed aside the shrub blocking the trail, only to notice some of the leaves were stained in blood; plucking a leaf, I tossed it into my mouth.
"Ugh, t-that's disgusting!" "Seriously, big bro! Do you know how many different diseases and viruses are probably on that leaf?" As Lucy and Cana voiced their opinion, I focused on the taste of the blood before eventually spitting it out. "First off, considering I lived seven years in the forest like a beast and never got sick, diseases and viruses are the least of my concerns…" As I stood up, my gaze hardened.
"... Secondly, that blood contained a minuscule amount of testosterone. Too little for a man, even a woman would have more." "And, that means?" "Only a child could have that amount of testosterone." Cana and Lucy gazed at me in disbelief while opening their mouths, clearly wanting to refute, but no words ever managed to escape. After all, as illogical as it was for a child to be out in such a dangerous forest, I was living proof that it was a possibility.
"Don't fall too behind." Shooting the two of them a look, I didn't linger around and erupted into a sprint, dashing through the forest, nimbly avoiding trees and bushes while following the trail of footsteps. It only took a few minutes before I heard the growling and the beasts and the sound of a young girl.
Speeding up, I followed the sound, crashing through a tree before arriving at the scene, though pissed wasn't enough to describe what I felt. Cornered against a tree, surrounded by a pack of wolves, was a single young girl. However, that young girl was bleeding, crying, covered in deep bruises and several cuts, entirely nude, and worst of all, was terrified.
Seeing a child in such a state, even though it wasn't the first time, still made me furious. Gnashing my teeth, I released my bloodlust, targeting the wolves, causing their growls to fall silent as they lowered their heads and tails, whimpering and trembling in fear.
"LEAVE." They didn't know what I said, but from one beast to another, they understood me, and they wasted no time before sprinting off into the forest in separate directions, fleeing as their lives depended on it.
As they left, I recalled my bloodlust before quickly approaching the girl, who had collapsed onto the ground. "Hey, child, stay awake, okay?" Using Indestructible magic on her, revitalizing her somewhat, I quickly took off my pants, wrapping them around her, which left me naked, but that was a minor issue.
'She's so cold.' Feeling the coldness of her skin, I stabbed my hand into the trunk behind her and used fire-make magic, setting the tree on fire, hoping to warm her up.
While cradling her, I heard heavy footsteps from behind, followed by a trio of voices. "Moo, we've arrived, Lucy." "Thanks, Taurus." "Hey, what happened, big bro? Eh, why the hell are you naked?"
"Lucy, get your first aid kit." Side-eyeing Lucy, she faintly nodded while the two approached, flanking either side, only for them to freeze when they saw the young girl in my arms.
"M-My god. W-What happened to her?" "I-Is she okay?" "Lucy!" "S-Sorry!" Once Lucy snapped out of her daze, she quickly reached into her satchel, removing her first aid kit while nervously sitting beside me, prompting me to set the girl on the ground.
However, it seemed our brief moment together was enough for her to regain her bearings, as she quickly sat upright, raising her hands to mobilize her magic power, intending to attack us. Before she could, I flared my own magic power, causing her expression to turn to fear. "Stop it, child. We're trying to help." There was a long pause as I stared into her eyes before she hesitantly lowered her arms.
"Good. Lucy, tend to her." Moving out of the way, I sat beside the girl, fueling her with my magic power while Lucy proceeded to tend to the girl's numerous wounds, her shocked expression returning once more as she witnessed her body. "My goodness… Don't worry, I'll make you feel better." Hiding her disgust and anger behind a kind and reassuring smile, Lucy tended to the girl while humming a song.
"Cana, do you have any extra clothes?" Looking up at Cana, she shook her head before removing the jacket she was wearing and handing it to me, leaving her in nothing but pants and a bra. Her usual attire. "I'm fine with just this." Nodding, I removed my pants from the young girl and placed Cana's coat over her shoulders.
The next half an hour was overwhelmingly silent, save for Lucy's humming as she tended to the young girl; none of us was in the mood to speak, as for the girl in question, she wasn't either, and we had no intention of forcing her.
"Alright, all done! Do you feel better?" Clapping her hands with a smile, Lucy looked at the girl, who nodded. "Thank you." "Heh, I don't need thanks for helping a cute girl." While Lucy put away her stuff, I shifted my gaze to the girl, who was now heavily bandaged. "I'm going to talk with my team, okay?" Seeing her nod, I removed my hand from her shoulder and stood up.
Putting my pants back on, Lucy, Cana, and I distanced ourselves from the girl, the former's happy-go-lucky smile nowhere to be seen. "Those bruises. They weren't from beasts. Someone did that to her." Lucy's tone was filled with nothing but disgust and anger. "What fucking trash, no, worse than trash being could do that to a child?" Cana promptly spat on the ground, hitting the tree she had leaned against.
"You'd be surprised how many people are capable of harming children." At my words, Cana and Lucy looked at me, prompting me to display a bloodthirsty grin. "Don't worry. I've slaughtered every last one I come across." "Hmph, good. The world is better without trash." "Bah, hope they rot in hell."
"Anyway, what do we do with her? Do we take her with us, or do we try to find her home?" While it would be quicker to take her with us, we didn't care about how long it would take. "Obviously, we try to find her home." "Yep. I agree with big bro." "Good, looks like we're all in agreement."
After reaching an agreement, we returned to the child, who cautiously observed us. "Alright, we've decided to take you back to your home." Reaching down, I gently picked the girl up, placing her on my back, causing my eye to twitch lightly as I remembered she was practically naked in a slightly large jacket; however, carrying her on my back hid most of her body, and it allowed me to fuel her body with my magic power.
"Anyway, what's your name? I'm not going to address you only as 'girl'." At my words, the girl hesitated slightly before responding. "M-Minerva."