According to the maritime calendar, the year is 1504.
Eastern Blue, the kingdom of Oikot.
Belle Major was leaning against the wall, her left rib bandaged with a makeshift bandage, from under which blood was still slowly oozing.
She exhaled, holding the half-smoked cigarette between her teeth, but she no longer had the strength to light it.
Gunfire continued to ring out from outside, reminding her that the fight wasn't over yet.
..Just hold on a little longer, reinforcements will arrive soon.
"Is there anyone else here?" She screamed hoarsely, but her voice was drowned out by the roar of an explosion in the distance.
Belle-Mere gritted her teeth and continued her search.
As a Marine, it was her duty to ensure that there were no civilians in the area.
A dilapidated apartment building around the corner caught her attention.
Unlike other buildings that were completely engulfed in flames, the back wall of this house miraculously remained intact.
Intuition made her come closer.
"Hey! Is anyone inside?"
Silence.
Belle Major was about to turn around and leave when a faint rustle came from the depths of the ruins.
She immediately became alert and instinctively reached for the pistol on her belt with her right hand.
"Come out!A marine will not harm civilians! She raised her voice and cautiously moved forward at the same time.
Something moved in the shadows behind the pile of rubble.
In the light of a distant campfire, she saw three small figures huddled in a triangular space formed by a collapsed wall.
The black-haired boy stood in front with his arms outstretched to cover the two girls behind him.
An older girl with blue hair hugged a little girl tightly.
The three children came out of their hiding place one by one.
In front of him stood a boy of about five, so thin that his ribs were visible, but he stubbornly did not let go of the two girls who were walking behind him.
He was wearing only half of his shirt, the sleeves were torn to shreds, and there were fresh scratches on his arms.
The girl with purple hair on the left was about his height and was clutching the boy's belt tightly with her right hand.
In her left hand she was holding a little girl of about two years old. The child's red hair was matted and stuck to her sweaty forehead, and she was sobbing softly from fear and hunger.
"Medic! There are three children here!" Belle-Mer shouted to her comrades standing behind her.
She took a few steps forward, but the boy's wary gaze made her stop.
"Don't come any closer!" the boy growled in a hoarse voice, but with a determination unusual for his age.
"Don't be afraid, I'm a Marine," Belle—Mer slowly squatted down and looked into the boy's eyes. "Are you hurt?"
A blue—haired girl peeked out from behind the boy, and a little girl with red hair, whom she was holding in her arms, sobbed softly.
"Rain, she's hungry..." the blue—haired girl whispered...
It was dark an hour ago.
Then the piercing cold.
Rain abruptly opened his eyes and found himself lying face up in a damp alley.
The sky was so gloomy that it seemed as if it was pressing down on the ground, and from afar came a faint rumble — not thunder, but artillery fire.
"Where... Me?" He struggled to sit up, his head throbbing as if someone had hit him on the back of the head.
Everything was a blur in his memory, the last memory was a flickering computer screen, where he stayed up late reading the manga "Van Pease", and then endless darkness fell.
"Transmigration?" He looked at his hands—they were children's hands, small, bruised, with dirt under the nails.
Bang!
Not far from him, as a result of the explosion, a building collapsed, flames shot up into the sky.
The screams, screams, and enraged screams of the soldiers fused together, piercing his eardrums.
Rain instantly tensed up and instinctively pressed himself against the wall, forcing himself to calm down.
Gritting his teeth, he got to his feet and stumbled off in the opposite direction.
The streets were littered with ruins, with burning boards and broken stones everywhere.
Several civilians ran past him, crying and screaming, but no one noticed the injured child.
A soft whimper came from around the corner.
Rain held his breath, pushed aside a pile of collapsed wooden planks, and saw two thin figures huddled together in the doorway: a blue-haired girl tightly hugging a small red-haired girl of about two, both had tears and dust on their faces.
The girl saw him and shrank back in fear, but Rain didn't have time to explain.
He lowered his voice, "If you don't want to die, follow me. Soon this place will be shelled by artillery."
Perhaps it was an instinct born of a crisis situation, but the girl hesitated for a second, and then nodded.
Rain reached out to help them out from under the rubble, and before the three of them could hide in the nearest dilapidated basement, the place where they had been hiding was destroyed by a shell.
In the dark, the blue-haired girl shuddered and asked:
Rain sighed heavily and leaned against the damp wall. «...The Rhine." He paused, "Just like you, just someone who wants to survive."
He turned his head to look at the girl next to him and asked softly, "What's your name?"
The girl hugged the baby tightly, and her voice sounded soft like a mosquito squeak, "No...Nojiko."
"Nojiko?" Rain shuddered, and his gaze instinctively fell on the little girl she was holding in her arms.
Red hair... about two years... Really... "What about her? He pointed at the baby, who was still whimpering.
"By us... Her name is Nami." Nojiko gently patted the girl on the back and said with tears in her voice, "Our village...
She didn't say anything else, but Rain had already figured it out.
This was indeed the Pirate King's world!
And that was the tragic beginning of Nami and Nojiko's childhood.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down.
Now is not the time for upheaval; first you need to find a way to survive.
"Listen, Nojiko." He lowered his voice, "There's still fighting outside, we can't hide here forever, we need to find a safer place."
Nojiko nodded, but there was fear in her eyes.
Rain took a deep breath, carefully pushed aside the broken wooden board in the basement and looked outside.
Thick smoke was billowing outside, and the screams of soldiers could still be heard in the distance.
"Follow me and don't make a sound," he whispered, reaching out and taking Nojiko's wrist.
The three of them pressed themselves against the wall and cautiously moved forward, hiding behind the ruins.
Rain was on edge: any rustle could make him flinch.
They passed through several alleys, bypassed several fighting soldiers, and finally stopped behind a dilapidated apartment building.
He could barely protect himself from the wind and rain, and, most importantly, he was temporarily not covered by artillery shelling.
However, before they could catch their breath, footsteps could be heard coming from around the corner.
Rain tensed and instinctively pushed Nojiko and Nami behind him, covering them and peering intently in the direction from which the sound came.
"Is there anyone else here?" a hoarse female voice asked... "My name is Belle-Mer." She said, taking a piece of biscuit out of her pocket and handing it to Nami, "Eat first, reinforcements will arrive soon."
Belle-Mayor?!
Rain's pupils narrowed slightly.
It was Belle Mayor who adopted Nami and Nojiko!
In an instant, his taut nerves finally relaxed.
"...Rain," he said in a low voice, finally letting his guard down. "My name is Rain."
Belle-Mayor smiled, reached out and gently ruffled his hair.
"Okay, Rain, what's your name and that girl
's name?" And her name is Nami, she's from the same village as me." Nojiko replied.
She stood up and waved her hand towards the exit: "Come on, I'll get you out of here."
Rain watched her go, sighing softly in relief.
At least they won't be alone anymore.