My hand paused before reaching the little girl.
Her small body trembled, and her gaze was fixed on the ground.
"…"
I fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.
The little girl in front of me seemed so terrified, to the point that even though her back was already pressed against the wall, she still tried to push herself farther, as if she wanted to escape.
"I won't hurt you," I said softly.
Unable to bear seeing her so scared, I turned my face away.
"…"
The little girl remained silent after hearing my words. After a brief moment of quiet, she seemed to lower her guard slightly.
"I... I should go now…" she stammered, her voice trembling as she slowly took small steps toward the exit, which I only just noticed was camouflaged with branches.
"Wait…" I accidentally blurted out as I saw her about to leave.
Seeing her frail and thin body, covered in small wounds, I just couldn't let her go.
Hearing my voice, she turned to look at me with trembling eyes, tears welling up at the corners.
"I won't hurt you," I repeated, trying to soften my expression as much as possible.
"I just want to know… were you the one who helped me?"
The little girl fidgeted with her fingers upon hearing the question before replying in a soft, shaky voice
"Y-Yes."
I smiled upon hearing her answer.
"Then I can't just let my savior go, can I?"
"N-No…" she started to refuse, but I quickly interrupted her.
"I have a principle that always repay debts."
"But…"
She looked down at the ground, her ears drooping, but her tail was wagging.
"First of all, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have survived," I said as sweetly as I could.
Her ears perked up at my gratitude, and her already-wagging tail began to wag even faster.
"I-I understand," she replied, looking uncomfortable.
Grrr~
Her stomach growled loudly, and I couldn't help but chuckle despite the pain from my wounds, which had started to heal, perhaps due to my body's rigorous training.
"How about we go find something to eat?" I suggested. The girl looked down again, but this time, she soon looked up with a worried expression.
"But what about your wound?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the injury on my waist.
This little girl is truly adorable.
"I'm able to move now," I replied.
Seeing her cuteness, I couldn't resist reaching out to pat her head before remembering her fear of touch. I quickly pulled my hand back, feeling awkward.
The girl remained silent, making me worried.
"I'm sorry," I said.
She slowly shook her head, vigorously denying it.
"I-It's okay," she replied.
Seeing her earnest response, my heart skipped a beat.
I wanted to just hug this adorable little girl in front of me.
Why is she so cute? She looked at me with curious eyes, probably wondering why I had suddenly gone quiet.
I quickly regained my composure and slowly moved toward the entrance of the girl's hideout.
I carefully opened the exit and crawled out of the narrow space, with the little girl following behind me.
I know a fair amount about finding food in the forest, but when faced with the real situation, it's much harder than I thought.
Surrounded by nothing but trees, I had no idea where to start looking for food.
But soon, the little girl tugged on my arm with a frightened expression.
I turned to her, confused.
"R-Run," she stammered, her voice filled with fear, but I didn't understand what she meant.
Seeing my confusion, she spoke again, "W-Wild boar! Run!"
Finally, I understood what she was trying to say.
Facing a wild boar is something I could handle easily, even in my injured state, but seeing the little girl's frail body, I realized it could be dangerous for her, explaining her fear.
"Don't worry, I'm very strong," I said, but she continued to pull on my arm, urging me to run.
Just then, the wild boar appeared, and her pulling ceased.
The girl quickly placed herself in front of me, her ears standing up and her tail fluffed.
Grrr~
She let out a cat-like growl at the wild boar, even though she still seemed scared.
The wild boar, seeing us in its path, let out a loud squeal and charged at us.
Sensing danger, I instinctively reached for my sword, only to find it missing from my waist.
Panic struck me momentarily, so I shoved the girl aside and, in my panic, threw a strong punch at the wild boar's head.
The force of my punch was so strong that it knocked the boar's head against the ground, causing it to bounce up.
Oink~
The wild boar let out a loud squeal before going still.
"Well… looks like we have dinner," I said awkwardly to the little girl.
She seemed shocked but quickly stood up and rushed over to check on my wound.
"D-Did the wound hurt?" she asked.
Just look at her… Even though she was so scared that her legs were trembling, she still chose to stand in front of me to protect someone she didn't even know, and now she's not even concerned about herself, only worrying about my wound.
How can she be so cute?
Internally, I was screaming at how adorable she was and trying to suppress the urge to hug her.
"Ahem… Let's prepare a feast," I suggested.
The girl snapped out of her daze and nodded enthusiastically.
After agreeing on food, the little girl tried to lift the wild boar on her own, but her small body made it impossible.
I lifted the boar with one arm instead, which seemed to impress her.
Her eyes widened, and her tail wagged excitedly.
"Have you ever prepared meat before?" I asked as we finally reached the spot the girl had led us to.
The place was a small camp made of branches tied together with vines, which formed a neat little shelter.
I was quite impressed with the girl's survival skills.
For someone who seemed to be under eight years old, surviving in the wild like this was truly remarkable.
"N-No, I haven't," she replied, looking downcast.
Seeing her sad expression, my heart ached.
"It's okay. You're already amazing," I said, praising her sincerely.
This little girl, who had managed to survive in the forest alone and even saved me from a near-death situation, was nothing short of incredible.
I gently patted her head. Unlike before, she didn't seem to avoid my touch, so I felt confident enough to continue.
She lowered her head as I petted her, her ears drooping while her tail wagged vigorously.
I chuckled at her reaction before setting the wild boar down.
I looked around, searching for something to skin the boar with, and the girl seemed to understand my gaze. She quickly ran off and soon returned with a sharp stone in her hand.
"H-Here you go," she offered the stone to me.
I took it and examined the stone, which was indeed sharp. It seemed she had used it to cut the vines she used to build her small camp.
I carefully began skinning the wild boar with the sharp stone, while the little girl watched closely.
I wasn't very experienced in skinning animals, just following what I'd learned during my knight training for survival in the wild.
I couldn't help but feel that the sight of blood might be too much for her, but given that she had treated my wounds and survived in the forest, she was probably used to it.
As I skinned and cut the boar's meat, I tried to make conversation with the little girl until I realized I didn't even know her name.
"By the way, what's your name?" I asked.
She fell silent upon hearing my question.
"I… don't have a name," she finally replied.
Upon hearing that, I quickly turned to her.
This poor child didn't even have a name. I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pity for her, so I gently patted her head.
"How about I give you a name?" I suggested.