Hajime-san, I can also feel the presence. I will jump and pull it!"
"No, it is okay."
Hajime stopped Shia, who tried to jump without minding that her clothing would be dirtied, by holding her neck root. He then once again pressed his hand on the ground and used transmutation. A lattice was created along with red sparks in the waterway. Because the lattice was set diagonally up, the child being swept away moved towards them and stopped when caught by the lattice. Hajime operated the gimmick in his left arm. His arm extended to catch the child, and he pulled it to the passage.
"This child..."
"Well, this child is still breathing... Let's get out of here for now, the smell is very bad here."
Seeing child they saved, Shia widened her eyes in surprise. Hajime also had knowledge of the child's appearance, so he was surprised in his mind. However, their current location wasn't good physically and mentally, so they moved to another location.
Somehow, since it didn't seem to be an accident where a child fell into the waterways and drowned, Hajime who was hesitating to return to the street from the hole he created earlier, used transmutation close to the hole and opened another hole in the drainage passage after recalling the arrangement of the buildings on the surface. Thus, while holding the small child wrapped in a blanket he took out from the "Treasure Box," they began to move.
Red sparks suddenly appeared in a certain back alley, and a hole opened on the ground. The ones who jumped out from there were Shia and Hajime carrying a small child with him. Hajime used transmutation to close the hole and he shifted his gaze back towards the child he was holding.
From the child's stature, he or she should be around 3 or 4 years old. With long emerald green hair, and though the child was dirty, it didn't change her lovely features. The child should be a girl. However, the most eye catching thing were her ears. Unlike humans, her ears were fan-like fins. In addition, what peeked out from inside the blanket were maple-like small hand, and a folded thin film attached in between her fingers.
"Looks like this child came from Sea-dweller tribe... Just why is she in such a place..."
"Well, I am certain it wasn't for a good reason."
The Sea-dweller tribe was a tribe with considerably special position even among the demi-human races. They lived in «Seaside Town of Elisen», located offshore of the sea right beside «Great Dessert Guryuu-en» in the west of the continent. Using their special characteristic, the tribe caught 80% of the marine products that appeared in the market in this continent. It was the reason why they were publicly protected by Herrlicht Kingdom even though they are demi-human race. In the end, it was all about the money, since they were protected because they could be used even while the discrimination continued.
That was why it was unbelievable for a person of the Sea-dweller's tribe, who were being protected, to be washed away in the drainage of an inland's big city, even more so when it was a child. The smell of crime was intense.
As they were thinking of the girl from the Sea-dweller's tribe, her nose twitched, her eyes opened and blinked. Then, the big, circle pupils, began to stare at Hajime. Hajime, whose gaze somehow met hers, didn't look away and stared back. With the unknown tension floating around, Shia, who seem to know something, approached her with an amazed expression. Suddenly, the stomach of the girl from the Sea-dweller's tribe let out a cute growling sound. With her nose twitching again, she moved her gaze from Hajime and her eyes locked on the wrappers Shia bought from the stalls.
'These?' Shia thought as she tilted her head and moved the wrappings with skewered meats inside from right to left. Just like magnet, the girl's gaze followed. Apparently, she was quite hungry. Shia tried to take out the skewered meats from the wrapping while Hajime began talking to the girl while transmuting.
"Okay, what's your name?"
The girl whose eyes were captivated by the skewered meats Shia was holding was surprised and ducked her body when bright sparks suddenly appeared from the ground followed by a floating square box. Hajime asked her name once more, and after her gazed wandered around for a while, she said her name in small whisper.