Not long afterwards, Myuu responded by taking off the blanket along with her clothes dirtied by the drainage, and entered the bathtub. “Ekk!,” though her body was cringed as though she was frightened, she then narrowed her eyes when her body gradually got warmed up. Hajime handed the medicines and towel to Shia, passed the soap to Myuu, and he went out to the back alley to buy Myuu some clothing.
When Hajime returned from the back alley after purchasing Myuu’s clothing, Myuu had already gotten out of the bathtub and was currently being held by Shia, wrapped in a new blanket. While Shia was holding on to Myuu, she said “Ahh,” as she peeled off pieces of meat and fed it to Myuu’s small mouth — chewing to the utmost. Her dirtied hair regained its emerald green shine, and the reflected light created a halo around her head.
“Ah, Hajime-san. Welcome back. Although it’s amateur judgement, there’s no problem with Myuu-chan.”
When Shia noticed Hajime’s return, she reported while continuously stroking Myuu’s moist hair. Maybe because she also noticed Hajime’s presence, she began to stare at him again while still chewing. She might be judging whether he was a good or bad person.
Hajime responded to Shia’s words by nodding, and took out the clothes he bought. It was a milk-white, feminine one piece dress, one that looked similar to the one Shia was wearing. In addition, there was a gladiator sandal-like footwear, and underwear. Because the items were for children, he was worried about the shop clerk’s eyes when he bought them.
Hajime walked towards Myuu, took off the blanket, and put on the one piece dress over her head, quickly followed by the underwear. He knelt before Myuu and put the sandals on each foot. In addition, he took out an artifact that lets out warm air — in other words, a blow dryer — from the “Treasure Box,” and dried Myuu’s moist hair. Myuu stood completely still but although she continued to stare at Hajime, she gradually narrowed her eyes when pleasant warm air blew.
“… What can I say. Looks like Hajime-san is good at taking care of others.”
“What are you saying out of the blue…”
Although Hajime frowned at Shia’s words while he was still drying Myuu’s hair, his appearance was the evidence he was good at taking care of others, so Shia’s cheeks loosened with a smile. Hajime somehow felt embarrassed and averted the topic.
“Well, about what to do…”
“About what we should do with Myuu-chan, right…”
Because she understood the two were talking about her, Myuu alternately looked up between Shia and Hajime.
For now, Hajime and Shia decided to hear Myuu’s situation.
As a result, the content Myuu spoke of with her faltering voice was almost exactly what Hajime had expected. On a certain day, she got lost while she was swimming with her mother in a nearby coastline, and while she was wandering around, she was suddenly captured by a man from the human race.
After many harsh days had passed, she was transported quite a distance to Fhuren, and was then put in a dim, prison-like place. Inside the place, there were a lot of children of the human race. After she spent who knows how many days inside, several children who were with her were taken out on a daily basis but never returned. A slightly older boy said they were going to be displayed to guests and priced.
When it was finally Myuu’s turn, there was by chance a drainage maintenance that day, so the hole leading to the underground waterway was open. Myuu, who heard the nostalgic sound of the water, immediately jumped inside. Usually, there was nothing a 3 or 4 year old could do because the hurdle was too high, but fortunately, she wasn’t handcuffed. Myuu swam with all her might while enduring the unpleasantness of the filthy sewage. Though she was young, she was a child of the Sea-dweller’s tribe. The men could do nothing but run on the passageway to try and catch her, but failed to do so while she rode the current.
However, because she wasn’t accustomed to long travels, coupled by the stress of getting kidnapped, the unpalatable food, and the bad environment where she was soaked inside the drainage for a long time, Myuu finally lost her consciousness when she reached both her physical and mental limits. Her consciousness faintly returned thanks to being wrapped in a warm back, and she noticed she was being held by Hajime.
“The guests set the… price. An auction, huh. For children ranging from the human race and Sea-dweller’s tribe to be there, it should be an underground auction.”
“… Hajime-san, what should we do?”
Shia, who looked distressed, embraced Myuu closely. Her eyes were clearing expressing she wanted to do something about it. It was normal for the demi-human race to be captured and turned into slaves. Shia who was deprived of her family because of it, understood the fear and pain.
However, Hajime shook his head.
“It should be better to entrust her to the security office.”