The Corpse Eater they’d cornered stood more than twice the hunters’ height. It gripped a withered tree trunk, and its bulk dwarfed them. Two spear-men in front drew its gaze, slipping past each swing by a hair.
The heavy club slammed into the ground. Dirt blasted up and almost sent the two flying.
The hunters hidden behind took the chance. They drew and loosed. Sharp arrows punched into the Corpse Eater’s eye. It dropped the club and howled, clutching its face. The other two spear-men charged and drove their points at its ankles.
Bit by bit, the four humans avoided its blows and wore the lumbering Corpse Eater down with tight teamwork. None of them noticed the silver-haired kid in a grizzly pelt cloak, perched on a nearby tree, staring blankly at their seamless chain of moves, slowly entranced.
--Illustration 1
Time slipped by. The Corpse Eater faltered first, strength draining away, and the four finished it off. I couldn’t help it—I hopped down from the tree and clapped for that picture-perfect play. “Sugoi, sugoi!”
The four of them stared at me, shocked. “Why is there a child here?” They jabbered words I couldn’t understand.
I had silver hair and red eyes. I also realized we didn’t share a language. Still, I was only three or four. Learning to talk should be easy, right? I thought, trying to stay upbeat.
By the time I came back to myself, four burly men had already surrounded me.
“So cute. Let’s take her home and raise her.”
“Four stinking men?”
“We’ll marry her off when she grows up!”
“I’ve got a childhood sweetheart waiting back home.”
“She’s gonna be a real beauty when she’s older.”
“Why is there a kid this deep in the forest?”
“This cloak is so warm.”
They kept trading words I couldn’t parse. One of them scooped me up. He looked like their captain. He lifted me high and studied me with a strange gaze.
“You were speaking the demonfolk dialect from over by Ares Mountain, right?” The captain switched to another language and asked me.
“Yup. I’m a little hunter with no home. Uncles, could you take me in?” The moment I realized he understood me, I asked.
For now, earn their goodwill. Make them keep me. I thought that and did my best to look adorable, locking big, watery eyes on the hunters.
“Take you in, huh.”
The captain stared at my silver hair and red eyes, suspicious. His tone went cold. “You know about the Tearmarked Ghoul in this forest? Things haven’t been stable. On our last long hunt, we saw a tall Tearmarked Ghoul with silver hair and red eyes. That devil’s hair was the exact same color as yours. It was terrifyingly strong. Almost wiped us out. You got any intel on it? Or are you the Corpse Eater’s spawn?”
Crap. He might actually be right. My heart lurched, but I kept it off my face and answered at once, “Haven’t seen it.”
I pictured a warm bed and good food, then flashed the purest, most innocent smile I could up at the captain holding me.
Seeing that bright smile, the captain’s stance softened.
“Fair point. How could a Corpse Eater give birth to such a cute little humanoid? You’re probably a kid abandoned by a prostitute knocked up by those roaming demonfolk mercenaries. You come from over that way?” He pointed toward a distant mountain range.
I tilted my head, confused. He tried again, “Do you remember your name?”
This time I stayed quiet and shook my head.
“Well. We’ll bring you back to the village. Let everyone give you a name. And we’ll teach you the language here.”
He turned and told the others in their tongue, “We’ll take care of the girl for now.”
The others didn’t answer. Instead, they took turns lifting the silver-haired girl.
“Her hair’s so long.”
“She’s been abandoned for a while, huh.”
“Crazy she survived out here this long.”
“So cute. I’m taking her home. Decision made!”
“Yeah, we can’t just leave her.”
“Hahaha, don’t judge me—back home I took care of all my little brothers and sisters!”
“Got it. If it’s decided, let’s head back!”
“Huh, that’s it?”
“Anyone object?”
They held me and debated for a long while, then finally started moving. Along the way, they kept chatting in a tongue I half-understood.
“So annoying. Can’t get a fire going because of that busted ward.”
“We’re almost at camp. Is your smoke habit that bad?”
“By the way, did you mark where the Corpse Eater’s body is?”
“Whose fault was it last time we almost lost it? Thought a fire bear dragged it off.”
“It’s marked properly this time.”
And so, amid a barrage of rough voices, the four men carried me back to camp like a toy.
