Faraway Survivor

Farah's POV

I reflexively pinch Hale's arm as I witness the scene in front of me.

-Hmm... (Hale)

Hale puts me down and reaches out to the corpse. She checks those man's corpses first.

-They seem to be struggling a lot before death. The one who killed these men must be the little girl.

-... (Farah)

-If I'm not wrong, they must be the debt collectors she mentioned in the last run.

-I see... (Farah)

But what have these guys done to make a little girl like that?

Hale glance at the mother and points at her.

-Look at the state of her clothes, Farah. (Hale)

I follow Hale's hand and find the mother's clothes have been torn off.

-What...? (Farah)

Hale shakes her head and sighs.

-Nothing, I forget you are ignorant to that matter. (Hale)

-Huh? What do you mean, Hale? (Farah)

Hale ignores me and continues checking on the corpses beside me.

-There are no noticeable things on their body. (Hale)

Hale turns to me and asks me in a gentle voice.

-Farah, please touch the little girl again.  (Hale)

-Uhm... (Farah)

This time, the little girl's last word changes again.

-It's...not fair. I just want to...live with mom.

She weakly turns her head to her mom.

-I can't...protect you.

Then everything is turned backward.

-Hmmm... (Hale)

Hale puts her hand on her chin while thinking deeply.

-This is much harder than I thought. There have been only a few clues so far... (Hale)

I stare at the place where the little girl lies in silence.

-... (Farah)

Hale seems to notice my mood and gives me a hug.

-We will successfully save her in the end. (Hale)

I nod weakly at Hale's persuasion. After that, Hale and I started testing to find a way of saving the little girl.

On the next attempt, Hale and I decide to give the little girl clothes only once. This time the ending was not much better than our previous attempts.

-They die because of the hunger this time... (Farah)

-Where did the money they get from selling clothes go to? (Hale)

Maybe, It's not enough for them to pay off the debt.

-Let's give them a lot of clothes at the first meeting this time. (Hale)

I tried to do as Hale said. But our action resulted in those villagers arriving at the hut quicker. The bullying scene doesn't even happen this time.

-... (Farah)

Hale looks at me worriedly and appeases me.

-We will successfully save them next time, Farah. (Hale)

I don't answer Hale. Because I still have the hunch that we will fail next time. Of course, we also fail next time...

-I don't understand...  (Farah)

I look at the corpses of the mother and child and shake her head.

-No matter what we do, this little girl will die in the end. (Farah)

Hale stares at the corpses and curses out loud.

-It's like the world wants her to die. It's her fate that she must follow and embark on it. (Hale)

Hale glares at corpses and stomps on the ground.

-Those damn... (Hale)

-... (Farah)

-Farah, are you alright? (Hale)

Hale bends down and puts me in her arms again.

-Maybe we need to change our approach, Hale. (Farah)

Hale nodded as she agreed with me.

-Well, that's true. Should we give the little girl a weapon this time? (Hale)

-I don't think the little girl can use them. Most of the weapons I have are magical weapons or nanomachines. (Farah)

-That would be worse than giving her an ordinary knife. (Hale)

We still give it a try in the end. I hope the little girl can defend against those people with the weapon we gave her.

-You should give her clothing along with a weapon. So they can pay off their debt while successfully protecting themselves. (Hale)

But our plan ends in failure again. This death doesn't differ from her second death.

-Maybe we should give them food this time... (Farah)

They were still dead even when we did that.

... (Farah)

No matter what we did, they would still die. Over and over...

Even Hale loses her patience and sighs while having a bitter face.

-Let's take a break for a while, Farah... (Hale)

-Uhm... (Farah)

Hale holds me and walks out of the hut. We decided to stop our testing for now.

-Let's take a walk. (Hale)

-... (Farah)

If I keep being negative like this, I won't be able to save them. While I am resting in Hale's arm, I turn to her and ask.

-Hale? (Farah)

-Yes? (Hale)

-How can you still retain your adult form? (Farah)

I thought the skill to maintain this adult form could only last a while. Hale smiles and answers me.

-It's a secret... (Hale)

-Moh... (Farah)

-Huh...? (Hale)

Hale suddenly freezes and stares intensely at my front.

-Hale? (Farah)

I follow her line of sight, and find a temple in front of us. Since when did that temple appear? 

-Huh? (Farah)

An ominous aura comes from inside the temple and wraps around us as if it is calling us.