NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 4 - Episode 004: Headhunter, Taking in the Young Girl
Episode 004: Headhunter, Taking in the Young Girl
“W-What, what, what are you!! Drop your weapons!!”
As they approached the city gate, they were surrounded by soldiers. They all had spears, but their tips were trembling, and they were clearly intimidated.
Even the soldiers themselves were all frightened. That’s how intense Ack’s presence was. It was abnormal for the unflappable woman and Tina to be less affected.
Ack was used to this kind of reaction. This time, he was even more cautious because he was leading the women behind him.
First, he decided to explain the situation.
“I am—”
“Eeeek!!”
However, just as Ack opened his mouth, the soldiers turned pale and trembled violently.
He couldn’t have a conversation like this.
“I’ll handle this.”
Unable to bear it, the unflappable woman stepped forward in place of Ack.
“I’m Emily. We, including me, were all victims of a slave hunt. But the slave hunt was attacked by orcs, and everyone died. This man saved us from being eaten by orcs and brought us here.”
“R-Really!?”
The frightened sergeant, upon hearing the explanation, confirmed with the women behind them. The women nodded silently.
The atmosphere suddenly relaxed.
The soldiers, having resigned themselves to death, were relieved to realize that Ack was not their enemy.
“I-I see… Sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought you were some incredibly vicious monster attacking the town.”
The sergeant said, looking at Ack’s face with a mixture of relief and astonishment.
“Pfft. You’re a monster too!! Hahaha!”
Emily found it amusing and pointed at Ack, laughing loudly.
The soldiers and women were worried that Ack might get angry at being laughed at, but Ack found Emily’s attitude, which brushed off his intimidating presence, rather agreeable.
“I’m used to it. No problem.”
“…Alright. What are you planning to do now?”
The relieved sergeant, realizing that Ack wasn’t angry, asked about Ack’s plans for the safety of the town.
If left to his own devices in the city, it would undoubtedly become a hellish nightmare everywhere.
“Are there orphanages here?”
“Yeah, there are a few.”
“I’ll take this girl to the best orphanage. After staying overnight, I’ll head to the Kingdom of Karm.”
When Ack glanced down, the sergeant followed his gaze and noticed Tina there.
Then, he widened his eyes at her appearance.
He understood what Ack wanted to say by looking at Tina now. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone harbored impure thoughts about her.
Tina had such a lovely appearance that it would capture anyone’s attention.
So, Ack planned to take Tina to the orphanage responsibly, provide money if necessary, and even threaten if necessary to ensure she was raised properly until she became an adult.
“I see. You’d definitely panic on your own. I’ll go with you.”
The sergeant, realizing that Ack was even kinder than he had thought, volunteered himself. With him around, Ack wouldn’t be disregarded.
“I appreciate it.”
“…It’s just a misunderstanding, at least that’s what I hope. Don’t worry about it.”
As Ack bowed his head, the sergeant was momentarily surprised and stiffened, but then quickly regained his composure, shrugged his shoulders, and shook his head.
Then, he instructed his subordinates to take the women away and began to move to leave the gate to others.
Emily was the only one left.
The two exchanged their final greetings.
“We probably won’t see each other again, but take care. I’m really grateful that you came to help us, thank you so much.”
Emily clung to Ack’s body without a care in the world.
“…Yeah. Take care.”
Ack, who had never experienced anything like this with a woman, felt a flutter in his heart but hid his agitation and bid farewell.
When Emily let go, she hid her lonely expression and chased after the women who were walking ahead.
“Well, I kept you waiting. Shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
With the sergeant who had just returned, they stepped into the city. Being a key point near the border, it was bustling.
“Huh!?”
“Wow!!”
“Waaah!!”
The people of the city were frightened by Ack’s appearance, but the presence of the sergeant by their side barely kept them calm.
Ack was grateful for the sergeant’s presence.
“Hooray!!”
“Over here!!”
“Hehehe!!”
After about five minutes of walking, they heard the lively voices of children.
“This is the Excel Orphanage. Please wait here for a moment.”
“Got it.”
Then, after another minute or two of walking, they arrived at a large house surrounded by a splendid fence, well-maintained.
The sergeant, to facilitate the conversation, left Ack and the others waiting outside the orphanage gate and went inside. If the children saw Ack, they would start crying.
“Oh, is this the child we’ve heard about? She’s indeed very cute.”
Out came a kindly-looking old woman from inside. Thanks to her experience, she managed not to scream when she saw Ack.
When the old woman looked at Tina, having heard about her and Ack from the sergeant, she nodded in understanding.
“You’re the one who brought this child here. I’m Barbara, the director of this orphanage. We’ll take care of this child here.”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
Feeling confident in Barbara’s capability, Ack took out a bag of coins from his bag and offered it to her.
“I can’t accept that. Even without it, we’ll take full responsibility for raising her.”
“I see. I apologize.”
Barbara pushed the bag back and shook her head. Ack put the bag back into his bag and bowed his head.
“No, we appreciate your kindness.”
Barbara also bowed her head to Ack.
“Now then, this will be your home from today. Shall we go inside?”
Barbara raised her head, intending to take Tina’s hand and lead her inside as if the conversation were over.
However, Tina didn’t move from there. Instead, she held onto Ack’s clothes more firmly, refusing to budge.
“What’s wrong?”
Ack asked Tina, who refused to move.
“…I want to stay with Ack.”
Tina felt most at ease by Ack’s side. That’s why she wanted to stay with Ack. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it to Ack, who was doing all this for her sake.
But finally, she couldn’t bear the thought of parting with Ack.
On the other hand, Ack was bewildered by this.
He hadn’t expected to be so fondly attached to. However, his journey would continue to the Kingdom of Karm.
“Traveling is tough.”
They still had to camp for many days and walk a lot.
It would be quite hard for Tina, who was not only young but also lacked proper nutrition, to endure.
“Even so, it’s okay.”
Besides, even if he were to take her with him, Ack didn’t have confidence in raising Tina properly.
Running a cafe might not go well, and there was a possibility that Tina would suffer from hunger.
“You might become unhappy.”
There was no guarantee that Tina would be happy. But at least here, she could lead a stable life until she grew up.
That should be the best for Tina.
“Even so, it’s okay.”
However, Tina still refused to move.
“… ”
Ack thought for a while.
And then he came to a conclusion.
“…I understand.”
If Tina was so attached to him, then he would steel himself to it.
Ack decided to respond to Tina’s determined feelings, despite her young age.
“…I’m sorry. I’ll take her with me.”
“I see… but I’ve had a feeling since I saw you two. It’s probably better for you to stay together.”
Barbara had seen through Tina’s reluctance to leave Ack from the moment she laid eyes on them. And Ack felt the same way.
Therefore, she thought this charade-like ritual was necessary for these two and staged a little play.
“I promise to make her happy.”
Ack pledged to fulfill the director’s trust.
“I’ll support you. If you need anything, please come visit. I’ll help you.”
“I appreciate it.”
Barbara also promised to provide the greatest assistance to Ack’s feelings, and Ack and the others left the orphanage.
“Guide us to a store.”
“Leave it to me.”
Afterward, they bought what Tina needed and what they needed for the journey, but they were refused accommodation everywhere due to the customers’ fear.
As a result, they ended up staying at the sergeant’s house.
The two were warmly welcomed by the sergeant’s wife.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
And the next day, a big man set off from the town with a young girl on his shoulder.
It goes without saying that there was another fuss when crossing the border.