The girl’s voice grew thin, strained by the memory.

"Mom started shouting the news to everyone, and soon the whole town was cheering. They celebrated, claiming the land had been blessed by the mana distortion because it meant more slimes and bigger harvests. I wanted to believe them, but the shivering wouldn’t stop."

She looked back at the embers, her small hands trembling.

"When night fell, the townpeople gathered at the harvesting hub. Everyone brought their tools, preparing to trap the slimes as soon as the distortion hit. The air felt heavy, so wrong... so I tried to speak to an adventurer passing through. I begged him to help, but he just shook his head. He said they couldn’t do anything unless a formal quest was posted at the Guild."

A tear tracked through the dust on her cheek.

"His partner didn’t even look at me. He said even if a quest was posted, they wouldn’t take it. They called the slimes ’low yield’ and ’weak.’ They said the Shellgrave region to the south was in higher demand because the profit and the loot were better. They walked away, leaving us behind because we weren’t worth enough gold. I was so scared for my mom... but they were just like the others. They were too excited for the harvest to see the danger coming."

The girl’s voice fractured, her composure crumbling as the memory surfaced with agonizing clarity.

"I tried to run toward my mom when the distortion hit... A surge of wind erupted from the earth, slamming into me and forcing me back. All four mana spawning zones ignited at once, turning the sky a bruised purple. Everyone went mad even my mom... racing each other to claim the harvest before the chaos truly began. But then I saw them—the red eyes. The eyes of the distortion."

She began to shake, her breathing hitching as the scene played out behind her eyelids.

"A slime the color of fresh blood shot forward like an arrow. It struck my-my mom... right in her chest. I stood there, frozen, unable to even scream. A man lunged to pull her away, but a fire slime surged out of the dark and incinerated him. Panic consumed the hub. Everyone was shouting, screaming, ’What are these things? Why are they like this?’ The whole village was overrun in less than a minute. They were all taken. Every single one of them.."

Maddy didn’t say a word. She simply reached out and pulled the girl against her chest, wrapping her arms around the small, trembling frame. She let the child’s grief pour out, a silent witness to a tragedy the world had ignored for the sake of profit.

The girl’s voice was a ragged whisper against Maddy’s cloak.

"...Except me."

Maddy tightened her hold. The girl pulled back just enough to look at her, her eyes wide and glassy.

"That is why he found me," she whispered. "He told me he would help. He promised to take me to the Capital to find my father and petition the Guild to send an army to save my village. I trusted him because I had no one else."

The girl swallowed hard, a fresh wave of fear crossing her face.

"But once we reached this area, he changed. He told me I would never see my father again. He claimed that children like me, who have lost their homes, were meant by our God, Prometheus, to become slaves. He said I was worth more as a ’product’ than a person. I managed to escape for a moment when I bit him, but he caught me again. I refused to give up, though—not when I was the only survivor from that night. I ran until my feet bled. And now you are here. You saved me, Miss... thank you so much."

Maddy held the girl tighter, her own heart aching with a familiar pain. The story of being abandoned because she wasn’t "worth the gold" struck a chord deep within her soul. She remembered the cold nights in the alley, the people walking past a starving child because she had nothing to offer them.

"You and I... we’re more alike than you know, Honey."

She pulled back slightly, cupping the girl’s face with her hands. Her purple eyes, usually so sharp and predatory, were now filled with a soft, unwavering light.

"Listen to me. You don’t ever have to worry about that man again."

The girl looked up, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and budding hope. Maddy gave her a firm, reassuring nod.

"As for your village... I already told you, I dealt with those slimes. I didn’t leave a single one of those ’red eyed’ monsters standing. The harvest is over, and the danger is gone."

Maddy tucked a stray lock of orange hair behind the girl’s ear.

"The only thing you need to worry about now is finding your father. And since I’m heading to the Capital anyway, you’ve got yourself the best guide in the world. I don’t care what the Guild says or what those other adventurers think—you’re worth more than all the gold in their pockets."

The girl’s lower lip trembled, but this time, the tears that fell were quiet and peaceful. The heavy burden of being the "only survivor" seemed to lighten as Maddy claimed a share of the weight. She leaned into Maddy’s side, her small body finally surrendering to the exhaustion of the journey.

"Thank you... Miss—Uhm..."

The girl paused, her voice small and tentative, looking up at the woman who had just rewritten her fate. Maddy smiled, she answered,

"It’s Maddy. Just Maddy."

The girl blinked, a tiny, sleepy smile tugging at her mouth.

"Maddy... I’m... Hoppy."

Maddy froze for a split second, then a sudden, genuine giggle bubbled up from her chest. She looked down thinking of her own Blade Bunny traits and the way she had just seen this little girl hopping desperately on one foot to escape a bullet.

"Maddy and Hoppy? Oh, that’s just perfect. We even sound like a pair of adventurers already! It’s like we were meant to find each other in these rocks."

Hoppy let out a weak, tired chuckle of her own.

"Get some sleep, Hoppy. The Capital is near. Goodnight..."