Noah...
“Noah...”
Noah woke to the sound of someone calling his name. He'd only meant to close his eyes for a moment, but somehow he'd fallen asleep. Startled, he sat up and peered at his little sister, who was huddled beside him.
“Seri, you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Seri nodded, but her small face was deathly pale. She was trying not to show it, though. It wasn't just her suffering—everyone was.
When was the last time they'd had even a sip of water? It had been days since they'd been locked in this rattling cart. But as they drew closer to their destination, their captors had given them less and less food and water. As if there was no point anymore.
Anxiety gnawed at him, but Noah refused to give up. He clung to hope. Someone would come for them. He believed it.
“Here, drink this.”
Noah held out the canteen he'd saved from his own share. There was a little water left from yesterday that he hadn't touched. He was fine; he wanted his struggling sister to have it.
“N-no, that's okay...”
But Seri shook her head, refusing. She'd already taken too much from him.
“You drink it. I'm fine.”
She looked at his chapped lips, cracked from thirst. Her own situation was the same, but she didn't want to burden him anymore.
The cramped cart held Noah, Seri, and a crowd of others huddled together. There were so many people in the single wagon that no one could lie down comfortably; they had to nap in awkward positions. Noah held his uncomfortable pose so Seri could rest a bit easier. Thanks to him, she'd finally stopped her motion sickness and found some calm.
Seri lifted her head weakly and continued. “I'd just throw it up anyway.”
“Still...”
Noah gazed at her with troubled eyes as she rejected the canteen.
They were twins, and Noah had been born just ten minutes earlier. But that made him her big brother. Even if it was only ten minutes, he had to protect her. No one else would look after their poor little sister.
From as far back as they could remember, the siblings had leaned on each other. Their parents had never gotten along, always fighting over money. Their elegant noble-born mother couldn't accept having to care for the children herself. Around the time the twins were old enough to understand, she left for her family's home alone.
Their father, who drowned in drink and took out his anger on the twins every day, suddenly seemed happier. He'd disappear for long stretches, then return not long ago with arms full of gifts for them. The twins were thrilled by their father's rare kindness, never dreaming it would be the last presents they'd ever get from him.
Without a second thought, they took his hand and left the house. Excited by his promise of a city adventure, they climbed into the cart. They drank water in the woods before the city and passed out as if drugged.
When they woke, their father was gone, and they were trapped in this cart.
Will Dad come get us?
Noah couldn't fathom that his father had sold them. He thought some accident had separated them, and Dad would find them and take them home. He held onto that belief.
But as the hard days dragged on, dark thoughts filled his mind. Did Dad really lose us? Or did he just get tired of us and abandon us? Mom left like that... maybe Dad did too?
Sis...
Noah's eyes welled up as he thought of his big sister, whose face he could barely remember anymore. She'd hugged and soothed them when their mother wouldn't. He couldn't recall her features now, but the feel of her gentle hand stroking his hair was vivid.
Maybe that's why he missed her—the sister who'd left ten years ago—more than their drunken, violent father.
“Noah, what're you thinking about?”
As twins, Seri was sensitive to his moods, especially when he was sad or negative. She always picked up on it.
Noah forced a bitter smile. “Nothing.”
“Okay.”
Seri nodded faintly at his words.
“Dad'll come find us, right?”
“...”
Noah had no answer for her question. He'd tried to hold onto hope, but when she asked, the words wouldn't come.
Before he could recover from his frozen shock, the cart slowed to a stop. Instinctively, the twins clung to each other. Something felt wrong.
“Get 'em all out!”
A man's rough voice barked the order. The heavy cloth covering the cart was yanked away, and harsh light stabbed the children's eyes.
Weak from exhaustion and hunger, the captives couldn't resist as the men dragged them out roughly.
“Ah!”
“Seri!”
The twins were hauled out too. Noah was grabbed first and pulled away; Seri came after but collapsed on the ground, too frail to move.
“What’s this? This scrawny thing.”
A fat man with a mustache scowled down at Seri sprawled on the dirt. He was the boss of this operation. A monster habitat loomed right ahead, and the site was hidden enough to avoid the guards. Here, they handed off bait humans to traders—no one had the strength to run by then. Most obeyed quietly.
Monsters only went after the living, so no one could be killed. But one kid had caught his eye, gasping on the ground like she was about to die.
“Think this one's gonna walk to the habitat proper?”
The bait had to go to the designated spots on their own. Escorting them risked drawing monster attention.
To him, Seri looked like defective merchandise.
“What do we do?”
One of the hunters casually raised his spear, as if he'd done this before. Defectives were dealt with before becoming monster chow.
“Hmm.”
The boss sighed, stroking his mustache in mock thought. Killing her here wasted money, but keeping her would just burn through food for nothing.
A boy suddenly stepped in front of the deliberating boss.
“No! Don't touch Seri!”
Noah rose on shaking limbs, shielding her. His sun-deprived eyes stung, but he forced them wide open. He was the only one who could protect her here.
The adults' menacing aura terrified him, but he couldn't stand by.
The boss snorted at the glaring boy. “What's this brat?”
“Ack!”
With a flick of his hand, a hunter swung his spear. Noah's small body flew through the air, tumbling across the ground.
“Oppa!”
Seri, who'd been dizzy and nauseous from the sudden outside air, widened her eyes at the sight. She always teased him about those ten minutes, but deep down, he was her big brother.
Forcing strength into her limp body, she couldn't leave him like that.
“Hmph, cheeky little...”
The boss grimaced in annoyance and signaled the hunter again. The terrified bait humans watched with wide eyes. This was his chance to make an example and crush their spirits completely.
As the hunter stepped toward the fallen Noah—
“Stop it!”
A clear voice rang through the woods. The hunters' gazes turned to a girl.
She had rare bright yellow hair for the north, fading to pink at the tips—an unusual sight.
“Damn it.”
The boss scowled, as if to say you again.
The girl—Yurina Florence—was the daughter of a southern count, beginning to be revered as a saintess.
After awakening her holy power from the gods' call, she'd joined the temple and gone on a pilgrimage. Most ended at the northern heartlands, but Yurina insisted on going to the very edge.
That's when human traffickers kidnapped her, dragging her to this site.
The boss had sharp eyes from years of this. Even in ragged clothes, Yurina screamed nobility. The idiots hadn't noticed and brought her anyway. Her southern hair color was a dead giveaway too. If her family searched the north, they'd be in trouble.
He'd tried silencing her to send her back, but she refused to leave. She was their biggest headache now.
“I told you not to handle the kids so roughly!”
Yurina stormed forward, furious. The hunters glanced at the boss and hesitated to touch her. Emboldened, she hurried to fallen Noah and looked at him with worry.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh...”
Noah groaned in agony that threatened to make him pass out. But then a burst of white light made his eyes go wide.
“Wha...?”
His wounds healed rapidly; the pain vanished. His stamina returned as if nothing had happened.
Noah stared at her in shock.
“Tch. She's useful, so we'll keep her—but quit stirring up trouble!”
The boss grumbled, face twisted, then turned away.
Yurina had been healing people voluntarily. It was the only way she could help the pitiful captives.
Most bait were easy marks: women, elderly, kids. Healing the weak ones was more useful than disposing of them, so the boss tolerated her despite his annoyance.
“...”
She hoped those who'd spot her mark would find this place soon. With a heavy heart, she gazed at the exhausted people and stood.
First, restore their strength for whatever might come. Yurina moved busily among them.