Mercenaries Swayed by a Hunch
“――Hah.”
Grabbing the legs of the man sprawled on the ground, Camella thrust her hips up with a mighty heave and stood. “Ughhh. They're all so heavy...”
Grumbling all the while, she steadily dragged the guy—who weighed more than twice as much as her—along. Dodging weeds, bushes, and fallen branches this way and that, she hauled him out to the visible path and dropped him there.
“Phew! That's three!”
Camella crossed her arms, snorting as she looked down at the men she'd dragged over. One had his crown and chin grotesquely swapped. Another dangled his head like a puppet on strings, neck bones yanked clean out. The last bled profusely from a slit throat, his hand and foot tendons severed.
“Hmm, I gathered 'em up nice and neat for Director to clean... but...”
Camella scratched her head, eyeing the one gushing blood from his neck. “Eh, whatever. I just couldn't hold back!”
Irritated, she spun the dagger in her other hand with a flourish, then tossed it straight up. She snatched the spinning blade mid-fall without a hitch, twirling it rapidly between her finger joints.
“Anyway, why'd that second uncle drop his dagger and try to run? I couldn't help but slash the other one!”
Camella whined like a sulky kid venting her complaints.
“――Y-You crazy little bitch...”
Then the last man, whom she'd thought dead, forced his mouth open amid the blood loss. “Oh, Uncle, you're still alive? After all that bleeding, shouldn't you be passing out by now?”
Gritting his teeth at the sight of Camella halting her dagger twirl, the man rasped, “Damn...”
There hadn't been the slightest hint of presence. Just like that, so naturally. As if she'd been there from the start, the girl appeared—and with her, the deep gash across his ankle.
He'd tried to draw his sword and slash the chattering brat, but faster still, his wrist got sliced. The moment he turned to flee, his vision spun. A cold line traced his neck where the major artery ran. Blood sprayed, and he crumpled.
That was the extent of the man's final impressions.
“Even without the ambush slicing my ankle... you little... I'd have...”
Too late, he activated the rudimentary Internal Aura Technique he'd picked up, bolstering his body to staunch the bleeding somehow. But that wound wasn't one basic tricks could seal.
“Who told you to swing that sword? I said I'd let you go easy if you told me where Big Sis is and if more are coming!”
“Like hell I'd talk... kgh, haha, too late now, you damn brat...”
Who could've known a monster like this girl lurked in some rural orphanage deep in the woods? He and his two mates were done for, and the two up ahead who'd escaped the initial clash wouldn't fare better. Ignoring that signpost had cost them dearly.
For the first time, he cursed Aik's so-called 'hunch,' spitting his final words as consciousness faded. “Ha... you’ll never find it... rot in hell...”
His breath weakened, cursing the girl before him. Another life snuffed out.
“...I'm not going. To hell.”
Camella muttered unpleasantly at the word, flicking the dagger spinning between her fingers to stab into the dead man's side. “Director said so.”
She glanced up at the starry sky for a moment. “Hell's for the lowest scum among scum. Ah, but Serelda'd insist Epia's definitely going.”
― A-Are we going to hell? Like my mom said?
She closed her eyes, gaze drifting to the past.
― Nah? Cleaning up trash that deserved to die doesn't land you in hell.
Camella recalled the conversation from when they'd first met.
― Some uncle said kids who kill their parents are unfilial and get thrown into hellfire.
― If that's true, I killed your mom first, so you're no unfilial kid.
― If you hadn't stepped in, I would've done it, so it's the same.
― No, it's totally different.
In her memory. Far from this place, in an unglamorous hometown. The master bedroom of a mansion steeped in blood, flesh, and corpses. The slit-eyed woman who'd severed the neck Camella yearned to stab herself kept speaking.
― What's important is I stole the deepest grudge in your heart.
― Grudge...?
― Yeah. So if you hate me, get revenge, right?
― Huh?
― Stealing your prey like that? I deserve harsh punishment for it.
― Whaaat?
― So follow me. I'm your mom now. Or better—call me Director.
― Whaaaaat?!
“Heh heh heh.”
No matter how she replayed it, the absurd logic left her dumbfounded. That first meeting with Director was a chest-thumping, joyful memory Camella cherished.
After leaving the mansion with her and arriving in this far-flung rural spot, some of her old 'fun' had faded... but.
'Big Sis is here, Serelda too, Epia, and even whiny Chloe.'
Yeah, now was way happier.
“Worried about Big Sis, but... Director went to find her herself, so it'll be fine!”
Camella decided to hang back here and wait for Aren, nice and relaxed. More villains might show up, after all. Even if a ton came and some slipped past from the opposite direction...
“Chloe's back at the house. She's got it covered.”
Thinking of the sole remaining kid in the annex, Camella quietly melted into the bushes.
****
Meanwhile.
“Why're the guys from the back so damn late?”
“Maybe they looped around the other way?”
The two leading men pressed on without halting, puzzled but undeterred. They didn't know that ignoring those faint voices had been their small mercy.
“Keep waiting?”
“Nah. Orphanage is right there. Looks empty too? Let's loot quick and bounce.”
They'd finally reached the woodland orphanage. Warm light leaked from the windows of the sturdy, well-built log mansion, but nothing screamed valuables.
No hesitation—they strode up and shoved the door open. “Whoa, this door's heavy as hell. How do kids even open it?”
Muttering, they stepped inside to a impeccably furnished interior. Lamps hung from ceiling chains, casting light over furniture and fixtures too fine for a rural orphanage. Toys befitting kids littered about.
“What the hell kinda orphanage is this?”
The men lacked the eye for fine furnishings, but even they knew this stuff didn't belong in a backwoods kid house.
“Check this—silverware, all of it.”
One lifted a silver cup from the table a few steps in. “Whoa, fuck, feel that weight? No tarnish, and just selling what's here would set us up nice.”
“For real? Whoa, legit.”
Astonished by the heft as he took it, the other gawked. “And this cookie dish—porcelain with a legit maker's mark. Pricey too.”
Only now did unease creep in. “Smells like we poked the hornet's nest.”
The one setting down the dish nodded as the other gripped the silver cup. “You think so too? Sigh, that sign wasn't there for show...”
They pondered briefly, but decided fast. Quick wits saved lives in spots like this. “Water's spilled—grab what we can of the silver and split. Lucky no one's here.”
“What about the others?”
“Show 'em this, they'll bail no questions. Hurry up.”
Rustle rustle. They pulled folded sacks from their belts.
“――Camella? Serelda? Epia? Anyone back?”
As they cautiously packed the tableware. “......Wh-Who are you?”
A girl emerged, footsteps tentative, opening the door.
“Shit, kid's here.”
“It's an orphanage. Kids were the target anyway.”
Halting their packing, the men eyed the girl from the room. Rare purple hair in a messy bob past her shoulders, unkempt and fluffy. Glasses for poor sight, clutching a worn book—favorite read, maybe? Gloomy look screamed shut-in noble lady: orphan from a fancy house who loved books.
“Um, e-excuse me. Coming inside this late at night like this is a problem...”
She stuttered, glancing between them. Ignoring her gaze, the men appraised her and chatted. “What now? Snag her too?”
“Nah, ransom looks decent, but more silver's worth it. Kids are heavy.”
“Yeah? So how?”
“Obvious. We're in a rush. No time for fun.”
Like pros, they smoothly drew daggers and closed on Chloe.
“Ah, th-that...”
Chloe's mouth fell open at the glinting blades reaching for her.
“Tough luck, kiddo. World's like that.”
“Pray to be born noble next time, not orphan? Haha!”
Cackling, the man gripped her collar reverse-handed with the dagger—and without pause, swung for her throat――.
“P-Please don't try to kill me...”
At Chloe's soft mutter, he inexplicably froze his arm. '...Huh?'
A bizarre sensation washed over him; he released her collar. Glancing down, he rubbed his face frantically with his free hand. Blood poured from his nose—thick, black-tinged, unnatural stuff streaming down.
“You shouldn't come close intending to kill me...”
Questioning her words in a daze, he turned to his buddy behind. Already down, shriveled like drought-twisted branches into a pale, withered mummy bereft of blood and moisture.
'Fuck, what the hell...'
Looking up at the now-chilling girl. Chloe stood still. No attack, no resistance. Just watching him sadly, pityingly with dark eyes that choked him with terror.
“Sorry I didn't warn you sooner. But you're bad guys... right?”
Blood leaked everywhere—from eyes, ears, mouth, nose. Soon collapsing face-first into the black puddle, the man moved no more.
“......”
Tears welled as Chloe beheld the two who'd died so pointlessly. Why? 'They came all the way to this rural woodland orphanage...'
Precious Director, Gia Sis, prickly but caring Camella, kind-hearted Serelda and Epia despite their fights. She'd finally found dear people to live quietly with.
Why ignore the warning, barge in, try to kill her on a whim, then just drop dead before her eyes?
― It's okay. Come here, Chloe.
― ......Aren't you scared?
― No, so come.
She thought of Aren. The first to warmly embrace her. The strong, kind sis who'd taken her in place of her rotten parents.
― Come with me. I'm running an orphanage way out there.
― An orphanage?
― Yeah, got a separate annex going. You'd make five. They're all good kids with personality—you'll fit right in.
Rags for clothes. Reek worse than corpses. Maggot-ridden hair, abyss-deep eyes stirring instant hate. Despite all that, the sis had smiled without a trace of malice or murder, hugging her gently.
“Forcing that soup down my throat today still pisses me off, though.”
Muttering for Director and Big Sis to hurry back, Chloe trudged desolately back inside, face gloomier than ever.