The Mecha-Kai Species During Dimensional Travel

After pulling the corpses aside, he saw a human child beneath them...

Crackle—

The flames burned, illuminating everything nearby.

In this nighttime forest, a girl with blue-purple hair and a human child who looked only six or seven years old sat beside a campfire.

Xiu Er sat on a tree stump that was just the right size to serve as a stool. The grass around him had already been cleared away, so there was no worry about the fire spreading to the forest floor.

He sat there quietly, holding a copy of the Sacred Canon he had taken from the church earlier, flipping through its pages.

He was very curious about this world's Goddess Magic, which was why he had grabbed a copy before leaving.

But no matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't extract any information about the magic. It was just an ordinary book.

Could it only be obtained through faith?

That meant he would never truly acquire the Goddess's magic, only the [Pseudo-Codex] copied through his own means.

But whatever. That wasn't the important thing.

He lifted his head and looked at the child across from him.

It had been four days since Xiu Er had rescued this child from that fallen town.

How to put it.

The child was a boy. In Xiu Er's records, the kid had barely spoken a single word to him. But then again, who could get over something like that in just a few days at such a young age?

These past few days, the child hadn't dared to meet Xiu Er's eyes. Still, he was quiet and obedient, not running off anywhere.

Xiu Er hadn't planned on taking the child with him in the first place. The only reason he had saved him was that he couldn't just watch a kid die in a place like that.

So he planned to find a village and leave the kid there for someone to adopt.

But since there were no villages nearby, Xiu Er had no choice but to keep him for now.

"...Takuson..."

In the quiet environment, a faint voice emerged.

Though soft, Xiu Er caught it clearly.

He looked at the boy again, watching him with an expressionless face.

Seeing that reaction, the boy shrank his neck and repeated himself.

"My name... Takuson..."

As if afraid the pretty older sister hadn't heard clearly, he raised his voice a little.

"Is that so."

Closing the Sacred Canon in his hand, Xiu Er stared straight into the boy's eyes, causing the latter to quickly look away.

Not paying attention to Takuson's reaction, Xiu Er asked calmly.

"[Inquiry] Do you still remember what happened before?"

"A little... Those terrifying demons invaded our home. Mother took me to hide in the church, but she already had wounds from the monsters... The kind Old Monk let us hide in the basement and used the Goddess's magic on me... After that, not long after Mother and I hid inside, we heard noises from above..."

"..."

The boy slowly recounted the events, while Xiu Er silently recorded every word he said.

In the end, he summarized the gist of it.

How to put it. This kid had been through a lot. This childhood experience would have a huge impact on his psychological growth for the rest of his life.

What a hassle. Better find someone to dump him on soon.

Xiu Er thought to himself.

After finishing his story, Takuson looked at Xiu Er's indifferent expression and felt deeply hurt inside.

Such a cold person. But he also knew that if it weren't for this person saving him, he would have already gone with his mother by now.

"...Thank you..."

Finally, Takuson forced out a thank you to express his gratitude.

"..."

But Xiu Er didn't respond. He just stared at the fire in front of him.

Until Takuson fell asleep, the two didn't exchange another word.

After the fire died out, in this forest shrouded in darkness, only the countless stars in the sky could hold Xiu Er's attention.

He sat there quietly, keeping watch for any potential danger while passing the time by gazing at the starry sky.

Chapter 11: Unexpected Aptitude

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, because Takuson was still a child, he couldn't walk for long stretches and needed frequent rests. On top of that, he required necessary sustenance—food and water—so they had to stop to eat and rest as well.

This greatly increased the time Xiu Er's journey took.

To Xiu Er, who had grown accustomed to his identity as a Mecha-Kai species—needing no food, no drink, and no rest for his body—this was a nuisance.

Still, he couldn't simply abandon the child. At the very least, he had to find someone willing to take him in.

Xiu Er led Takuson southward.

Over these days, Takuson had silently followed behind him, rarely engaging in much conversation.

He only spoke up when he could no longer push himself, proposing a break. To be honest, the kid was quite sensible.

It seemed the impact of that ordeal was already showing.

And what about Takuson's perspective?

In his impression, this sister who had saved his life was ice-cold in her attitude toward people. Sometimes, when he woke from sleep, he'd see her sitting motionless nearby, like a doll.

Her appearance was cute and pretty, yet her way of speaking was strange.

But regardless, she had saved his life. Takuson wouldn't question her—he only needed to know she wasn't a demon.

Takuson quietly followed behind Xiu Er. The pace she set was just right for him to keep up.

She must be very strong, right?

Were the demons in the city taken care of by her alone?

I've lost my home. Where do I go from here?

Staring at her back, a decision formed in Takuson's heart.

So, he quickened his steps to her side.

Xiu Er, who was constantly scanning the surroundings, naturally noticed Takuson's movements.

"[Inquiry] What is it?"

"Ah..."

Because Xiu Er had asked first, the question Takuson was about to pose got stuck in his throat.

But a second later, he suddenly realized something.

He didn't actually know this sister's name.

"Ah... um..."

Facing Xiu Er's gaze, Takuson stammered for a moment.

Xiu Er stared at him. His expression clearly showed he had something to say, yet he couldn't seem to string a proper sentence together.

"Your, what's your name?"

He finally forced it out, breathing a sigh of relief inwardly.

"[Answer] Xiu Er."

With that, Xiu Er immediately averted his gaze, leaving Takuson standing there awkwardly.

Ah, so that's it? The conversation's over?

For a moment, Takuson, who had originally wanted to say more, was rendered speechless by Xiu Er's cold attitude.

One hour later—

"Um... where are we going?"

It wasn't that Takuson had suddenly become talkative. Rather, having endured that nightmare and realizing he couldn't stay sunk in despair, he had decided to change himself.

It was those adults called "demons" who had killed his family and destroyed his home. Over these days, he had built up his mental fortitude. He wanted to grow stronger, to take revenge on the demons.

He was a sensible child. Because of this tragedy, he had been forced to mature early.

Xiu Er glanced at the child who had caught up beside him again.

"[Answer] A village, or another city."

"A village or city?"

"Mm."

Takuson looked puzzled, and Xiu Er explained.

"[Affirmation] To hand you over to the people of those villages, to find a family willing to take you in."

Good grief, she was planning to abandon him.

But Takuson understood that he was nothing but a burden to this kind older sister right now, so wanting to get rid of him was perfectly reasonable.

And she hadn't even just dumped him in the wilderness—she was trying to find a home that would take him in.

To be honest, despite acting like she shut everyone out, she had a good heart inside.

"You must be really strong, right?"

"[Negation] Without complete data, I cannot determine the extent of my strength."

That was right. Xiu Er would never affirm how strong she was in this world; she only decided her next move based on the target's data.

[Arrogance] was absolutely unacceptable.

Although Takuson didn't fully understand the words she used, he got one thing: this older sister was indeed very strong.

Her way of speaking was strange, but that wasn't a problem.

"Can you... can you be my teacher?"

?

Hearing this, Xiu Er was surprised inside.

She stopped, and Takuson beside her stopped as well.

Those golden eyes stared straight into Takuson's eyes, and this time, instead of dodging like before, he bravely met her gaze.

Had he figured something out during this half-month?

Xiu Er was curious.

"[Inquiry] Why do you say that?"

To be honest, Xiu Er knew that her [Ability] was not something humans could learn—it was the way of the Mecha-Kai species.