Ignoring Her

Chapter 44 · Ignoring Her

At noon, the scorching sunlight beat down on the earth. A little girl who looked under ten skipped across the lush green grass toward the village, clutching a slime in her arms. Every so often, she lowered her head and asked the slime something with a curious look on her face.

"It's Sally. How did she get there?"

On the watchtower, the boy who had been wiping his bow and arrows had just raised his head when he spotted a girl in a somewhat faded long dress skipping over from the woods in the distance. Her thin face wore a happy smile.

"Uncle Oster, what should we do?"

The next second, the boy turned to look at Oster, who had already risen and was leaning against the railing nearby. The boy was conflicted. He knew that the adventurers who had just arrived in the village were targeting Sally, and they certainly meant her no good.

Part of him hoped Sally would approach the village like this and be discovered by those adventurers. Perhaps they would leave afterward. But his guilt also made him want to stop Sally from coming closer—at least until the day after tomorrow, before those adventurers could discover her.

"...Ignore her. If Sally wants to enter the village, don't stop her."

Oster stared at Sally's slowly approaching figure. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a muffled voice, then turned around and sat back in his original spot. He picked up the clothes beside him and draped them over his head, as if he had been lying there asleep all along and had not noticed Sally approaching the village.

"But... I understand, Uncle Oster."

The boy looked at Oster, who had lain down and was pretending to sleep. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but after hesitating for several seconds, he sighed and picked up his bow and arrows to continue wiping them, as if he had never seen Sally either.

However, the boy's movements as he wiped the bow in his hands grew increasingly forceful, as if he were venting something—or perhaps expressing his anger at his own weakness and helplessness.

"Minghao, that's the village over there. Sally, Sally can't go near it."

About a hundred meters from the village, Sally stopped while holding Lu Minghao in her arms. She raised a finger and pointed toward the village as she spoke to him. After she had first been driven out of the village, Sally had not been without thoughts of secretly approaching it to take a look at Grandma Oran's grave.

However, every time she approached within a hundred meters, an arrow would always shoot from the watchtower and land nearby, showing that the village did not welcome her. After trying several times, Sally gradually gave up. At least she could still live in the woods not far outside the village, which was also fairly close to Grandma Oran.

"It's fine. Sally, just keep walking forward. No one will stop you anymore."

Lu Minghao raised his head and glanced toward the watchtower. Then he reached out and patted Sally, who had a dejected look on her face, reassuring her as he urged her to continue forward.

"Really?"

After hearing Lu Minghao's words, Sally's large eyes abruptly turned toward the village. She tentatively began walking forward. When she reached the spot where the watchtower usually drove her away with arrows, Sally instinctively hugged Lu Minghao tightly, wanting to use her own body to shield him from any arrows that might fly over.

"Ah! We really can!"

The next second, Sally discovered that the arrows that normally would have flown over long ago had not appeared. Her purple eyes widened, and a smile tinged with nostalgia appeared on her little face. Then, still holding Lu Minghao, Sally ran straight toward the village gate.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

The wind stirred by her running lifted Sally's long black hair, while her white dress fluttered gently. As Sally watched the village draw closer and saw the familiar surroundings within it, tears slid down her cheeks one after another from her wide eyes. Yet the smile on her face grew brighter and brighter.

"I'm back, Grandma."

The moment she stepped into the village, Sally raised her tear-streaked face toward the wooden house in the center of the village. It was as if she could once again see that figure leaning against the old wooden door, waiting for her to come home with a loving smile.

"Mommy, it's the monster Sally!"

At that moment, outside a wooden house by the village entrance, a little boy who looked four or five years old suddenly turned around. He stuck out his bare bottom and ran home, calling out to his mother inside in his childish voice.

Bang!

The next second, with a loud bang, the wooden door was slammed shut. The little boy's voice also became faint, as if someone had covered his mouth. The other villagers nearby had noticed Sally entering the village as well, and one by one, they instinctively lowered their heads and walked toward their homes.

In less than half a minute, every figure had vanished from the village road. The doors and windows of every household were tightly shut, and the entire village sank into deathly silence.

Sally stared blankly at the silent village before her. This was completely different from what she had imagined. She had originally thought that when she stepped into the village, the villagers would drive her out just as they had in the past. But now, they had all hidden themselves upon seeing her.

"Village Chief."

At that moment, Sally saw Village Chief Kenny standing before a wooden house in the distance. He gave her a faint smile before turning and walking inside. His much more aged figure made Sally bite her lip instinctively. In the past, aside from Grandma Oran, Village Chief Kenny had been the only person in the village who did not look at her as if she were a monster. He would even give her a little food from time to time.

So even though Kenny had not helped Sally when the villagers drove her out of the village, Sally was still grateful to him. Since her birth, he had been one of the very few people who had ever shown her kindness.

"Sally, someone you know has arrived."

At that moment, Lu Minghao's voice suddenly rang out in Sally's mind. As for how he had managed it, it was merely a small trick he had learned after advancing into a Middle Demon: he only had to connect his spiritual power with Sally's.

Smack! Smack!

Two figures landed in front of Sally, wearing sinister smiles as they looked her over with eyes that seemed to be appraising merchandise.

"Well, if it isn't our Chris's little darling? I didn't expect you to have grown so much since we last met."

As Gene spoke, he reached out to grab Sally's hair. He wanted to see exactly what made this half-human, half-ghost monster worth so much money—enough for a great noble from another kingdom to specifically order their squad to capture her.

"Wait, Gene. This is valuable merchandise. You don't want to injure her and make Captain Lester angry, do you?"

Suddenly, Gison, who was burly and clad in heavy armor, stopped Gene. He looked at him coldly as he spoke.

"Tsk. Damn monster. If you don't want to get hurt, then obediently come with us!"

Gene glanced at Gison beside him, then looked at Sally's frail body, weakened by prolonged malnutrition. Annoyed, he drew the long knife from his waist and pointed it at Sally, ordering her to obediently come with him.

The previous typo has been fixed. Also, Daida would like to mention that the daily update goes live at midnight.