Pei You, unable to wait any longer, nervously swallowed before stumbling over her words. "M-Master Xiao."
"Um, the child's death—was it...?"
The girl clenched her hands in her lap.
"No."
At Master Xiao's clear answer, the girl couldn't help smiling. She murmured, "Thank goodness. I knew it wasn't the one."
At first, she really had suspected it.
But she had heard it.
She had heard its plea for help.
It had been calling for help. Didn't that mean it had run into danger too?
The child's death hadn't been its doing.
It had gotten into trouble as well.
She had thought so, but worried she was just making excuses for it. She had felt ashamed of herself for thinking that way.
Now that she had Master Xiao's answer, she could finally relax.
It was the first monster she had ever encountered.
And the first monster whose voice she had ever heard.
Even though she couldn't see it, and though they hadn't exchanged a single word, it had already become special to her.
She didn't want it to be a monster that hurt people.
If possible, she hoped they could become friends.
"Was the child's death just an accident?"
"Was it because of something he did?"
"There wasn't a culprit?"
With Pei You's worry settled, Pei Liang voiced the questions on his mind.
Something still felt off.
"No."
Xiao Xiao's answer left the siblings stunned.
"Master Xiao, didn't you say—"
Pei You hesitantly began, "It wasn't its fault?"
"Right. It wasn't its fault."
Xiao Xiao nodded.
"Are you saying someone deliberately murdered him?"
Pei Liang blurted out, then furrowed his brow and began to wonder whether the child's family had offended anyone—or whether it had simply been a coincidence.
"Deliberate murder...?"
Xiao Xiao turned the phrase over in his