In Terra, a Hunter, and Also a Bad Woman

All she could do now was help the girl find a place where she could rest peacefully, then face the behemoth herself.

For the time being, Maria had settled on the village beyond this forest...

According to the notebook she had seen before, they had learned of the safe zone from people living near this forest.

In other words, there should have been a village lying quietly hidden somewhere near the forest.

And her goal was to send Puppy there...

She just didn't know whether people in this world could accept a little girl with animal traits.

Still... Maria's expectations differed somewhat from reality.

After spending several days pushing Puppy to the limits of her stamina while traveling, Maria finally reached the edge of the forest—and what she saw was not the idyllic countryside she had imagined.

It was a ruined, dilapidated village.

The wooden huts had long since rotted away, some of them even stained black.

Faint traces of roads people had once walked could still be seen in the village, but there were no signs of human activity at all.

It was as though... no one had lived here for many years.

Maria was disappointed, but after hesitating for a while, she still led Puppy into the village.

After all, Puppy was nearly at her limit after traveling for so long.

Her constantly drooping eyelids showed just how weak she had become.

If they kept going, it might have a harmful effect on her body.

With that in mind, Maria waved a hand, signaling for the girl to start preparing camp and rest.

The girl found a relatively intact building, put down her backpack, and struggled to light a campfire.

"Maria..."

She turned her head to look at Maria, her voice weak.

Yet even after being treated like this, Puppy did not complain in the slightest. She only looked at Maria innocently.

She didn't understand why Maria had suddenly become like this.

But Maria had no intention of explaining.

She merely watched the sun gradually sink below the horizon again and silently sat beside the campfire.

Though Puppy still wanted to ask, she ultimately said nothing. She simply sat beside Maria, her pale face fixed on her.

"You can rest now, Puppy."

Maria spoke without looking at her.

She rose to her feet, intending to head outside and inspect the surrounding area.

But that action seemed to trigger Puppy.

She anxiously grabbed a corner of Maria's trench coat, biting her lip as worry and sorrow flickered in her eyes.

Compared to ordinary people, she truly was slow-witted and found it hard to understand what emotions even were.

But she possessed something others did not—a beast's intuition.

She could clearly sense the change in Maria's attitude toward her over the past few days.

At first, she thought she had done something wrong and upset Maria, so she had kept trying hard to behave better and change herself.

But as time passed, she realized Maria did not seem angry.

Rather...

She was going to leave her!

That faint but unmistakable air of parting made her deeply uneasy.

She had finally found a companion she could trust, finally lived a peaceful life, finally had somewhere she could sleep without fear...

Everything had been as beautiful as a dream.

She didn't want to wake from that dream so soon.

She wanted even less to be separated from Maria!

"Maria..."

Gritting her teeth, she looked at Maria, trying to get an answer from her that would put her at ease.

But...

"Trust is a good thing. Sooner or later, you need to learn to trust certain people... but I'm not someone worth trusting."

Maria ruthlessly shook the girl's hand from her clothes and silently looked down at her.

How could she possibly fail to notice Puppy's dependence on her?

Yet she still made such a heartless gesture.

It was to make the girl understand her stance.

In the end, they had known each other for less than half a month since first meeting.

Maria didn't know what hardships the girl had suffered in the past.

But she knew she couldn't truly stay by her side forever like her parents.

Now it was about time for them to part... Bringing the girl all the way here was already a major concession on her part.

If it had been the Maria of the past, she might not have cared at all. The moment she saw this "beastified" person, she would have killed her and continued her investigation.

Instead, she had not harmed her, had looked after her for this long, and had taught her quite a few things. She had done more than enough.

She had her own mission too.

"You should be satisfied, Puppy..."

Maria spoke softly, but her voice gradually weakened. In the end, she suddenly fell silent.

The reason was that the little girl before her had started crying...

She cried quietly, holding herself back. Tears streamed endlessly down her adorable cheeks. Her wide eyes were filled with fear and panic, but she refused to blink, terrified that Maria would disappear the next moment.

The hand Maria had shaken away remained suspended in midair. She refused to pull it back, but didn't dare grab Maria again either.

She was so restrained, and so innocent.

Maria was like a ray of light in her lonely life, barging unreasonably into her world, giving her happiness she had never experienced before, then ruthlessly preparing to leave...

She wanted to stop her, but her trembling lips could barely form any words.

The more silent she became, the more anxious she felt.

Her tears flowed endlessly as though a dam had burst. After struggling in pain, her slightly parted lips could only force out those thin, fragile words.

"Home..."

"Maria... home..."

Her voice sounded like a plea as she looked at Maria.

She didn't know what Maria was going to do, nor did she know why Maria was leaving, but... she hoped she could follow Maria.

She even wondered if she was too useless, which was why Maria no longer wanted her.

After all, she had been eating Maria's food this whole time.

To prove that she was still useful, she turned around, hoisted the heavy pack onto her back, and began walking in place.

As she walked, she kept looking at Maria.

Ordinarily, seeing such an adorable girl make such a humble gesture would make even the most coldhearted person feel at least a little troubled and uneasy.

But unfortunately, Maria had already made up her mind.

"This has nothing to do with you, Puppy... This isn't your fault."

Maria stepped forward slightly. Looking at the girl whose tears still would not stop, she slowly reached out and touched the back of her neck.

Then...

She applied a little force...

"..."

Without even a final goodbye, Puppy went limp and lost consciousness.

Already exhausted after Maria had pushed her so hard over the past few days, she simply couldn't resist anymore.

Her words just now had been spoken while clinging to the last of her strength.

Only then did Maria finally soften.

She gently held the girl, removed the heavy backpack from her body, and silently stroked her hair.

Her eyes were helpless, yet full of tenderness.

"You really are... a troublesome Puppy."

Found You!

[Eat no more than four desserts a day]

[Never throw away your weapon]

[Trust others, but never give up your own judgment]

[Keep yourself clean]

[Don't...]

Beside the campfire, Maria silently wrote down her advice for the girl on a piece of paper.

Puppy really was too innocent.

So innocent that Maria truly couldn't rest easy leaving her to live alone.

With that dazed personality of hers, who knew when someone might trick her... After all, scams had nothing to do with intelligence.

One day, everyone would walk into a trap they could never have imagined.

If Maria stayed by the girl's side, she could solve many problems for her.

But... she had to leave.

After finishing the note, Maria let out a long breath, tore it off, and placed it in the girl's tightly clenched hand.

After several days of such intense hardship, Puppy was completely exhausted. Even now, she showed no sign of waking up.

Her curled-up little body occasionally trembled even in her sleep.

Tears ran down her face, collecting dust from the ground.

She looked filthy.

After silently watching her from the side for a while, Maria reached out and gently stroked her hair.

It was coarse, messy, and a little stiff.

It truly felt like a stray dog's fur.

Maria looked at the child, hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh.

Rising to her feet, she gripped her weapon and walked out the door.

Under the setting sun, unsettling white mist slowly began to spread through the nearby forest.

It floated above the forest, writhing without pause.

For a moment, it seemed to form a three-headed behemoth.

Cold eyes silently watched this way...

It was watching Maria!

"Ugh..."