"Just?!"
Yin Chao's question was laced with unmistakable anger, but the undisguised concern in his eyes made that anger seem rather endearing.
Ois's ears reddened beneath his black robe.
He's worried about me. He's so cute when he talks...
The floating comments above his head kept scrolling, and he even automatically tuned out everything Yin Chao said next.
"Hey, are you even listening to me?"
Realizing that the boy in front of him had drifted off into his own world, Yin Chao reached out and pinched Ois's soft cheek.
The boy's eyes filled with grievance, but he didn't dare protest.
Yin Chao sighed and let go.
He lifted Ois's chin, forcing the boy to meet his eyes.
"I want you to learn to fight back. At least when it matters, you need to know how to fight back to protect yourself. Do you understand, Ois?"
The boy nodded uncertainly, but his eyes remained bewildered.
It was like a series of experiments that had once been banned-the Feral Child Experiment.
Human infants raised by wolves couldn't walk upright or speak, much less use tools. They could only make strange howls deep in their throats and tear into bloody raw meat with their tender teeth.
They were nothing like humans. How could they even be considered human...?
Ois had been raised by the Church. He had been treated as a sacrificial tool, beaten, and taught never to resist...
Like those feral children, he had been locked in a cage during the crucial years when his understanding of the world was taking shape.
Seemingly noticing Yin Chao's low spirits, Ois fluttered his thick lashes twice.
He didn't know how to comfort anyone. In a panic, he could only cover Yin Chao's moist eyes with his hand.
Plunged into darkness, Yin Chao was puzzled.