This incident was actually very simple, without much of a beginning, development, or conclusion.
In short, it was a tragedy in which a group of rogue soldiers stormed into a village to burn, kill, and loot.
By the time Shi Hen and Raven arrived, the others had already packed everything up and were preparing to leave.
But when they saw the two approaching, the soldiers, fresh from their plundering, clearly thought themselves lucky to have stumbled across such an extra reward.
After all, Raven's off-road vehicle was excellent, and the two of them were a handsome man and a beautiful woman. Their clothes looked expensive, and they did not seem to be carrying weapons. They might as well have had "easy prey" written across their faces.
Naturally, the soldiers raised their rifles at them, and then... there was no then.
All that could be said was that they did not die peacefully.
"What are you planning to do with this child?" Raven pointed at the girl the youth was holding. "She's probably the only one left alive in the whole village."
Even a mercenary who had seen plenty of the world was shocked by the brutality of those soldiers' methods.
And the cause of it all might have simply been a shortage of food, because she and Shi Hen had found a large amount of packaged food in their vehicle.
Well, all of it had been stolen from the village.
"Let's wait until she wakes up. We can't just leave her here like this."
Shi Hen spoke softly as he brushed aside the hair on the girl's forehead.
Looking at the youth's gentle expression, Raven opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely nodded lightly and said:
"...Alright."
I Also Like Rabbits
"Awake?"
The moment Peggy opened her eyes, she heard a pleasant voice. A very handsome man was sitting beside a bonfire, looking at her.
No, perhaps he should not have been called a man. He did not look much older than she was, and his face was as delicate and flawless as a cake displayed in a shop window.
"...Did you save me?"
Peggy opened her mouth to speak. Even she could hear how hoarse her voice was, and her throat felt so dry it seemed about to catch fire.
"Looks like your memory is still intact." Shi Hen nodded in satisfaction and handed the girl a small bowl. "Drink some of this. You'll feel better."
Peggy nodded, crawled out from beneath the blanket, and accepted the bowl while cautiously observing her surroundings.
This seemed to be a hunter's cabin. It was not large. Other than the bonfire in the center and the pretty boy sitting beside it, there were only a few basic supplies around them.
Holding the bowl in both hands, Peggy lowered her head and took a sip of the soup. She felt a warm current rush from her throat straight into her heart, then quickly spread through all four limbs and every part of her body, as though her entire body had warmed up.
But soon, her memories from before she lost consciousness began to return, and bone-piercing cold surrounded the girl once more.
"Is everyone... dead?"
Her lips trembled as Peggy asked in a shaking voice.
"..." Looking at the girl trembling like a startled little animal, Shi Hen fell silent for a moment before choosing to be honest. "Yes. If you mean the people in that village, then they're all dead."
Even while hiding in that abandoned cellar, the girl must have sensed what was happening. Lies would not fool her.
Besides, Shi Hen could not be bothered to weave lies and make the girl live in a false world.
It was pitiful, but since she lived in such a world, she had no choice but to face that reality.
The world would not bend to an individual's will.
At the very least, the girl trembling before Shi Hen right now could not do so.
In an instant, the girl's eyes filled with tears. Large droplets rolled down her cheeks and fell into the soup.
Yet she did not cry. She merely raised a hand to wipe away her tears, then continued pouring the soup into her stomach.
Glancing at the silent, tearful girl, Shi Hen poked at the fire with a branch. He did not say anything about crying loudly or offering his shoulder for her to lean on.
He did not intend to keep her by his side forever.
The girl would eventually have to learn how to face this cold world alone.
Though for someone who looked no older than eleven or twelve, that was perhaps too cruel.
"My name is Peggy."
After finishing the soup, the girl moved a little closer to the fire. She introduced herself while cautiously stealing glances at Shi Hen.
"Hen. Just call me Hen."
Shi Hen spoke flatly. His voice was neither gentle nor cold, like sunlight during the harshest part of winter—seemingly warm, yet without any extra heat.
"Mm, Hen?"
As though she had noticed something in Shi Hen's indifference, Peggy looked at the youth probingingly and softly called his name.
Shi Hen nodded.
He did not want to be her brother or father, so a simple relationship like this was enough between them.
He had merely happened across the incident and casually saved someone. That was all.
"I'm thirteen this year."
Peggy stared at the fire, glancing secretly at the youth from the corner of her eye.
"Oh."
But Shi Hen merely responded simply, with no intention of stating his own age.
Thirteen, huh...
Looking at the thin, small girl who appeared to be no older than twelve, Shi Hen could only conclude that she was malnourished, just like a certain Bronya whose name could not be mentioned.
From 2012 to 2016, Durandal had gone from a cute young girl to a long-legged beauty, yet a certain Bronya was still an underage little loli.
What a tragically sad story.
"I like rabbits. They're fluffy and cute."
Peggy continued.
"Mm, I like them too. Their meat is delicious."
Shi Hen did an excellent job of killing the conversation.
Peggy: "..."
There was absolutely no way to keep talking like this.
The girl had deeply realized that there was a pitifully thick barrier between herself and the boy beside her.
Yet even so, Peggy was unwilling to give up so easily.
"Those... people who rushed into the village with guns... did you... see them?"
Peggy stammered.
But the moment the words left her mouth, a trace of annoyance rose in her heart.
Wasn't that just an utterly pointless question?
If he had really encountered those demons, how could he possibly be sitting safely before her?
Yet to Peggy's surprise, the youth merely nodded lightly. "Mm, I saw them. They're dead too."
"They... are all dead?"
The girl opened her mouth wide, seemingly unable to believe it.
"They're all dead. I killed them."
Shi Hen glanced at her and spoke flatly, as though it were something as insignificant as a breeze passing before him.
To Shi Hen, killing a group of soldiers made up of ordinary people really was such a simple and effortless matter.
Crackle—
The flames leaped, and only then did Peggy seem to receive some sort of signal. With her mouth open, she burst into loud sobs. "Waaah..."
Covering her face with both hands, the girl's body shook incessantly. Her heart-wrenching cries echoed and swirled through the cabin, as though she wanted to release all the fear and sorrow she had missed in one breath.
What a hassle...
Watching the girl cry in grief, Shi Hen could not help thinking to himself.
That was why he did not like meddling in other people's business.
But since he had already interfered, Shi Hen seemed unable to simply leave now.
After a long while, the girl's crying gradually quieted.
"Here."
Only after patiently waiting for her emotions to stabilize a little did Shi Hen hand her a damp towel.
"Th-thank you."
Peggy accepted the towel, wiped the wetness from her face, and spoke softly.
"Do you have any relatives elsewhere?"
Shi Hen finally asked the first question of their conversation.
Hearing him, Peggy froze slightly. After remaining silent for a long time, she slowly shook her head. "I ran away from an orphanage."
"I see..."
Shi Hen sighed.
No more words were needed. That one sentence was enough to explain the difficult first half of the girl's life.
Not every orphanage was called Cocolia.
On this land of Siberia, many orphanages were actually established by the military. They were responsible for uniformly training children who had lost their families to war and chaos, then using them to create even more war and chaos.
What kind of servant behavior was that?
Shi Hen could not help mocking them inwardly, feeling that those people ought to be in an entirely different setting.
But then again, their behavior was actually quite reasonable. Was there any labor cheaper than orphans in this world?
With nothing more than a piece of bread and a few scraps of cloth, one could gain a fiercely loyal subordinate.
As for the disloyal ones... one could choose to feed them a peanut.
Moreover, because this world had Honkai Energy, even the crude training methods used by Siberia's military could occasionally produce some astonishingly powerful individuals.
For example, the Ural Silver Wolf.
On this land, the Ural Silver Wolf's reputation was even more resounding than Raven's.
Thus, those people became even more enthusiastic about training orphans, because everyone wanted to produce another Ural Silver Wolf.
A bunch of short-sighted fools...
That was Shi Hen's only evaluation of them.
They merely hoped for another Ural Silver Wolf, but Cocolia had already chosen to cling to Anti-Entropy, and had even gotten involved with World Serpent. She was already competing on an entirely different track from those people.
Otherwise, how could she become an Anti-Entropy Executor and later nearly become the Anti-Entropy Leader?
That was the difference.
So when Bronya assassinated Cocolia, Cocolia had turned around and instantly taken down that little wolf.
Before someone who truly wielded Honkai power, no matter how famous the Ural Silver Wolf was, she could only be instantly defeated.
And even Bronya had nearly reached the top of Charon's List. It was enough to show how watered-down that assassin ranking was.
As he had said before, who with real strength would still become an assassin?
While thinking about all sorts of random things, Shi Hen continued asking, "Have you thought about what you'll do in the future?"
Asking a girl of only thirteen to think about her future sounded somewhat ridiculous.
But for Peggy, it was a reality she had no choice but to face.
Shi Hen could not take care of her for the rest of her life.
"I can survive on my own."
Before you continue