27-Move

It wasn't Krish-san. That was the one thing I knew.

He wasn't wearing any armor, plus their physiques were totally different. I couldn't really see now that the pitch-black darkness was back, but I was sure that there were multiple people here.

What were they doing in front of my barn in the middle of the night? Why were the barn doors that were supposed to be closed open?

Chills went down my spine as terrible thoughts ran through my head.

The barn doors were open. Then, where was Pochi?

Pochi was a guard dog. Whenever strangers tried to enter my property, no matter who it was, he would bare his teeth in a threatening manner.

If these people were the ones who'd opened the barn doors, then he should've leapt at them the moment the door opened.

I'd heard him yelp even through my dreams earlier. I'd thought that he was just scared of the thunder, but... No way...

Had he jumped at these people and gotten attacked?

Right now, some unknown people were on my property and had opened the barn doors. Even though I was right here, I couldn't hear any of Pochi's growls. This was impossible, unless...

It was as if my heart was beating in my ears; I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my heartbeat. I was so tense that I could only take shallow breaths, finding it hard to breathe properly.

My senses sharpened, and unlike usual, I could feel other people's gazes on me.

They were keeping quiet, watching me closely.

I swallowed hard. This was my home. I had a right to know what was happening here.

I opened my mouth. "Who's there?"

There was the sound of a foot scraping the ground, but nobody answered. I turned towards the sound, but I couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"What are you doing in my home?" I squeezed the words out through my parched throat.

"So you noticed us. Too bad. If you'd just obediently slept on, you wouldn't have had to face anything scary."

The voice came from a completely different direction. I turned my head towards it, but unfortunately, I still couldn't see anyone.

"Huh. You can't see? Then, no need for us to hold back. Hey, someone make a light."

They could probably see that my eyes were wandering, unable to latch onto them. Now they thought I was blind.

I heard clicking sounds, like a stone striking something, before a light flared into existence and illuminated the surroundings. Standing in front of me were five men with a lantern.

The one closest to me was holding a huge knife, its blade dripping red.

My heart was already pounding before I could even comprehend what that red was.

"Oh, so you're not completely blind. Guess we shouldn't have made a light."

"Who cares. It's not like it'll change anything."

It was blood. I'd thought it smelled strange, but then I remembered. It smelled exactly like that time my nose bled.

Then, whose blood was it?

"Dammit, if that shitty mutt hadn't made a ruckus, we would've been done by now. It fucking bit me!" the man closest to the barn said, one hand holding on to his other arm. Then he kicked something hard. At his feet was a huge beast, its chest moving up and down; it was still breathing. But it was lying on the ground, unmoving.

"Pochi!!" I screamed and tried to run forward, but the man with the knife blocked my way.

He thrust the knife at me, waving it back and forth as if to show it off. "Hey hey, kid, don't move. You don't wanna be hurt now, do you?"

I sucked in a breath.

I had to save Pochi, but my legs wouldn't move. This was the first time that I'd ever been confronted with a blade.

I used a sickle everyday, so I knew exactly how sharp the blades of this world were. Every time I cut down the weeds, cutting them so easily with barely any strength exerted, I would have the thought that if I were to cut myself with the blade, it would be terrible.

And this knife looked many times bigger and sharper than my sickle. It was enough to agitate my fearful heart.

Nevermind my feet, I couldn't even move a single finger.

My eyes stayed on the knife. I was afraid to blink. I couldn't help thinking that I'd be stabbed the moment I let it out of my sight.

"Good, good. Just stay still. We're no murderers. Once we get all your stuff, we'll leave.

"Alright, boys, hurry and bring 'em out."

Three men went inside the barn. I could hear loud noises inside, and the animals calling out. Still, my legs wouldn't move.

The chickens flew out and were caught easily by the man in front of the doors. Then their legs were tied up and they were taken away. The chickens flapped their wings hard, but with their legs tied, they couldn't escape.

Stop. Stop. Don't bully my family.

My head told me to go and cut the ties off of them, but my body wouldn't move, as if I'd turned into a statue.

I could only stand there and breathe. I was breathing so hard, and yet, it felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen. My mind was going numb.

"Neigh!!"

Brian had a rope tied around his neck and was being dragged out of the barn. Two men stood on either side of him and pulled, and though he was resisting, he was still getting dragged forward. The rope around his neck looked tight. With eyes so wide, the whites around his pupils were visible, his hind legs started kicking up.

"You bastard, hold still!!" A man took the whip around his waist and mercilessly hit Brian with it. Crack! I squeezed my eyes shut as that painful sounding whip crack reverberated in the air.

Even though my family was getting taken away, why wasn't my body moving?

Move. Move. Move. I was their owner.

"Damn, it's great that the job's so easy this time. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that there was only a kid living alone in this place."

"Yeah. Once we sell these animals, we'll be living in the lap of luxury for a few days. Hey, we should take these vegetables, too."

The men laughed boisterously.

Genett-san's warning on that first day I'd started living here flashed through my mind. He'd said, "Though most everyone treated children well, there are still some bad people out there."

The fact that I came from another world and was an adult had already spread to a lot of people in town, but there were still quite a lot who didn't know.

These guys probably heard that rumor from those people and came to rob my animals.

Brian was whipped a number of times as he was dragged away. Then from further away, I could hear the sound of hooves clopping on wood, then the clank of a door shutting. He'd probably been loaded into a wagon for transporting livestock.

I was such a coward. What was I doing just standing around like a blockhead, when my family was getting taken away?

I gritted my teeth, frustrated.

Without realizing it, I'd gotten drenched from the incessant rain. Rainwater flowed down my face, dripping from my cheeks down to my clenched jaw, and plopping onto the ground.

"Kid, just think of this as an unfortunate meeting with disaster and give up. Anyway, you'll receive help if you go to the administration building and cry about being robbed.

"It's great to be a kid. You're treated as important. Unlike us; we're all unable to work and yet nobody's willing to help us, y'know? We wouldn't be able to live if we don't steal livestock like this and sell them off. Aren't we pitiful?"

'Unable to work', what a liar. They were strong enough to forcefully drag Brian away. And yet they robbed other people, then smiled and said they were pitiful?

I hated these people.

My fingers twitched. Finally able to move, I curled my fingers into my palm one by one. The numbness from my mind slowly started to fade away.

I wanted to punch these people one after another.

Everyone I knew worked so hard.

Norn worked at the administration building so he could fulfill his dream of holding his sister's child. He was working hard, believing that he could help find a solution for the fertility problem.

He'd suffered being stuck between his superiors and me, and even now that the gate had disappeared, he still hadn't given up hope for the future.

Couge had worked hard to protect the restaurant that his father had left him. Even when his customers all gradually left, he'd still kept the place sparkling clean every single day.

He'd lost all his money and he couldn't buy any ingredients anymore. He'd even thought to sell the restaurant off. But now he'd gotten past that, and was working busily everyday.

Even kids like Nott and Marco worked hard farming vegetables to help their mother. They'd failed and cried so many times, and still they'd kept on going.

Nott could even silently keep eating raw onions that were spicy enough to make adults cry, just so he could win the prize money for his mother.

Firks-sama was such an important person that everyone would prostrate to him, but he kept going on lengthy travels trying to find plants that could replace the trees of life. Though he'd never gotten results, he didn't give up. He just found another direction to go to next, and held meetings to discuss the matter. Even now, he was preparing for another trip.

And to protect Firks-sama, Krish-san was there at the head of each dangerous expedition. He was a pro at carrying things, even on roads so dangerous they were likely to be fatal.

Wrapped head to toe in heavy armor, he sometimes even had to carry his injured comrades as he worked hard for everyone's future.

You people had five healthy bodies. You were agile enough to catch chickens and tie them up easily. You were strong enough to handle a heavy knife like it's nothing and threaten me with it.

You were energetic enough to fight back against Pochi and cut him with that knife.

Everyone else was working so hard, working with all their might.

"Ohh, these fat cows look like they give good milk. I'm sure they're gonna sell well."

Hanako and Hanayo were dragged away just like Brian.

Move. Move. Move.

My feet which had been stuck to the ground like the roots of a tree slid a tiny bit forward.

Don't hurt them. They're my family. My family.

I had to save them.

"Damn, these sheep just shed their wool. Too bad, they won't sell for a high price like this."

"Better than nothing. Alright, haul everything in."

The men kicked the resistant sheep forward. The bleating of the sheep sounded to me like they were crying for my help. I could feel my body burning up.

Something was surging inside me. There was a rage so harsh, it was like something would burst out of me, ruling my body.

I braced myself, knees bending slightly.

More. I had to move more. With these feet, I was going to save them.

This was the first time that I'd ever been this angry at someone. I wanted to beat these people up and save everyone.

I had to treat Pochi's and Brian's injuries. I had to free the chickens.

So, move.