Chapter 4

The next morning, we headed east, using the faint footprints left on the grass as a guide. Thanks to the short grass, visibility was good, but we still couldn’t find any signs of human habitation.

Suddenly, my older sister, who was leading the way, stopped and crouched down, signaling me to do the same with one hand. Approaching her in a crawling position, she handed me a pair of binoculars and pointed in a specific direction.

Through the lens, I saw a pack of animals that resembled dogs, each with long, sharp fangs. They looked like a canine version of saber-toothed tigers, though the species was quite different.

"We seem to be downwind. They haven’t noticed us yet…"

"They’re about the size of Taro, I think… but they look fierce."

Taro was an old dog from the neighborhood, a mixed breed of Shepherd, if I remember correctly. He’s not scary now, but when I was in elementary school, I was too afraid to pass by him and would hide behind my sister to get through.

Here, we decided to follow the old saying, "If you don’t touch the gods, they won’t curse you," and slowly lowered our posture to move forward.

After crawling for a while, we reached a spot where the grass ended. It looked like a path. We gradually stood up and looked around.

No one was in sight… and the dog-like creatures had disappeared. The path led north into the forest and south into the grassland. The footprints we had been following seemed to branch off from this path.

"This way."

My sister started walking back into the grassland. I hurried to follow her. Walking on the path was easier than on the grass. The path curved gently to the east, staying close to the forest, and it seemed to loop around a ridge.

"AAAAH!"

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream echoed through the air. My sister reacted and ran towards the sound. I quickly followed.

The scream sounded like it came from a little girl…

We soon saw a man, backed by the trees of the forest, being attacked by a pack of dog-like creatures. My sister drew her M36 and fired into the air. The gunshots—*bang*… *bang*—caused the pack to turn towards us.

"They’re coming. Get ready!"

I readied my staff. One of the creatures charged at me with a roar, and I struck it sideways with my staff, feeling a dull thud—likely breaking its ribs. The next one I hit on the head, shattering its skull. The third one growled from a distance but didn’t attack. My sister had also killed two with her homemade spear, blood still dripping from the tip.

The standoff continued for a while, but then one of the creatures growled, and the pack ran off into the grassland.

We cautiously approached the man lying at the base of a tree. I placed my hand on his neck to check for a pulse. There was none, and his chest wasn’t rising and falling. He had visible bleeding all over his body… he must have died from blood loss.

I shook my head at my sister, who was watching my gestures. This was the first person we had seen in this world. He looked just like us, with five fingers on each hand. His clothing was made of a material that felt like hemp rather than cotton, and he wore a simple leather jacket. His shoes were handmade leather boots.

"He’s just like us… it’s a bit reassuring."

"But their culture seems primitive… look at their clothing."

Searching his belongings, we found a short sword similar to a machete, a basket, and a wooden stick he had been using. The basket contained several types of herbs and a bundle of firewood.

It seemed he had come to gather herbs and was attacked by the dog-like creatures. As we were considering what to do with the man’s body, a small branch fell from a nearby tree. I looked up, puzzled.

"AAAAH!"

A scream echoed, and something fell from the foliage. My sister readied her spear and cautiously approached the bushes.

"Akito… look, look… she’s so cute!!"

My sister, without taking her eyes off the bushes, beckoned with one hand. Curious, I approached and peered into the bushes…

It was a girl, around 10 years old. She had ears poking out from her hair… like a cat?

A simple leather dress, similar to a dress, covered her body, and a tail about 50 cm long protruded from her buttocks. She was about the height of a primary school student, with skin like ours, but her hair was a white tinged with blue, and her ears and tail were covered in short white fur.

She seemed to have fainted from the shock of falling from the tree. My sister was hugging her tightly, and she was starting to turn blue from lack of air.

"Sis, if you don’t let go, she might die…"

My sister, startled by my voice, gently laid the girl on her knees but continued to pet her tail. I examined the girl’s body to check for injuries. She didn’t seem to have any broken bones; she had likely fainted from the impact of the fall.

The girl started to move on my sister’s knee.

"Mmm… Ow!!"

She opened her eyes and tried to sit up quickly but fell back down, likely due to the pain.

"One of them is dead, but the creatures that attacked are gone. You’re safe now! …By the way, who are you?"

My sister stroked the girl’s back as she spoke.

"…Mira. …That’s right. My master… is dead."

Her answer was matter-of-fact. It seemed she was a slave.

She had been gathering herbs in the mountains at her master’s command. Today, she had heard that a valuable herb was abundant in the forest, so she had accompanied him. She didn’t know what would happen to her now that her master was dead, so we decided to follow her to her village.

The girl quickly placed the man’s belongings into a basket she had woven from vines and stared intently at the nearby dog-like creatures. She pointed at them and asked me,

"…Do you need the Gator?"

"No, we don’t need them. I don’t think they’re edible."

It seemed the dog-like creatures were called Gator. The girl then took out a short sword from the basket and used it to extract the canine teeth from the Gator. After removing the right canine tooth, she moved on to the next one. I gripped my kukri and removed the remaining two canine teeth, handing them to the girl.

"Thank you… these can be traded."

The girl casually tossed the teeth into the basket and slung it over her shoulder.

"Let’s go…"

My sister took the girl’s hand, and they started walking. I followed behind them.