26 The start of what could've been an easily avoidable incident.....(3)

On the outskirts of Darkmoon Grove, three individuals were traveling to their destination. A fat and short middle-aged man had the reins of a horse in his hand. The horse was pulling what seemed to be a cart. The exterior of the cart was covered with a large cloth that didn't allow most to witness the contents inside.

"Hey, Old man! How long till we reach that base of yours?!" A man who seemed to be in his late twenties asked with an annoyed expression. He had a shaved head with scars over his face, he was tall and brawny. He was walking alongside the cart as it moved quite slowly.

"I'm not an old man,! I'm only a few years older than you are!" The middle-aged man shouted in frustration. He knew he was getting old but he wasn't ready to be called an old man just yet.

"Yeah, right. You look like you're fifty. There's no way you're just a few years older than me." The brawny man mocked the middle-aged man while he smirked.

"You-"

"Ralph, Stop it. And Mr. Brad I'd like to know how much longer until we reach our destination as well." The middle-aged man who seemed to go by "Brad", was interrupted by a woman when he wanted to refute the Brawny man or Ralph's claims. The woman was also walking alongside the slowly moving cart. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, she had red hair and green eyes. Her skin was neither pale nor dark. It looked tanned out. Although burly for a woman, she was comparatively slim compared to the brawny scar-faced man.

"But don't you think he looks like he's fifty too, Sally?" Ralph mockingly laughed and pointed his finger at Brad as he asked that.

"I have no interest in such meaningless topics." the woman, Sally declared.

Hearing their exchanges Brad's veins popped up on his forehead.

'Ugh! This is why I hate hiring mercenaries. They lack manners and tact! How infuriating!' Brad thought as he wished he could beat the crap out of the two. But he knew someone like him couldn't hope to beat the two mercenaries who had expertise in actual combat.

So he calmed himself down before answering Sally's question.

"We'll reach the base in another half an hour at our pace," Brad informed the two.

"Can't we just hop on the cart and go full speed? This is getting boring as hell!" The man bellowed with rage.

"You know as well as I do that it would attract monsters and danger my 'Goods'," Brad replied solemnly.

"Tsk, then we'll just kill the monsters!" Ralph yelled with vigor.

"Shut up and keep moving. If a troll comes and attacks us, will you be able to deal with it?" Sally snapped at Ralph's consistent pestering.

In response, Ralph only sighed heavily as he knew it would be impossible for the two of them to defeat a Monster that could be considered around Tier 3.5, when they were both Tier 3. He'd need at least five copies of himself to defeat one troll.

"If this old man had some 'Goods' that were actually any good then maybe I could have staved off my boredom by enjoying myself," Ralph started rubbing his chin and smirking

"Please keep your hands off my 'Goods', Mr. Ralph. You were hired to protect them, not ruin them." Brad frowned at Ralph's remark.

"Tsk, Like I'd ever lay a hand on those worthless things." Ralph clicked his tongue. Whatever he was imagining with a smirk seemed to have been ruined as his expression turned sour again.

Just then the bushes near the path they were taking started to rustle violently.

"Something's coming!" Sally quickly held her spear and got in position to defend her client and herself, should any danger arise.

"Fucking finally! Maybe I'll get to have some fun!" Ralph bellowed in excitement as if he was a battle maniac. He withdrew his Greatsword from his scabbard and took it in hand. He took a stance where he held the Greatsword in both hands with his front facing the direction of the rustling bush. A sickly smile crept up his face.

"Eek! Please don't be a troll! Please don't be a troll!"

Brad on the other hand quickly got off his horse and hid behind the two while trembling in fear, hoping that he lives to see tomorrow.

But instead of a troll or some kind of monster, a blonde little girl with amber eyes came out. She looked to be about 7 or 8 years old.

"The fuck? It's just a kid!" Ralph growled in frustration.

----------------------

Dawn ran away from the spot where she saw the troll as far as her legs could carry her. She gripped the Nixantus fruit tightly while running, making sure her trip to this dangerous forest doesn't go to waste.

'I'm almost out of the forest! Just a bit more! I want to see Daddy and Dusk as soon as possible!' she thought as tears of relief flowed down her eyes. She was glad that she was still alive.

"There it is! Just a bit more!" Dawn encouraged herself to run despite her legs aching in pain. She knew if she passed those bushes then she'd be outside the forest. She thought as long as she could leave Darkmoon Grove she would be safe...

As the bushes were large enough to be as big as her it took her some time to pass them, causing them to rustle. It felt like she heard somebody while passing through them and she was proven right when she managed to get out of them.

"The fuck? It's just a kid!" A scar-faced large man growled when she came out.

If it was any other time then she would be afraid of the man, but after feeling the predatory fear caused by a troll's presence the man didn't seem all that frightening in comparison.

"Shut up, Ralph. Be grateful it isn't a troll. I'll take a kid over a monster any day." A woman with red hair and tan skin let out a sigh of relief when she saw Dawn.

There was another person behind the two. He looked like he was in his fifties. He was short and fat. He was cowering in fear behind the two but after confirming there was no threat he started regaining his composure.

The man scrutinized Dawn suspiciously which caused a shiver to go down her spine.

Then the man proceeded to whisper something to the other two but they looked annoyed after hearing out whatever he said to them. They eventually nodded after a few seconds.

To anyone else, these 3 would be considered extremely shady. However, Dawn was raised in a very warm and welcoming environment. All of her father's friends were trustworthy kind people. Even the people in the city acted nicely. With how overly protective Lucius was, Dawn, hadn't encountered anyone with harmful intentions before. This ended up causing her to grow naive and pure.

Although she had a feeling these 3 were different from the people she had met so far she couldn't put her finger on what made her feel so uneasy.

"Hello! I'd like to ask something!" Dawn shook off her doubts and ended up calling out to the group. She wanted to ask them if they could escort her back to the Nightmoon Mansion. She was too afraid to go back there on her own this late in the night. Her previous frightening experience was horrible enough that she just couldn't travel on her own anymore.

"Oh, hello little girl! Do you need something? We won't be able to hear you from that far! Why don't you come closer?" The fat man smiled at her.

Dawn's unease grew even stronger after seeing that smile. She couldn't understand why, she wanted to dismiss it as still being shaken up by the troll but she couldn't. Her skill [Emotion interpreter] was the reason she felt something was wrong. With her skill, she can tell what someone is feeling towards her. The skill allows the user to feel the target's emotions as their own, to a lesser degree. The stronger the bond between the target and the user, the more accurate her interpretation becomes.

Although there was almost no bond between Dawn and the man, her skill still managed to give the vague feeling that this man's emotions towards her were not favorable.

Despite this, Dawn being the naive child she was, didn't stop seeking help.

She came closer to them and asked,

"Umm...I'd like to go somewhere but I'm afraid to go there alone right now. Misters and miss, could you please escort me back?" Dawn pleaded to the group.

"Ah...I'm sorry, little girl. Right now we're going somewhere VERY important. So we don't have the time to escort you to where you want...." The fat man said in an apologetic tone.

"Aww..." she felt disappointed but at the same time, she felt.... relieved. She still didn't get why.

"But don't worry... You won't be alone anymore. After all...you're coming to that important place too." The man smiled creepily. His already unattractive face twisted into a sickening grin.

At that moment a sudden gust of wind caused the cloth covering the cart to flutter. And she saw it. The cart was like a cage with wheels. In it were humanoid figures of children in rags, their bodies chained down and bruised. Dried Blood could be seen on the bars of the cages. One of the children noticed her gaze and glanced at her with cold and lifeless eyes. A chilling sensation went down Dawn's spine.

"Eh? What....." Dawn took a few steps back as fear started to surface within her heart. In a matter of seconds, her face turned pale. Her breathing became labored just like when she was hiding from the troll.

"Sorry, kid. But he's paying us extra to catch ya. Though you could make this even better for me by trying to run!" The scar-faced man she saw before licked his lips and started approaching her.

Dawn glanced at the woman with the group, hoping that just maybe...the woman was different.

But alas, the woman turned a blind eye to their actions and merely stood there. She rested her back against the cart while crossing her arms.

"Just get this over with fast, Ralph." the woman said.

At that moment, Dawn had felt despair. An emotion she had never felt in her life.