Hector glanced at the young girl with narrowed eyes as she chewed the meat as if it were the last meal she would ever have.
"She doesn’t even have the slightest doubt as I give her the meat. Doesn’t she think there could be poison in it?"
Hector slowly rubbed his chin, observing the young girl thoughtfully.
She had arrived in this world even if she seemed to be only around 12 or 13 years old.
That was quite unusual.
So, Hector assumed she must hold a high status in her clan, which granted her special privileges.
That would also explain why she had developed such poor manners.
By now, He realized he needed to speak kindly to her if he didn’t want to be grudged by her.
"Lady, I apologize for my harsh words earlier. May I know your name?"
The young girl continued chewing the meat, completely ignoring Hector’s words.
A few seconds later, she spoke with a hint of sarcasm, echoing the same words Hector had said to her before.
"Why do I have to answer? Uncle!"
Hector heard that and only smiled slowly as if he had expected her to say that.
"Yup! I’m an uncle. But if you answer my question, I’ll cook even more delicious meals for you."
However, instead of being amused as he imagined, the girl once again glared at him with a hateful expression.
"I hate all of your kind!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she tossed the meat aside and began to leave the place in fury.
"What the hell? Did I do something wrong?’’ He thought.
Yet, regardless of what he said, the young girl still didn’t stop her steps.
’’Wait! I will say that dog for you.’’
When Hector said that thing, the young girl just stopped in her tracks.
She turned his head, glancing at Hector with big suspicion.
Hector sighed, sitting down on a small sand, and slowly said.
He didn’t expect her to get that mad, so he supposed his flattering, two-faced words and tone earlier were the main reason. Or maybe she just wanted to be scolded.
But Hector wouldn’t do that again; he would speak to her equally.
After the above, they were both sitting near the campfire again. But this time, the atmosphere around became very tense.
’’So, you can tell me about my dog right now," the young girl said, not giving Hector any chance to say something unrelated to the topic of her dog.
Looking at the young girl’s narrowed eyes, Hector sighed deep in his thoughts.
As a matter of fact, he had nearly certainly given up on partnering with her. A person with such a bad trait was very hard to work with. Her partners could also acquire a bad trait like that.
Of course, Hector hated such people, for it was very annoying.
However, he should help this young girl.
After all, her traits were shaped by her surroundings.
It seemed she hadn’t been brought up very well.
"I feel rather bad for you."
"What? What did you just say?" the young girl said in an uncertain voice, trying to understand Hector’s words.
Afterward, Hector slowly took a metal ring from his pack.
It was a metal ring engraved with ancient runes, glowing brightly with its silver hue. It was luxurious jewelry, typically found among the wealthiest families.
Above all, this metal ring had the word "Baby" engraved on it, so he guessed it was an item for her dog.
He found it on the monster’s horn, which had been hanging at the bottom of the horn.
Probably, this monster had killed the young girl’s dog and robbed the dog of its metal ring to make spoils like some animals.
Indeed, he wasn’t entirely sure about this; he had just pieced together fragments of thoughts when the young girl tried to leave.
Luckily for her—or perhaps not—if he had realized this sooner, he could have told her everything. After all, his ability to lie was terrible.
Although his ability to lie was poor, its extent was uncertain. They could only determine it with a True/False question or something similar.
And with a young girl like that, he really didn’t have anything complicated related to lying, because he wanted her to know the truth he held.
"Well... I guess it’s for your dog," Hector slowly nodded, watching the young girl’s happiness as she held the metal ring.
"Right! Where did you find it?" the young girl had asked with a bit of haste, then glancing around. "You’re here, so it’s probably been nearby."
"Wait! Take it slow! I haven’t finished yet."
A few seconds passed.
Hector took a deep breath, then continued to speak with a serious voice before she could take any foolish action.
"Listen... Your dog died because of this monster."
Hector pointed at the monster’s skeleton near the campfire.
The young girl gradually grimaced, looking at him with anger and confusion.
Hector took the monster’s horn from his pack and held it up for the girl to see.
"You see this? I found the metal ring on this horn. This ugly monster, with a horse’s head, killed your pet and stole the metal ring. Even it..."
The young girl suddenly fell to her knees, staring at the skeleton with soulless, shivering eyes at this point.
"Oh, you understood everything rather quickly. I thought I would have to explain more," Hector muttered, stretching his neck and shrugging slowly.
He thought ’’ She will be fine, like all the other kids. She will forget soon.’’
Some moments later, the young girl spoke with a shivering voice.
"Y-you killed my dog and cooked it for me to eat?"
The young girl immediately felt a wave of nausea and a cramping pain in her abdomen. Her head grew increasingly lightheaded.
At that moment, liquid burst from her stomach.
"What the heck!" Hector immediately ran toward her, a bit worried.
With his experience as a doctor, he checked her pulse and consciousness.
A few seconds later, he sighed.
"Fuu! Just mild shock."
Yet, the young girl in Hector’s arms gradually regained her senses after the shock. She looked at him with tearful eyes.
She groaned softly, overwhelmed with sadness. "Y-you killed my pet."
"Right! I killed it. But it’d eaten your pet. And you also ate that damn monster, so don’t be so sad."
Hector thought, Just a dog. Why is she so sad? Her pet was killed by my hand. Although she didn’t do it herself, at least it’s dead.
By now, Hector also slowly noticed a few strange points in his own words. His expression quickly twisted with worry.
The young girl in his arms remained still, yet her emotions shifted.
Hector gulped nervously. He looked at her tearful, furious eyes, slowly withdrawing his hands from her back and placing her gently on the ground.
Certainly, the young girl didn’t let him escape. She immediately strangled his neck tightly.
Before Hector could react in time, it was already too late.
She was an incredible speed, and it terrified him.
"Impossible! Is this the power of a member of a great clan?"
His eyes widened in horror as he stared into the girl’s furious gaze, especially noticing how her right eye glowed amber like the sun, contrasting with her left, which burned a deep red.
"Fuck! It’s preposterous!" Hector cursed in his mind. He struggled to pry her hand off him, but all his efforts were useless.
This feeling was oddly familiar to him, as if he had once been in a similar situation before, yet he couldn’t recall when.
At that moment, his mind began to fade, and everything in front of his eyes almost disappeared.
"It hurts... I can’t breathe..." Hector groaned in suffocation.
By now, he had completely given up struggling.