8-2 Requesting Reinforcements

“Logos! Please, help me!”

“Oh my, what is it? That’s rare—you screaming for help.”

“Well, here’s what happened…”

“Hahahahahaha! So even the ‘Noble-Slayer’ can’t beat crying children, huh? Understood. I’ll arrange people who can handle childcare immediately. Until then—Mirinda, Betty. As you heard, go help at once.”

“Understood. Shall we go, Marquis?”

“Ah, wait—right now the kids are sleeping rough outside near the workshop, so I need a house. I need one with big rooms where dozens of kids can stay. Preferably something with multiple rooms like that—right now. I’ll handle moving it with Storage, so pick something I can transport as a whole house.”

“Understood. We’ll select something immediately.”

“Thanks. I’m counting on you! All right, you two—let’s go.”

The moment I said that, impatient as ever, I grabbed their hands and teleported on the spot.

Logos was left behind, blinking in shock.

But he quickly shrugged and got to work.

Because we teleported so suddenly, Mirinda and Betty couldn’t process the jump-cut in their vision and went half-panicked—until Mari patted their shoulders from behind and calmed them down.

Mari’s eyes were basically saying: Give up and accept your fate.

Yeah. I’d called Mari in as backup too, but even she couldn’t handle twenty little gremlins.

Normally, they spend the whole day just hunting for food, and hardly ever get any adult attention—so once they found one, they clung on and wouldn’t let go.

But for some reason, Mari looked incredibly happy.

And among the newly arrived kids… there was an eighteen-month-old.

How many months counts as a “baby,” anyway…

Wasn’t a nursery for kids under two, or something?

If this kid were in Japan, they’d probably be in one of those.

I couldn’t help staring off into the distance.

According to the kids, that little one had been with them for about two months.

Before that, the kid had been wandering alone too—almost collapsing—until the group’s leader picked them up.

The harshness of this world made me feel like crying.

Street-children debut at one year and four months old.

And the kid is so cute.

A tiny cat kid.

Back in Japan, girls would never leave them alone.

Because they’re so small, the ears and tail look extra deformed-cute, and their big eyes are round and shiny…

But when I gently reached out to pat their head, my hand got slapped away with a sharp, strong cat-punch.

Whoa. They’re glaring. Hardcore glaring.

Well… if you’ve been a street kid in a rough city like this, you’d obviously distrust adults and the world.

Even the people of Adros are barely surviving.

And until recently, this place was basically a nest of criminals—so the kid has probably been bullied by adults too.

Man… I’m seriously about to cry.