The three of them froze the moment when they saw the two monsters.
Aside from the small horns on their heads, they looked almost completely human.
Kondo stared at them nervously, yet excitement slowly filled his eyes.
(So these are monsters…? But they look just like humans… and they're around our age too. Should I… try talking to them?)
"H-Hello…"
Before Kondo could finish speaking, the monster boy quickly pulled the monster girl behind him protectively and glared at Kondo with hostility.
Seeing that, Kondo immediately raised his hands.
"Wait! We won't hurt you!"
Just then, voices echoed from deeper within the forest.
"Look! The monsters must've gone this way!"
Kondo's expression changed.
"Listen to me," he whispered urgently. "Hide inside those bushes before they get here!"
The monster boy glanced at the frightened girl behind him. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly calmed down and trusted Kondo's words.
The two monsters quickly hid inside the bushes.
Kondo immediately covered them with nearby branches and leaves. Shin and label also helped, hiding them completely from sight.
A few seconds later, three men arrived.
One of them stepped forward.
"Hey kids, have you seen two monsters around here? They're dangerous… and extremely valuable."
Kondo forced himself to stay calm.
"The monsters… yeah, we saw them. They ran that way. We hid because we got scared."
"Alright then."
As the men were about to leave, label quietly whispered to Shin and Kondo,
"T-They're from the same party… the one that guy belonged to…"
But before the men could walk away, another voice stopped them.
"Wait."
Heavy footsteps approached from behind.
"First, let me settle my score with this brat. Besides…" the man sniffed the air with a grin, "…I can still smell those monsters nearby."
One of the men smirked.
"So boss, is this the same child?"
Kondo's eyes widened.
"That's… the guild guy. Bufel."
Bufel grinned cruelly.
"That's right, kid. And this time, nobody's coming to save you."
Suddenly, Shin stepped in front of Kondo protectively.
"I didn't know adventurers like you existed."
Bufel laughed.
"Oh, Shin. Walk away and leave the boy behind… unless you want to regret it."
Kondo looked between the two of them.
"You know this guy?"
"Yeah," Shin replied coldly. "And he's the worst kind of person."
Bufel cracked his knuckles and raised his fist.
"Looks like you'll die here together with him."
Shin immediately stretched out her hand and used fire magic.
A small flame shot toward Bufel—
—but because her magic was still weak, Bufel casually extinguished it with one hand.
Bufel shook the burnt dust from his fingers and smirked.
"So you can use magic without chanting, huh? What a shame…"
His eyes darkened.
"…You're still going to die here with him."
Suddenly, two men rushed forward.
One of them grabbed Shin's arm tightly.
Kondo tried to pull her free—
—but before he could, Bufel threw a punch straight at him.
Kondo barely dodged and stumbled backward.
At the same time, the second man grabbed label as well.
Shin struggled desperately and screamed—
"KONDO! RUN AWAY FROM HERE!"
The atmosphere had completely changed.
Kondo looked at Shin anxiously.
"But I can't just leave you two behind and run away!"
Bufel continued throwing punches at Kondo relentlessly.
"You little brat! Just stand still and let me hit you already!"
His fists came flying one after another at incredible speed, but Kondo managed to dodge them while thinking,
(His punches are fast… but they can still be dodged!)
But suddenly—
One punch landed directly on Kondo.
"Gah—!"
Kondo was sent sliding across the ground before crashing down.
(That punch was seriously heavy…)
Seeing Kondo on the ground, Bufel smirked proudly.
"What happened, kid? You were dodging pretty well earlier. Let me tell you something—my punches are as strong as a C-rank monster's attacks."
But then—
Kondo slowly stood back up and dusted off his clothes.
"Phew… I thought my clothes got ruined. Good thing they didn't. If Mom see this she definitely would've yelled at me."
Bufel froze in shock.
"W-What…? Kid, are you seriously fine? That punch should've left you unable to even stand!"
Kondo looked at him innocently.
"Really? Guess I just got lucky. Besides, it didn't feel that strong."
Bufel stared at him in disbelief.
Shin and label were equally shocked.
Just then, the third man unsheathed his sword and stepped forward.
"Boss, leave him to me."
Shin and Label became nervous immediately.
"Kondo, be careful!"
The man swung his sword toward Kondo viciously.
"Kid, this is your last moment alive. Better remember your loved ones while you still can!"
Kondo calmly dodged every strike.
"You should worry about yourself first."
The man gritted his teeth.
"So you're pretty confident, huh?! Then dodge this!"
He began swinging his sword even faster, attacking Kondo repeatedly.
But no matter how many attacks came at him, Kondo dodged every single one effortlessly.
(What the hell…?) the man thought in shock. (How is this kid dodging all my attacks so easily?!)
Suddenly—
Kondo grabbed the sword with his left hand.
The man's eyes widened.
Before he could react, Kondo punched him directly in the stomach.
"GHK—!"
The man instantly dropped to his knees.
Kondo then kicked him down completely.
Looking at the remaining enemies, Kondo said calmly,
"Now there are three left."
The other two men became furious.
"This brat thinks he's something special!"
They threw Shin and label aside before rushing toward Kondo together.
But just then—
A voice interrupted them.
"Two against one? That's pretty unfair."
Everyone turned in surprise.
The monster boy stepped out from the bushes.
One of the men smirked.
"So this is where you were hiding. Nice. Two targets in one place."
The monster boy walked over and stood beside Kondo.
Kondo looked at him.
"So… you trust me now?"
The monster boy crossed his arms.
"Not completely. But I can't ignore her request either."
He glanced toward the bushes behind him where the monster girl was hiding.
Kondo looked there too before smiling faintly.
"Then let's finish this quickly."
The two men attacked them with daggers.
Kondo dodged the dagger strike and punched one man directly in the face.
At the same time, the other man attacked the monster boy—
—but the monster boy leaped over the attack and kicked the man away violently.
Both men collapsed unconscious.
Bufel's face twisted with rage.
"I'm going to kill you little pests!"
He launched another barrage of punches at both of them.
Kondo and the monster boy dodged together perfectly.
Seeing this, Bufel grinned madly.
"What's wrong? Dodging my Strike Punches isn't easy, is it?!"
Bufel became convinced victory was finally his.
But suddenly—
Kondo caught Bufel's punch with one hand.
Bufel's eyes widened.
"You're really weak."
The next second—
Kondo drove his fist straight into Bufel's stomach.
"GUH—!"
Bufel collapsed unconscious instantly.
Silence filled the forest.
Shin and label stared at Kondo in shock before running toward him.
"Kondo, are you okay?!" Shin asked worriedly. "And how did you even do all that?!"
Label eyes sparkled.
"You're super strong!"
Kondo quickly waved his hands nervously.
"No, no, it's not like that! It's just because of Butler's training that I managed to beat them."
Meanwhile, the monster boy walked toward the bushes and helped the monster girl out.
Then he approached Kondo.
"Thank you very much."
Kondo smiled back.
"It's fine. But… you can speak the human language?"
"Yeah. We're civilized monsters. Sometimes we trade with humans, so we learned their language."
Kondo glanced at the unconscious Bufel.
"Then why were those people chasing you?"
"Humans hunt us for money," the monster boy replied quietly. "We accidentally wandered down from the mountain while playing and crossed outside our territory. That's when those humans started chasing us."
The monster girl whispered something into the monster boy's ear.
(She's really shy…) Kondo thought.
The monster boy continued,
"Oh right, I forgot to introduce us. My name is Kint, and this is my little sister, Kim."
Shin crossed her arms.
"You talk a lot, Kint."
"Really? Everyone I know says that too."
Kondo laughed lightly.
"My name is Kondo. And these are Shin and label. We just came here for fun… never thought we'd meet monsters."
Kim whispered something to Kint again.
"Oh! That's actually a great idea, Kim."
Kint looked at them excitedly.
"Our home is close to here!"
But Kondo interrupted immediately.
"Wait, didn't you say you came from the mountain?"
"It's not that far from here."
"But—"
"No buts! If it gets too late, my dad can safely escort you back to the city."
Kondo began thinking seriously.
(It's dangerous… but chances like this probably won't come again.)
He looked toward Shin.
The moment Shin saw his face, she already understood what he wanted.
"No, Kondo. This is too risky. A lot already happened today, and we can't just trust monsters we met a few minutes ago."
Label quietly agreed.
But Kondo still tried convincing them.
At that moment, Kint stepped forward.
"Miss, please don't worry. Why would we attack the people who saved our lives?"
Kim nodded repeatedly beside him.
Shin hesitated for a few seconds.
Then she looked at Kondo's disappointed face.
Seeing him like that made it hard for her to refuse.
"…Fine. We'll go."
Kondo's face immediately lit up with happiness.
Shin smiled a little too, though label suddenly leaned closer and whispered into her ear,
"Shin… that girl Kim has been staring at Kondo this whole time."
Shin immediately became alert.
Soon, the five of them began walking together.
Kondo and Kint chatted happily in front while Shin, label, and Kim walked behind them.
After walking for quite a while—
Kondo suddenly stopped.
Kint looked at him curiously.
"What happened, Kondo? Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"
Kondo looked uneasy.
"I don't know… but something's coming toward us."
His expression grew serious.
"Whatever it is… it's really strong."
Everyone immediately became cautious.
A few moments later, five figures emerged from deeper within the forest.
As they approached, they could be heard talking among themselves.
"It's been so long since we wandered through a forest like this."
"Yeah. Good thing we finally found something."
The five stopped right in front of Kondo and the others.
One of the men sighed tiredly.
"Yina, you really rush into things too much. You never think before speaking."
Yina glared at him angrily.
"And now you're going to lecture me?! I swear I'll—"
But before she could continue, Yirina coldly interrupted them.
"Will you two stop making noise?"
Her sharp eyes slowly moved toward the children.
"I want to speak with these kids."
×××××
Character:
Name: kint, age:10, Hair: black, eyes: brown,
Cloth: red sleeveless top,loose brown pant,
Name:kim , age:10, hair: black, eyes: black,
Clothes an elegant white kimono-style outfit with red accents and a traditional fantasy princess look.