With Saiki's help, the baby's cries calmed down.
For a brief moment, Saiki exchanged simple greetings with the child's mother, who introduced herself as "Mairi."
She had her chestnut brown hair pulled back tightly and looked somewhat frightened, as if she was being followed by someone.
Furthermore, her command of the imperial language was very rudimentary, with a subtle mixture of the dialect of the neighboring country, Taran.
However, there was no room for excessive worry about this matter. Merry, in many ways, knew nothing about the child.
Although Saiki didn't have exceptional knowledge either, she seemed more capable than the young mother.
Anyway, thanks
“Ahhh!”
"Thieves! Thieves!"
The quiet carriage ride through the night turned into chaos as if an earthquake had occurred. Those inside, who were sleeping peacefully, were terrified.
Psyche, who had managed to get some rest, suddenly woke up.
The sleep I was able to get has completely disappeared. However, perhaps due to fatigue, her cognitive functions returned somewhat slowly.
She felt like the ambient noise was cutting off her ears. As her mind gradually began to clear up, Saeki realized that the carriage she was in had been attacked by a gang of thieves.
The cart was already empty. It seemed like everyone had left the carriage.
The carriage was parked, and the driver was nowhere to be seen. Even though she was inside, she didn't feel safe.
Psyche lowered herself as low as she could and crawled out of the carriage.
Somewhere in the distance, the sound of metal colliding seemed to ring in her ears. "the curse!"
At the edge of her vision, she faintly saw Cloud holding a sword.
He cursed fiercely, then swung his sword with all his might. بدا وكأنه يواجه بمفرده هجوم عصابة اللصوص.
Although he was a skilled fighter, facing a gang of thieves like a swarm of animals seemed overwhelming. Numerically, they were at a significant disadvantage.
If it wasn't for Cloud, everyone here would probably have died already.
However, Cloud, as a famous mercenary, used his sword skillfully. The gang of thieves, lacking coordination, fell like ripe wheat every time Cloud waved his sword.
Seeing his efforts, Saiki unintentionally sighed.
“Huh.”
The darkness before us was as deep as the dark night itself.
What's the point of running away from Clint? She had not yet set foot on her homeland, and it seemed as if she might die without experiencing it...
I felt that escaping made no sense at all.
But that's when it happened.
A child was lying alone in front of her.
“…?”
Looking around, the baby's mother was nowhere to be seen.
“Impossible…”
It looked like she had already run away, abandoned the child.
While Cloud was in a difficult situation, if he could fight well, they might survive if they could escape…
“Abandon the child…?”
Psyche remained standing there, looking at where the child was.
Although the baby may have fallen asleep after the middle of the night feeding, his facial expression appeared content.
Perhaps thanks to the sleeping herb Saiki had given him to use if the baby cried during the day, he still seemed to be undisturbed in his sleep.
Then at that moment, one of the thieves passing by Cloud seemed to notice the child.
What was going through Saiki's mind at that moment is unknown.
Saiki's mind had gone completely blank. Except for the single thought about the need to save the child, nothing else was clear.
She threw herself at the child without realizing it.
“Ahhh!”
Someone's scream echoed above.
Psyche cradled the baby in her arms, then quickly turned to the side. The thought crossed her mind that she might die, but her body moved before she could make such calculations.
She closed her eyes.
She was holding the baby and rolling over quickly. Although the thought of death crossed her mind, her body moved before she could think about such calculations.
She closed her eyes.
After holding the baby, she was finally able to understand her true feelings, and why she didn't want to socialize with people.
Except for the single idea of saving the child, nothing else seemed clear.
Fearing that the abandoned child would come to her mind and cry.
Because she didn't want people to see her that way, she was avoiding them.
Even if she left her child behind...
If she could save this child here, even if she died in the process, she decided that was best.
She couldn't protect her child, but if she could save anyone, so be it.
That was the moment she made her decision.
“This is crazy!”
Cloud, with a thief's head on the tip of his sword, forced his surprised face forward forcefully.
Cloud lifted Saiki's upper body, which had collapsed to the ground, and lifted her up and looked at the child in her arms.
“There seems to be no end to this matter.”
He muttered under his breath.
Then he raised his head and planned a temporary escape route.
And here it happened.
“Ahhh!”
Suddenly the forest was lit up with a bright light.
It seemed that another group appeared in front of the thieves.
After judging that now was the right time, Cloud immediately grabbed Psyche and the child and took off towards the direction where no one was present.
In the cover of the forest of trees, Cloud, along with Psyche, looked at the fallen carriage.
Psyche felt uneasy because the baby might wake up at any moment.
If the child wakes up and cries, he will easily reveal his hiding place, making his escape meaningless.
“Ha. I want my stuff back...”
It seemed that Cloud had come here after putting his luggage into the cart, and it seemed that he couldn't leave easily.
But that was not the point.
Saiki squinted her eyes, and while checking to see if the child's mother was there, she suddenly closed her mouth when the figure of a man appeared in her field of vision.
The gang of thieves was easily dealt with by the newcomers who suddenly appeared.
At first, there was no great match between them.
Finally, images of those who dealt with the bandits in the dark became visible.
Two men, who appeared to be the leaders of the group, were slowly walking towards the cart.
“It seems that those who are suffering from hunger in Alister Territory formed a gang of thieves and came here.”
Someone spoke, stroking his chin.
“Hmm...”
The two were Alexandro and Duke Clint.