Chapter 28: The Outsider

Bronya found it hard to believe that such a thing could happen—that a young child could still be alive in the outskirts of a town that had been overrun by monsters and abandoned for ten years.

The sorrow in her heart made it impossible for her to remain calm. More importantly—

When she stopped, the owner of the voice seemed to sense something and spoke up.
“Ah... is someone there? Outside the window...”

Accompanied by the faint sound of fabric rustling, Bronya could feel the other person moving closer, now separated from her only by a thin pane of glass.
“My eyes... can’t see anything. Please forgive my rudeness...”

Her voice was anxious, even carrying a hint of pleading.
Bronya pressed her lips together tightly and replied with difficulty.
“It’s alright, don’t be afraid. I’m right here, just outside the window.”

“Ah... thank you, stranger...”
The girl’s voice softened a little.
“This might be sudden, but may I ask you something?”
“Please, go ahead. If it’s something I know, I’ll definitely tell you.”

“You’re very kind... just like my sister.” The girl paused before continuing, “I wanted to ask if you’ve seen a woman. She has a lovely voice and wears a hairband with bells on it...”
As if recalling some sweet memory, the girl let out a soft laugh.
“The bells make such a clear, beautiful sound...”

However, she soon realized she was taking up someone else’s time and nervously added,
“That person... is my sister. She’s been gone for a long time and hasn’t returned home...”

Almost instantly, Bronya’s heart sank like a stone into a dark, lightless pool.
“My sister told me she was going to a place called... the ‘Fragmentum.’ She said she could find valuable things there...”

The ominous premonition solidified, doubling the weight in her chest.
Bronya no longer had the energy to wonder why the two sisters had been living here.
All she could think about now was how to comfort this child who might have already lost her family.

Unaware of this, the girl continued in her pitifully soft voice.
“If you see my sister, could you tell her to come home quickly...? Her little sister is very lonely and waiting for her at home...”

“I... I...” Bronya momentarily lost her voice, but the girl wasn’t in a hurry to press her. Instead, she patiently waited for a response.
Finally, after suppressing her grief and mustering all her strength, Bronya forced out a bitter reply: “I’ll tell her for you.”

The girl let out a long sigh and said weakly,
“Thank you for your kindness. I’ll wait here for your news... Please be careful...”

This concern was too much for Bronya to bear, and she couldn’t stand the thought of the girl waiting here in vain. She moved closer to the glass and said anxiously,
“Wait, this place is too dangerous! If you stay here, what if Fragmentum monsters wander by—”

Before Bronya could finish, the girl suddenly interrupted her.
“I’m sorry! I know you mean well... but I can’t leave...”

Unlike her earlier soft and gentle tone, there was now a hint of stubbornness and determination in her voice.
“If I leave first, my sister will be lonely if she comes back and can’t find me...”

“But!”
“I’m really... sorry, but this is a promise between me and my sister... Please don’t try to persuade me anymore...”

After this, perhaps to show her resolve, the sound of something being fumbled with came from the other side of the window. Then, the light dimmed, and the girl’s voice disappeared into the darkness along with it.

Just as Bronya was about to try again, to at least convince the girl to resume their conversation—
A slightly impatient voice rang out.

“Hey. What’s going on? You’ve been standing there muttering to yourself for a while now.”
She turned around in a daze to see the other two, who had stopped at some point to wait for her.

Seele was glaring at her with clear annoyance, while Venti looked concerned and asked,
“Are you tired?”

“No, I...” She was at a loss, unsure of how to explain, and could only glance back at the small house. The warm light was gone, and the window was covered in dust, clearly having been in ruins for a long time.

Was it... just my imagination?
Instinctively, she denied this possibility.
But the others really hadn’t heard the girl’s voice, and it didn’t seem like they were playing a prank to scare her.

“If you’re fine, then let’s get moving. If you need to rest, we can do it back at the clinic—”
Seele gave her a suspicious look but didn’t press further, simply urging her on.

Meanwhile, Venti walked over to her and patted her shoulder comfortingly, telling her not to dwell on it.
“You two...”

“Huh? What now?” Seele, walking ahead, turned her head back impatiently.
Even Venti looked at her with an expectant expression, as if waiting for her to reveal some secret.

Bronya took a deep breath before speaking gravely.
“I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I heard some voices just now.”

“Voices?”
Seele frowned, her eyes scanning the surrounding ruins, especially the areas where monsters might hide. After finding nothing unusual, she pursed her lips and replied,
“Don’t scare yourself. This is the outskirts—monsters rarely wander here. Besides, we’re following the path our bard here carefully picked out. Don’t you trust him?”

“Ouch, that hurts my feelings!”
Venti dramatically clutched his chest, pretending to be wounded.

Seele rolled her eyes, seemingly annoyed, but Bronya, burdened by thoughts she couldn’t express, wasn’t in the mood to play along. She explained,
“No, it wasn’t the sound of monsters. It was a girl’s voice.”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
Seele’s gaze seemed to convey this sentiment.
Venti also blinked, waiting for her to continue.

Bronya held her forehead, looking pained.
“You might not believe me, but I really heard some murmuring, and I even had a brief conversation with her. The girl asked me to help find her sister and pass on a message.”

The atmosphere grew quiet for a moment, until Seele burst out laughing.
“I never expected you to have the leisure to tell ghost stories here. I thought only our bard here could be so carefree.”

“Oh, so that’s how Seele sees me? I guess that’s what they mean by ‘bad company corrupts good morals’!”
As the two began to bicker again, Bronya couldn’t help but frown and say seriously,
“I’m not joking, and I’m not telling a ghost story. This really happened to me!”

“So, what are you trying to say?”
Seele tilted her head, puzzled by how suddenly sensitive Bronya had become.
“This place has been uninhabited since the Fragmentum took over ten years ago, let alone by a child. Do you really think a child could survive in a place like this?”

“But...”
Though Bronya knew her companion was right, and it was more likely that her grief had triggered some strange phenomenon in the Fragmentum—
After all, there had been cases on the frontlines before, where soldiers reported seeing Silvermane Guards who had long since passed away.

More importantly, the sorrow weighing on her heart felt so real—it couldn’t possibly have been caused by some fleeting illusion.

“Enough. Joking is one thing, but if you keep this up, it’s going to get awkward. We still need to hurry back and save people, so stop being childish.”
Misunderstanding her, Seele waved her hand dismissively. She had no interest in playing hide-and-seek with Fragmentum monsters and simply continued walking in the direction of their exit.

Knowing it wasn’t Seele’s fault, Bronya lowered her head, clenched her fists, and hesitated over whether to let this matter go.

But just then—
Venti, who had remained silent until now, spoke softly.
“Do you want to go look for her? The girl’s sister?”