soul stone

【Hello! ] said the little girl with black eyes.

The skinny golden retriever raised his head with difficulty, and responded vaguely.It is very old.

【Are you hungry? 】The little girl took out a paper bag from her clothes, took a rice ball from it and put it in front of the golden retriever.

The dog stretched out its nose and sniffed, then lay down again.

[I can't eat, and I'm not very hungry. 】The dog rolled his eyes and looked at the little girl carefully.

[My name is Xue Ye, what's your name? 】

[Name,] the Golden Retriever thought for a while, [In the past, there was indeed a name. After the owner died, no one called me by my name again.After living for a long time, that kind of thing is easy to forget. 】

[However, then I don't know how to address you. 】

[Then - just call me Maze.Named by the previous owner. 】

【Why?May I? 】

【Um. 】

【Okay, then Mr. Mazars, please give me some advice. 】

The girl wrapped the rice ball back into the paper bag, tilted her head and looked at it with a smile.

The golden retriever looked at her with slightly puzzled eyes.There seems to be something wrong.After a while, it finally realized: [Oh...you can talk to me. 】

The little girl smiled and nodded.

【Mr. Mazars, how old are you? 】

[This... I can't remember it when you ask me this way.I didn't pay attention to this kind of thing. 】The dog shook its fur all over its body, looked around aimlessly for a while, and wagged its tail twice, 【Based on your human lifespan, it's almost 80 years old. 】

【sharp! ] The little girl opened her eyes wide, 【I am only eight years old this year. 】

The dog let out a [huh] without emotion.

[So, what are you doing here? 】

Xue Ye restrained her smile and said in a low voice: 【I want to ask you for a favor.In fact, I was kidnapped by a bad lord...]

【Isn't it asking me to rescue you?】 The golden retriever opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue, 【I don't have the strength to defeat the bad guys anymore. 】

【Won't. 】The little girl shook her head lightly, 【It's just a play.I need you to play my sidekick and convince everyone that bad guys are bad guys, not my guardians or anything.The bad guy is good at acting, and I can't escape it alone. 】

【Oh... It's rare to see a child like you.Ordinary children would be so frightened that they would call for their parents when they encountered bad people. 】

Xue Ye evoked a smile, the shadows at the corners of his mouth were like the intertwined shadows of trees in the summer forest.

[That's right, it's not ordinary people who can talk to dogs. 】The dog stretches out its front paws and rests its chin on the ground.

[My parents are no longer here. 】

The dog looked up at her, the whites of his eyes were like two new moons.

[In this sense, I am not an ordinary child. 】

[That's true. 】The golden retriever put his left palm on the little girl's clasped hands.

[Later, the bad guys will take me on board, there are many people there, it is a good chance to escape.If possible, I hope you can act as my pet...]

Xue Ye clasped her hands and moved close to the golden retriever's ear.

The White Harbor Wharf gathers all kinds of ships heading to the other shore.George Kira glanced at the departure timetable, and looked at the sea in the distance.The surface of the sea is shimmering, with small waves rhythmically rising, spreading to the boundless sky.It's a sunny day, although it's still somewhat cold—it's the north of the continent after all.He began to miss the warm and pleasant climate in the south.

Since I became a hunter, I have been busy taking quests to earn money.There are more and more numbers in the account nowadays, but there is no time to spend it.Maybe, as his ex-girlfriend said, he is really a workaholic and doesn't know how to enjoy life at all.This time, we must take a long vacation, bask in the sun on the beach with golden sands, and relax.

Life was not as difficult as expected, and the child was very well-behaved and sensible along the way.No matter how powerful she is, she is just a child.After getting on the boat and sending her to the place mentioned in the souvenir, he can go back to meet the business.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Giorgi Kira turned and saw the object of this escort coming from the direction of the public toilet.She really didn't take the opportunity to escape.

At first, he thought that the little girl would cry and resist, or would always want to escape, so he watched her closely.On the train, she took the initiative to talk to him, talking about her life experience, her life in the monastery, and her encounter with her employer's nephew, Villar Lynch.During that time, she seemed relaxed and seemed completely unguarded against him.Occasionally, she asked about his condition.George Kira responded to her curiosity kindly.It would be disrespectful to hold one's secrets selfishly to the person one is speaking to.What's more, I am ten years older than her.

"You are different from other people in suits, you are a good person." At the end of the conversation, Xue Ye commented on the enemy who once captured her.

By the time they got off the train, the two had turned from hostility to close friends.Even George Kira himself was amazed by the transformation.He's not the type to open up to people casually.

"It's two hours before we leave the boat, why don't we go around?" He suggested with a smile.

"Okay!" Xue Ye blinked and clapped her hands happily, "Go to the market, it seems very lively, go, go!"

"Alright, by the way, I can buy some things that are useful on the boat." George Kira agreed.Suddenly, he felt a little thing rushing over and hugging his leg.

"Thank you, brother George Kira!" The little head on the waist raised his face, and his long and curly eyelashes fluttered up and down like a brush.The next moment, Xue Ye let go of his embrace, took his hand, and walked to the seaside market.

Looking at her cheerful back, George Kira understood why her employer let her go.

Murdering the head of the family and driving away the original heir, this kind of thing has become commonplace in the gang.But this time the incident is slightly different-first set a trap for the heir to kill the head of the family, and then jump out to catch the murderer-two birds with one stone.Not only that, it is said that the girl was the cause of the incident.As for the details, the employer did not elaborate, but he can already make a rough guess now.There was something crazy about that little girl.

Maybe it's some kind of special mind ability.I once heard Mr. Rafael mention that the lineage of the Oyagi family is very special.

However, what really fascinated him was Xue Ye's strength.After going through so many things, she can still maintain a cheerful and optimistic personality, which is really a miracle.Her ability to deal with everything with equanimity is enough to make most adults feel ashamed.

"Hey, isn't this hat nice?"

The immature child's voice interrupted his thinking, George Kira came back to his senses, and found that Xue Ye was pointing at a stack of wide-brimmed straw hats, looking at him expectantly.The hat was pale yellow, almost cream-coloured, tied with a bow of pale green ribbon.Before he could speak, she picked up one and put it on her head, glanced in front of the mirror, and immediately spun around happily.

Seeing this, the young man on the side shrugged helplessly, turned to the stall owner and said, "I want this hat."

After paying, George Kira followed the little girl to the square not far from the trestle bridge.The square is square, facing the sea in the north, connecting the business district at the end of the road in the south, surrounded by non-descript residential buildings on the southeast, west and three sides.Although it is a seaport, there are not many ships coming and going, and they are all small boats, sailing to the farther north where there are few people.What is transported is also the necessities of life. The northerners are poor and cannot afford luxuries.Instead, ships full of fish and animal skins are often unloaded here, and shipped to various parts of the mainland through the southern channel.Generally speaking, the folk customs here are as serious and rough as the architectural style, full of northern collectivism and pragmatism.

Unlike the crowds of people along the way, the square was deserted, and most people were facing north, busy working on the trestle bridge.Xue Ye stopped about 50 meters away from the pier, raised his straw hat, and looked up at the fishing boats that were unloading.Giorgio Kira stood on her right side and found that she had a golden retriever in her arms at some point.

"This is Mazars, I picked it up on the road."

George Kira frowned and said: "We can't bring pets on board. And it should be very old, and it can't bear it by boat."

The Straw Hats turned back north. "Well, I know. Let it go after hugging it, it won't cause trouble."

The escort hesitated for a moment, and finally mustered up the courage to say, "I have a question for you."

Hearing this, the straw hat tilted slightly towards him.

"As far as I know, Mr. Raphael probably wouldn't be so kind as to send someone to escort an orphan."

Xue Ye didn't say a word, still maintaining the posture of looking north.

"Xue Ye, how did you get involved in this incident? Mr. Raphael will take care of you like this. Is there some kind of agreement between you and him?"

After a series of inferences and questions, George Kira breathed a sigh of relief, and quietly waited for the little girl's reaction.Along the way, while gradually liking and trusting her, suspicion gradually arose.Now, although she behaves like an ordinary child, she is completely different from when she was first arrested, and she can't figure out which one is her real face.

After a long time, the straw hat turned a 45-degree angle, revealing a face as pure as new snow.

"What do you mean? Xue Ye doesn't understand." She stroked Maze and looked at him suspiciously, "Mr. Raphael is a good man, he likes me, so he sent you to escort me. Didn't Brother Georgie also like it? Me, did you just buy me a hat?"

The escort opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth slightly, but could not speak.The little girl shoved the dog into his arms abruptly.

"Give me a hug, I'm going to the bathroom."

The body naturally takes over.There is no way to refute it—both mentally and physically.

Xue Ye took a few steps forward, then turned around suddenly, with a frightened expression on her face, she screamed:

"stop!"

"……what?"

Before George Kira could react, the little girl had already snatched the old dog from his arms, like an adult snatching a toy from a child.The young man opened his mouth wide, and was about to utter the first syllable, but was choked by the girl's next words:

"Don't hurt it! I'll go with you everywhere, please don't hurt it! Mom and Dad were killed by you, it is my last friend, if you want to kill it, it's better to kill me first!"

He had never heard her cry out so loudly, look at him with such fear in her eyes.The crowd on the other side of the trestle had surrounded him before George Kira's brain could synthesize the current situation and come up with a plausible explanation.In their eyes, he has been completely reduced to a villain who murdered, kidnapped children, and attempted to murder a human friend.

When he came back to his senses, Xue Ye and the golden retriever had already disappeared in the crowd.George Kira wanted to give chase, but was trapped in the middle of the encirclement.The northerners have an extraordinary sense of justice and will not let him go easily, but he can't shame himself to break out violently.

At this moment, the siren blared, and a ship had just left the port.He took a closer look, and found that it wasn't the one going to the frozen island, with a figure wearing a straw hat protruding from the bow.The straw hat was creamy yellowish, with ribbons like newly sprouted willow leaves.

"Damn it! I was calculated..."

The moment he touched the nun's hand letter in his arms, he cursed in his heart.