Ken's lips twitched into a shy smile, the kind that flashed too quickly before he lowered his head, almost as if embarrassed by his own expression. His shoulders hunched ever so slightly as he gave a small bow and turned away, quietly following after his teammates. Kaya gave a slow nod as she watched them go, her eyes lingering longer than she intended.
There was something about it that caught her off guard—not just Ken's reaction, but all of them. A kind of soft change she hadn't expected.
She had seen people broken before. Even in her own world, where slavery was illegal, it didn't mean it didn't happen. And when they rescued those who had suffered, most didn't recover. Some stayed stuck in their silence for the rest of their lives. Some even gave up entirely. Kaya had never let herself expect much. She didn't believe in miraculous healing or instant change. She just wanted her house built, a place to breathe in peace.
