"How can you say I abandoned you! I calculated with my fingers that you had just arrived, which is why I set off."
Actually, Kanna had detected his location through the Electro Seed Misery had carried with him before leaving. Thinking that he would leave immediately upon returning anyway, it would be better to pick him up directly at the entrance. She told Kaltsit, who didn't object, which is why the convoy encountered Misery after leaving Gran Faro.
This time, because there were many people, and the group included three children with special circumstances, plus everyone except Misery was female, Kaltsit decided that the route would mainly traverse the wilderness, only approaching cities for necessary supplies, considering the constant presence of short-sighted Siracusa gangsters.
A day later, Kanna, who was standing on the roof of the car, suddenly turned inside and pointed in a direction, saying, "It looks like there's an abandoned mobile fortress ahead. It's on our way anyway, how about we rest there for lunch today?"
Kaltsit frowned slightly upon hearing this. Abandoned mobile fortresses in the wilderness were usually home to people and beasts in the desolate lands. There was a high probability of fierce carnivorous creatures here, and resting here was a major taboo in wilderness survival.
However, their combat power was explosive; if they encountered beasts, it was clear who would end up as food.
So, Kaltsit ultimately agreed to Kanna's suggestion. After all, they could already vaguely see the abandoned fortress, and it appeared to be next to a river. Such a superior environment would surely house many beasts, which would also make hunting easier for them.
Soon, the convoy arrived outside the dilapidated fortress. Upon closer inspection, everyone discovered its strangeness.
Logically, such a large abandoned fortress with an adjacent water source should be very suitable for wild beasts, so there should be many animal tracks. But what everyone saw was the opposite: there were very few animal tracks beneath the fortress. Although the fortress looked abandoned for some years, no wild beasts had taken up residence inside.
Kaltsit narrowed her eyes in thought. This eerie environment combined with this country made her suspect that this was the territory of one or more Wolf Lords. Only they could drive away other wild beasts, leading to such a bizarre situation.
Before Kaltsit could speak, Kanna jumped to the entrance, and a lightning bolt arced from her fingertip, circled the ruins, and returned to her hand. "How strange, such a big place only has signs of life at the very top… Ifrit, Dahlia, let's play an adventure game!"
With happy laughter, the three ran into the eerie fortress.
Saria walked over to Kaltsit. The strange situation here made her fully arm herself. Looking at the three who had disappeared into the ruins, she immediately chased after them after apologizing to Kaltsit.
Nian, sitting in the car, looked at Misery, who was preparing to hunt nearby, and then pointed to the distant mountain forest, saying, "There are no beasts in these ruins; you'll have to hunt in the mountains nearby."
Misery nodded, picked up his gear, and walked towards the mountains.
Meanwhile, Kanna and the other two walked unimpeded to the top of the ruins.
The three quietly approached the place where Kanna had detected life. Upon arriving, they saw only a dilapidated tracked motorcycle with an old-fashioned blunderbuss on it. Beside the vehicle was a pile of almost extinguished embers, and next to the fire, two Lupo girls lay together on the ground.
"I'm so hungry, Yuli-chan, do you have anything left to eat…?"
"Don't talk, you already ate the last biscuit. Save your strength, I'm so hungry, Chito-chan…"
As they got closer, they heard the two girls chatting weakly. From their frail voices, it was clear they hadn't eaten for a long time.
After realizing there was no threat, Kanna nodded to Ifrit and Dahlia, then walked over.
"Yuli-chan… I think I heard footsteps…"
"I heard them too… Is it a beast? Wait, I'll get the blunderbuss…"
The girl tried to stand up, but her extreme hunger left her with no strength to get up. Instead, this movement used up all her remaining energy, and she collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious.
"Quick, Dahlia, some water!" Before losing consciousness, Yuli heard a girl's voice.
As soon as she approached, Kanna saw a girl faint from exhaustion. Kanna flashed to her side, helped her up, and then called out to Dahlia, who had followed behind.
A clear stream of water shot from Dahlia's fingertip, drew a beautiful circle in the air, and then flew into the girl's lips. At the moment the water entered her mouth, her body, parched from hunger, instinctively drank large gulps of water even while unconscious.
"Alright, not too much. Give some to the other one too!" Kanna said, pointing to the girl next to her, whom Ifrit was helping up. Her eyes were like mosquito coils, and she looked like she was also about to give up.
Just as Dahlia replenished some water for the two, temporarily pulling them out of danger, Saria also arrived.
"What happened?" Saria asked urgently, looking at the two unconscious girls held in Kanna's and Ifrit's arms.
"We just came up and saw them both collapsed here. It looks like they fainted from hunger after not eating for a long time. I had Dahlia give them some water, and then you arrived," Kanna immediately told Saria.
Saria walked closer, reached out to touch the two girls' foreheads, and then checked their condition before nodding and saying, "It seems they fainted from hunger."
In such a desolate place, for two Lupo girls who appeared to have almost no survival skills to be alive and meet them could only be attributed to their luck.
"Give them to me. This place isn't suitable for rescue. There's nutrient fluid in the car. To save them, we need to take them down." With that, Saria picked up one girl in each arm and ran downwards, with Kanna and the other two following behind her.
Kaltsit below hadn't expected that the group who entered the strange ruins would find two unconscious girls. Although encountering people in this place felt particularly odd, as a doctor, Kaltsit naturally wouldn't stand by and watch someone on the brink of death.
She quickly pulled out two medical stretchers from the car, placed the two girls on them, then took out injectable nutrient fluid and started IV drips for them.
After all this, Kaltsit began to inquire about the situation from the others.
"I see. You did well. When they wake up, ask them where they're from. If they want to go home, try to send them back. If they're willing to come with us, then bring them back to Rhodes Island."
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