The night wind blew softly through the dark forest.
After the little girl finally stopped crying, the atmosphere slowly became quiet again.
Butterfly crossed her arms as she looked at the two people standing in front of her.
A teenage boy around seventeen or eighteen years old, his clothes covered in ash and burn marks.
And beside him, a small girl clutching an old piece of cloth tightly in her hands.
Even though both of them looked miserable…
their eyes were completely different.
The boy looked exhausted, yet strangely calm.
Meanwhile, the little girl looked like she would burst into tears again if she received even one more shock.
Butterfly stayed silent for a few seconds before asking:
— Do you two have anywhere to go?
The boy froze slightly.
Then he shook his head.
— No.
— The eastern village was almost completely burned down.
— I was only passing by… and now I don’t really know where to go either.
Butterfly turned toward the little girl.
— What about you?
The girl lowered her head without answering.
She only tightened her grip on the edge of her clothes.
Butterfly let out a quiet sigh.
Honestly, she hated getting involved in troublesome situations.
If this had happened in the past, she would have already walked away without looking back.
But somehow…
after spending time with Tru, she had started doing things even she found strange.
Finally, Butterfly spoke.
— Do you want to join our group?
Both of them immediately looked up.
The boy blinked in surprise.
— Huh?
— A group?
Butterfly nodded casually.
— We’re short on members.
— We have a place to stay.
— Food too.
— And for now, nobody’s starving to death yet.
The boy stared at her for a few seconds as if checking whether she was joking.
Then he let out a small laugh.
— That… actually sounds pretty nice.
Butterfly looked at the little girl again.
— And you?
The girl hesitated for a moment before giving a tiny nod.
Her red eyes still carried fear.
But at least…
they no longer looked completely hopeless.
— Good.
Butterfly turned around.
— Follow me.
… Get faster updates on g.com.
On the way back to the island server, the boy kept looking around curiously.
It seemed he had never seen a personal teleportation gate before.
The moment the three of them stepped through the glowing portal— the scenery completely changed.
An endless sea of clouds stretched beneath the sky.
Cool wind swept across wide grassy fields.
Moonlight illuminated the massive floating island, making the entire place look peaceful yet dreamlike.
The boy instantly stopped walking.
— Wait…
— This is a private server?!
Even the little girl widened her eyes in shock.
Clearly, neither of them expected the “group” Butterfly mentioned to own a place this huge.
Even though it still looked undeveloped…
the size alone was enough to amaze ordinary people.
In the distance stood a wooden house that had been partially cleaned up.
Warm light still glowed from inside.
Butterfly walked ahead calmly.
— Don’t expect too much.
— Right now it’s basically just an upgraded abandoned house.
The boy looked around awkwardly before laughing bitterly.
— If this counts as abandoned, your standards are terrifying.
At that moment— the wooden door suddenly opened.
Tru ran outside.
At first, she was about to ask:
— Butterfly, where did you disappear t—
But the moment she saw the two people behind her, she froze.
— Eh???
Butterfly answered casually:
— I picked up new people.
— PICKED UP???
Boy: — …That sounds kind of weird.
Tru quickly ran over.
— Are they really new members?!
Butterfly nodded.
— Temporarily.
Tru stared at the two newcomers with sparkling eyes.
Especially after hearing they had nowhere else to go.
Her heart softened almost instantly.
— Welcome!
— I’m Tru!
— The future leader of this group!
Butterfly stood behind her with crossed arms.
— The group only has four people and you already declared yourself leader?
— Confidence is power!
The boy laughed at their conversation.
The tense atmosphere from earlier gradually faded away.
After entering the house, Butterfly began checking the two newcomers. Get faster updates on g.com.
She took out a small square device and scanned the boy first.
A glowing screen immediately appeared.
Butterfly read through the information before slightly narrowing her eyes.
— No obvious combat talent.
The boy scratched his head awkwardly.
— I was never really strong.
Butterfly continued reading.
— But your construction, repair, and structural management abilities are unusually high.
— You have some talent for building.
She said it in a calm voice.
But for Butterfly, calling someone “talented” was actually rare praise.
Tru’s eyes instantly lit up.
— That’s amazing!
— We seriously need someone to build the base!
The boy smiled shyly.
— I’ve done physical labor for most of my life.
Then he straightened his posture and introduced himself.
— My name is:
Ki.
He looked toward the little girl beside him.
— And this is:
Baby Worker.
Tru blinked several times.
— Baby Worker?
Ki laughed helplessly.
— I don’t know her real name either.
— She only said people used to call her that.
The little girl immediately lowered her head.
She clearly felt insecure about the name.
But Tru simply smiled gently.
— It’s okay.
— Any name is fine.
— From now on, we’re family anyway.
Hearing those words—
Baby Worker slowly widened her eyes.
She clearly never expected to be accepted so easily.
The atmosphere inside the wooden house gradually became warmer.
Then suddenly—
Baby Worker lightly tugged at her own sleeve.
It looked like she wanted to say something.
But she hesitated.
Butterfly, leaning against the wall nearby, glanced toward her.
— If you want to say something, then say it.
The little girl immediately flinched.
Her small hands tightened together.
Her lips trembled slightly.
As if the thing she was about to say…
was something extremely difficult to put into words.
~End~