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“Grr-aagh!!”

Sufi darted low, nearly scraping the ground, and slammed her boot into his shin.

“Ughhhh! You brats!”
“Fsshaaah!”
“Gah!?”

He didn’t fall, but the pain froze him long enough for Noche’s claws to rake across his face. He managed to jerk back, but not fast enough to avoid the strike completely.

With veins bulging in fury, he clutched the red slash on his face and swung his sword wildly.

By then, though, Sufi had already retreated. Noche, nimble as ever, had also leapt back the instant she struck.

The blade cut through the air with a hiss, its edge gleaming dully in the faint light filtering through cracks in the rain-soaked ruin.

“F-fine, I get it now, you little punks. Once I catch you, I’m gonna tear that cat and rabbit limb from limb. Maybe then you’ll behave after watchin’ your pals die, huh!?”
“Don’t waste ’em like that, gimme one of ’em first.”
“Shut it, you freak! I won’t be satisfied till I beat the crap outta these runts—catch ’em!”

A kick to the shin through a boot wasn’t much. Scratching his face wouldn’t stop him either. I racked my brain for options, all while their vile conversation rang in my ears.

Fighting here was impossible. It was too cramped for Sufi and the others to make use of their strengths. One clean hit from that sword, and it would all be over.

“Alice, let’s run!”
“Mm.”

While I was still thinking, Filia hoisted me onto her back and dashed toward the depths of the ruins—toward the bedroom where Noche and the others slept.

To buy us even a little time, I glanced back and threw the rest of my gravel at the man. This time, he easily dodged it. So it really only works as a surprise attack, huh?

“Quit standin’ around and chase ’em!”
“O-Okay!”
“Shyaaah!”

The men brandishing sticks charged after us. Noche kicked at the gravel at her feet, sending it flying up with the tip of her shoe.

Guess we had the same idea. Blinding the enemy is a basic tactic in a brawl.

“Elder wolf! Go on ahead, nya!”
“…Mm!”

Sufi hesitated. She was torn between helping Noche or following after us. She and I didn’t know where this “secret exit” was, and if the goal was just escape, Noche would probably have an easier time moving on her own.

“Sufi!”
“—!”

At my call, she turned and sprinted toward us.

“You little brat!”
“Missed me, nya! Slowpoke!”
“Watch it, you’re gonna hit me, dumbass!”

The men were all swarming Noche, swinging their sticks wildly, and thanks to that, the man with the sword was lagging behind.

Worryingly, he didn’t seem like the kind of incompetent fool who would lose his temper and cut down his own men.

“Quit swingin’ like idiots! Grab ’em and pin ’em down! They’re just half-beast brats!”

And what’s worse, even angry, he was calm. He knew his side’s strengths, and he wasn’t underestimating us just because we were kids.

Honestly, a grappling match relying purely on brute strength would be far more dangerous than a fistfight.

Even if beastkin have strength that belies their appearance, the weight difference between a pre-teen girl and an adult man was hopeless. If two men managed to pin one of them, she’d be completely immobilized.

The last thing I saw was Noche quickly creating distance from the men before Filia and I dove into the bedroom at the back.

Two blankets were rolled up on the floor. In a corner of the room, which smelled faintly sour from ingrained sweat and grime, there was a battered wooden crate.

“This one!”

Filia lowered me from her back and grabbed the crate, big enough to match her own body, and yanked it aside.

“Alice! Filia!”
“Sufi…”

A moment later, Sufi came running in. I felt a bit relieved that she hadn’t gotten separated. From the main hall, men’s angry shouts and Noche’s mocking voice drifted in, picked up clearly by Sufi’s twitching ears.

“Here! Climb down!”

Filia’s voice drew my gaze to the spot where the crate had been.

Behind it was a collapsed section that had formed a hole, just large enough for a child to pass through comfortably.

Even in the dim light, I could see the ground below. It wasn’t too far of a drop.

“This hole leads to the underground passage.”
“I see.”

Sure enough, the wall visible from here had the same design as that of the underground passage we’d seen before.

If we could make it from here to that hole leading outside, we’d get away for sure. Only kids could fit through it.

“Sufi, you go first—I-I’ll be right behind you!”
“Got it! Alice, wait just a sec, okay?”
“Mm.”

Without hesitation, Sufi grabbed the edge of the hole and slipped her body down into it. A few moments after her hands let go, there was a splash.

“Wah!?”
“Sufi, are you okay?”
“Ughhh, I’m all wet…”

When I peeked down the hole, I met Sufi’s eyes; she was glaring up at me with her ears flattened in disgust. After splashing through the water a bit, she spread her arms out to me.

“Alright, c’mon down!”
“…Mm.”

Honestly, it was a little scary, but this wasn’t the time to hesitate. I grabbed the edge just like Sufi and began to lower myself down…

**—Crack!**

…Eh?

The part I was holding on to crumbled, and I fell backward. Sufi caught me in the nick of time, and the two of us landed on our butts in the water.

“Eep!?”
“Are you two okay!?”
“Y-Yeah…”

This really wasn’t the time to be doing stuff like this.

“What’re you doing, nya!? Get down here, now! Go, go!”
“E-Eeep!”

As I was being helped up, Noche’s angry voice came from above, and Filia jumped down after us.

Not even a few seconds later, a dark shadow dropped in with a loud splash right next to Filia.

“Gyahhh!? What the heck, nya!?”

Noche popped her head out of the water, yelping and sputtering as she flung water everywhere. She didn’t seem to be hurt, which was a relief.

It seemed she had tried to roll to soften the landing impact, but since there was water up to a child’s knees below, she ended up completely drenched.

“…N-Noche.”
“Wait, this isn’t the time for that, we gotta hurry, nya!”

Even Filia, who had landed well enough to only get her feet wet, was now soaked head to toe after being splashed hard.

Normally, this would be something to laugh at, but right now we were in the middle of an emergency evacuation. Following Noche’s command, we started walking through the flooded underground passage.

“The brats are here!”
“Damn it, widen the hole!”

…All to escape from the voices of the men behind us.