Extra's Descent

"Hngg…?"

Carl was jolted awake. As soon as he woke up, the enticing aroma of food permeated the air and reached his nose.

Looking around, it seems like Cid was cooking something up on the grill. The goblins were gathered around him, baffled by the sight.

But the first thing that Carl had thought of was his sister.

"....Emi—Ah."

Immediately, he found her sitting beside him, watching Cid cook with curious eyes.

Hearing his voice, Cid turned his head slightly and opened his mouth.

"Oh, you're awake now. You must be hungry. Food will be ready in a few minutes."

"Ah, yes, okay…"

Carl stammered. It had been a long time since someone, besides old man Eren, had been this kind to him.

He truly appreciated the people who accepted his request, despite the reward being lackluster.

But in the first place, why did they even accept such a ridiculous quest?

The contents of the request were misleading, and Carl knew that.

Living in the slums, which were filled with shady and ruthless characters, Carl was not one to trust a person so easily.

The only reason he had shown a glimpse of trust towards the two rankers was because of the fact that they were rankers.

Rankers had a reputation to uphold, being one of the pillars of the current state of the human domain.

But still…

Carl was suspicious.

But he shouldn't show such suspicion towards them.

Especially by the fact that they had tamed the scary creatures known as goblins.

The thought was honestly quite ridiculous. Carl had never seen someone brave enough to even try to talk to these other races.

But Cid aside, there was a certain air around the lady named Amelia that set Carl at ease.

Although he wasn't familiar with her, it felt like he had seen her somewhere before. As if he had seen her somewhere before without realizing it.

But he left it at that.

"Here, Carl."

Snapping him out of his thoughts was Cid who offered a bowl and a couple of utensils to him.

"Thank you."

Carl accepted the bowl.

Then, he turned to Emi who looked at the bowl with stars in her eyes.

"Uhm…"

He looked at Cid who was still cooking some of the meat.

"Yes?"

Cid returned his gaze and tilted his head.

"What about my sister?"

"Oh—Uh… that's for her. This one's for you."

"Oh."

That made sense.

But,

"Actually, nevermind. I think Emi's still not hungry. But if she is, I can just share with her."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, she doesn't really eat much."

And that was the truth of the matter.

Since Emi was still a child, she didn't eat as much as him. Carl would often feed her bread and water, the only meal he could provide for her.

But even then, Emi would often be unable to finish her food.

There were certain days when Emi wouldn't even touch the food. But regardless, she looked much more healthy than him.

Maybe old man Eren was kind enough to feed her somehow.

Most probably the case.

"You want some, Emi?"

"Un!"

Oh.

Seems like Emi actually wanted to eat.

It couldn't be helped. The food looked enticing. Cid was probably a professional cook or something.

But it couldn't compare to the village head's cooking.

Now that he remembered, he too wanted to be a cook when he grew up.

There was a time when Carl and Emi had nowhere to go. They stumbled upon the village, and the village head happily adopted the two.

He missed those days.

The thought gripped his heart tightly as he swallowed down his food.

"Here, Emi."

"Hehe~"

But as always. Emi only took a small bite, it could even be called—just a small nibble.

It was a sight all too familiar to Carl.

But still, Emi looked healthier than him.

….And that was all that mattered.

***

A few hours later.

7:38 PM.

The blizzard had already struck.

Outside, the blizzard raged, a wall of white. The wind howled, its cold air creeping into the cave. Snowflakes spun, hitting everything outside with force.

Brandon had set up fire, big enough to somewhat warm the group. Not only that, but he arranged several magic heaters to fill the room.

But regardless of that, it was still chilly.

"Huuuu…."

Turning around, the sleeping boy shuddered.

Brandon's brows worriedly knitted. It couldn't be helped. Carl was malnourished, causing him to be vulnerable from the cold.

With such thoughts, Brandon quickly took out a fur blanket from his bag and draped it over the sleeping Carl.

And to top it off, Brandon took off his fur coat and bundled up Carl even more.

It seemed to have been enough to warm Carl up as his sleeping expressions relaxed.

Brandon gave a warm smile and nodded his head.

However,

"Hurrr…"

He too was feeling cold.

Turning his gaze, once again, the goblins seemed to be dancing around the fire with smiles on their faces.

From what he could interpret, it seemed like these groups of goblins didn't eat meat.

How convenient.

And so, Brandon didn't need to feed them.

Probably.

Initially, they stared at the meat he cooked a little while ago with curious gazes.

But Brandon shook his head and Kukoro lowered his head in disappointment.

'I mean… I think it was Kukoro.'

He truly couldn't tell.

Feeling cold, Brandon crouched down on the ground and crossed his arms. Closing his eyes, he fought off against the cold through sheer will.

"....!"

But it was then when he felt something draped around his shoulder.

Opening his eyes, what greeted his sight was Amelia who sat beside him and shared her fur coat with him.

"Belle would kill me if I didn't look out for you."

She stated.

"I've placed a magic heater close to Carl. That should keep his temperature from dropping."

She puffed her cheeks and frowned.

"But you on the other hand, are you trying to freeze to death?"

"...."

"You can rely on me, you know?"

Amelia took out a scarf from her inventory and wrapped it around Brandon's neck.

Brandon was already wearing a scarf, and so, the other scarf was wrapped all over it.

Brandon gently raised the scarf and covered his mouth with it.

"Thanks."

"Mhm."

And so, the two sat beside each other, sharing the same fur coat. They had no idea when the blizzard would stop, but they couldn't do anything under its force.

"....!"

"....!"

It was then when Brandon's alarm bells rang. It seemed to be the same case for Amelia as she flinched.

Ever since the system had upgraded to the Sovereign's Will, Brandon's senses became even more keener.

Back then, he had sensed the goblins approaching the wagon. But Brandon realized they posed no threat as he realized they were merely goblins.

Goblins were nothing but cute toddlers in his eyes.

"Hurrrr—"

A growl echoed outside the cave, akin to a wolf.

In that instant, Brandon and Amelia stood up and the goblins were alerted by their actions.

"Kukoro!"

Brandon called.

Immediately, the goblins gathered around Brandon. They too, seemed to sense the danger that lurked outside.

With their weapons out, the goblin fixed a battle stance.

"Hurrr—"

And the pack of wolves revealed themselves.