In the Acahualla rainforest, a crocodile man was walking forward with a three- or four-year-old girl standing in the bundle on his chest.
Every time they passed by a place and saw something new, or encountered a Split Beast, the little girl would point at them.
"Yiya yiya~"
The little girl pointed at a venomous creature resembling a snake, as thick as an adult's thigh, coiled around the tree roots. When it saw the little girl pointing at it, it immediately made a threatening hiss.
"Yah!"
The little girl was frightened and retreated back into the bundle on Garde's chest, leaving only her small head exposed as she looked at him with a pitiful gaze.
Garde reached out and tapped her head.
"You're too timid. Don't run around in the tribe later."
"Yiya?"
Although Garde could understand various languages, he still couldn't make sense of the way human infants think, and there was no real way to communicate with them.
It had been three or four hours since Garde had found the little girl, and at first, he thought about searching the area to see if he could find any information about her identity. For now, he had named this little girl "Whisperain" because she might be someone from his memories.
She was clearly of the same race as Laurentina and the others, an Aegir, but she was frail and sickly, as if even the slightest cold could take her life.
However, death was not the fate of Aegirian like Whisperain. After they received a life-threatening blow, their body's self-protection mechanism would activate, causing their body to regress until they appeared like an infant again.
Garde didn't know why Whisperain had crawled into his bundle soaking wet, but all the snacks he had bought for Tomimi and Gavial had been devoured by her.
In just three or four short hours, Whisperain had already grown taller. At this rate, in just a few months, she would fully grow back into an adult.
As for whether to abandon Whisperain, Garde didn't hesitate.
If Whisperain were left where she was, without food, her life process would remain in her infant form, and she would continue to grow and regress.
If he hadn't seen it, he might have ignored it, but since he had seen it, he couldn't stand by. That wasn't his style.
He didn't mind returning to Melun City, taking some time to find a daycare for Whisperain, or leaving her at the local Rhine Lab Station so she could grow back safely in a secure environment.
Garde believed that Whisperain's infant form wouldn't last long; with enough nutrition, she would quickly regain her original intelligence.
"Papa?"
"That's not 'Papa,' it's 'Daddy.'"
"Daddy!"
"Hmm... no, wait, are you calling me?"
Garde stared at Whisperain in the bundle. Their eyes locked—his golden ones with her sapphire blue ones. Whisperain tilted her head back and called out, "Daddy!"
"No, I'm not your daddy!"
Garde patiently explained. She had been babbling like a baby earlier, so how did she suddenly start speaking?
"My name is Garde. Remember that."
"Daddy?"
"No, not Daddy. It's Garde."
"Papa?"
There it was again.
Garde realized that the little one seemed to only know how to say this one phrase. He decided not to argue with her for now. Once she grew and regained her intelligence, she wouldn't be calling him that anymore.
"Garde Papa?"
Garde stumbled and quickly covered Whisperain's mouth.
"Little one, that's not how we address me."
They were about to enter the tribe, and he didn't dare let Whisperain continue calling him like that. What if someone misunderstood?
He's only eighteen, isn't he? Could he really have had a child three or four years ago? If Gavial finds out and gets upset, that'll be trouble.
"Little one, once we get inside, you can't call me that anymore, or I'll get mad."
"Why?"
"The word 'Daddy' is reserved for referring to your father."
"What's a father?"
"A father is, biologically speaking, the paternal figure responsible for constructing your genetic blueprint."
"Biology? Genetics?"
"Biology is…"
Garde suddenly froze. How was he supposed to explain biology and genetics to a little girl with the intelligence of a three-year-old? Besides, did Whisperain's species even have the concept of a traditional father and mother?
Though they bore a striking resemblance to humans, humans certainly couldn't revert to infancy after an injury and then grow back into adulthood.
Normally, a person's soul is stored in their brain, formed by the exchange of various neurotransmitters that culminate in what humans call a soul. The brain is the most vital part of the human body; even if the heart is damaged, death ultimately results from the brain dying due to lack of blood.
But Whisperain's people didn't seem to function this way. When injured and regressed, they could lose their memories at best or completely lose their personality at worst—essentially dying in another sense.
Their fragile bodies made survival on this harsh land extraordinarily difficult, and they often succumbed to death with ease.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Garde couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Whisperain's head again. She instinctively looked up, trying to grab his finger with her tiny hand.
At that moment, an Adakrys tribesman emerged from the rainforest.
"You—you're Garde?!"
The tribesman visibly jumped in shock upon seeing him.
"You've come back alive from the Hotlands?"
"The Hotlands can't stop me," Garde replied, grinning confidently.
"Is Gavial home?"
"She's home, but…"
The tribesman sighed and casually tossed aside the spear he was holding. If Garde had returned, winning the next chieftain contest was no longer possible for him.
Suddenly, his gaze landed on the little head peeking out of Garde's bundle.
"Hey, Garde, what's that in your arms?"
"Oh, her? I found her on the road…"
Garde intended to explain that Whisperain was just a child he'd picked up along the way, but for some reason, when he saw her looking up at him, the words caught in his throat.
Instead, the Adakrys tribesman's face filled with disbelief as he stared at Whisperain.
"Wait a second… Is she your love child from outside the tribe?"
"How is that even possible?" Garde retorted. He was barely old enough himself; how could he possibly have a three- or four-year-old daughter?
Seeing the tribesman about to run back to spread the news, Garde acted without hesitation, knocking him unconscious.
There was no way he could let Gavial misunderstand this situation.
"Daddy?"
"No, I told you, stop calling me…."
Garde's voice trailed off as he noticed several other tribesmen had gathered around without him realizing it. As soon as they saw him looking their way, they turned and bolted.
"Garde had a child outside the tribe!"
"He brought his daughter back with him!"
"Gavial!!!"
Garde's face remained expressionless as he poked Whisperain's little head, pressing it down, lifting it up, and pressing it down again.
Great. Now he was absolutely screwed.
<+>
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