After some time, Abium noticed that the young child's body was healed entirely and breathed out a sigh of relief.
Then, he looked at the surroundings, checked for any safe place, and soon locked his gaze on a particular stone house that appeared nearby.
"Let's go over there." He said as he put Raollet on his shoulder, carried the Fox kin girl's body in his right hand, and started walking in that direction. Unlike Nicolaus, both of them were children, so he didn't face any difficulty carrying them.
Huggin also didn't want to wander in these slum areas and followed after him quietly. Both soon arrived near the hut-shaped old stone house, opened the half-locked wooden door, and walked in.
"W-Who are you?" A husky male voice came from inside.
At that moment, an old man, around 60 to 70 years old, lit a small lamp and looked in their direction in vigilance.
Abium also saw an old woman seated on the nearby cot and looked at them with her round eyes. Her body was quivering due to the cold, and she covered her body with a bedsheet. Without any doubt, she was ill and appeared weakened.
When the old man saw the sword in their waists, a trace of panic appeared on his face.
"P-Please! Don't kill us!" He said in a trembling tone, hurriedly moved towards the old woman, and gripped her hand tighter.
Meanwhile, Abium clicked his tongue as he realized their mistake and spoke while shaking his head.
"We don't have any ill intentions, old man. We only wish to borrow your place for a few minutes. Is that okay?"
The old couple glanced at each other, calmed down, and nodded.
Meanwhile, Huggin took out a pouch filled with a dozen silver coins from his space ring, walked closer to them, and gave it to them.
"Use the money wisely." He spoke in a calm tone.
Although he could've given them a few gold coins and turned them into a wealthy couple, he refrained from doing so. There was a reason for his action.
Commoners rarely use gold coins. They mostly use silvers and coppers.
But if a commoner or slum guy were to hold a gold coin in public, it would attract too much attention.
It would be no surprise if the guards came knocking on their house door the next day and arrested them in the name of the thieving.
Shaking his head, he first put Nicolaus on the dirt floor and gave him a light kick.
On the other hand, Abium also placed the Fox kin girl and Prince Raollet on the floor, took out a water pouch from his spatial ring, and splashed it on everyone's faces. Within a few seconds, they slowly regained consciousness and opened their eyes.
But soon, Nicolaus noticed that he had been kidnapped, hurriedly stood up with unsteady footsteps, and began to go on a rampage.
"Y-You! What have you done!? I trusted you and let you inside our fort only because you're Navarre's brother. B-But you betrayed your own brother's friend. Traitor-!"
"Hm? Then what about you and your family? Aren't you scheming against the Lockridge Royal family and co-operating with the Holy See to overthrow the kingdom's rule?" The Crown Prince interjected and roared at Nicolaus.
Even though Huggin managed to save his little brother from being taken captive, he was still mad about this incident.
Moreover, they were surrounded by traitors that made his blood rage. He felt betrayed by the kingdom's subjects and nobles. Although Abium told him that Baron Tibbott must be an ally of the Royal Family, he didn't put much thought into it.
"Y-Your Highness! I-I d-don't k-know anything! It's—"
On the other hand, Abium shook his head and interrupted their argument.
"I don't care about your fight. All I want is you to stay quiet for a while." He paused for a moment, shifted his gaze towards Raollet, and added.
"Your Highness, can you tell your brother about Royal Family's relationship with Baron Tibbott? He still hasn't believed my words."
"How did you know?" Raollet showed a surprised expression and soon nodded.
As he started explaining the Royal Family's relationship with Baron Tibbott to Huggin and Nicolaus, Abium turned his attention towards Fox-kin and stared at her in surprise.
At that moment, she lay on the floor and watched everyone with her bluish eyes.
She was staring at them without even blinking.
But Abium saw something else in those eyes!
Fear!
'She is scared.'
He quietly knelt on the ground, slowly patted her head, and asked.
"Are you alright now?"
The Fox Kin girl nodded her head stiffly, opened her mouth, and spoke a word in an anxious tone.
"Help... Mom!"
"Your mom is in danger?" Abium easily guessed her intention and asked.
Meanwhile, the Fox Kin girl nodded and stared at him with pleading eyes.
On the other hand, Crown Prince Huggin suddenly turned his gaze towards Abium and asked.
"Why not just ask those couples to take care of her? She is only a burden to you."
"I will take care of her." Abium shook his head and helped her stand up.
Then, he thought of something and added.
"If you want to leave the town, you have to follow my orders, Your Highness."
Saying so, he picked her up on his shoulder and walked out of the old house.
Abium's action surprised the Crown Prince.
He thought that he was bluffing earlier because of his soft heart but didn't expect him to go to such length to protect a child.
If he had known that Abium was stealing their treasure, he would be cursing at him in his mind.
At that moment, Prince Raollet looked at the Fox Kin child and felt something was unique about her.
It was an instinctive feeling.
His eyes glowed in a greenish light and scanned her body the next instant.
Unfortunately, he didn't see anything special except her abnormal Spirit Power and shook his head.
'Abnormal Spirit Power is common among the masses. Is there something special about her?' He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, stood up from the floor, and walked out of the old house. At that moment, Nicolaus and Prince Huggin also followed after him and hurriedly left the old house.
As they entered the nearby narrow street, Huggin moved closer towards Abium, looked at the young kid in curiosity, and asked.
"What is your name, kid?"
Before the young child could respond, a growling sound came out of her stomach and echoed everywhere like a horn sound.
"I'm s-sorry, sir. I'm Umi," She said while stuttering.
"Don't apologize, little girl." Huggin felt awkward a little, took out a piece of stuffed bread from his space ring, and gave it to her.
"My mom especially made this for me. Eat it!"
With a half-hesitant face, Umi quickly grabbed that bread with both hands and took a bite.
As she began to eat the bread, tears started to flow from her moon-like eyes unconsciously and drenched her smooth face.
Meanwhile, Abium calmly looked at the ground and followed the small foot trails from the opposite direction.
It belonged to this young girl.
'She seemed to have walked here with a half-conscious state.' He nodded inwardly and asked a question.
"How many of you came to this town?"
"Mama." Umi paused while sniffing and then added.
"And, me."
"But how did you end up in this state?" This time, it was Huggin who asked this question.
"W-We slept in an Inn, but later, we found ourselves imprisoned in a dark place. We didn't eat food, no water but mama said everything will be okay." As Umi started to explain, she sniffed continuously and cried.
Still, she calmed herself down after some time and answered like a mature kid.
"After a few hours, mama created magic, turned the whole area into ice, and took me from there. But- But, M-Many big men soon surrounded my mama and tried to hurt her using swords and knives. She fought them and told me to get some help. I was scared, so I ran away from there, and I couldn't remember anything."
As she finished her words, a strange silence appeared.