Getting off the train, Shiro could see the other evac trains stopping by the other gates.
“Please follow the person in front of you in an orderly line. We’ll be heading to camp site 10.” Someone shouted out.
“Huh… Shiro you’re right. Seems like we are camping in a huge area with the rest of the refugees.” Lyrica said, hearing the announcement.
“Not too surprising I suppose. But how many camp sites and tents do you think they have? Are there enough?” Madison wondered.
The city was big, very big. But she wasn’t sure if there was enough room for everyone who had evacuated.
[Even if there isn’t, there’s the option of going underground as well. By building bases underground, they’ll be able to accommodate more people in the shelter.]
“Underground… Urg… it’s definitely going to be stuffy and damp.” Lyrica complained.
[Well, at least it’s better than being hot. I won’t be able to stand the heat.] Shiro replied. Even before she was a snow girl, she hated the heat. With the heat, even if she took everything off, she would still be hot. But with cold, she could just put more clothes on to keep warm.
‘Shiro can’t stand the heat… sweaty…’
Before Lyrica could imagine the scene, Madison quickly knocked her on the head.
“STOP! You know what happened last time!”
“Ah right, er sorry.” Lyrica blushed.
Shaking her head at their shenanigans, Shiro had a small smile on her lips.
Following the crowd, they exited the station.
“Wow…” Madison muttered out unconsciously. The city was much more grandiose than they had expected. Tall buildings that had sleek designs making them look like they were brand new. The clear skies and birds that flew around.
Just by looking at the architecture, they could see the city being more advanced than New York.
Travelling to the camp site 10, Lyrica couldn’t help but notice the varying gazes of pity, sympathy, disdain, annoyance and curiosity.
[First time feeling those kinds of looks?] Shiro asked seeing Lyrica’s expression.
“Yeah… it just feels a little… uncomfortable I think?” Lyrica replied not being able to describe the exact feeling she felt.
[Don’t worry too much. You’ll get used to it eventually.]
“Eh? You feel them often?”
[All day every day.] Shiro shrugged. The gazes were tame compared to what she felt in her previous life so they didn’t affect her too much.
“Every day??” Lyrica was shocked. Her heart ached thinking about the kind of experiences Shiro had to go through.
This only became worse when she remembered that Shiro was only around her early teens. She must have been much younger when she felt these stares.
“Mn?” Shiro was surprised feeling Lyrica hug her out of nowhere.
“It must have been hard…” She muttered whilst hugging Shiro.
‘Ah… So she thinks the stares hurt me since I am in a kids body right now.’ Shiro thought with a weary smile.
Even though she was an a.d.u.l.t when she felt these stares, Lyrica’s concern was still rather heart-warming. Well… about as warm as the heart of a snow girl can get.
Madison only watched with a happy smile.
Patting Shiro’s head, Lyrica continued to hug Shiro.
[It’s been more than 10 minutes now you know?] Shiro typed out as Lyrica was still hugging her.
“Err… It was meant to comfort you at first but you’re so huggable.” Lyrica replied with a blush.
Since Shiro’s body was small, it was like she was holding a huge plush toy. Plus, it was Shiro so that scored extra points with Lyrica.
[Huggable?]
“Basically, she likes to hug you a lot.” Madison said.
“Is that so…” Shiro muttered even though they couldn’t hear her.
Shrugging her shoulders, Shiro decided to indulge Lyrica for the time being.
Walking through to the slums in an organised fashion, a huge clearing with hundreds upon hundreds of tents could be seen.
Most of the tents could fit roughly 10 people if they only put sleeping bags inside the tents.
“Ah… So we actually have to share tents with other people.” Lyrica muttered with slight despair. The experience of having to share the company of Shiro with strangers wasn’t something Lyrica was willing to feel.
“Do you think we can camp out while coming here to get some food?” Lyrica asked.
[Perhaps. But it depends on how they plan to distribute the tents along with the food.]
“What do you think they plan to do?” Madison asked.
[No idea. We’ll have to see what they planned.] Shiro replied.
“Alright! Now that we’re here, please queue up and receive a number for the tent that you’ll be staying in. Male’s will stay with males and females will stay with females. Only when you request to be put with the opposite s.e.x would it be considered. Naturally, if there are no other options, you will also be put together.” The staff shouted.
Shuffling around, they started to queue up to receive their numbers. When it was finally their turn, Lyrica spoke up for the three of them.
“Us three want to stay in a tent with the same s.e.x.”
“May I have your ID’s please.” The staff said professionally.
Receiving the ID cards, he was a little surprised to see that Shiro was only around 13 years of age. However, he continued with the registration as he had a lot more refugees to register.
“Food will be provided during the time you are seeking shelter in Cairosa. The time for food are strict with 3 meals a day. Miss one and you’ll have to wait for the next period where food is served. If you are unsatisfied, you are welcome to buy food yourself but do understand that prices here may be higher than normal. The estimated time for when New York is released from the monsters is estimated to be around a month. So please bear with it for now.
“As for the adventurer’s guild, it isn’t too far from here. You should be able to find it by asking the locals or checking on the map. If there are any other inquiries, feel free to ask them now. If questions are raised later, you can seek out one of our staff that would roam the camp site to make sure everything is in order.” The staff explained as Lyrica nodded.
“We don’t have any questions for now. So where is the tent that we’re going to be staying in?” She asked.
“Your tent is in area M number 1893. If you don’t know where it is, please consult with a member of staff and they’ll lead you to the tent.” He smiled and handed back their ID cards.
“Thank you.”
Taking the ID cards, the trio walked away.
“Area…M…” Lyrica muttered as she looked at the signs that were put up around the camping site.
Spotting a huge M that was painted onto a sign, they made their way to the area.
On their way there, they saw quite a few families with downcast expressions.
“What do you think happened to them?” Madison asked.
[Well considering the fact that they’re a family with children, they most likely had to leave their homes. No one would feel good about abandoning their house after working hard to buy one.]
“But isn’t this temporary? They’ll be able to go back to New York in roughly a month’s time.” Lyrica reminded.
[Yes, but as much as they want to look at the bright side, they have to prepare themselves in case the bad outcome is what happens. If they just think that everything is going to be ok, they won’t be prepared when everything is not ok.]
“But isn’t that a little pessimistic?” Lyrica asked.
[That’s called being realistic. By not hoping on some random miracle to happen to you, you’ll get a lot further in life.] Shiro replied.
[Plus, if you keep a negative mindset, surprises and miracles feel much better.]
That was the same mindset she had when she was experimented on. She never held hope as it would have broken her mind faster. Day by day of hoping would wear her down quicker compared to when she would think in a negative light.
“You… Isn’t that the same as giving up?” Madison said with a slight frown.
[Who said you had to give up? I can think both negatively and give 120% of my efforts.] Shiro replied with a slight tilt of her head.
Just because she thought negatively doesn’t mean she should give up as well.
“Well… not everyone can be like that Shiro. Morale plays a huge part in this and if people are always thinking negatively, their morale would be low thus limiting their potential.” Madison explained.
[I suppose that is true.] Shiro agreed since she too knew that she was a kind of anomaly.
After the experiments, her mental state isn’t exactly the most ‘normal’.
Arriving at the tent, they double checked to make sure that it was indeed their tent.
“Welp, let’s hope we’re put together with kind people.” Lyrica forced a smile.
Opening the tent, they were greeted by what seemed to be three families. A total of three mothers and four children.
The parents were seated near the centre of the tent while the children were playing in a corner.
When the trio entered the tent, they looked at each other in a short moment of awkwardness.
[Hi, we’re going to be sharing this tent with you. My name is Shiro, nice to meet you.] Shiro typed out as she tried to break the silence.
“Ah my name is Lyrica, nice to meet you.”
“Madison. Nice to meet you.”
Seeing that the three girls introduced themselves, the woman decided that they should too.
“Sorry about the awkward pause. My name is Ava and these two are my daughters. The youngest one is Sophie and the eldest is Ruby.” Ava smiled as she pulled her daughters over.
Her daughters both have brown hair. The youngest had it straightened out while Ruby had her’s tied into a ponytail. Ava on the other hand, had blond hair that was straightened out as well.
Looking at Sophie and Ruby, Shiro estimated their age to be around 8 and 14.
“Say hi you two.” She smiled as gestured for her daughters to greet the trio.
“Hi…” They both muttered quietly.
Smiling wearily, Ava apologised with her gaze.
“My name is Christy. My daughter is called Lia and she’s 10 this year.”
Christy had short brown hair while Lia had black hair with streaks of blue.
The final woman was an Asian woman with black hair tied into a bun.
“My name is Yumi. Pleased to meet you. My daughter is called Kanae.” Yumi bowed slightly. Her voice had a Japanese accent to it while being paired with slightly broken English.
“Hello.” Kanae whispered before hiding behind Yumi.
With everyone introducing themselves, they started to talk a little about what they were doing before evacuating the city.
“Well, I just worked as a café waitress while my husband worked as an adventurer. With the evacuation, he is now staying with the guys over at their tent. I stopped levelling up in dungeons a while back since fighting everyday wasn’t the life for me. I like working a simple job. Not as dangerous.” Ava said.
“Right! I was working as a receptionist at the alchemist guild. Working jobs like that is much more peaceful. Plus, you’ll need to fight everyday to provide a stable income for the family. Too risky. But what can we do? They are guys after all.” Christy shrugged her shoulders slightly.
“My occupation was working as a branch manager for a Japanese restaurant.” Yumi said simply. She wasn’t able to say as much as the other two but it was enough for now.
“What about you three? From the looks of it, you three are students.” Ava asked.
“We’re all students working towards being adventurers.” Lyrica replied.
“Even the young lady there?” Christy asked gesturing to Shiro.
[Yes. I am currently working towards being a high ranked adventurer.]
“Why doesn’t she speak? Also isn’t it hot for you to be keeping the mask and hood up?” Ava asked, feeling strange as to why Shiro was typing on her phone rather than talk.
“Ah, about that. You see, Shiro is mute so she can only type on her phone to communicate.” Lyrica replied.
“Mute? So miss Shiro cannot speak? How unfortunate.” Yumi sighed.
Pulling down her mask and hood, Shiro revealed her appearance. The only reason she kept it on was because she got used to it and forgot she had it on.
“Oh wow.” The three mothers muttered in surprise seeing how beautiful Shiro was. Especially Yumi.
‘She would be a great attraction to the restaurant if she worked there.’
“Mommy. Why does she have white hair?” Sophie asked her mother with curiosity. Not only that, the other children were mesmerised by how beautiful Shiro was.
Seeing their gaze on Shiro, Lyrica was hissing them away like a cat in her mind.
“What a beautiful child!” Ava couldn’t help but praise seeing Shiro.
[Thank you.] Shiro smiled.
“What a shame. If you weren’t mute then the voice might be beautiful as well.” Christy followed up, not holding back on the praise as well.
“How old are you this year?”
[I am not sure since I had lost my memories upon arriving in New York. But by their estimate, I should be around 13 this year.]
“Oh gosh. Amnesia, how unfortunate.” Ava sighed.
Talking with the three for a little longer, they got to know each other a little more and became closer to one another.
The four children were intrigued by Shiro since she was a little older than them. They took her as a role model to which Madison could only pray that they didn’t ask Shiro to teach them how to fight.
One ass destroying princess was more than enough for this word. They didn’t need four more.
