Nearing the end of the jungle, Kano stopped Thirty-Six. “Go inform the others that I’m on my way. That their savior, slayer of their former master, has returned.”

Thirty-Six blinked. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why?” She resisted the urge to slap the little ghoul. After all she’d done for them, this was how they reacted? Surely one could only be so ungrateful.

“Because I told you to.”

Thirty-Six lowered their head and slunk off toward the village.

“You could have at least explained why,” Nove said. “I feel bad for the little thing.”

“Bad? What is there to feel bad about? Of course she should do as I say. Don’t I deserve at least that much?” Kano was surprised that it was even in question.

Nove shook her head and kept walking.

The children waited for them in ordered lines, dozens of them standing outside their little houses. Thirty-Six cheered as Kano stepped through the doors, but the others just stared and muttered among themselves.

Gesturing for Thirty-Six to return to her, she waited as the lone figure trotted their way over. “They don’t look too happy,” Kano said. “Don’t they believe their master is dead?”

Thirty-Six lowered her gaze. “They believe it, but I don’t think they know how to feel about it yet… They’ll come around in time.”

“I see.” Kano looked past Thirty-Six to the children staring at her. “What are you all going to do now? I’m guessing you aren’t going to stay here.”

Thirty-Six frowned, looking confused. “What we’re doing to do? We’re going to follow you, our savior.”

“Eh?” That would explain why they all looked so expectant. But what was she supposed to do with the horrible little things? Best to convince them they’d be safer without her. “You’d all be better off not following me. You’ll probably just end up dying.”

“We aren’t afraid to die,” Thirty-Six said, standing up straighter. “Besides, you did fine keeping me safe. I believe you can do the same for all of us.”

Kano groaned. Thirty-Six was even dumber than she’d thought. How could they think she’d keep them safe? Granted, she was amazing, but there was no way she’d be able to care for them in the outside world. Keeping them fed would be hard enough.

Miusvon let out a low whistle of amazement behind Kano. “Wow, you really have these guys wrapped around your little finger.” She covered her mouth to suppress her laughter, but it burst forth anyway. Despite being loud and bright, it had a distinctive edge of bitterness to it. Regaining control of herself, Miusvon said, “To think that there are really people out there who believe in a savior…” She let out a fresh gale of laughter. “Their ignorance of the world is unbelievable. Even seeing it firsthand, I’m having trouble believing they’re for real.”

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Kano laughed along with her, though part of her felt guilty for doing so. “Tell me about it. What a bunch of idiots.” Even to her own ears, her words rung false.

Thirty-Six moved in close and said, “Does this mean you won’t take us with you?”

“That’s right. Why should I have to look after a bunch of useless little things like you?”

Thirty-Six fell to their knees and clutched at the hem of Kano’s skirt. “But… you said you were going to liberate us.”

“And I have. What you do from now on is none of my concern.” She yanked her skirt out of Thirty-Six’s grasp and walked away.

Scrambling to their feet, Thirty-Six followed. “You have to help us. We nowhere else to go.”

Kano stopped. “Why can’t you just stay here?”

“Without the master to provide food for us, we’ll starve.”

“I thought you said you weren’t afraid to die.”

Thirty-Six bit their lip. “I’m not, but that doesn’t mean we should just die for nothing. Won’t you at least give us a chance? We can be useful. I know we can.”

“I really doubt it. All you are is extra work for me. Haven’t I done enough?”

Kano was walking away again when Thirty-Six said, “If you’re going to leave us, then you’re even worse than the master was. At least he never abandoned us.”

That gave her pause. When they put it like that, she did feel a little guilty. She thought it was ridiculous, given all she’d already done for them. They should be grateful, not asking for more. But she could tell she’d regret it if she left them here. She glanced at Nove. The folds of her face were pulled down in a deep frown of disapproval. Kano threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine, you win. I’ll bring the lot of you to Shorinstown. Then we can figure out what to do with you.”

“Thank you,” Thirty-Six said, crouching down. They pressed their forehead against the ground in a posture of supplication. The other children followed their example, one by one. It made Kano think maybe having more followers wouldn’t be so bad. They were used to serving—that ought to count for something. At the head of her own diminutive horde, Kano left the tunnels behind and emerged on the surface. The sun shone down on the deserted ruins around the old subway station.

Blinking in the light, Thirty-Six pointed up at the sun. “What’s that?”

“What?” Kano said. “You mean the sun?”

Thirty-Six nodded.

Maybe they wouldn’t be so useful after all. “Nove, explain to them what the sun is.”

The children gathered around the towering creature as she explained the celestial body. They listened attentively, talking only when one of them had a question. Kano could’ve sworn she’d never witnessed such a scene, but there was something nostalgic about it.

Seeing Miusvon standing nearby, Kano went over to her. “What are you still doing here?”

Miusvon lips turned upward in a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I thought I’d hang around a little longer, see how this farce turns out. Is that a problem?”

“Fine, but you’d better not be thinking that I owe you anything. I have enough people putting demands on me as it is.”

“No need to worry about that. The only thing I want from you is a bit of amusement.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do? What were you doing out here in the first place?”

“I was helping Gresitosis with his work as a favor. But you put a rather abrupt end to all that.” Miusvon sighed. “Let’s just say I’m in no hurry to get back and explain what happened. So I figure why not hang around with you guys for a while? It should kill some time, if nothing else.”

“Fine, whatever.”