Leopin had left his house before the sun had risen and was heading for the favelas in the corner of the city.
Today is the day she comes to the cathedral, and I want to make her smile because she was crying yesterday.
“Yeah, maybe if we climbed up a tree high up and looked out over the city, we’d feel better.”
Leopin loved the girl’s smile.
Just the thought of her smile naturally lightens my step.
Suddenly, I noticed a flower blooming on the side of the road.
“Oh yeah, she said she liked flowers, let’s take a little detour and pick some pretty ones.”
Leopin took the fork in the opposite direction, heading for the riverbank in the distance.
He went back and forth along the still dimly lit riverside, looking for flowers in bloom.
At that time, the boy did not know much about flowers at all, so he grabbed whatever he could find.
When he sees a flower he’d never seen before on the other side of the river, he takes off his shoes and crosses the river, not caring if his pants get wet.
A short time later, Leopin was on his way to the cathedral with his hands full of flowers.
“I think I overdid it, but I hope she’s happy.”
The boy’s mind was as fluffy as his steps.
I see the old cathedral across the street and can’t help but walk faster.
I’m so close to seeing that girl: ……!
Just as I thought that, a little girl jumped out from the shigemi.
“Hey, Leopin!”
The girl, who wears a dull white robe that is full of splinters on her petite body, hugs Leopin tightly like a lost child who has found a parent.
Leopin almost dropped the flower unintentionally, and hurriedly stepped back.
‘What, it’s Korone, you don’t have to play this prank on me just because I’m late ……’
But the girl called Korone was acting strangely.
She’s still clinging to Leopin and crying gaggedly.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on?”
“My lady, my lady, my lady, ……!”
“What? What’s going on?”
Korone raised her face, which was soggy with tears and snot, in a flash.
“Onee-chan was defending Korone from a kidnapper ……, and she’s going to get kidnapped!”
“What?”
The flowers spill out of Leopin’s hands.
The next thing I knew, I was running like a prodded animal.
I use my voice to hold back Korone, who tries to follow me.
“Korone, stay the hell away from the sept, and if any stranger approaches you, whoever it is, run!”
The sanctuary is located in the most unpopular part of the favela.
Leopin shouted and tried to call for help, but soon realized that it was useless.
In front of the main gate of the sanctuary, he slides to a stop with a zing!
Beyond the dilapidated and crumbling gate, a carriage was parked in the courtyard.
Around the entrance to the sanctuary, a girl is covered with a burlap sack and dragged away by men.
Her voice was muffled, as if she was being gagged.
The pure white robe with no cloudiness was, without a doubt, that child.
Leopin was so angry that all the hairs on his body stood on end, and he kicked the ground.
“Ya …… stop it!”
The men who had kidnapped the girl have well-trained bodies and are dressed in animal skin jackets and trousers, just like a burglar.