"It's all your fault! You jinxed the village chief to death, then the fish here, and now you're going to jinx us to death!"
"It's you! You disaster star, you ruined our village."
"Get out, get out of our village."
In a small fishing village by the river, a group of people surrounded a house, occasionally hitting and kicking it. The wooden walls and door clanged loudly from the pounding.
Every time someone knocked, the wooden door made a crisp sound. With the people's pounding, the slightly old wooden door couldn't bear the weight and was forced open.
The villagers continuously squeezed into the house. The first few villagers who entered scanned the wooden house. The house was quite spacious, and the kitchen, bedrooms, and guest rooms could barely be considered complete.
In this remote fishing village, it was one of the few good houses.
The leading man aggressively approached the bedroom door and saw a figure lying on the bed, as well as a young girl leaning against the wall, still trying to retreat.
"Ah! You, what do you want to do? Get out, this, this is my home."
The young girl looked in their direction, her burgundy eyes showing a hint of fear.
She knew that most people in the village disliked her, and even when she first arrived, they showed some disdain and contempt towards her.
Since Grandfather Village Chief passed away not long ago, the villagers' attitude towards her had become even worse. These days, besides going out to fish, she had tried her best to avoid contact with them.
However, despite her repeated concessions to the villagers and her apparent indifference to the rumors gradually spreading in the village.
This only made them escalate their actions, and now they had even broken into her home, wanting to drive her away.
"Enough nonsense, you disaster star! Ungrateful wretch! Foreign bastard! Unfilial little brat!"
The leading man ignored the young girl's words and began to curse her, his words becoming increasingly harsh.
"Our village has raised you for so many years, how good have we been to you? What about you, how many disasters have you brought to our village? First, you jinxed the village chief to death, then the fish, and now you're going to jinx us to death."
Recently, the village's harvest had not been good, and fewer and fewer fish were being caught.
The villagers gradually began to blame each other, always feeling that someone was secretly fishing and depleting the fish, which led to the recent scarcity.
The villagers accused each other, but no one was willing to admit that it had anything to do with them.
As the harvest worsened, the villagers' conflicts grew, and the animosity in the village became heavier. They now desperately needed an outlet to push all their problems onto her.
And the little girl, being an outsider, whose only reliance, the village chief, had also passed away not long ago, was helpless and naturally became the target of everyone's criticism.
"No, it's not, I didn't do that, I, I'm not a disaster star, my name is Kaede, I'm not…"
The girl named Kaede stammered, trying to explain something, but having never experienced such a scene, she had no idea what to do now.
Her words were not yet finished when she was interrupted again.
"Enough! What else are you if not a disaster star? The Southern Dipper governs birth, the Northern Dipper governs death. You are a disaster star."
The man shouted loudly.
The people behind him also began to agree.
The noisy words of the people filled the entire house and also entered the ears of the child who was in a deep sleep on the bed.
"So noisy, what's going on? Why are there so many people crowded in the bedroom?"
"My head hurts, what's wrong with me? No, where am I?"
The child slightly opened his eyes and found that the ceiling in front of him did not seem to be his familiar bedroom. Realizing that something was wrong, he squinted his eyes and began to observe his surroundings while the people around him were still focused on the girl.
"You are the reincarnation of a disaster star, a lone star of misfortune, born to harm everyone."
"Why don't you just die, you kind of guy? Instead, you stay here and bring misfortune to people!"
People cursed Kaede one after another. When they first saw Kaede, she was chasing a wild dog, fighting with it over half a rice cake.
Seeing such a dirty child, and that she was fighting for food with a dying wild dog, they all showed some disdain towards her.
Although the village chief adopted her, this disdain did not disappear; instead, it was hidden by them.
Now, without the village chief's protection, people's malice towards Kaede resurfaced.
Moreover, after the village chief died, he also left the best house in the village to Kaede.
People also began to want to claim this house for themselves. Although with so many people, it was impossible for anyone among them to monopolize the house, people believed that the village chief had left her other things.
As long as they drove her away, they would always get something.
As soon as they thought of this, people cursed even more vigorously, their tone mixed with a hint of excitement.
Kaede, who was currently the target of everyone's anger, kept speaking, wanting to refute their words.
But her single voice could only be drowned out by the noisy voices of the crowd.
Her refutation not only failed to cause the slightest ripple but also made people curse her more fiercely.
Kaede, who was experiencing such a scene for the first time, felt a deep sense of helplessness at this moment.
She felt as if a giant rock was pressing on her, and no matter how much she struggled, she could not escape from under it by even an inch.
Facing the curses of the crowd, her eyes gradually filled with mist.
Feeling that tears were about to fall from her eyes, Kaede immediately reached out and wiped the corner of her eye.
She didn't want to cry in front of them.
"Where did you bring this wild boy from?" The leading man angrily took two steps forward, pointed at the sleeping child on the bed, and questioned.
"Brother Takeshi, last night I saw a broom star fly across the sky, and today I saw an extra person here. I think this boy is most likely that broom star descended."
Behind the leading man, a short and slender man said.
As soon as these words came out, the crowd instantly boiled over again.
"Exactly, I don't think this kid is anything good either."
Someone echoed.
"It's over, it's all over now. A broom star and a Death Star appeared together in our village, our village is doomed!"
An old woman with a face full of wrinkles stood at the back of the crowd and shouted.
"Takeshi, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and drive them both away!"
The man called Takeshi heard these words and, regardless of the boy who was currently sleeping, stepped forward and grabbed an arm of each person, wanting to throw them out.
"Ah." A scream came out. Kaede, who was caught, struggled hard, wanting to break free from Takeshi's hand, but compared to an adult male, her strength was still too weak.
Haruto, who was squinting and observing, felt a pulling sensation and fell from the bed to the ground.
Although his back was a little sore, he didn't have time to worry about it for now.
Since he was woken up just now, he felt something was wrong. While pretending to be unconscious, he listened to people's words to understand the current situation.
He understood the current situation and also found that his body had become that of a child.
While he was unconscious, he must have been picked up by a little girl named Kaede and taken home to be cared for.
And now, Kaede seemed to be about to be driven away by the villagers for some reason.
At this moment, Haruto opened his eyes and saw the little girl struggling desperately in front of him.
The girl's black hair was draped over her shoulders, now looking a bit messy from her struggles. Her burgundy eyes were full of stubbornness and unwillingness.
Her slightly thin cloth clothes were already somewhat damaged. During her strenuous struggles, the man's body also swayed with her, and the girl's small body showed unusual strength.
But against a tall and strong adult, this level of strength was still not enough.
Seeing Kaede's appearance, Haruto felt a sense of familiarity and probably guessed the girl's identity and the situation she was currently facing.
Although he sympathized with Kaede's plight and was angry at these barbaric and ignorant villagers.
He also knew that as a child, if he acted rashly in this situation, he would not be able to do anything.
It seemed that Kaede's desperate struggle made Takeshi impatient. He released his right hand that was holding Haruto and grabbed Kaede with both hands.
Then he lifted his foot, intending to kick Kaede.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his lower body, couldn't help but release his hands, and quickly squatted down.
Haruto had just retracted his foot and hadn't even stood firm when he jumped up and punched Takeshi's temple.
The man called Takeshi was forced to shut down by Haruto's blow and fell sideways.
The people around let out a gasp.
Haruto quickly pulled up Kaede, who had just fallen to the ground, and ran towards the window behind him.
Since he opened his eyes, he had observed his surroundings and found that the window was very close to his position and was short, making it easy to climb over.
When he saw the man about to get serious with Kaede, he didn't know what would happen to Kaede after the man kicked her, or if the man would continue to beat Kaede.
Although Haruto did not want to directly fight with these people, he could not just stand by and watch the girl who helped him be bullied like this.
So, he decisively acted and immediately took Kaede over the window. Although everything happened too suddenly, Kaede did not hesitate and quickly followed Haruto over the window.
Haruto dragged Kaede and ran forward continuously, listening to the curses from the people behind him, such as broom star and wild boy. He felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.
Kaede, behind him, looked at the boy who stood up for her and was now leading her in a continuous run.
Although they had not known each other for long, and Kaede didn't even know his name, Haruto's actions were deeply etched in her memory.
Golden sunlight shone through the branches and leaves of the forest onto him, and the boy seemed to be sparkling.
Kaede gazed at the boy, her eyes reflecting the dazzling light on his body, and an unknown feeling arose in her heart.
When neither of them noticed, a red light flashed across the boy's chest, seeming to break through his clothes as if to break free.