From a distance, the little girl looked very weak and thin, skinny, as if she hadn't eaten or bathed for many days, dirty and unkempt.
After observing her with binoculars for a while, he saw she was carefully searching the area with a kitchen knife, a small backpack slung over her shoulder.
Kaito didn't know where she came from. Maybe from a shelter in a villa?
Or perhaps she came from outside?
But regardless, she was definitely looking for food.
"Sigh... Although this has nothing to do with me... if I can help, I will."
Hmm...
Could the hidden mission be related to her?
The mission list didn't mention any hidden mission, meaning it had to be discovered and explored by themselves.
Since there were no hints, Kaito naturally considered this little girl as a clue to the hidden mission.
Anyway, having one more person wasn't a big deal!
He went down from the villa, returned to the shelter to grab a piece of compressed biscuit and a bottle of water, then left the villa to look for the little girl.
But well...
He didn't find her; instead, she found him first.
"Don't move!"
"Qu-quickly give me the food and water in your hand!"
The little girl was threatening him from behind with the kitchen knife.
Kaito smiled and turned around. She took a half step back in fear, but she was so hungry she couldn't be hungrier, so she gritted her teeth and continued confronting Kaito.
"Alright, alright, I'll give you the food."
Kindly, he removed the packaging from the compressed biscuit and held it out to her.
"...Yo-you better not make any moves, or the kitchen knife in my hand won't be so nice!"
"Okay, I promise I won't move!"
Perhaps it was the inexplicable sense of security and trust Kaito gave off, the little girl hesitated for a moment, then, her face slightly flushed, approached Kaito and took the compressed biscuit from his hand, starting to eat it in large bites.
'Ah, this little girl was still too young, too trusting.'
'If I had ill intentions, she would definitely be caught by now.'
But judging by her appearance, she was probably around 12 years old, overall a petite type of girl.
"Cough cough!"
Well, she ate too fast and choked.
Kaito quickly unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle and handed it to her.
She took it without hesitation, swallowed the last piece of compressed biscuit, and continued pointing the knife at him, using her free hand to gulp down the water.
"Sigh... eat slowly..."
Unable to help it, Kaito reached out and stroked her rough hair. Although it felt unpleasant to the touch, as someone who liked children, he couldn't help but feel pity for her.
Surviving in this world was truly difficult.
If he could help, he would, just as doing a good deed.
"Hmph, do-don't touch me!"
"Oh, sorry..."
Kaito smiled wryly and was about to pull his hand back, but unexpectedly, the little girl put the knife down, reached out, grabbed Kaito's hand, and placed it on top of her head.
"...Th-this is my thanks! Yo-you can touch me a bit more!"
The little girl's face was slightly flushed, her tone a bit hurried.
At the same time, to avoid showing her shyness, she deliberately continued drinking water to hide it.
"Hehe... okay then!"
Although her hair was rough, a simple touch was fine, and the little girl clearly yearned for this kind of warm care, which was why she let Kaito continue stroking her.
"Hmm... um, thank you!"
"You're welcome. But can you tell me why you came out alone?"
"...Because I'm alone now."
Alright, he almost didn't understand.
"Although this might hurt you, but... what about your family?"
"Father... Mother... died!"
"I see... Don't cry, okay? Be strong!"
Seeing the little girl about to cry, Kaito quickly crouched down and comforted her gently, even hugging her dirty body without a hint of disgust.
"It's okay, I'm here. Since you're alone now, let me be your new family, okay?"
Ding—
[Congratulations! You have successfully discovered a hidden mission!]
[For subsequent exploration, please discover it on your own!]
'Uh...'
'So it really was related to a hidden mission?'
'This seemed pretty easy... ah?'
'No, no, it wasn't completely finished yet. The subsequent exploration needed to be done on our own! This was just identifying the key person.'
"Feeling a bit better?"
"Ye-yes... thank you, big brother. But... I'm a burden, so... big brother, you should..."
"That's what you say, but I don't want to let you keep living like this alone. At the very least... I want to give you some good days."
'How sensible. She even knew she was a burden who would consume my food resources.'
But, as he said, if he could help, he would.
Especially since she was now the key figure in the hidden mission!
"I... I can't. I'll not only waste big brother's food, but I also can't come out and fight... and I don't know how to do many things..."
"That's okay. Leave the fighting to me. As for food... if we don't have it, we'll find it! By then, you can help me carry things, right?"
"But... if a fight breaks out, I..."
"Hehe, I'm not alone. There are many sisters there! They can all protect you!"
Hearing this, the little girl not only didn't agree but tried to break free.
As if she had heard something terrible.
Kaito instantly understood her reaction. She probably thought he was a bad guy trying to trick her into doing something that would land him in prison for three years or more.
Because those so-called "sisters" in this world could easily become tools for men...
"Hahahaha! Don't worry! I'm not what you think. We're a team! And there are sisters a year or two older than you, and also sisters a year or two younger!"
"...Re-really?"
Sure enough!
The little girl stopped struggling.
Kaito's mouth twitched, 'It seemed this girl wasn't completely naive.'
"Of course it's true! How about I take you to see them?"
"They are all very nice!"
He believed they wouldn't reject this little girl's joining, especially since she was the key figure in the hidden mission.
As for how to continue uncovering clues for the hidden mission, it would depend on how much information the little girl could provide later on.
Maybe it was about saving someone, or maybe about finding a safe haven, or something like that?
After all, wasn't the typical ending for an apocalypse discovering a very safe place, a large base, where the protagonist would live from then on?
If not, islands were also a possibility!