Golden Experience

Finding this cave was a stroke of good fortune.

It was dangerous to wander around for too long in monster territory, but this cave was here. It was probably fairly well-hidden, but the sharp-eyed Riley spotted it with no problem. They’d make this place their hideout for now. There was no place for these girls in the human countries, after all.

The catkin girls were originally children from a settlement. However, due to the monster territory expanding, fewer crops were being harvested and less game was hunted, so the settlement struggled to maintain itself. When the four of them learned that their families were thinking of selling them off, they ran away.

However, children would have a hard time surviving on their own. There was already little to eat around the settlement, after all. Because they were so close to monster territory, they could be attacked by vicious monsters as well. And if the people from the settlement found them, they’d be dragged back and, this time, sold off somewhere.

The oldest, Kerry, desperately escaped with her three childhood friends.

They ran to the next settlement, hid until it seemed like they wouldn’t be found, then scavenged for food from the fields. They waited until after dark and snuck into a house near the outskirts of the settlement. All they had were the clothes on their backs, and if it were any colder they might have all perished. They needed warmer clothing. While searching the kitchen for salt, the youngest, Marion, happened to find a pile of laundry. That would be worth taking.

Then the house’s owner woke up. They were discovered. If they didn’t run, they’d be sold off. The second youngest, Remy, got caught. There’s no way they could run now. Marion threw the laundry at them, completely covering their face. They let go of Remy. It was now or never. If this person wasn’t silenced, the girls would be caught and sold. She grabbed a knife that was nearby. The person had crouched down while getting the clothes off their face; she stabbed them in the back of the neck. She was shocked at how far it went in. After jerking back, they fell to the ground flailing, then didn’t get back up.

She felt no guilt. Only relief. All four of them felt that way.

The second oldest, Riley, found a whetstone. She always had sharp eyes. The knife was used to cook dinner, and had probably just been sharpened. That’s why it slid in so easily. How lucky. For them, at least.

They didn’t find anything worth money, but they stole a hatchet and a hand sickle. They also took the blood-covered clothes. They snuck into another house. This time, they headed straight for the owner. They covered the person’s face with the bloody laundry, then ran the knife across their throat. They left the bloody clothes there and took the clean clothes they found instead. This house had salt this time. There were also enough knives for each girl. Before morning came, they left the settlement.

After that, they robbed a number of settlements, sometimes killing more people as they ran. About two years passed, and whether it was thieving, killing, hiding, or scavenging, they had gotten pretty decent at it. Back then, they would sometimes run into groups of grown-ups doing the same things they were doing. They would try to run away before they were discovered, but if it was faster to kill rather than run, then they’d kill. These grown-ups had much better weapons than hand sickles and hatchets. Some of them had bows, like the ones settlement hunters used, or other projectile weapons. The girls had been surprised, but it was incredibly difficult to hit catkin in a forest at night with a bow and arrow. While Kerry dodged arrows, Marion would sneak up on them and slit their throats. That’s how they got their hands on bows and arrows.

Another two years passed. They focused on practicing how to use their weapons. If they wore down their blades or lost too many arrows, they would attack other rogue groups to replenish. It was good practice. Unlike the residents of the settlements, these groups had money. With money, they could go to a town and buy food and cloth. That was how the grown-ups in the settlements got clothing and stuff.

They spent their days sleeping in hollowed trees or thickets and their nights journeying. It had now been five years since they had left the village they grew up in. At some point, they ended up in monster territory. And Riley found the cave.

That was the cave they were in now. From the cave entrance, there was a narrow, winding path, but at the end of that, a large space opened up. The four of them decided to make this cavern their base. This was a rather strange cave, though; they had no idea how or why, but the walls shone with light. Thanks to that, they were able to see without much difficulty even without a fire. Still, it wasn’t bright enough for everyday life, so they lit a campfire in the room. Normally, a campfire should produce smoke, but, mysteriously enough, the cave didn’t get smoky. It was convenient, though, so they didn’t worry about it.

There was a tunnel high up in the rear wall, and inside, the path split in two. One path was blocked off, while the other went down a long, narrow incline, ending up at a lake. They decided to make the blocked-off path their toilet area. Thanks to the lake, they wouldn’t have to worry about water. Monsters also couldn’t get into the cavern.

After they finished exploring the cave, Marion went to relieve herself. The other three prepared food at the campfire, but Marion didn’t come back. The toilet wasn’t far from the entrance to the tunnel, and there was no reason for her to have gone all the way to the underground lake.

“I’ll go check up on her. You guys go ahead and start eating first.”

After saying so, Kerry climbed up into the tunnel. She didn’t see Marion. She decided to peek into the dead end tunnel; if Marion wasn’t there either, she’d go down to check the underground lake. As soon as she rounded the bend where the path split, she felt an impact that robbed her of consciousness.