CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER-371.

Kaya looked at the pouch, then at him.

Her first instinct was to say, ’It’s okay, I can manage’, to push it back and pretend she wasn’t as desperate as she actually was.

Before she could speak, Cutie untied the mouth of the pouch and tilted it.

Stones poured onto the table with a low clatter.

Kaya’s words died in her throat.

Red.

Purple.

Deep colors, polished surfaces, catching the light of the small lamp and throwing it back in tiny sparks.

These weren’t random pebbles. These were proper stones. Trade stones. The kind merchants locked in boxes and kept under three keys.

"You can take these first," Cutie said quietly, arranging them with his fingers so they didn’t roll off the table. "After we leave the capital, I can hunt and earn more."

Kaya just stared.

Earlier, when he’d taken the pouch out, it had looked so small she hadn’t even thought much about it.

But now, seeing it open—seeing what was inside—her brain finally caught up.

’God...’

Red stones. Purple stones. All of them the high‑grade kind she’d only seen on rich idiots’ accessories and in guarded shops.

If she wasn’t wrong, this much... she could probably buy Veer’s vulture tribe two and a half years’ worth of rations with it. Maybe more, if she bargained hard.

Her chest tightened.

She looked up at Cutie. "Where did you even get all this?"

Cutie lowered his head a little, ears twitching as he glanced around like a kid caught stealing sweets.

"Umm... I used to sell herbs before," he said slowly. "With the stines I got, I collected white stones first. Then I sold a lot of those and changed them into these purple and red ones... so I don’t have to carry hundreds of white stones, just a few of these instead."

He rubbed the back of his neck, still not meeting her eyes.

"And normally, you bought most things for me," he added in a small voice. "So I didn’t really need to use my own money. It just... stayed with me all this time. I couldn’t even find a chance to spend it. So that’s why..."

His words faded as he finally looked up.

Kaya was staring at him. Not with anger. Not with mockery. Just staring—quiet, unreadable.

Cutie froze under that look.

"Did I... umm... did I do something wrong?" he asked carefully.

Kaya blinked, then shook her head.

"Nah," she said softly. "It’s okay."

She pushed the chair back and stood up.

"I’m tired," she said. "I’m going to sleep for a bit."

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked toward the side room.

The door closed with a soft sound behind her, leaving the three of them staring at the empty space she’d just left.

Veer, Cutie, and Sparrow all looked at the closed door, then at each other, then back again.

They had never seen her like that.

It was as if some heavy weight had been pressing on her shoulders this whole time... and today she’d finally felt all of it at once.

Inside the room, Kaya lay down slowly on the bed.

She closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally, in and out, letting her chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm.

For a while, she didn’t move.

Then she heard it—soft footsteps outside, stopping near her door.

The handle turned with a small click, and the door opened just a little.

Cutie stepped in quietly, his movements careful, almost too light for someone his size.

He walked up to the bed and looked down at her face.

Kaya kept her eyes closed, her breathing even, pretending to be already asleep.

His hand lifted slowly, as if he wanted to touch her hair or her cheek, but he stopped about a centimeter away.

His palm hovered there in the air, close enough to feel the warmth but not quite making contact.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered.

Then he pulled his hand back, turned around, and walked out, closing the door as gently as he’d opened it.

Silence filled the room again.

Kaya slowly opened her eyes.

She pushed herself up and sat on the bed, back resting against the wall.

Then she brought both her hands up and stared at her palms.

Her fingers curled in slightly.

She hated it.

Hated how powerless she had felt today.

How reality had slapped her hard enough that she couldn’t pretend anymore.

In this world, she was nothing.

Back then, in her old life, from the start she had been self‑reliant.

She didn’t wait for help, didn’t lean on anyone unless it was part of a plan.

If she fell, she got up by herself.

But ever since she came to this world... it hadn’t been like that.

From the moment she landed here, there was always someone.

Veer, cutting paths open and standing in front of danger.

Cutie, quietly covering the gaps, feeding her, protecting her shadow when she wasn’t looking.

Even Sparrow, helping her escape, covering her movements.

Every time she should have died, someone else moved.

]

She had always told herself she was using them, that they were tools, shields, stepping stones to her goal.

She had felt it the moment Cutie poured those stones out.

The thing she’d been stubbornly ignoring from the very first day she came to this world finally hit her straight in the chest.

Her food.

Her clothes.

Even the roof over her head.

All of it—Veer or Cutie had given.

Veer’s coins, Veer’s tribe, Veer’s name.

Cutie’s herbs, Cutie’s saved stones, Cutie’s quiet help.

And her?

What had she actually given back?

Kaya took a slow, deep breath, forcing her lungs to fill properly.

She refused to sink into some pitiful drama, crying and curling up like a wounded animal.

Self‑blame wouldn’t sharpen her knife, wouldn’t give her strength, wouldn’t change a single thing.

What she needed was a clear head.

She leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling for a long moment.