The boy soldier next to the famous detective

Jonah had no idea how he suddenly ended up in this place. His last memory was of killing everyone else in the base to avenge the children who had been sent to walk through the minefield, and then being locked in a shipping container by an arms dealer who called himself Casper.

Now he was in a completely unfamiliar place, and if it weren't for the English-speaking people around him, Jonah wouldn't even be able to find out what was going on.

Moreover, he found that he seemed to have shrunk a bit. Although he didn't know his exact age, Jonah could clearly feel the changes in his body in terms of physique and strength.

Jonah, who had been serving as a child soldier, was feeling lost and could only temporarily survive by joining a local orphanage.

Although he remained highly vigilant about his surroundings, Jonah quickly adapted to his new life.

While serving as a child soldier at the base, Jonah received no care from anyone other than the children his age; all he received were disdainful looks and cold assignments.

However, although the adults at the rescue center were a bit strange, they were always very kind to the children when those called "compassionate rescue organizations" arrived, and the children were able to get some new clothes and delicious food.

Jonah realized early on that adults were always taking advantage of children, but this place was much more peaceful than Jonah's original life filled with bullets and gunpowder, making Jonah think that it might not be so bad to continue living like this.

"Little Jonah, what are you thinking about all alone here again?"

A voice with a faint smile came from behind Jonah, causing him to snap out of his reverie and grit his teeth in self-reproach.

Two months of peaceful life had gradually lessened Jonah's vigilance towards his surroundings. Jonah felt that something was wrong, especially recently when he took the children from the shelter out to sell scrap metal to pay off debts. Jonah could sense that the atmosphere in the city seemed to have become more tense.

Turning to look at the woman standing behind him, who had come with a team a week earlier, Jonah simply nodded slightly in greeting. Unlike the other children, he did not listen to the adults at the shelter and show a bright smile to these "patrons".

Looking at Jonah, who remained expressionless, Eri Kisaki couldn't help but shake her head with a wry smile, but she still habitually sat down next to Jonah.

Because a case she was handling in Japan had ruined her mood, Eri Kisaki was pulled into this international charity rescue team by her friend, hoping to temporarily escape her work and do something meaningful to lift her spirits.

Upon arriving here, Eri Kisaki was immediately drawn to Jonah, who stood out from the other children.

Unlike other South Asian children, this child had dark skin, white hair, and red eyes. Eri was curious about how this child, who looked like he came from West Asia, had come to Myanmar.

Furthermore, unlike other children who, despite appearing mature due to the hardships they experienced from a young age, still retained some childlike innocence, Jonah's coldness and wariness towards his surroundings truly surprised Eri Kisaki.

Unfortunately, no matter how patient Eri was with Jonah, a week passed and Jonah still didn't open his heart to her.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, little Jonah. Grow up well."

The two sat together, with Eri mostly talking and Jonah listening. Two hours later, Eri looked at Jonah sitting next to her, who was expressionless but still seemed a bit dazed, and couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Jonah's short white hair.

Eri placed the chocolate she had specially brought for Jonah in his hand, glanced at Jonah one last time, and then left the rescue center with her friends with some reluctance.

Looking at the piece of chocolate in his hand that he hadn't gotten during the distribution because of his modesty, Jonah didn't expect that Eri would remember this and bring him a piece separately.

Jonah doesn't actually dislike Eri Kisaki. At least among the groups of people who have visited the shelter in the past two months, Eri Kisaki is the person Jonah feels the most comfortable with.

But Jonah feared such intimacy. He was a boy soldier with no parents, no friends, no future, who hated weapons but was terrified when he could not have them.

A person like him is incapable of achieving that dreamlike life.

"Jonah, Jonah, oh my god, you know what? When we went to sell junk to pay off our debts, we heard some news. It seems that the people who left our area this morning were kidnapped by Bayani's men, and they're going to demand a ransom... Jonah? Jonah, where are you going?"

......

"Waaah, I'm so sorry, Eri. If I hadn't insisted on dragging you out, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

"How can I blame you? We were just unlucky. I never expected them to be so arrogant."

Tied up in a dark little room, Eri Kisaki whispered to comfort her friend who had been crying for a long time, her eyes anxiously scanning her surroundings, trying to find a chance to escape.

The kidnappers told them to contact their families to pay the ransom, but Eri Kisaki dared not place her hopes on the kidnappers' promises.

But this group of robbers were clearly experienced; they not only detained them in batches, but also bound their hands and feet tightly, and there was nothing in the room that they could use.

Just as Eri Kisaki was beginning to feel hopeless, she keenly heard a sudden commotion outside the room, followed by intense gunfire.

"Eri, wh, what's wrong!"

"I don't know, but it seems like a fight has broken out outside, maybe a gang war?"

"Will we be rescued?"

"I don't know, and... wait, there are footsteps approaching."

Nervously staring at the closed door, Eri Kisaki's mind raced as she considered how to speak in a way that would give her a chance to survive.

But all the ideas conceived in his clever mind turned to mush when he saw the small, thin figure pushing open the door.

Eri Kisaki could only stare wide-eyed in disbelief at the figure standing at the door, holding an assault rifle in one hand and a dagger strapped to the other, and instinctively called out a name.

"Jonah?"

"Let's go, it's not safe here."

Jonah cut the ropes binding Eri and her friend with a dagger and led Eri out of the room.

Looking at the corpses lying haphazardly in the corridor and the courtyard outside, Eri Kisaki looked in shock at Jonah, who still had a cold expression beside her.

"Jonah, did you do all this? Who are you?"

"I am a child soldier."