Asahi detected that people had started moving around: there were sounds of horses neighing, hooves hitting the ground, and dogs barking and sniffing.
Although his range of activity was restricted, and he could not exert even the slightest physical impact, this did not diminish his reconnaissance ability.
Ymir was released simply because they viewed the little girl as an animal to be hunted and enjoyed.
"Ymir, they will start hunting soon. If you don't want to be stabbed by arrows and pierced by spears, listen carefully to what I say."
"Go to the river or stream where you usually fetch water or bathe, and wade upstream."
Asahi temporarily pushed the reason for his appearance here and the origin of the Titans to the back of his mind. First, he had to ensure this little girl's life. Regardless of whether she might be the source of the Titan disaster that would consume a part of the world in the future, right now, Ymir was just a little slave girl about to be hunted down.
Just because she let a pig escape.
At the moment, only he could help Ymir.
Ymir followed his instructions exactly. She reached the river where she usually fetched water, but just as she was about to wade in as he instructed, he told her to stop.
"No rush. Bathe quickly first."
She turned around, tilting her head to look at him as if asking, "What is bathing?" Asahi had to rephrase, telling her to use the water to clean her entire body. He also carefully instructed her to wash the clothes she was wearing.
Don't misunderstand; Asahi was not a pervert and had no interest in minors, and the matter at hand had nothing to do with lust. He requested Ymir to do this so she could survive the first hurdle.
In a situation like the one Ymir faced—released and immediately about to be hunted—the thing to be most cautious of was not the arrows, spears, or even the people who treated lives as grass. The thing to be most wary of was the hunting dogs.
A dog's sense of smell can reach up to 20 kilometers. Of course, this number is somewhat exaggerated and requires perfect conditions, so most dogs cannot reach this level. But hunting dogs specifically trained to track prey are different; even with natural distractions, they can still pick up the scent of an escapee.
Especially in this era, others aside, slaves like Ymir genuinely lived in filth. The little girl was covered in grime, hadn't bathed in who knows how long, and even had accumulated residue.
Just looking at her suggested that even if she ran ten kilometers ahead, the hunting dogs would still easily pick up her scent.
"You have to scrub that spot! Scrub hard so all the residue comes off."
"Remember to wash between your toes and fingers too."
"Your hair? Yes, wash your hair too... I mean, wash your hair as well. Wash off anything that holds a scent."
"The clothes, too. A dog's nose is very sensitive. The scent of sweat on the clothes can make it very easy for them to track you..."
While Asahi was struggling to teach a child how to bathe, back at the original spot, the King of Eldia sat on his chair, one hand resting on his chin, an intriguing curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
In a little while, it would be time for him to play his "game."
He released the slaves, and they would foolishly run straight into the forest, running as far as possible, thinking they could escape. They genuinely didn't know that he only wanted to give the prey hope to push them deeper into despair. The slaves would run a few kilometers and gradually become exhausted, which was when he and his guards would begin the hunt.
Hunting dogs would track the prey; horses and weapons would overwhelm the prey. And in the despair and screams of the prey, he would savor the flavor of being the one at the top.
Everything was just as Asahi guessed.
Since Ymir was just a child, he would delay the waiting time even longer. Not out of pity or anything, he was just afraid the little girl wouldn't run far enough, ruining the fun of the hunt. Fortunately, this arrogant decision bought Ymir more time.
After half an hour of struggling with the bath, the little girl was finally settled—clean, but only temporarily so. After all, in this era, there were no such things as soap or the like to thoroughly cleanse the body, only plain water. But for Ymir, this was a major change.
She looked at her hands, then at her body. Her wet clothes had been wrung out, and although still slightly uncomfortable because they clung to her, they were much better than the rough clothes that used to scrape her skin like sandpaper.
Most of all, this feeling of cleanliness... was good.
She looked up at Asahi, smiling for the first time. Although the smile was very subtle, it added a little more expression to Ymir's usually gloomy face.
"Yes, that's the smile."
He felt happy too. He reached out to pat the little girl's head but drew his hand back, silently looking at his hand.
He was currently just an incarnation of will. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was simply a ghost existing in Ymir's mind in this place.
If the past could truly be changed, he hoped he could make Ymir feel a little warmth. Perhaps then, the future would be less bleak? And whether she was that Ymir or not didn't matter.
"Alright, Ymir. Now you must follow the river upstream against the current. Just bathing isn't enough; we need this river to continue hiding us, washing away all traces, understood?"
If she stepped on the ground and grass, leaving footprints, the pursuers would easily track and catch up. It was different on the river: the current would wash away all traces and also mitigate the risk of leaving a scent for the hunting dogs to detect.
Most importantly, this river wasn't too wide or deep, only about three meters wide and reaching Ymir's waist in depth. The little girl didn't need to wade in the middle; she only needed to wade where the water hadn't reached her ankles.
And to avoid hurting her feet, he instructed Ymir to modify the cloth wrapping she used for her feet. Before, she walked barefoot or wrapped her feet in a thin layer of fabric, and that was obviously insufficient in a natural environment.
Grass, a lot of grass, was sandwiched between two layers of cloth, creating a relatively soft padding. At least, it was soft for a slave.
Ymir widened her eyes, delightedly looking down at the "handmade" grass-lined cloth sandals. She wiggled her toes slightly. The grass tickled her feet a bit, but it was a hundred times better than walking barefoot with cloth wraps on gravel every day.
Because she was young and lacked enough life experience, she didn't realize how horrific her previous life was. To the point where merely being able to bathe and having a pair of comfortable sandals for walking made Ymir happy.
This world is truly cruel, yet also beautiful. Ymir suddenly wondered to herself, could a slave like her ever achieve happiness and freedom?
"Don't stare into space, Ymir. Let's go."
Hearing his voice, the little girl nodded, a glimmer of light in her eyes.