“I’m glad my questions have been answered. Thank you.
So I guess the adults must’ve thought you were playing pranks again and you got scolded, right?” [Ryouma]
When I said that, his face turned grim.
“I’m sorry for covering you in ink and running away. It became a habit since I’m always throwing okutas as a prank… As such, I’m not exactly without fault either, so I just let them scold me at first, but… But!” [Niki]
“Relax. I’ll hear you out until the end…” [Ryouma]
When Niki-kun remembered the time he got angry, he started crying.
I took out a glass from my Item Box and poured him a glass of water. Then I heard him out as I consoled him.
He spoke while crying, so it was a little hard to understand. There were times when the things he talked about didn’t seem to be connected, so I had to put the pieces together as I listened to him.
Apparently, he was once falsely accused by the village children.
The snack prepared by the elders for the children were wasted, and he took the blame for it, but the truth was that it was another child who was responsible for it.
Of course, that child also didn’t intentionally commit the crime, but he was afraid of being scolded, so he decided to push the blame onto Niki-kun, who was widely known as a mischievous boy.
But at that time, although he was blamed for a moment, the village elders and his parents protected him.
His parents believed him and said ‘our son wouldn’t do something like this’.
Later on the real culprit eventually named himself and the incident came to a close.
At that time, the adults told him that if he really didn’t do something, he should stick out his chest and say so.
Seeing the adults make a proper judgment, Niki-kun believed from the bottom of his heart that if he just spoke the truth, the adults would understand.
He believed them, but…
“That’s what not happened this time.” [Ryouma]
“Yeah. I told them I didn’t do it on purpose, but they just yelled back at me and said ‘Don’t make excuses’! They didn’t listen to me at all… We kept yelling back and forth, and before I knew it, I’d run away…” [Niki]
“I see.” [Ryouma]
They wouldn’t listen to him, so he ran way on impulse.
Something like that happened to me too when I was a child, so I can more or less relate.
“But if that’s the case, then that’s all the more reason for you to go back.” [Ryouma]
“What’s the point of talking? I ran away precisely because talking didn’t work. If they were going to listen to me, then what happened this afternoon wouldn’t have turned out like this.” [Niki]
“Talking might not have worked this afternoon, but if you try again and talk to each other calmly, maybe you’ll be able to understand each other. This time I’ll be there to help you. Right, if they try to hit you without listening to you first, I’ll stop them.” [Ryouma]
“You will?” [Niki]
“I may not look the part, but I still am an adventurer. I’m strong and sturdy, so I’m sure I can protect you from physical harm.
Besides, the reason why your parents and the villagers are angry at you is because they’re worried about you. We’re the ones who ended up coming here, but there are a lot more people searching the village. No one could find you, so we turned our eyes to the forest. That’s why I’m sure that if both sides are calm, you’ll be able to talk properly.” [Ryouma]
“Really?” [Niki]
There’s no doubting the fact everyone is worried about him.
“If not that, then they wouldn’t get so mad or look for him.” [Ryouma]
It’s normal for a person to feel bad when scolded, while the angry person probably feels good saying whatever he wants.
But despite that, anger surprisingly takes a lot of toll on one’s stamina and also makes things awkward between him and the person he’s angry at. There are times when the angry person will be hated too.
As such, there’s not really a lot of advantage to the person who’s angry.
That’s why if someone really doesn’t care about another person, he wouldn’t waste his time being angry.
Just like the proverb goes, ‘Behind the anger is a flower’.
“…I got it. I’ll go back.” [Nyiki]
“!” [Ryouma]
Niki-kun’s face shows he’s still somewhat reluctant, but he’s agreed to go back.
I’m surprise that everything went without a hitch, but… No. He himself admitted that he was at fault for running away after smearing me in ink, so it’s likely that he just missed his timing to go back after running away on impulse. The truth is that he’s a good and honest boy.
“Onii-chan?” [Niki]
“Y-Yeah.” [Ryouma]
In any case, he feels like going back home now.
“You said you twisted your leg, right? Let’s heal it, and then go out. Show me your leg.” [Ryouma]
He showed me his leg. It’s swollen a little, but there’s nothing wrong with the bone.
A basic heal should be able to fix it.
I casted the healing spell quickly, and then informed the others through my wind magic that I was able to convince him.
“Alright. I want to explain the details to them, so I’ll go first.” [Ryouma]
The entrance is too narrow, so it can only accommodate one person at a time.
I believe that Niki-kun will go out on his own, so I left the secret base first.
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