—Aito, are you okay? What's wrong?
—He… he's dead.
—Master, why did you kill him?
—...
(Zekin's thoughts) Well, it's understandable since it's the first time he sees a human die. I don't blame him.
—Grandpa, let's get out of here quickly.
—Alright.
When we left the place where they were keeping us and walked through the passages, I saw all those blood splatters and stains on the walls. The master had killed all those people.
And it wasn't just one or two, but many people who were killed.
Throughout the cave there were corpses, everything was destroyed and the smell was unbearable. It was the first time I had ever seen so many corpses in my life. I could barely hold back the urge to throw up, and I had already thrown up when the old man killed that man in front of me. My whole body felt strange, I didn't feel like myself.
I felt a bit of relief when we finally got out of the cave, but even then there were still some corpses lying around outside. And it was already nighttime. Maybe it was because we had been training all day and then fought that giant serpent that I lost track of time. But we had to get out of there quickly and reach the inn. But first, the master washed the clothes he was wearing, cleaning the blood off him. And when we arrived at the inn, it was already clean, restored, and full of people again just like the night before.
And just like the night before, another group approached the old man again, but this time another group —the ones from last night— told them not to mess with him. They didn't listen, so they ended up fighting those who wanted to cause trouble for Grandpa.
In my head, I could only think about what had happened in the cave.
That night I didn't eat anything, nor speak to anyone —not even to Lilia. I had spoken at some point before, but now I was too shaken and disturbed.
And the old man didn't say anything either, so he wouldn't make things worse. I didn't want to hear a single word from him. I was very upset.
And so we spent the night without talking to each other.
Even though Lilia tried to comfort me and give me encouragement, I just couldn't say anything.
It's not that I had something against her, because from what I saw, it didn't affect her as much as it affected me.
Although I was a bit mad at her, it wasn't enough to refuse to talk to her.
It was just that no words came out of me. That was all.
And so the next morning arrived and everything was still the same as the night before. Everything felt extremely uncomfortable.
That morning… I don't even know how to describe it.
They had gone downstairs to get food, but the master was very alert in case anything strange happened, and they brought the food up so I could eat, but I couldn't eat.
—Aito, take the food. If you can't eat it, I can feed you myself.
—...
—Alright, open your mouth.
—Come on, don't keep hurting yourself like this. Eat, otherwise how are you going to train? So open your mouth so you can eat.
—Do you think I'm not upset and affected as well?
—But that doesn't mean I shouldn't eat, so eat, okay?
—It's not that I'm mad at the master, but at myself.
Because while the master was fighting that beast and those men, I didn't do anything to protect you or myself, and the worst part is that we ended up being kidnapped.
Even though I knew I couldn't handle all of them, that's what bothered me the most.
Because if it were my sister, she would have done everything.
Then Lilia hugged me and said:
—Then become strong so you never have to feel like that again.
And I smiled again.
Lilia didn't seem to be the same age as me; she seemed two or even five years older.
And her hug was warm… like Mom's.