Chapter 224: Chapter 222: The Refugee Camp (5)

I closely observed the boy from the Reka race who appeared before me…he was Yaro’s son. He had all three of his eyelids closed, and in his right hand, he clutched a wooden cane with a worn tip. The rag wrapped around the grip was filthy black, which clearly indicated that he used this cane regularly.

There was no awkwardness in the boy’s walk, so there should be no issue with his legs. That led me to wonder… perhaps he was blind or had poor vision. Whether congenital or acquired later, it must be quite the hardship.

“Nice to meet you… right? I’m sorry if we’ve met before. I was born almost blind.”

“It’s our first meeting, so nice to meet you as well. My name is Antares. Before we continue… Leo, let him go.”

“Eh? But if I let this guy go, he’ll definitely attack big brother, won’t he?”

Our goal was to talk to the boy in front of us, but it would be unpleasant for him to see his companion being restrained. Understanding the difference in our strengths, I knew an equal conversation was impossible, but I hoped that by making a concession, I might lessen his wariness.

However, Leo expressed his disagreement with my instructions. Despite being overpowered, the boy showed no sign of losing his fighting spirit. And on the contrary, I could see through my compound eyes that he was glaring at me with even more hostility than before. Leo’s objections were indeed reasonable.

Still, there was value in releasing him. He would most likely attack us, but… well, that shouldn’t be a problem.

“If their friend is restrained, they won’t be able to talk comfortably. Let him go.”

“Alright… see! I told you!”

As soon as Leo stood up and released the boy’s hands, the boy lunged at me with a fist. I wasn’t concerned about getting hurt from the blow; in fact, there was a chance the boy’s fist would get hurt instead, depending on where he hit. That was something I needed to avoid.

So, I quickly harnessed my spiritual power to manipulate the sand behind me, creating a sand figure. Yaro’s son used his spiritual arts to turn the ground into sand, but since I used the same sand from that time, the figure was only about the size of Lappy. However, it was sufficient.

“What’s this sound… sand…?”

“Get out of the way!”

The boy’s fist struck the head of the sand figure, but instead of scattering, the sand gently enveloped and cushioned his punch. The boy quickly withdrew his fist and tried to bypass the figure to hit me. As he moved, I shifted the figure to his path, and in his anger, he struck it again.

Yet the sand figure continued to softly catch his blows, no matter how many times he tried. The boy persisted in his attacks without giving up while breathing heavily. It was Yaro’s son who finally stopped him.

“Stop it, big brother Magna. This person doesn’t seem like other adults who only think of taking things away.”

“What are you talking about, Chirik! All adults are enemies!”

“If they were really enemies, we would have been defeated long ago. He’s just holding you back with one hand. There’s too much difference in our strengths. Let’s just listen to what they have to say.”

…Is this child really only four or five years old? His way of speaking is so mature, and he seems very calm and perceptive. His use of spiritual arts earlier also shows his talent. He might indeed be a prodigy.

He didn’t seem like he had the opportunity to receive any sort of education, so I wondered if studying under a sage like Aiwass would turn him into a remarkable person. Just a brief exchange of words with him made me feel that he should not be buried in this refugee camp; there was something about him that demanded attention.

The boy named Magna was also unable to ignore the advice of Yaro’s son, who was called Chirik. He unballed his fist without bothering to hide his discontent, and he moved to stand beside Chirik. During this, he never stopped glaring at me. It seemed I had made quite the enemy.

“Sorry for the disturbance. Standing around and talking isn’t very comfortable, so please come this way.”

“Thank you.”

We followed him and were led to the tent where Chirik came from. The inside of the tent was smaller than I had anticipated, mainly because a large round table was placed in the center.

Although it was smaller than the desk in the vigilante group’s base, this table occupied about seventy percent of the tent’s space. On the table lay rusted tools, half-processed wood, and metal pieces.

“Oh… did you make this yourself?”

As I caught a crossbow bolt flying towards my head, I asked with a sense of admiration. I was aware even before entering that two girls were hiding at the entrance of the tent while holding their breath. Despite being ambushed with a crossbow, I managed to remain calm and handle the situation. Even for those with specialized training, it was quite difficult to ambush a demon.

The girl who aimed the crossbow at me clearly didn’t expect her attack to be thwarted just like that. She stared at me, eyes wide and mouth slightly open, in apparent disbelief. The other girl, who had been behind the one with the crossbow, was visibly flustered throughout the ordeal.

“Big sister Nana, didn’t you hear me say that these people are not enemies? Big sister Mia, I wish you would have stopped her.”

Nana, the girl who had aimed the crossbow at me, presented a feisty demeanor with her long black hair tied back. Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be in the same age group as Leo. If Magna was the leader, then Nana might well be serving in a position akin to that of a deputy leader.

The other girl, Mia, who was flustered, looked to be about the same age as Lappy. Her face was obscured by her bangs, which covered her eyes. What was distinctive about her was her curly brown hair and the fact that she had two thumbs on each hand.

My knowledge informed me that having two thumbs was a characteristic of the Tana race. These people were naturally skilled craftsmen, proficient with their hands regardless of age or gender. This made me wonder if Mia herself might have crafted the crossbow.

“Not enemies… Are you serious?”

“That’s right. I’m sorry for the disturbance.”

“It’s fine. No harm is done, and if you’re living alone as children, having the ability to defend yourselves is necessary.”

There was no real harm done to me, and I certainly didn’t want the situation to escalate any further. Therefore, I decided to lightly brush off the incident. However, unexpectedly, someone interjected here.

“You have to choose who you pick a fight with carefully. Otherwise, you might end up seriously hurt someday.”

“W-what is this girl…!?”

The one who interjected was Lappy. After she moved silently in front of Nana, she stared into her eyes and gave a word of advice. Despite Lappy being visibly younger, for some reason, Nana found herself unable to talk back. It wasn’t that Lappy was doing anything special, but she seemed to be overwhelmed by Lappy’s presence.

Lappy too was a veteran who had continued to fight as a warrior alongside us against the Republic’s army. Nana sensed the spirit of a strong person exuding from Lappy and intuitively felt that opposing her would be unwise. With this kind of intuition, she was unlikely to end up in the kind of situation Lappy was concerned about in the first place.

After Nana fell silent, the children and we positioned ourselves opposite each other and sat down on a rug. Although there were patches where the fur had come off the rug, it seemed to have originally been used in a noble or affluent household, as it was still quite comfortable to sit on.

“Let me introduce myself again. My name is Chirik. This is our leader, big brother Magna, our deputy leader big sister Nana, and big sister Mia, who’s good at crafting things.”

“Crafting things… I see, so the crossbow was made by that girl.”

“Yes. The wall was also designed by big sister Mia.”

“Really? That strong wall too. You’re making full use of the Tana race’s dexterity.”

“Ah, ah…”

I meant it as a compliment, but Mia, looking embarrassed, hid behind Nana’s back. She seemed to be shy. Praising her further would probably have the opposite effect, so I decided to leave Mia alone.

“So, why did you come here, Mr. Antares? Did some adult put you up to it?”

“You’re quick to get to the point. Well, I prefer it that way. Now, as for my purpose… it’s you, Chirik.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Your mother’s name is Olivia, correct?”

Chirik seemed puzzled when I told him that he was the reason for my visit. I mentioned his mother’s name, but as soon as I did, his face turned completely expressionless.

Glancing at Magna and the others, I noticed that all three of them had become visibly tense. It appeared that any mention of Chirik’s mother was a taboo subject for him. However, I couldn’t back down at this point, so I waited for his response.

“…Yes, that’s right. Are you a guest of my mother’s or something, Mr. Antares?”

“No, I’ve never met your mother. The one I’ve met is your father.”

“My father?”

Chirik’s expression changed upon learning that I was connected to his father rather than his mother, but it was confusion that crossed his handsome face. Naturally, it would be confusing for him, as he had never even met his father.

“It’s understandable that you’re finding it hard to believe. Your father wasn’t even aware he had a son. Hasn’t your mother mentioned his name to you?”

“Well, she has, but…”

“Was that name Yaro?”

“Yes! My mother mentioned that name.”

Hmm, so Olivia had spoken to her son about Yaro. As Nord had mentioned, it seemed she didn’t believe Yaro had betrayed her. The two must have trusted… no, loved each other that much.

“I’ll go into the details later, but Yaro was a benefactor of mine. It’s thanks to him that I am who I am today. Unfortunately, he has passed away, but in his will, he asked me to help your mother if she was ever in trouble. Regardless of what others might think, Yaro truly loved Olivia.”

“My father said that… But my mother is already…”

“However, you exist. You are their son. If Yaro had known about you, I’m certain he would have entrusted me with your care as well. With your mother in mind, wouldn’t you let me repay this debt?”

I conveyed my true feelings to Chirik. While the part about the will was a lie, my desire to help him was genuine. If he asked me to take him and his companions away, I would; if he needed money, I’d find a way to provide it.

Currently, I don’t have extra money, but if I don’t have it, I can take it from those who rightfully deserve to lose it. Destroying the criminal organization in the refugee camp and taking everything they had seemed like a good plan too. It would improve security, and Chirik and his group would be happy. Yes, it’s not a bad idea at all.

“Then there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“Anything. I’ll do my best to make it happen.”

“Please teach me spiritual arts!”

“…Eh?”

I was getting carried away in my own thoughts, but Chirik’s wish was something I hadn’t foreseen at all. Because of this unexpected turn of events, I ended up giving a rather bewildered response.