Capítulo 348: [68.2] Reika Gains a Disciple
After the light came into the cave, I was finally able to sleep. The boy stopped his whimpering and I quickly took advantage of the silence to sleep peacefully.
In my dream, I felt small hands nudging me as if to wake me. I turned over groggily and came face to face with a pair of orange eyes.
I could hear the sound of derisive laughter echoing in my ears while all the life around me started to shrivel up and die.
I jumped up, alert and screaming. "MONI!"
The boy fell backward, startled by my sudden shout. He quickly crawled away from me and to the far wall of the cave. Grabbing his knees to his chest, he stared at me with an anxious gaze.
As soon as I saw that small frail body hiding from me in fear, I returned back to my senses.
Why did I do that?! I can't believe I just screamed at a child!
I immediately felt guilty, "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! Are you okay?!"
I mulled over whether to go to his side to comfort him or to stay where I was as so not to frighten him further. Eventually, he relaxed while I was wavering between going to him or not.
He muttered timidly, "H-Hungry…"
"Oh!" I jumped up quickly, "OH!"
He flinched again.
Ah… I have to stop making such fast movements…
I made a mental note to move slowly as I reached into the interspatial purse to pull out fruits. As I did, his eyes were intently on my hands, making sure he could see every movement. I handed him an array of fruit, watching as he selectively dove for the orange.
I chuckled as I watched him eat it as if it would disappear at any moment, "It's not going anywhere. You can take your time."
He offered me a shy smile before continuing to eat the other pieces of fruit.
I watched his chipmunk-like cheeks with a smile, "Do you want to try drawing today?"
He hummed in interest as he continued to eat.
"I realized that we don't need paper or oil to paint. As long as there is wood and stone, I have a solution."
After he finished eating everything, he followed me out of the cave and to the forest. I picked up a few pieces of wood from the ground and went back to the cave's wall. I used my heated skin to burn the logs into a black charred state and started drawing a portrait on the side of the cave by using it as charcoal.
"What do you think?"
His eyes lit up in excitement, "Who is that?"
I laughed, "It's you."
"That's… Me?"
Awww! So cute!
I gave him a piece of charred wood, "Would you like to try drawing me?"
He took it from me timidly, "But I've never tried it…"
"That's fine-"
"-And you don't have a face."
My expression twitched, "Then just make up something."
He nodded and held the charred piece, staring at the side of the cave as if thinking about the best way to go about it.
Once he started drawing, I felt like I was watching a maestro conduct his orchestra. Every stroke had direction and purpose, and although the lines weren't perfect, it was like a symphony to the eyes.
My mouth dropped when I saw the drawing, "How… How could he have done so well for a beginner?"
He blushed, "I… I like to stare at you… So it's not so hard to copy what you did… Although I can't imagine your face, so I'm not very good."
"That's okay! Everyone has their own strength and weakness." I pinched his tiny cheeks, "You just have to keep practicing. I'm sure you'll become a world-renowned artist soon."
I saw a flicker of light in his dark eyes, "You think I'm that good?"
"Duh! And with my help, you'll become one in no time! That's it!" I picked him up and held him in the air, "-I've come up with a brilliant idea! You must become my disciple!"
He stared down at me blinking slowly, "Disciple?"
"That's right! You have a talent for art! From this day forward, I will be your Master and teach you everything you need to learn about being a first-class artist!"
He giggled as he gave me a bright, toothy grin, "Hehe!"
I tossed him up in the air several times, catching him once he came back down. Hearing his innocent laughter, I found myself getting swept up in that infectious smile of his.
He really is too cute!
After getting tired, I put him back down as he continued to smile up at me. He spoke up, "Oh, I also found a human town nearby."
"Huh?" I blinked in confusion, "What do you mean? You mean the village of those noisy villagers?"
He shook his head, "No. You said you wanted to find a town for clothes, so I found one."
"H-How?"
His expression flushed as he explained, "I-I can sense things… Better than others…"
I pinched his soft cheeks, "Wow! You are such an impressive child!!! How are you so perfect?!"
He added with a shy smile, "I just had to walk to the other cave exit and look at the other side of the mountain."
My facial expression froze, "Huh? Other cave exit? Another side of the mountain?"
He tilted his head, "You didn't know?"
"I.."
I've been so focused on this side of the mountain! I didn't even think to walk around and check the other side!
But how can I admit that to a small child!?
My cheeks flushed, "O-Of course I knew! I just forgot!"
He blinked, "Ah…"
I cleared my throat, "Since I forgot… Could you show me?"
He nodded and reached his hand out, taking mine as if natural to him. As soon as he did, I felt my heart melt. I was in such a daze that I hadn't realized he already led me through the second cave exit and was pointing to the far distance.
"See? There's a castle."
"Eh?"
I finally came back to my senses and sure enough…
There was a castle.
"But…"
I glanced back down at him and saw him shifting uncomfortably. I raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"That place is controlled by the Holy Goddess…"
"Wait-" I went to grab him but stopped myself before I could scare him. I calmed myself down and cleared my throat, "Are you saying that the Holy Goddess and the Holy War is happening now? Do you know Alora?"
"Um… I don't know about Alora or any war… But I do know the humans are hunting demons because the Holy Goddess commanded it."
Ah. At least that narrows down the timeline I landed in…
"So I bet that place wouldn't be very safe for us to travel to."
He lowered his eyes, "My… Father would sometimes talk about that place. He said it's so strict even some humans can't enter… The Holy Goddess protects it herself. My Father always told me that it was her favorite place…"
Hearing him refer to that piece of trash as a father, I felt a sting in my heart.
He really is just like me…
He can't escape from his influence no matter how much he wants to.
I couldn't help but reach out and rub his head, "We shouldn't go there. Maybe we will find another town to find clothes and supplies."
"There are other towns."
"Huh?"
"That's just the stronghold… But there are other towns between here and there. The closer you go to that place, the more humans you will encounter."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "But those villagers had never heard of a Kingdom before…"
He tilted his head, "What's a Kingdom?"
I forced on a smile, "I guess you really don't have those yet… A Kingdom is a place where one person governs, like a King or Queen."
"Oh…"
I picked him up and summoned my ice chunk, "So we just go straight until we find a town?"
He nodded in agreement and held onto me as we soared through the air.
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