บท 5: New Light User in Town
Only after Rudy grabbed Ale's fist did he notice that everyone present was staring at him.
He wanted to ask why they were staring at him instead of eating but before he could open his mouth, Ron started talking.
"Those bastards are the one at fault. Don't worry buddy, we'll take care of the disaster if there is one! I'm pretty strong, you know!" Ron winked as he said.
"That's right, young master. You shouldn't blame yourself for this incident. We'll take care of those officers."
"...What?"
Ale couldn't understand what they meant by not blaming himself. It was true that he was angry, but that anger was solely directed towards the people in charge of that place, those who ignored their duty and responsibility. He wasn't blaming himself or anything like that.
Seeing Ale's baffled expression, they all sighed and turned their head.
Ash placed more pieces of meat in Ale's plate hinting him to eat more.
Rudy also removed his hand from Ale's and continued eating.
Ale was the only one left confused but decided not to think about it too much and started eating again.
After having their lunch, they boarded their boat and started their journey once again.
After the boat started running, they all sat down and discussed about the disasters.
Alice asked Ale a question that was bothering her for a while.
"Why do the boats not run in the morning? That way can't they reach the Big Island while the sun's still out?"
"That's because of the weird Geography of this ocean. For the first half of the day, the water level is unusually high and the current is very strong so it's hard to row."
Ale knew about this stuff quite well since the first thing he did after returning to this world was gather as much knowledge as he could.
While answering Alice's question, Ale could see Stuart's expression change significantly. As if he suddenly realized something.
Ale wasn't the only one to notice this change.
"What's wrong, Stuart?"
The question came from Rudy.
As they all focused their attention on Stuart, he suddenly started grinning.
"I think I know why those accidents happened."
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked as he couldn't understand what he was talking about.
"You all know that there are small water disasters of lowest level on the ocean floor right? What if they were supplied with negative emotions for a long period of time?"
"They'd evolve."
"That's right! That's exactly what happened here. They've evolved from level 7 to level 6 or ever higher, after consuming the fears and anxiety of the people crossing the ocean."
"So although it was for the safety of the citizens, travelling while the water level was low only gave the water disasters a chance to consume their fear little by little and evolve?"
Ale was shocked as he said those words.
"But that'd require a large amount of small disasters that are gathered in one place, right?"
Kevin looked confused as he said that.
"Artifact."
"That's it! Ash, you're so smart. There must be something underwater that's attracting the small disasters to one place. "
"Then even if we deal with the disaster, it'd only be a temporary measure. And we would also need someone with the power of light to purify the artifact."
Rudy and the other's expression darkened as they thought about the problem. A light user was very rare to find and most of them were contracted to the temples of different Gods and rarely came out.
"What about me?"
Ale asked, pointing to himself with an innocent expression.
"Young master!!!"
Phil and Gary both shouted at the same moment.
"What?? That scared me! Don't shout. You already knew I have the power of light so you should've expected something like this. "
"But that's a level 6 underwater disaster!"
"You might get injured or-!"
As Rudy and his friends stared blankly at the trio as they continued bickering.
"Young master!"
Shouted Gary and Phil simultaneously. They were currently in the middle of an argument with Ale.
"Quit it."
They had already spent more time than they should bickering with Ale over something useless like this. He finally felt irritated enough to lower his voice and call it quits.
"But..."
They no longer protested. But they weren't done either. They used their puppy eyes technique next, all the while pouting like a five year old.
"That doesn't work on me anymore."
Ale blatantly ignored those puppy eyes and turned around, facing the bunch of surprised/shocked/bewildered people behind him, Rudy and his party.
"Now that you have a light user, what's the plan?"
He asked, urging Rudy to snap out of his daze and focus. They were almost at the location of the disasters so Ale at least wanted a solid plan before jumping into the water.
"You're a light user?"
Rudy asked, even though Ale already confirmed it twice already. He looked like he was having a hard time accepting it. It really was that unbelievable.
"I am."
"Then why-."
He was about to ask something but stopped his words abruptly, as if realizing whatever he was about to ask may sound inappropriate.
'I already have an idea of what he wants to know. Hmm.. But I won't answer if he doesn't ask.'
Ale subtly titled his head as if he couldn't understand what Rudy was trying to say and kept looking at his direction. Feeling his curious gaze, Rudy opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to say something.
'Haah..'
Ale sighed internally wondering why this hero was so softhearted. Although it would benefit Ale a lot in the future, since he was planning on using that softheartedness of Rudy to complete his goals, it was a somewhat bothersome personality to deal with.
"You for real?!"
"A light user???"
Ron and Alice looked shocked, surprised and freaked out to some extent as they approached Ale, shoving Rudy behind them.
"This is really surprising.."
"Mm.."
Stuart and Ash just looked surprised. They weren't too freaked out, or they might just be better at concealing their emotions. Either way, Ale didn't really care.
"Yes. It's surprising indeed. But this solves your problem right? So what's the plan?"
Ale asked once again, making the others fall into a deep thought. After a few seconds had passed, Rudy finally came forward, his eyes showing signs of determination.
'That's it! There goes our hero! That's the kind of expression I was waiting for!'
Ale cheered on the inside as he showed an earnest expression waiting for Rudy to speak first.
"Do you know how to dive?"
He asked Ale out of nowhere. And Ale nodded his head vigorously in response.
"Then.. While we take care of the disaster, can you go down and purify the artifact?"
He asked, taking a glance at the water. The water was rather clear at that point and if someone dived in, they'd be able to see everything lying on the ocean bed clearly, even a small artifact.
'So all I have to do is purify the artifact while they do all the fighting? Sounds easy enough.'
Ale thought and was about to nod his head when someone stood in front of him. Not just one, but three of them actually, as if they were making a human shield in front of him, hiding him from Rudy and his friends.
"That sounds dangerous."
"Young master, you won't do it right? Going down there is no different than committing suicide."
Unlike Ale, his two knights seemed to be having completely different thoughts. Even Kevin was shaking his head in disapproval.
"No one is forcing you. It's fine if you don't want to take the risk."
"That's right. It's dangerous even for Rudy to go down there with no prior knowledge about the artifact. Just say no if you don't wanna go!"
Both Rudy and Ron seem to agree with the others. Even Rudy, the one who proposed the plan himself seem to think of it as a bad idea.
"It's indeed risky to go down without knowing the artifact's power level."
Ale pondered for a moment. A small look of disappointment flashed across Rudy's face as he wondered if Ale was going to refuse. He didn't want Ale to risk his life for them, but a part of him was also expecting him to say yes.
'These people.. Do they want me to help or not? Why are they making the situation so complicated?'
Ale wondered to himself and sighed. And then, an idea suddenly hit him.
'Those two would definitely try to stop me if I say I'll help, right?'
He glanced at Phil and Gary. The two of them were looking at Ale with those piercing gazes of theirs, ready to stop him the moment he said yes.
'Pfft.. Idiots..'
He knew it was his father's order. To not let Ale do anything stupid in this short journey. And even without that order, they'd still try their best, risking their own life without hesitation just to save Ale.
"Yes.. It sounds too dangerous indeed. I apologize, looks like I won't be of any help."
Ale made a dejected expression and pretended to agree with the others as he went and sat down in one corner of the boat.
'As if.'
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