Chapter 376 - Episode Twenty-Two - Attack of the Doom Tribe (2)
No one said a word for a while.
Mea, who had been very strong until she came here, had become very quiet when she was actually in front of Firo.
Mea is not the type of person who can take a strong stand when she meets someone for the first time.
The only thing is, as if to appeal to Firo, she grasps my sleeve tightly and forcefully.
“Blue hair …… I see, So you’re the girl Abel has been traveling with. I’d heard about you on the way here.”
The silence was broken by Firo’s muttered words.
“Why don’t you come inside the room for now? There’s not much space, because it’s a single person’s room, after all ……”
Firo invited Mea in.
Mea looked at me as if to confirm.
I gave a small nod.
She walked into the room and Firo sat on the bed, I sat beside her, and Mea sat on the chair she had pulled out of her desk.
“…… Well, it must be rough. You didn’t come all this way by herself, did you, Firo?”
“Yeah, of course, but Gizel-chan is here, too. Shibi is also here, and even Lil from the Liefel family has been brought in as an astrologer. Geez, It’s been a really tough time for me.”
Firo let out a big breath.
I’m really sorry about that.
“E-Even if you say it like that …… I’m sure Abel had a lot on his mind when he made his decision, too ……”
Mea said in a low voice
“What? O-Ohhhh, I guess. I may have been a bit out of line …… Sorry.”
When Firo said so honestly, I felt a little uncomfortable.
When I think back on it now, all I did was run away from the problem at hand and hope that the people around me would do as I wished in the meantime.
Perhaps if I find myself in the same situation, I’ll do the same thing again ……
“Well, the reason why Firo is a bit harsh is because it’s her way of hiding her embarrassment …… Everything she says is correct…”
“Hiding my embarrassment, you say, Is that how Abel always looked at me!? Then you knew everything, but until now you’ve been acting like you didn’t know ……”
Firo blushes and clenches her fist.
“S-Stop! I’m sure you misunderstood what I meant, but that’s not what I meant ……!”
“Somehow, Firo-san seems to get along with Abel well ……”
Mea shrank back in her chair and became small.
“N, no, it’s true that Abel and I have been foul-mouthed friends since we were children, but it’s not like there was anything wrong with us or anything like that ……”
Firo explained to the depressed Mea.
I suddenly noticed something strange.
“Huh, so the adults didn’t come, huh? Only the children came outside, huh”
Firo stiffened.
“…… W-, we had to split up while looking.”
“You even split up ……”
I slumped my shoulders.
Although Firo said it quite gently, it still seemed to have become quite a big deal.
I had hoped that my father and the tribe chiefs would take it as a little adolescent journey of self-discovery, but it seems that it was just a selfish, wishful guess on my part.
“Huh ……?”
Why is the division so neatly split between children and adults ……?
“Firo …… How many people were in the adult group? Where are they planning to go now?”
“I think there were six of them. They went to the water city of Neferusia or the mountain city of Nouraun ……”
“Why are the adults group more numerous? And it seems to me that they went to a lot of tourist attractions …… Hey, Firo, what the hell is going on? Don’t tell me, something bad is going on and you’re hiding it?”
“I-, Is that so? I’m not too familiar with the name of the place, and I didn’t remember it very well, so I might have mentioned the place I did remember ……”
“That’s okay then ……”
Firo was sweating as she quickly looked away from me.
It seemed to me that she was hiding something from me, but I wondered if she was really okay.
If the situation arises, I can ask Lark or Peter to lend a hand, and if that doesn’t work, I can use force, so I don’t want her to hesitate to tell me, though.
“Er …… I didn’t introduce myself yet, right. I’m Firo, and I’m an old acquaintance of this Ortem fanatic. I can call you Mea-san, right? You don’t have a stone on your forehead …… but I’m pretty sure you’re a Doom tribesman.”
Firo looked over to Mea.
“Ah, yes ……”
Mea nodded somewhat uneasily and turned her head.
Firo was looking at Mea’s face intently, as if to observe her.
“You know. I’m not going to go back to the village just yet ……”
I have a number of plans I’m working on in the Fage territory.
The alchemist division would be confused if I suddenly left.
…… It’s also possible that I retire and Altamir could take over this area.
However, if I leave before Count Julem’s issue is resolved, Peter will go crazy and Kudor will go on a rampage.
My name would be etched in the history books as the person who destroyed a country because I went home.
“Huh!? Y-You’re still talking like that at this point. You know that Gizel and the others will be here soon.”
“Uh-uh …… that’s right ……”
When I hold my head, Firo lets out a big sigh.
The timing of the two coincided at the worst possible time.
I’m sorry, but there is a possibility that I will not be able to participate in the Count Julem issue.
Of course, I don’t intend to go home when weighing the country and the homecoming.
I’m sorry to Gizel, Firo, and the Marrens tribe, but that’s not the point.
But with this Gizel right around the corner, I’m sure I won’t be able to give my all to the Count Julem issue for a while.
If I were to see her face to face, I’m even confident that I would fall asleep from the guilt alone.
I have no choice but to accept it because it’s my fault.
I can only hope that Count Julem will not move just now.
“By the time I moved, I thought it was the only way ……”
A whimper escaped my lips.
I remember doing a lot of bad things with Firo.
It’s not that I didn’t notice, although I did make a quick excuse earlier.
I was aware that Firo was conscious of me.
Besides, Firo was cute and had a good personality.
She’s a little unreliable, but she’s easy to understand, and more importantly, she would never do anything to offend anyone.
She is very caring and takes good care of people.
When I was in the village, I was also aware of Firo.
However, I didn’t feel that I had to rush into marriage at the age of 16.
I guess I was dragged down by the experiences of my previous life.
In addition to that, Gizel was attached to me, and I myself was so devoted to magic that I couldn’t pay much attention to other aspects of my life.
Now, I have Mea beside me.
I can’t look at Firo the way I did when I was in the village.
“Sorry ……”
The words came out of my mouth.
“It’s okay.”
Firo answered in a rather weak voice.
“If you think you can’t face Gizel-chan yet, I’ll cover for you. I can give you some cover to hide somewhere. If you have a message for her, I can say it to her, or I can convince her to finish her journey and go home. I don’t know if they’ll listen to me, though.”
“Firo ……”
“But I have a condition! You have to make it back to the Marren Village at some point! Alright! If you don’t, I’m not going to let you get away with it next time At that time, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth!”
Firo stood up and said at the top of her voice.
“…… Thanks, Firo. I’m really sorry, that helps.”
I bowed my head to Firo.