After the storm

"I think we should be fine here. I'll put you down, alright?" After what seemed like hours of walking, we arrived at a small clearing in the middle of the Eutrixia Forest, located between the plains and the capital. I gently put Lae down, avoiding of harming her more than she already was. It had been about an hour since her crying subsided. She didn't say a single word from them on, she just held onto me tightly. I sat her on the floor, and then I moved a bit away and sat opposite of her. "If that demon is still roaming around, he shouldn't find us here." I take deep breaths, trying to recover some energy. Not only have I not eaten in a while, but after a while, carrying her became more and more difficult, but I didn't stop until we were at safer spot.

Once I felt a bit better, I stood up. The sword Lae had lent me lied comfortably within its sheath on my waist. I turned to Lae. "I'll go see if I can find some food, okay? Don't try to move around too much. And if something happens, call out my name. I won't be far, so I'll come right away." I wasn't really expecting answers from her anymore, so I took her silent as agreement and made my way through the thickets.

If I'm honest, I'm hoping I find anything but game. Though meat would probably be better, I can't really do much with it without cooking it. And given what just happened, I don't think making a fire anywhere near Lae right now is a good idea.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find anything of substance, just a couple berries. Not very filling, but at least they're edible. Since it had been a little while, I decided to return to where I had left Lae. Yet the sight when I returned surprised me. In the very center of the clearing, was a small campfire, with Lae huddled beside it, arms aorund her legs like how I had found her before. This time, he was looking down, but instead was absentmindedly staring at the campfire.

"You lit up a fire?" I took a seat on the opposite side of it. "I thought you-"

"I know the difference between this and that. I'm not a child." she interrupted, her tone leaving no possibility of rebuttal. If she's fine with fire, then I definitely should find some meat.

I scooted over closer to her, and I extended my hand towards her, holding the berries. "Here. This are edible, I think. Eat up."

Lae's gaze shifted towards the berries, and then back to the fire. She remained silent for a couple seconds, as if contemplating something, and then spoke up. "You haven't eaten yet."

She was right, I hadn't. "I'll find something better for the both of us anyways. For now, you need something in your stomach." I, once again extend my hand towards her. "So eat."

She took one good look and me, and then shifted her gaze back to the berries in my hand. Then, slowly, Lae reached for the berries, taking about half, and popped them into her mouth. By her expression, I'm guessing their taste wasn't particularly nice. Nevertheless, she continued chewing, while staring intently at me. It didn't take long for me to take the hint, so I put into my mouth the berries she left in my hand and ate them too. They weren't that nice to the taste, definitely, but did were more feeling than I expected.

I stood up once again. "Well, I'll go find us some real food. I'll be right back."

As soon as I turned to leave, I heard Lae call out to me. "Wait." I turned back to her. "Please."

I sat down once more, waiting for her to continue. It's been the first time she has initiated a conversation ever since what happened. After a few seconds of very uncomfortable silence, Lae spoke up. "Who are you?"

The question caught me off guard. "I'm Kenta. We talked before, remember?"

Lae shook her head. "That's not what I mean." Her gaze beacme more intense. I could feel her analyzing me completely, ready to call out any lies I may tell. "You asked for a sword when we had only felt a tremor. You knew it was a high demon before taking a look outside." She glared at me. It was very clear she wasn't playing around. "Who are you?"

I took a deep breath. There's no way out of this one, or at least not completely. Telling her about the whole rewind thing would only make her think I'm a liar, crazy or both. At the bare minimum, i can dress the truth a little, but it won't be pretty anyways. I stared into her eyes, trying to transmit as much sincerity I could. "I'm the Hero."

Her look on her face was as if I had slapped her. "You can't be serious." She lied down, closing her eyes. "If you aren't going to give me an honest answer, just forget it."

"It's the truth." I can't afford to lose her trust now. "I'm the Hero." I focused on my hand, sending holy magic towards the sigil (or what remained of it). 

At the sight of it, Lae straightened up, and got a little closer. "What's that supposed to be?"

I sighed. "It's complicated. But I think you recognize it as part of something else."

She looked closer, taking my hand into hers and examining it carefully, taking in all the details. "Yeah. You really are the Hero..." Suddenly, her expression turned much angrier, angrier than I have ever seen her. She shoved away my hand and stood up. "Then why are you so useless?!" She delivered a strong punch to my cheek, sending me completely to the floor.

Her fist tightened in anger, threatening to punch me again. "The purpose of the hero is to protect the people of this world in the name of the Goddes... To be the light that frees us of the darkness that is the Demon Lord..." She clenched her teeth. "Why?! WHY COULDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING?!"

She got on top of me, and began hitting me withour rest. "It was your job to protect them! It was your job keep us safe! You are supposed to be who saves us all!" She delivered one final punch. Then, both of her hands took grip of my shirt, as she went from furious to miserable. "Granny, the kids, everyone... Everyone is gone now. And you didn't prevent any of it. If you can't even kill a demon, then what use are you?! What's the point of there being a hero if he achieves nothing?!"

"Maybe you're right." I responded. All this time, I made not a single attempt to protect myself against Lae's blows. "I couldn't save them. I tried to, I really did." I gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "But a try isn't worth much if there aren't any results to show for it, right? I'm just the worst."

Lae didn't respond, but I could tell she wasn't as angry anymore. She removed herself from on top of me, which allowed me to sit up. "You saw how it went. I couldn't even put a scratch on him. And I was so sure I could win. Embarassing." I put my head down, reflecting the shame I'm feeling. "Me saying any of this probably isn't worth anything to you. But I'll get stronger. Strong enough to not let those around me suffer. Strong enough to deserve being called a hero. Because right now, there's too much wrong with me to justify it."

I prostrated, my forehead against the cold, uncomfortable ground. "I'm sorry, Lae. I'll never be able to make it up to you. But just know I regret everything."

Right at that moment, I wasn't sad, or dejected. I felt angry. Angry that Lae had lost all the people she cared for. Angry that Cindros got away with everything. Angry that I failed to protect the village I held dear to my heart.

But most of all, I felt angry that I had already saved the village once before, but was unable to do it again when it really mattered.