Your Choice (3)

I woke up today before Mahina. Since I don't want to wake her up, I think I'd better make breakfast and prepare her next dressings. I didn't want to leave her alone all the time, because someone might kidnap her to make her a slave again, or even a rabid animal or monster might attack her.

So, I decided to test my ability now. It was a skill I had been thinking about for a while, and I decided to put it into practice now. I put wires in the trees and bushes around Mahina, so that if there was a threat approaching her, I could turn around immediately.

Basically I put some of my Nill on the wires, so that I could feel if someone broke the wires. It was a skill that I had kind of thought of a while ago, but only got a chance to test it now.

After I filled the area around Mahina with threads, I went out in search of our breakfast and Mahina's medicine. It didn't take me long to find some fruit and the different medicine from yesterday, but as soon as I finished finding what I wanted, I felt something breaking through the strands. From the force put on it, it didn't seem to be a small animal or anything... damn I have to hurry back.

I ran towards our camp and when I got there, the wires were indeed broken, Mahina was already awake and there was a man standing next to her. I put several wires around us, so I knew that there was no one there but him.

-"Who are you? Get away from her, if you don't want to die!"

He doesn't look very strong. In fact, he looks like just any old gentleman.

-"Oh, easy, easy, I just came to have a look at Mahina."

How does he know her name? Does he know her? Nobody told me about this gentleman before?

-"Take a look? What do you mean? I don't understand !"

Mahina seems calm, she doesn't seem to be worried about this situation, so can I calm down?

- "I am a doctor, I came to take a look at Mahina's situation, don't worry."

A doctor? He came to take a look at her? But why? I thought no one from this town wanted to take care of her. He doesn't seem to be lying and I'm sure he's alone.

- "Okay... I'll let you take care of her. But I'll keep an eye on you, and if you do anything weird to her, I'll kill you mercilessly, remember that."

- "Okay, okay..."

While he was taking care of Mahina, I peeled some fruit for Mahina, so that she would have no trouble getting her coffee. In addition, I continued to prepare her medicine.

-"Um... ok, ok ! Hey, Iori-kun, right?! You've been taking really good care of her, haven't you?"

-"Hey, how do you know my name? And Mahina's?

-"Hehehehe, you're curious huh Iori-kun!"

This guy is getting on my nerves...

-"Everyone in this town knows Mahina-chan, she's the famous slave who's always running away from her master. No matter if it was rain or shine, Mahina always tried to run away one more time with all her courage."

Yes, I already know that...

-"Because of her behavior, Mahina, since she was a little girl in this town, has always been beaten and tortured by Rubbold. Most of the people in the town have slaves and would not like to lose them, and they fear that the slaves will rebel against them. Therefore, they always saw Mahina as a rebel who needed to be reprimanded."

- "Because of the discrimination for Mahina's race and her rebelliousness, these people saw her torture sessions as something "deserved."

- "Bastards..." I couldn't hold my thought.

- "Iori-san..." - said Mahina.

- "But, of course, there are people who were against all that violence, but the fear of being disliked or looking for trouble with a close friend of the king was much greater than the desire to help her.
But... yesterday... While I was walking down the street, I saw a young and brave boy, facing everyone just to protect her."

-..."

- "It was you, Iori-kun !!!"

- "I wanted to help you at that moment, but it could be dangerous for you and even for me, so I decided, to wait a bit to leave the city, so as not to generate suspicion."

- "You..."

- "Hello ?"

- "You're a nice old man !"

- "Hahaha maybe I am. But no better than you, young man! I wouldn't have the courage to do what you did, in fact, it was something that maybe I would never do..."

-"That's just our survival instinct, old man! But that doesn't make us a bad person, but believe me, you're wrong..."

- "With what exactly ?"

-"I'm not a good person, not really."

- "Ha... You seem to be carrying a lot of weight, don't you ?!"

-"..."

- "Well, I hope Mahina can help you with that."

-"Well, I just did the exam on Mahina, your idea of using this medicinal plant was very good, it's excellent in that sense. I will give you some more medicinal herbs and I will ask you to keep changing Mahina's dressings. Also, for these two weeks I will come every day at different times to evaluate Mahina and use healing skills on her wounds."

- "Mahina-chan I know it will be hard, but you are very strong, support please."

- "C-Correct."

Then he got up and left. And for those two weeks, I continued to take care of her and protect her continuously. Mahina hung in there those two weeks, and it just made me have more respect for her, for this strong girl that she is.

( Two weeks later )

-"Hum... that's very good ! You're already doing much better Mahina-chan !" Said the old man

Mahina looks very happy, and that's good enough for me. Although she doesn't smile much yet, she shows that she is happy.

- "Iori-kun it looks like my role is over."

- "Yes, thank you old man."

- "Hehe I love to be complimented!"

-"By the way, I realized that I still don't know your name."

-"Ah, yes! I'm Mashiro Hanabe."

- "Hanabe... san"

- "Noooo... call me Hanabe-kun! I like to feel younger!"

-"HA-NA-BE... SAN!"

-"Uh, you're cruel Iori-kun..."

-"Okay, okay..."

Then, he left, I won't lie... I enjoyed meeting him.

- "Goodbye Iori-kuuuuuuun, Goodbye Mahina-chaaaaaaaan !"

- "Take care of her, Ioriiii-kun !"

...

I called Mahina for a little walk, and after a while, we ended up stopping near an open place where we could see the stars very well.

- "Well, Mahina. Now that you're okay, you can go now."

- "H-Hi..."

- "You can go now Mahina, you are free to go home."

-"..."

- "It's what you wanted isn't it ?! You're free Mahina, you can go see your mom, she's probably already worried."

-"... I..."

I want her to be free, I want her to go see her mother, her family. It would be hypocritical of me to arrest her now. Even if I have to take her to your house, I'll do it if necessary.

- "I...

-"..."

She walked closer to the edge of where we were standing, we were on a high place, but nothing too dangerous.

-"I want to stay with you !!!!"

What?

- "What ?"

-"...I want to go with you..."

The moonlight and the intense glow of the infinite stars in the sky illuminate her entire body, her hair has such a beautiful glow, and her "reddish" face makes it seem as if it's a confession.

-"Why? Don't you want to see your mother? Didn't you fight all your life for this moment? Why go on living with someone you've just met?"

- "I... I don't know where my mother is..."

- "Huh?"

-"She and everyone in my village ran away and have never been found since the day I was caught. Well, at least that's what they told me."

- "But... don't you want to be sure? You can just look for her, you don't have to come with me."

-"...No..."

- "Why? You're free now."

-"Yes, I'm free, free to make any decision I want. So I'm making this decision on my own..."

-"..."

- "Iori-sa...No, Iori-kun...Please let me follow your journey with you ! Let me be your companion!"

...

Haha she's got guts, I like her.

-"Well... ok! I won't stop you, but remember, I'm not the good person you might think I am."

- "Hum, I don't like it when you say that about yourself, you're so nice..." - she said as she pouted.

- "So cute..."

- "What ?!! - she said while blushing.

-"Eh... the moon, yes, the moon is so cute today!"

- "Huh ?! Cute ?! Alright..."

Damn, I thought too loud ! But, my God! What a beautiful girl! And look that her hair is still messy, and her clothes are torn.

This girl... she is strange. But I feel that we are the same somehow. I don't know what will happen to us, and what challenges we will face now.

But I will live in my own way and as I see fit. Now, next to Mahina.

-"I wonder what awaits me now."

- "Did you say something Iori-kun?"

-"I... nothing much."