Chapter 25

Walking through like a prisoner in war while surrounded by monsters that have been rumored to eat and devour men, he walks rather carefreely and full of leisurely feeling, as if he was certain and confident that his life was in no danger whatsoever. And that everyone around him was just his friends or acquaintances—

Most men would shiver and tremble as if they were walking on their death.

They treat this place literally as hell it was.

That's a first. Sarete mused as he looks at the carefree guy walked through the tribe while making no sound as he walks through the gazes of monsters like them—strangely even, a soft smile could be seen hanging on his handsome face.

He walked like a big oaf, but he made it look as if he was the most graceful person in the world, that, or it was just Sarete’s mind wandering. In any case, he was quite good looking, youthful and has this gentle aura looming around him that make's others felt relax looking at him—his mysterious ink-black locks caught the wind and his blue eyes captured everything around him with full of undisguised curiosity and interest, rather than the usual expression of disgust and fear.

Then, suddenly those beautiful blue eyes she was charmed with, seemed to have caught her and stared right through her, and her heart shook.

No, rather perhaps her entire being was!

He… he looks straight at me…?!

As if a thunderbolt had struck her, her body shook and she looks at the youth with wide hanging jaws and widened eyes.

Contained within those eyes was not the usual expression had already gotten used to, to the point of already being sick of it. However, not this one. Negative emotions absent, rather his gaze was pure and clear as the sky—curiosity, yes, interest, yes, but never revulsion.

He looks straight at her as if he had seen her for who she was. He saw her, gave her quick wink with a shy smile, and kept walking. Sarete was shocked, and could only stare at him in a daze.

Looking at his retreating back that was full of laid back demeanor as if he was walking through a flower garden, not a lair of monsters, and walking side by side with Lafetti holding her hands as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

What was that man…?

She could only mutter after a long time, stupefied. She never had a preference for men. Not like it would matter, after all, to a monster like her, she could never have a normal and peaceful love like those written in stories and heard in legends. She never had a hope to feel a normal girl in this lifetime.

But…at this moment, somehow something changes.

For him, perhaps he wouldn’t even remember that day. Perhaps, for him, it would just be like any other day—just a dime a dozen kind of day with no worth whatsoever to even remember it. However, for Sarete, it was a day worth to remember. So precious, it was much more valuable than any gold and silver.

After all, that day was the day the world suddenly turned brighter than it normally was. He came, and he brought him the clear blue sky that they had longed and desired for so long.

Looking at him smiling at them, laughing and talking with no sense of distance, and stared eye to eye when together—it gave Sarete’s dull, boring and monotonous life a dramatic change, a world full of colors and rainbows. Every day became an expectation.

He might not notice it, perhaps never will. He might never understand how much his existence means to them. But I, and surely each one of us, know and would never forget the first moment he walks through them with a warm smile and curious gaze.

Ever since he came, the tribe had gone brighter, colorful and full of life.

That was not her preconception. When she went outside, she could smile as radiant as the King above, and hear whispers, lively chatter, giggling and happy laughter that was never seen before.

And all of these better changes were brought by a single person—a Human.

The Human who scorned them hated them and brought them too many despairs. But now, all of them were redeemed by a single human—how ironic.

Sarete smiled brightly as she looks at Rain, reading with a furrowed brows and serious eyes. She can’t help find every change in his expression, very adorable.

Watching him turn the pages with sparkled curiosity and intellect, and even the way he furrowed his brows as if trying to analyze what he had read, brightening when he seemingly understand something, was an enjoyment that she would never exchange for something else, no matter how precious it was.

If the world could stop and preserve this moment, she realizes she could sacrifice anything to obtain it.

… … …

“Oh?”

Suddenly, as Rain went to pick up some herbs from the Herb Field that Sarete wanted, he spotted several small silhouettes behind some logs and broken wood planks.

Small, lithe, tiny creatures bobbing their heads as they peek through the gathered pile, starring and watching Rain as he crouched down, looking for the herb he needed. These silhouettes belonged to the children of the Lamian race.

“Is he really a human…?”

“It is. I heard from my mother that that was a man, a human in flesh.”

“But, I heard humans are terrible and hate our kind. Why is he here then?”

“I don’t know but I heard this human was a strange one.”

“Strange? Which part of him is strange? That he had legs and not a tail like us? But I heard humans are like that~”

“Why I wonder?”

The children were talking about something while looking at Rain. They had overheard the adults speaking about a human coming to their home and came to take a look. They perhaps had thought their faces couldn’t have reached him, however, unfortunately, they were quite loud, like ringing bells.

Rain smiled, amused. That said, he couldn't just stand there and watch them any longer. He had to talk to them in order not to scare them. It would be a pity for a bad impression to be engraved in the minds of children, as they are young, innocent and naïve, and the first impression will always be everlasting.

Rain dusted his hands and called, out, “Hey, needed help?”

He tried to appear more gentle and friendly as he could, fear to scare the children away. He even tried copying Jim Carrey’s smile just to appear more amiable and friendly. Though it might make an opposite reaction.

“Ahm… are you a human…?”

Thankfully, it probably did its job right as one of the children hiding finally came out and timidly asked Rain. They haven’t seen a human before…I guess?

However, when her voice reached his ears, Rain’s voice somewhat widened in surprise. It’s still English, of course, however, unlike those from the usual, the little girl in front of him speak with a French accent. That’s right, it has some flavor of French, and this was the first time… but why French?

Rain wanted to laugh, but he thought it appeared rude. He looks at the courageous girl that appeared in front of him. She was beautiful for a little girl, with an appearance, perhaps roughly around 10 to 12 years in age. Pale white complexion and green emerald-scales, as most Lamians in the Amani Tribe.

Big doe eyes, sparkling with curiosity and interest, making her even more adorable. Her lips were fresh glossed, with red-dyed her lips—though, since there is no make-up in this world, it must have been oil, coming from the meals they had just prior to their meeting—Rain easily guessed.

Her beautiful green hair was clipped in a loose but immaculate bun.

“Indeed, I am, what is this beautiful sister’s name?” Rain asked with a soft voice. He was quite good in dealing with children after all; he had lived in an orphanage ever since he had become aware and has some experience interacting with his brothers and sisters, and even took care of them.

“I’m, I’m Starl…” said by the cute little girl.

“Oh Starl, that’s a very beautiful name.” praised Rain as he reached out his hand and gently stroke her hair. The little Lamian smiled bashfully, somewhat embarrassed but also a bit pleased by his action. “Nice to meet you Starl, I’m Rain but you can call me Elder Brother…” Rain introduced himself softly.

“D, do you not like us…?”

That was what the children worried about the most. Still unaware of how the world worked the last thing the children wanted was to be hated by someone. Rain felt the girl’s unease and his smile became even gentler. His blue eyes turned warmer, and they twinkle in a friendly way. He rubbed his hands at his side pants and carries the little girl to his lap.

The moment he touched her, the girl trembled in fear but Rain’s gentle smile somewhat relieved the girl. It gave her unexplained security.

She was actually quite heavy, fortunately, he had managed to increase his strength bit by bit and his current strength at this moment was already poles apart from his original capability.

“Do you want me to hate you?”

He asked while gently stroking her hair.

The little girl timidly shook her head in a hurry. Her face beet red as she was feeling embarrassed. Though, for some reason, she liked Rain stroking her hair. It was a bit different from her mother’s… big, rough, but somewhat warm…

“Then, why would I hate little sister Starl…? I think little Starl is a very good girl,”

“Really?”

As Rain smiled, the little Lamian girl; Starl let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing Rain being friendly and all, children came out from behind the wooden planks, one after another. In total there were four of them, and they looked at Rain with sparkling eyes. They then started to introduce themselves with obvious excitement.

Rain laughed, then started talking with the children while Starl seems to have taken a liking to his lap since she never left nor separated herself from him. Rain being surrounded by children, he recalled such a familiar scene when he was back in the Orphanage.

A gentle smile appeared on his face. It made a crinkle in his face when he felt nostalgia and somewhat missed those snotty brats and their naughty antics. Wrinkles line his forehead, but they’re soft like the rest of him, so much that it even dazzled and charmed the children and their distance between them become even closer in an instant.

They talk about many things such as about what the outside world looked like. Since Rain was pretending to have amnesia, he can’t possibly tell the truth. Besides, he never saw it with his own eyes yet… the new world he was currently in. And so he plays it safe.

He told them that he also doesn’t know but he can recall some pieces of memories which were quite blurry. He told them the world outside was quite beautiful but also dangerous at the same time…

Rain was hesitant to give them fairytales about the world since they were still children and knows nothing about the dark side of this beautiful world. Who knows they might want to see it for themselves and got hurt instead? That would be the worst.

Rain and the children continued chatting away. The topic gradually shifted away from sensitive topics and onto other things. However, the contents were much innocent than before. Then for some reason, he started narrating about stories… fairytales he could still remember, of course, after warning them that it was nothing but fiction and not real. Like the Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, Alice and the Wonderland, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves—cheering the children, giving them new dreams, widening their visions and perception.

Through their chat and stories, Rain and the children were now getting along a lot more.

Unbeknownst to him, there were several people who were watching over him and the children from afar.

Two of them were Lafetti who had finally returned from hunting and was so eager to see her most beloved, and Sarete who came to see why Rain had yet to return from his rather, simple errand. Both saw the picture-like scenery of him, surrounded by children, laughing and smiling happily with each other, and they couldn’t help but stop and watch them from afar, without disturbing.

It’s as if they were afraid of disturbing this beautiful scene. Not like Sarete or even Lafetti could, as it was quite hard to join in on the topic since they might ruin their peaceful mood. Furthermore, there was a strange atmosphere between Rain and the children that they didn’t want to break.

“My head is still in a whirl, and utter disbelief,” Sarete remarked with a faint smile of amusement and wonder. “The more I think of it, the more mysterious he seemed to appear. He was really a strange human… one that I had never seen or even heard the likes of,”

Sarete shook her head as she turned towards her companion, only to see her smiling approvingly. Sarete could see as she flushed with pleasure at her words and the earnest way in which she uttered them. She had already observed that Lafetti, her beloved sister was as sensitive to flattery on the score of her beloved as any girl could be of her beauty.

Quite amusing, at the same enviable.

Pure love, naïve affection, and almost ignorant emotions.

This is what True Love is...

One that is written in legends and poetic stories.

Sarete couldn’t help but feel somewhat jealous of her sister who had been quite fortunate to find such man as Rain. He was rare, uncommon even…and perhaps, there would never be another man like him that would appear in this world.

He was like someone who had descended into this world from the heavens above, so pure, so ignorant, so innocent—not tainted by history or rumors, or hearsays made by some detestable drunkards just to make up some stories to tell or brag, in the expense of their reputation and life.

“The more I stay beside him, the more my heart can’t help but joyful and feel fulfilled. See new sceneries that had never been found before, dreams that have been almost forgotten. He talks to us, laughs with us like we're the same as him, equal—full of sincerity, honesty, and out-of-this-world, affection. As to how he could, unlike any other humans that scorned us, Heaven only knows.”

Sarete turned her gaze at Rain who was playing and laughing with the children, the scenery of warmth and love and family could bring forth smiles to any onlookers, without, however losing her mystified expression.

“I can feel no prejudice against our kind, no hate nor apprehension as he stayed with us. Though I hope I wasn’t just imagining it or that it would never change…”

She had hoped to be accepted by the other races and live a peaceful life, with no bout of evil and malice due to discrimination that covers everyone’s eyes like the wool of hate. However, all this time, the world had failed them, over and over again, and finally, they started to lose hope to ever obtain the dream they so desired.

But now, it’s completely different—as this hope has been reignited—all centered around Rain’s existence.

She wanted to expect something again… although it was only Rain, one insignificant human and it wouldn’t really change anything. But that is fine, as Sarete didn’t hope for more anymore. This kind of hope and dream was only for self-satisfaction. Despite that, she felt like she didn't mind.

At the very least, there would be one human in this world that would really accept them and love them for who they were, despite their differences.