"Smelly men, what do you want?"

"_"

--silence--

(>°□°)

Gringo looked up to the sky and didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

How could he have forgotten that this brat was always rude through and through?

Even though It has been over 4 months since he last came to the brat's home, how could he have forgotten the boy's true nature?

Smelly man?

Did these magnificent men look like smelly men to the brat?

But even though he glared at Dartomi, he couldn't help but feel anxious for the poor kid.

Gringo secretly looked at Beri and the rest before sighing from relief.

Good, they weren't angry.

He looked again and was even more confused than before.

Eh?

Why were sir Beri and the rest smiling instead?

Did they like being insulted?

But how would Gringo have known that the men were actually admiring Dartomi's courage instead?

Even though he was trembling, he never yielded or diverted their eyes in the least while insulting them.

[Soldiers: the kid's got spunk.]

Beri smiled at the lad in amusement.

"What do we want?

Kid... We want to help you!"

"Really?

And why would you want to do that?

There's no free meal in this world, so why?" Dartomi asked curiously.

"Hmm... it's because our ruler and our people have once suffered a fate that made the entire world shun us too.

So we are here to provide aid to those who truly need it.

Of course, we can talk on and on about what we can or can't do.....But in your heart, I know that you've already made up your mind on what you will do.

Isn't that right, Dartomi."

"Hmmmm.....my place can't take all of you at once, so only you and the village chief can come in."

"As you say, this is your home after all."

With that, Beri turned to the rest of his men and nodded at them, before heading in with Gringo.

.

Both Beri and Gringo spent over an hour trying to satisfy the young man's curiosity.

Unlike most, Dartomi had actually never heard of Baymard before as he never left the mountain region for anything.

He used to live in the village with his parents when he was younger... Even though he was still shunned by everyone.

But unfortunately for him when he turned 4, the Pure Evil cult that was newly established at the Time went to each village in hopes of spreading terror.

Of course they attempted to take his mother and defile her, but his father wasn't having it.

His father was killed and his mother committed suicide, rather than be defiled.

And so he became an orphan who fended for himself since then.

He moved here and never went back down again.

But hearing about Baymard made him feel like he didn't know the world outside at all.

"Can I see it?"

"Are you sure you want to?

I've been called a monster my whole life, and many people say that the hole under my nose is a scar marked by a demon.

It's said that looking at it would make one get bad fortune.

So, do you really want to see it?" Dartomi said with a serious expression on his face.

"Hahhhhahhahahah!

What stupid curse?

Kid... I've seen 3 people like you, and they have already been treated by our healers (doctors).

What curse?

As I said, ignorance is this world's biggest sin."

Hearing Beri, both Dartomi and Gringo jumped in shock.

They were cured?

So this wasn't a curse?

Beri went in to explain the basic knowledge about what he knew about it, which took the other men by surprise.

They were also shown pictures of the before and after treatments of some patients.

Without a doubt, they were shocked by the picture thing that didn't look anything like a portrait.

But the patients in the pictures stunned them even more.

Dartomi looked at the smiling boy in the picture and felt the flames of hope grow deeper within him.

So this illness was called Cleft lip, and it was just a defect from during pregnancy?

He looked to the ground, slowly took off his scarf and raised his head back up again.

He tried to hold back his tears, but in the end... He wept like the kid that he was.

'Woo...Woo...Woo...Woo'

"There, There.

It's all better now, isn't it?"

Gringo looked at him and sighed.

All he saw now was a pitiful child.

And now that he knew that it was an illness, he felt even more empathy for the orphaned poor boy instead.

He couldn't help but feel ashamed when he thought of the behaviour of some of his villagers towards the boy who had no one in this world to turn to.

What monster?

Clearly, the poor guy was just sick and needed help.

Gringo promised himself that if he ever found people who were like Dartomi, he would immediately send them to Baymard for treatment.

And anyone who ever called Dartomi a monster in his presence, would definitely feel his wrath.

Sigh..... The world was really ignorant, and so was his previous self.

.

Beri allowed Dartomi to cry to his heart's contempt.

And after 5 minutes, the red puffy-eyed boy quickly resumed his so-called cold look... which at this point only made him look like he was pouting.

"So you all are leaving now?

Wait!

Do I need to go with you now?"

"No... Not now.

This is only the first village that we visited.

So after distributing everything to all chosen villages and towns, then we will make a U-turn and pick everyone up.

Plus we also have to take care of the Pure Evil Sect before we leave.

So in about a week or so, we should be back.

After all, it's only 2 P.M, and we are already on our way towards the next village now."

"Okay, I'll wait for you all."

"Good!"

With that, Beri and his team left.

But they weren't the only ones who were preparing for battle.

Far away from Carona, danger was silently brewing in the dark.