《A Soul's New Home》How and What They See 4
Advertisement
After managing to sneak out of the house without any of the humans that are running about to the entrance of the village seeing me, I jumped up to a building's roof and from then on, leaped on several more houses until I reached one where I could safely observe.
I, of course, am wearing the cloth to cover myself.
When I got there, I saw a rather gruesome scene, or rather, a delicious scene.
The goblin group this time, I'm guessing, are in the numbers of 50 or 60. And as for the humans, they have one-third of that so they were gravely outnumbered.
And due to that, there are several injured humans there and two of them, dead. The bodies of which are then dragged back towards the back. The injured was sent to where they're healed by a person in dark cloth over his/her body that possesses the same weird magic that Sun has.
But ironically, that person's face is scarred all over. Couldn't he/she fix that with her magic?
Anyway, as for the dead, they're set aside and stacked in each other. They're probably planning to burn them, judging from how Sun and Night burned the bodies of those people who attacked us while we're in the middle of traveling.
And it looks like that pile will increase much more if they kept dying.
On another note, the humans have placed really large tree trunks at the entrance of the village in a C shape, facing where the goblins are coming from. Probably to make it more difficult for the goblins to get to them.
"Ku—! To think that they were saving up their numbers just for this... We've already lost some of our people...!"
The one who said that is just right below me, standing close to the house's wall.
It was a small and weak looking human that with just one glance, you'll identify him as being very old in human standard.
It was none other than the village chief.
A few moments later, a tall human walked over to where the village chief is and reported something.
"We're done [evacuating] the woman and children in the plaza."
"Good... Station some men in there in case some of the goblins get there."
"Alright."
After that short exchange, the tall human went back to the plaza. The village chief looked once again at the current situation in the entrance of the village, audibly clicking his tongue.
I then turned my attention to the entrance as well.
Oh, someone got pulled in by the goblins outside the tree things and then his whole body got literally torn apart.
The goblins are weak individually but if they worked together, they can manage to pull an arm off a human.
"Crap! Han got pulled in! Help me get him back!"
With that certain humans shout, a few of them came and helped him grab this human called Han away from the goblins and back to the safety behind the tree trunks.
That resulted in a few of them getting scratched in several parts of their body and one of them even almost gotten himself pulled in by the goblins. If not for another human helping him break away from the goblins' clutches, the situation would repeat itself.
The human that got pulled in had both his arms removed from the torso of his body and is bleeding profusely from the large wounds. But amazingly, he's still alive, barely keeping his consciousness though.
Two of the humans inside the tree trunk encirclement carried the armless man back to where they're treating the injured.
Advertisement
The guy with the black cloth quickly went and applied healing weirdness to the armless man. Slowly but surely, the wounds closed, but his arms are still missing.
"Damn goblins... Aren't they just little thieves? What the hell are they so bloodthirsty!?"
Someone shouted in the encirclement.
"Who the hell knows! Worry about that later. For now, we need to kill these pesky goblins before any more of us gets their limbs ripped off!"
Several more screaming and shouting came from that and many more humans suffered injuries. Now, there are only 14 humans in the encirclement.
Some humans added to that number in the meantime but there's also some that got injured and decided to drag themselves back to where they're treating the injured.
As for the one who is doing the healing, I could tell that he's/she's very tired now but is still running around, closing other people's wounds. But now, there are some who had come and helped in taking care of the injured humans.
Though, rather than using weird magic, they're just normally wrapping the injuries close instead.
The village chief also came to help them as well.
I watched this for a while and now I got tired for smelling blood for this amount of time so I decided to head back towards the house.
But when I arrived, I saw that Sun and Night are nowhere to be seen.
... They must be in the plaza then.
I headed there and I saw a lot of humans in there. All of them are either a female or a small human. There's also a few male humans standing in certain spots, keeping guard it looks like.
All of them have very scared and tired faces. They must have heard how terrible the raid of the goblins this time around and are just anxiously hoping for the best.
But there's two of them that are not even perturbed. Not only that, they're even arguing with each other.
It was just loud enough though that I could pick it up even if I'm a bit of a distance away still.
"Are you stupid! Why did you let Snow watch!?"
"She looked very interested! And she also promised that she'll be careful..."
"But what if she went there and fought!? The humans—I mean, the villagers will see her! They'll think she's a monster or something."
"She won't... I think."
"Roosevelt...!"
Their argument is getting really heated to the point that they didn't even notice me coming even though I'm not trying to hide the sound of my steps.
Well, anyway. It wouldn't be good if they kept arguing.
"I'm back."
"Snow!"
Hearing me say that, Sun quickly stood up and run towards me, lifting me off the ground and hugging me tightly.
"See? She's alright."
Then Night said some unworried words but her face beg the differ.
Sun simply growled at her before she continued to run her cheeks all over my body, to which I let her do without resistance.
She then carried me back to where they were sitting on before and she placed me between her legs while her arms are still wrapped around me. And all the while as she did this, I'm slightly surprised that I didn't seem to be that heavy.
And it also looked like they've brought a bunch of things with them. Just in case if some goblin went and broke in in the house that isn't even locked to steal. They were Sun's precious papers and they're clothes, to name a few.
Advertisement
"Snow, you didn't fight like what you promised, right?"
"I didn't. I just watched."
Hearing me say that, the two sighed in relief but still though, their expressions looked troubled.
"Can you tell us what happened there?"
In Night's question, I answered frankly.
"It was very bloody, there. Lots of humans got injured and some were killed, but the injured, they're being treated by other humans there so it's fine. There's also a lot of goblins. And one human, I saw, got pulled by the goblins and got his arms ripped off."
"Uhhh..."
"Um..."
They looked very disturbed. Maybe I should've omitted some details in there?
"What's wrong?"
I asked towards the two of them and tilted my head to the side.
Hearing my question, Night looked up toward me and smiled stiffly.
"No, it's nothing Snow."
"Okay."
After that, Sun asked me a question.
"Snow, you said they're treating the injured?"
"Yes?"
"Then, are they busy there? Do they need any help?"
"Yes."
"... Then I'll go there and help out."
Saying that, Sun stood up, and after saying to Night "Don't you let her get in danger again, alright!?", she headed off towards where the entrance of the village.
While I'm staring at Sun moving further away, Night then sat beside me. it was close enough that our bodies are touching each other. I'm slightly confused as to what made her do this suddenly so i looked up to her face.
When I looked up to her, her face looked very troubled. Is she worried for Sun? Night is protective of Sun after all back when we're traveling. Although now, she doesn't display that very often since there isn't anything dangerous happening.
But still, since Sun's going to somewhere dangerous, she should still be worried about her. So with that assumption, I went and said some comforting words.
Well, at least I tried to...
Before I could speak, Night spoke first.
"... If we didn't make you promise that you shouldn't do something reckless, would you help the people fighting the goblins?"
It seems like she's worried about a different matter. Since she asked that so seriously, I should think about my answer very carefully. Though the answer is obvious for me so it thinking about it further is pointless.
"Yes."
I would of course. It's not like I like seeing them die, after all, no matter how delicious smelling their blood is.
I would just do what I've done two nights ago. Killing the goblins before they reach the village. And maybe learn a few things about combat while I'm at it.
Hearing my answer, her lips formed a soft smile.
"You're a very good girl, aren't you, Snow?"
Night seemed relieved but at the same time, bitter-looking like there's something still bugging her, as she rubbed my head very gently.
"Snow, always try to help other people, alright? But do keep your own safety in mind first. Um... If, for example, you saw someone in need of saving and you judged that you'll get hurt in return, don't save them then. But if it won't then do so."
"Even if I can heal my injuries instantly?"
"Yeah. Because you getting a scratch is worse than some lowly human losing its life."
"Um...?"
"Oh, sorry, Snow. But it's true."
I don't know what to make out of Night's words. It definitely isn't normal to say something like that.
So I decided to ask.
"Don't you think humans are important?"
"Oh, of course I think that. Because I'm a human myself. It's just that, I just can't have Snow getting injured is all. You're very important after all."
"... Okay."
She only spoke about that because she's very worried about me getting injured. That must be why. And although it doesn't sound very normal, it was said with my safety in mind so I can't just go and refute that.
Night grabbed a large piece of cloth capable of covering the both of us and used that to wrap around us. Due to Night having a high body temperature for some reason, the heat that she gave off became trapped inside, making the inside of the cloth very warm.
Naturally, I went seller inside the cloth to fully experience this warmth. It is night after all. It's not really the warmest point of the day.
"… hey Snow…"
As I was immersing myself in this warmth, Night suddenly spoke.
Her voice was oddly cold and sad. Not something I expect from Night.
"Hm?"
"This is just a passing thought but… I just find it odd that… that what I think when I thought about… No, nevermind. I shouldn't let you worry about it."
She smiled bitterly at me before turning her gaze towards the other villagers. I went and did that as well.
The villagers here, just like us, are huddled with a large cloth covering their bodies. Strangely enough, there's no male humans here, or at least big male humans. The villagers here are only females and small humans.
All of them have horrified expressions, probably because of he current events unfolding right now. When I think about them dying, I don't think much of it. I couldn't care less actually.
Even though I went to this world looking for conversation partners, I don't think it's right for me not to feel anything about them dying.
But when I think about Leo, Chris or Trish dying, I could certainly imagine myself getting sad over it. Just a little. Maybe it's because we've only known each other for a few days? That's certainly a factor to it.
And as for Sun and Night. I feel scared when it think about them dying. I don't know why I feel this way but I just do. Worried perhaps? Just like what they feel when I go into something dangerous.
I don't know. It's just a thought.
I looked at Night again and she seems to be brooding a about something. Seeing her like that makes me feel uneasy.
There's also that something that she wanted to tell me. It also bothers me what it is that she doesn't want me to worry about.
So I decided to ask.
"What's wrong? Haha… do I look like I'm troubled?"
I nodded.
"Ha... I don't know if Lilia thinks this as well but… I'm beggining to think less about the future and more about… you. Do you know about this, Snow?"
"… I don't."
After my reply, Night chuckled for a bit before replying.
"Right… of course you don't. You're a good girl… oh! But please don't take this the wrong way, alright? It's not like I'm suspecting you or anything. I think you're very wonderful and all. Hahaha! Maybe this is just an idle thought because of the stress that's building up."
Night then smiled and rubbed my head. She also moved closer to me and placed her hand on my right shoulder, moving me closer to her.
If she did this any other time, I won't think much of it but… after saying something like that, her behavior tells me that she's trying to hide her worries.
Maybe I'm worng at that. I don't know, but what I'm sure about is the fact that Night is very troubled right now.
I'd like to do something about it.
"Hm? Snow…? What are you doing…?"
I decided to do the same thing as her. Rubbing her head. She's much taller than me so I have to reach up but I managed to do it successfully.
As for her question, I just looked at her and said nothing. I'd rather not say what I'm trying to do because it's 'embarrassing' so Night, please get the hint.
And as expected of her, she did.
As I was rubbing her hand, she placed her palm on top of the back of my head, stopping it. At first I thought that she found it uncomfortable but her smile at me tells otherwise.
Unlike what she showed me, this one feels genuine.
"I get it, Snow. It's a needless worry. After all, I think I became happier being with you so why am I so worried about? It's only natural when I thought about it. How I don't think about our future all that much recently. It's only because I'm being worried about you."
She gently placed my head in her shoulders before continuing.
"You see, me and Lilia, we never had to worry about anything else other than the [business] and master… Lilia's father. And to even care about a child, such thoughts only comes after [marriage] after all. So it's my first time caring about someone like you. When I laid it out like that, it makes sense why I think about you more and more each day.
This must be what mother's feel… when they first have a child. This is what they feel... To care more about their children… more than anything else in the world... Even their own life."
Soon after saying such things, Night fell asleep while her back is still straight up.
She must've been really tired.
But sleeping like that, it would be very uncomfortable, wouldn't it?
So instead of letting her sleep like that, I went and laid her down and placed her head on my lap.
I also, and with quite hesitance at that, covered her body with the cloth. Due to their warm body temperature, I assumed that they must need warmth more than I do .
Right… Humans. Like what Teltorte told me, they're very vulnerable... And they also have a short life span.
Thinking about that, I felt something turning inside of me. It wasn't something I physically felt per se but it did make me feel anxious about the future.
Advertisement
- In Serial18 Chapters
The Alterra Project
A hundred years from now, the Earth is now reduced to several domed cities after the last war raised the temperature across the planet, thus raising the sea level. The most common escape for everyone is virtual reality. A new game, Alterra Online, is set to release and promises to be the most realistic mecha/military/political simulation to date, as well as the first full dive massively multiplayer virtual reality game. Gray Wilhelm, like so many others, wants to be one of the first to play. What is Alterra Online's secret? Why do players feel more alive in the game than in real life? And why is the government and Alterra Corporation working on it together? Features:- NO Systems, Reincarnations, Supernatural Powers, harems, or brain dead females that chase after MC.- Believable characters (Moving from WebNovel to RoyalRoad and fixing the novel.)
8 158 - In Serial9 Chapters
Whisper of madness
Thanks to an oath, Mana had been forced to become a living cage of the god Miazanoapte. But his sudden awakening after fifty years has ruined the plans of the gods who are now forced to think of a new alternative. Because Mana was pure voratomores, his body was ideal for the god Miazanoapte to steal. That’s why many of the gods decide to kill him immediately, certain that Miazanoapte will never find a living voratomores to steal his body. The first to doubt the decision is the god who found him and delayed his death for a month until the new sorcerers’ competition where Mana had to show what he was capable of. But because a problem will never come on its own, his lack of memories and weaknesses from birth would prevent him from having an easy path. Placed with other human children, some of them natural-born talents, Mana must learn to overcome his disadvantages to earn the right to live.
8 160 - In Serial12 Chapters
A Beholder's Path
Hello, it’s me, Aether. As a beholder, curiosity is the driving force of my existence, which is why when I found a new world close to mine, I just had to tear a passage through spacetime to explore it. The rest of the demon world may or may not have used this passage to invade, but I am sure all the sentient races of that world would agree a demon apocalypse is definitely in the top ten best things that could happen to them. Credits : The cover art was generated using Wombo's Dream AI
8 169 - In Serial6 Chapters
The Curio Shoppe
Kellan Klein is an ordinary college student with an average, if traumatic and painful past. Everyone grows up grappling with depression and anxiety that seem to be genetic in a house with parents that, while loving, fight all the time and have weird ideas about what kids should and shouldn't do, right? Everyone deals with bullying, racism, judgement on their romantic inclinations and their family's economic status and just general shittiness, right? All of Kellan's friends sure did, and for all of them, entertaiment media were a welcome escape from their painful, dreary lives. After all, who wouldn't want to sail the seas with Monkey D. Luffy and the Strawhats, or help Meng Hao con increasingly powerful and influential people, or join Cecil Harvey and his friends on their weird journey to save the world, or make friends with Peter Parker while pretending to not know he was everyone's favorite wall-crawling superhero? Kellan certainly wanted to, and while he pursued college to seek out a career he saw himself enjoying, something felt inexplicably empty about his life. So when a decidely sinister force kidnaps him and the prettiest man he's ever seen saves his life and offers him his wildest dreams, Kellan becomes the shopkeeper of a mysterious, dimension hopping shop, complete with a system that helps him acquire items. abilities, materials, and other cool shit to stock it with, as well as some other neat perks. Will Kellan become a boring overpowered MC, like the kind from web fiction that he reads to sate his boredom? Will he keep his generally kind, sweet nature despite the shit he's gone through and will go through, or will he inexplicably become a scary, violent, irrational arrogant douchebag? Will he use his newfound abilities to explore the multiverse and improve the lives of himself and others, or will he become his own antithesis, a purely mercantile jerk obsessed with money and profit, with no concern for anything that doesn't help or hurt his business? Find out in The Curio Shoppe! Author's note: Please suggest possible setting he could visit in the comments. I'll gather ones i'm familiar with, and at the end of every arc, a poll will be held to decide the next location he visits. There will be polls for other purposes, and I might not always go with the poll winner if I feel one of the other options is more fun to read/write about. I will not use the settings of other RRL writers without their permission.Do not ask for that, unless the author in question gives permission. Most settings he visits will be slightly AU in some way or another, but please remind me if I drift too far from canon unintentionally or characterize a character wrongly. This work will eventually fit all tags I selected once he visits universes suited to those tags, so don't ask when or where a given tag is coming. I do not own the cover art, it belongs to Nicholas Belanger Thiel, and I will stop using it if he asks me to. Kellan doesn't look like the old man on the cover, though once he acquires a disguise-type ability he may occasionally use that appearance. The tapir, however, will be a thing, as despite looking like a failed attempt at an elephant, tapirs are cool and this dragon finds them to be kinda cute. The art, along with more of Nicholas's pieces, can be found at https://www.artstation.com/artwork/51bXz
8 196 - In Serial13 Chapters
The Choice
‘Should we be loyal to an unjust ruler?’ This is the dilemma before the citizens of Magadha . They ask themselves - ‘Is it safe to be a fence sitter?’ ‘Is it prudent to emigrate?’ ‘Is it time to rise in revolt?’ No citizen is immune, each must make a choice! Disclaimer: All events, people and some places in this novel are fictitious. Though the novel is set in 5th Century AD , India, the life presented is an amalgamation of different eras and imagination. Infact , much of the understanding of the society at that point of time has been gained from Kautilya’s Arthashastra which was first written seven centuries earlier.
8 81 - In Serial10 Chapters
Beginning Of Reality
Where it all started, and where it all will end. The culmination of millions of years of preperation has led to this single moment, the moment Where Carnatus will have his revenge. He was cast out for wanting to save his people from greed and corruption but He has returned now with a new identity, that of Reality. He is joined by Four immensely powerful warriors, each of which Reality played a part in creating. They will fight alongside him to restore balance within the Universe that Reality once called home, a fight for revenge.
8 197

