The one who caused it all

Stillness engulfed the once chaotic battlefield. The events that followed the other were so out of the scope of their imaginations that the elves couldn't wrap their minds around them. 

Once one looked around, they could see the half-destroyed village. Some houses had crumbled down. A portion of the trees were on fire. People were injured, and the signs of a fierce battle were evident everywhere.

But despite that, everything was calm. There was a kind of peace in the area that had not appeared in a long, long while. Everyone appeared to enjoy this peace, even if their bodies were still aching due to their fight and their homes were lost to the enemies.

What broke the momentary peace was the worried voices of some humans. Gathered on a spot, they surrounded the person who brought this short instance of calm to the land. The youth didn't seem well, and once approached, he pushed everyone aside, rushing and running toward the woods.

Everyone watched this in silence.

The area was once again shrouded in quiet, yet this time, no one was frozen still. The elves began moving around, checking on their injured friends and relatives. Those hiding in their houses stepped out, taking in the sight of a clear sky they'd not seen for a while. Low whispers and conversations spread around, with the atmosphere remaining serene as before. It was as if no one wanted to shatter this tranquil feeling. 

"Hey, are you alright?"

Looking up, Claus noticed the golden-haired human reaching his hand towards him, attempting to help him up. He glanced around, watching the elves come and go. A lot were gathered around the warriors, checking on their conditions, but none approached him. 

As if they'd silently agreed that he was to be ignored. 

As if he didn't exist at all. 

"....Yeah."

Taking Alaric's hand, the elf got up to his feet. 

'This is... Better this way.'

At least, unlike his expectations, no one threw stones or criticized him as soon as the fight was over. It was probably due to the shock they received from the holy display, but it was to his benefit. Being unseen was a better kind of punishment, at least for now. 

"I saw you were injured before. Let me check on you."

Seeing the human doctor pull out her medicine bag, Claus took a step back and waved his arms around. 

"Actually, I'm fine. I... I was injured before, but I now am somehow fine..."

He didn't know what happened, but it seemed the holy light touching his body also graced him with a miracle. Looking at his wounds, they weren't severe at all. There were some deep and some minor cuts, but none were serious enough to need immediate medical help.

'For such power to exist...'

Remembering the scene from a few moments ago, Claus gasped loudly. 

"But... That human..."

He was nowhere to be seen. Where did he run off to? He saw the humans running after him, but then they returned back to the village with their moods having sunk down.

"Who is he?"

Hearing the question, the humans looked at him and then at each other. After a brief pause, they shook their heads. 

"We've got no clue either."

Of course, they all knew he was a 21-year-old youth named Ian who worked as a servant at a count's manor and seemed to enjoy the fact that he was a slave; but Claus' question wasn't targeting that general fact. 

"You don't know? I still can't belive it. Wow, damn, that was so crazy! All that light and flashes, I mean. Wow! Even thinking about it gives me goosebumps. But! Why didn't we know anything about that? And he never participated in our fights with monsters. With his power, everything would've been solved with the flick of a finger! Don't get me wrong, I'm just saying thaaatttt this, thisss it feel kind of wrong! I feel like he'd been watching us struggle the whole time and laugh at our asses! Ah, he also doesn't seem a tiny bit like the 'mere slave' that he emphasizes he is!!"

As her expected topic was finally brought up, Doris jumped into the conversation. After recounting all her complaints in a row, she looked at Alaric, then at Eleen, her eyes wide and round with a tinge of betrayal swaying in her pupils. 

"Plus, he isn't ugly at all! He isn't one tad ugly! All this while, I tried so hard not to ask him anything about his face not to hurt his feelings, buuuttt!!" She stumped her foot in frustration. "Why hide such a face? Tsk! Really, why? Tsk tsk!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Pffft! Yeah, really..."

A brief laughter.

And then again, silence. 

"Uh, I need to thank him... But where did he go?"

The man just saved their village. Claus had to find a way to pay him back. Ian also didn't seem to be in his best condition. He wondered if he was alright. 

"Mmm... I don't know. Raven went to fetch him."

The swordsman told them to wait here until he found "His lord" and brought him back. It wasn't hard to find where he was hiding, as a trail of blood was left wherever he passed. It was strange how his power blessed everyone with a tiny bit of healing while his own wounds were still left bleeding. 

"Mmm..."

"Sigh."

Despite them having just won a tough battle, the group couldn't feel that delighted. It was strange since everything seemed to be just alright and everyone was fine. This was also their first real battle since having formed this mercenary team. Shouldn't they have a celebration of some sort?

'Did he say it was a side effect? A side effect of using his holy power, I suppose.'

Alaric remembered his friend uttering such words before he ran away. 

'So he'll be fine in due time, right?'

This didn't seem right, that he was standing here chitchatting while no one knew how Ian was doing. Weren't they being too irresponsible? 

But there was nothing they could do. It would make things more uncomfortable for the bluehead if all of them suddenly surrounded him, they assumed.

'...I don't think Raven is too good with his words...'

Alaric had barely seen him talk, so he couldn't be sure. He and Eleen only trusted the fact that the two were childhood friends, so he would be of some help. Alaric would've chased after him if only things were a little bit different.

'I'd only make matters worse.'

Since Ian seemed to have a specific kind of hatred towards him. 

"Hmm, but was he really your slave, Alaric? How come someone with such a blessing kept living as a slave?" Doris muttered, still confused over the unexpected display of power. "He could make himself a proper life if he joined the church... That should be possibly even in Loyatou, I suppose?"

But here he was, traveling with a random mercenary group, hiding his face, pretending to be a normal person, and proudly narrating his tales as a slave.

"I know what you're thinking of," Eleen closed her eyes, chuckling. Everyone would find the situation with that man problematic if they just observed his strange behavior for a while. "I've chosen to be ignorant as much as possible." 

"But what if he's someone dangerous? We're traveling with him, after all. What if he's a criminal of some sort?"

Casting her gaze towards where the boy had disappeared, Eleen chuckled. "I doubt it. He's Raven's childhood friend, as much as know. Plus, he did live as a slave for a long while. He isn't lying at that part, at least I'm sure of it since I've seen the brand of slavery burned to his flesh when I was tending his wounds before. He couldn't get the chance to commit a crime when imprisoned in the count's mansion."

"...A what?"

Not just Doris, but Alaric and Claus too, looked at Eleen in shock. She shrugged her shoulders, saying that doctors could pretty much see whatever one was hiding regarding their bodies. 

'A brand of slavery...'

Alaric fingers interlocked, his shoulders hunching even more. The others tried not to, but couldn't help but send disgruntled glares at him, a nobleman. A complicated expression dawned on Alaric's face, hard to understand if it was rage, sorrow, or guilt. 

"But I mean-"

Click

Cutting off their conversation was the sound of a door opening followed by a fleeting female voice. 

"What just... happened..."

Standing by the door of the house, a feeble young elf with light brown hair and emerald-colored pupils gasped upon seeing the chaotic yet peaceful atmosphere of the village. The girl stumbled forward, leaning on the wall, and approached the group with a face that screamed her confusion. 

"...A-Amelia?"

Tak

Claus' grip over his bow released. Shoes stumbled forward, hesitant, pausing from time to time. 

The attention of the others was also attracted to the scene. Upon seeing the girl standing on her own, walking forward without anyone's help, and running down the stairs, the elves couldn't contain their outburst of joy.

"A-Amelia!"

"Village chief! It's the village chief!"

"She is fine? She looks fine!"

"How did she- M-Mom? Mom has also woken up!"

"Oh, Goddess!"

Cheers of delight and blissful glee spread like a spark of fire, igniting everyone's anguished hearts. The sick suddenly showed signs of recovery. The weak felt energy coming back to them.

Life was returning to the lost village. 

"Hey, Claus, look! Whoah, I'm alive!"

Before anyone could stop her, she ran down the stairs, then jumped from the two last ones, landing right in front of Claus. She, similarly surprised by the fact that she could jump down safely, circled around herself, examining if there was anything wrong with her body. 

"Wow! Look! Wow! I'm fine! Perfectly healthy! How is this- My goodness, Claus, you're tattered all over you look like shit- Ah?"

A sudden pull cut off the girl's words. Two firm arms wrapped around her, dragging her into an embrace. Amelia was taken off guard for a second, but she soon began patting the man's back. 

"There there there. Come on, why are you crying? Did I scare you that much?"

"....Yes."

"Sorry pal! I was scared shit as well, haha! There there." The girl, who had been unable to speak properly for the past few weeks due to her sickness, talked out loud, excitedly, "But seriously, what was that? Did god descend down or something? There was that huge blast of light, and then, boom, I was all fine! I was like, holy shit! This can't be real! I thought I died and ascended to heaven! I'm not even joking here I really thought I'd meet the goddess soon. "

Having found themselves in an awkward situation, the humans slowly stepped back, their eyes darting around, avoiding the two elves. 

"Honestly, I still can't believe it. Dude I was thinking of ways to convey my will to you till around 10 minutes ago! Like seriously, I was gonna die! Hm? Wouldn't that be actually good for you?"

"...Amelia..."

"Gasp, no wait... CLAUS!"

Suddenly pushing the man back, Amelia roared and grabbed him by the collar. The shift in the mood was so sudden that the boy was caught off guard. 

"Didn't I tell you to leave the village? Why did you come back? Oy, answer me!"

"A-Amelia!"

"No, your tears won't help you get away, Calus! Answer!"

Despite his struggles, the girl didn't let him go.

"How could I just leave and run away? Do you realize how absurd that request is??"

"What absurd? Run away, find your lover, and recreate our race!"

Gasp! Claus' face instantly flushed red. He finally pushed away the girl, covering his mouth.

"Wha- Amelia!"

The humans exchanged meaningful glances while moving as far away from the couple as they could.

"Wait, no, don't think of anything weird!"

"....." "...." "....."

Seeing their reaction, Claus wanted to hide in a corner and never show his face to the world. 

"My... Amelia!"

Fortunately, before she could embarrass him any longer, the elder, her father, called out her name with a voice trembling with joy. The girl instantly rushed to her father, throwing herself into the old elf's embrace. 

"Seems like Ian's holy power didn't just wipe out the elementals..."

It was evident, looking at the joyful village. 

The group's mood sank further down.

"I hope he's fine..."

Just who was that slave?