First off, the monsters. As of right now, we had encountered some, but we still hadn't sighted any real ones yet. Yellow slimes weren't to be threatening all that much. And the point was–as was the main motive behind this risky and unsafe outing–as long as we didn't encounter any real threat, we were right.
And by "right" I obviously mean that we weren't wrong in assuming the Party could handle what would come to us. Yup, the main reason for which the Party had decided to go out by this wide margin of the 'comfort' zone was that the monsters weren't so strong, now. Who were we not to go and face them right head-on when we knew that?
And I spoke explaining. I could tell it was weird at first, who expected the "little man" to go speaking intelligibly like this, hmm? But they nonetheless listened. With my words, the persisting hesitation within each member's heart lifted off a little.
Well, that was a first point. And with round, surprised eyes, the leader must've been waiting for me to go on to the next point. He nodded to himself, with this expectant smile adorning his lips.
Really, those explanations only were repetitions. All of which had been said so far really was (or should've been) obvious to anyone. But as they were, they needed it.
After an uncalled-for comment the damage dealer just made–"He's also got the brains, eh-heh-heh!"–I demanded silence from him. "Oh," he said, "that's funny."
There were other points. The direction we were taking. It was the right one, too. Briefly mentioning the position of the morning sun and the current state of the wavelengths of monster-like magical energy, this was nailed.
And the last point the leader always tackled when justifying everyone's decisions as the party leader was about the party itself. That I also got to explain to the either oh-so-dumb or oblivious people. I'm harsh. Maybe they were simply hesitant and nervous.
Reviewing the state of the group before addressing the state of each individual composing the party one by one–I got to educate and reassure them.
The leader usually said all that. But, really, all of this shouldn't be his responsibility alone. His shoulders must have been heavy enough with all the concerns the man already had.
If I could just speak my mind without restraint, I'd say, Leader, you are weak, and this is enough burden on your shoulders as it is: let me then help you–but I figured it wouldn't have been well welcomed by him.
People had their pride, even when said pride wasn't legitimate at all.
With round, attentive eyes, he listened to me, constantly nodding to himself in amusement. He hmmed a lot, satisfied with my explanations. And now that it was over, his eyes met with mine as his hand went and was placed onto my head.
I was still walking by his side. As he saw I was finished for good, he happily patted my head, with that same wide smile stuck across his lips. "Thank you," he said.
But his smile seemed to be elsewhere. Yeah, his lips were arched up, but he wouldn't lock his eyes with mine when he mused that 'thank you.' His smile didn't reach his eyes anyway. It wasn't like his usual refreshing smiles, no. This one was different.
The smile rather said "Thank you, but… No, it's nothing." Still, he said thank you.
"No need to."
But I still went and said that. There was no need to thank me. I only acted for myself.
And when that lonely patting, rugged hand parted with my disheveled hair, everyone behind my back seemed to be coming back to life again.
Like they were dead all the while I spoke, for some reason. Hm. Or like the wind that goes and blows onto a weak fire, ostensibly putting it down for a second or two… before setting it back well alive and stronger the second after.
I'm pretty sure that's what happened. My words could be the wind. The monster-hunters could be the fire I blew on. Hopefully, they wouldn't die down.
"Thank you, my boy." "Appropriately put, Aoi."
Some spoke confidently.
"Mm… A-Aoi's right, everyone… I think."
While some others spoke hesitantly.
"Ha-ha-ha!"
"Damage dealer! Keep it down!"
"Ha-ha… ha!"
Well. And some others spoke like this.
"…You really are something, aren't you?" That was the leader.
"N-No need to." That was me being awkward as a response.
For how long had we been out by now?
The sun had escalated higher in the sky. Shining and glowing intently as it was, it'd soon be on top of our heads. A lot of time had run by.
And now, with the rays of sunlight showing us the right way growing dimer and dimer with each step, the forest intensified in green and height.
Soon, very soon, 'it' would happen. The main attraction's what I'm talking about.
But not right now.
Yeah, for the time being, the wild woodland still was taking things easy with the adventurers. It was kind enough. For now. And I watched out for when the turn would come.
Still, though. Not right now.
So they fought proudly and strongly!
Engaging in the first direct hostilities, the tank didn't do so much as his usual provocation ritual beforehand. No, he didn't. What was the use of that? After all, he was alone at the front, those saber-wolves didn't think twice as that huge chunk of human meat exposed itself to them.
They'd attack him. That was a done deal. Every wolf agreed with that. The quick consensus couldn't be greater.
With the support of everyone, everyone won. I clapped my hands theatrically. And to the slightly huffing people, I made some comments about how well they'd done, today too. This was the first real fight they'd taken upon themselves, today.
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