Last Predicament before Leaving

[Ceobe POV]

After the heartwarming talk with mother and her revelation about knowing who I was, it is safe to say I can move on without worrying about my identity.

Even though she wasn't my real parent, her motherly love is enough to consider her as my own. She gave me the tools to defend myself and told me her farewell to keep me moving forward.

All things considered, I am now ready to leave the village and help Rudeus in their journey.

That is until when I arrived at the ground level, I was greeted by a bunch of people at the entrance of the village.

On the front were the people of the village, which includes the chief, sir Gyes, Minitona and Tersena. Some of them were concerned and some were looking at me with disdain.

On the back were Rudeus and his companions who were quite distraught of the situation presented in front to me. They seem to be very sorry about something, which I have an idea on what is it.

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Yet another predicament was showed itself in front of me once again, especially when I am about to leave this village. Honestly, I have no idea how is this keep happening to me.

Oh well, I guess I have no choice but to deal with this problem before I gain my ultimate freedom.

"[Where do you think you're going, little one]" says sir Gyes, who steps forward and intimidatingly glared at me.

The seriousness and solemnity in his tone strikes fear to my ears and my tail were tucked in between my thighs.

However, I have to endure the uneasiness that I am currently feeling and bravely answer his question.

"[I am joining Rudeus and his companion in their journey]"

As I told sir Gyes my answer, the background crowd was filled with the sound of gasps, snarls, hisses and remarks of disdain.

"[So, what I heard from Rudeus was true after all]" sir Gyes said while furrowing his brows.

Then I look at Rudeus who felt quite ashamed that he averted his eye from me. He felt like he had betrayed me but I couldn't blame him because I think he was just forced to spill the beans.

After that, two beast girls then run up towards me and tackled me to the ground. It was Minitona and Tersena who were in the verge of tears and they were gritting their teeth.

"[How could you do this to us, Ceobe! Why would you leave the village?!]"

"[Yeah, it's so unfair! Why would you choose them over us?!]"

The two beast girls cried as both of them hug me tightly. They won't let go of me and the villagers were taking pity on the two while giving me a disdainful glare.

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The next person who steps forward was the chief himself. He prompted Minitona and Tersena to release me, which they reluctantly complied and retreated back to the crowd.

"[Get up, little one. I want to question you afterwards]" the chief said while gesturing me to stand on my feet.

I complied to his command and I get myself up on my feet. I then dust off some dirt on my clothes and person until I am clean.

Afterwards, I turn my attention to the chief and listen to what he is about ask me.

"[Ceobe Aldoldia, I have question to you. Why did you decide to join these humans?]"

"[It's because I owe my life to Rudeus and decided to help him as repayment for saving me]"

As I told my answer to the chief, he nodded understandingly. However, the crowd didn't like it and the sound of gossips permeates within the crowd.

The chief then gestured his hand to the crowd and prompted them to keep quiet. After that, he turns his attention back to me and spoke again.

"[I see that you have a noble yet personal intention, Ceobe. However, do you think helping Rudeus will benefit you or the Doldia village?]"

"[...]"

I was speechless, not because that I was called out by the chief, but I never thought about the reward and benefits I would receive from helping them.

When I realized this fact, I felt discouraged and was too embarrassed to answer the question.

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"[Or perhaps, do you have other motives for joining them, Ceobe Adoldia?]"

But then suddenly, the chief asked me another question, which caught my attention. The question itself felt like an opportunity for me to prove myself to the people.

I clear my mind and ponder on what to answer to the question. Once I found the answer I was looking for, I look at the chief and spoke.

"[I do have other motives and that is to learn more magic and combat techniques]"

"[Please elaborate]"

"[If I were to travel outside the great forest, I might learn new magic and techniques that I could share to our people when I came back]"

As I explained my answer to the chief, he was quite impressed and the other beast people were surprised and intrigued.

Then the chief then ponders for a while and had an idea. He whispered something to sir Gyes and his eyes widen as he was baffled on what he said.

"[Are you sure about this, father?]" says sir Gyes with a tone of disbelief.

The chief nodded at him and prompted him to bring something. Sir Gyes reluctantly complied and walks back to the village area.

"[What is this all about, chief?]" I asked curiously.

"[I told him to get me a pen and paper, so I can I write a letter to Ranoa Academy]"

"[Ranoa Academy?]"

"[It is a school where you can learn magic regardless of race. We already sent two beast girls to learn there, but I guess a third one wouldn't hurt us]"

The chief explained to me, which is understandable. I mean a school for magic is a logical place to be and I could use this as an excuse to travel with Rudeus.

Sir Gyes came back with the pen and paper to write a letter and then he gave it to me. After that, he faces the crowd and spoke.

"[I, Gustav Dedoldia, shall allow Ceobe Adoldia to join Rudeus and his journey!]"

As the chief said that, a lot of people were shocked by his words. However, he gestured them to be silent as he wasn't done speaking yet.

"[But wait, there's more. She will then travel to Ranoa Kingdom in order to study magic afterwards!]"

After the chief said that, the people finally understood the reason and they all settle down. Most of the villagers then disperse from the crowd until sir Gyes, Minitona and Tersena were left.

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In the end, the chief has settled the situation and allowed me to leave the village along with the task to travel the Ranoa Kingdom and enroll there as a Special Student.

I told this news to Rudeus and he was relieved to hear it. He then prostrated himself and apologized.

"I'm very sorry for spilling the beans, Ceobe. Please forgive me!"

I was taken aback by his profuse apology, so I immediately forgave him. Then I told them about the letter and the task that was given to me by the chief.

"I see, the Ranoa Kingdom is indeed a good place to study magic. In fact, it happens to be my next goal after we returned to Asura Kingdom"

"Really? That's awesome"

Rudeus and I laughed together as we both have the same goal.

"Ahem...."

But then, our short celebration was interrupted by red haired girl and a spearman.

"From the looks of things, I think we're done here, right?"

"Yeah! I'm bored waiting around! Let's go already!"

As we heard the complaints of the two, Rudeus and I look at each other and nodded.

""Yeah, let's go""