The Villagers' Rebellion (1)

"Is his body alright?" Elena questioned.

"O-oh! Y-y-yes…h-his body i-is a-al-alright…J-Just a fe-few b-bruises here a-and the-there…B-But nothing ma-major." Lily answered.

A few minutes had already passed after Elena was consoling Tain. Currently, Lily is inspecting his body for any signs of severe physical injuries. To her shock however, Tain was in a much better condition compared to Elena when she first treated her.

There were only a few bruises on his body, as well as looking slightly malnourished despite the muscles adorning his small figure. After examining Tain's physique—Lily turned her attention towards Elena.

"U-uhm…D-d-do you w-want me…t-to he-heal him…j-ju-just in-incase?" Lily asked.

"If it isn't a bothersome request, then yes. Please, cure him of any physical injuries that cannot be seen by normal means."

Upon getting Elena's approval, Lily nodded her head and began to chant a spell. A soft, pale green glow encircled around Tain's entire body—the bruises he had dissipated in front of his very eyes.

Tain was pleasantly surprised to see the wounds he sustained vanishing into thin air. It was his first time witnessing a type of magic that possessed healing properties. Tain could not help himself, and started to admire and respect the woman that had aided him.

He gazed at Lily with his eyes that shone as bright as the morning sky. He wondered how he could ever repay his savior's help. He barely knew Lily, yet in his eyes—she was already an angel just like his mother.

Lily—noticing the feeling of being idolized by someone else made her feel very shy, but joyful at the same time. Although it was quite common for people to worship Lily, as well as the other healers staying in the village for being capable of making miracles—this was the first time ever for Lily to be admired by a noble.

She couldn't help but to feel a bit nervous, but she quickly composed herself and introduced herself to Tain.

"H-Hello. I-I'm Lily. T-The vill-village elder's da-daughter."

Tain found her stuttering rather unique. He didn't know the exact reasons but…he had a gut feeling Lily's stuttering was already present ever since she was a child. He felt the need to ask her how she began to stammer, but he also didn't want to intrude her privacy in case certain traumatic memories would resurface.

In the end, Tain chose to introduce himself to her—without asking about her origin.

"Nice to meet you, Lily! I'm Tain Aried Polarias!" He said enthusiastically with a wide grin etched onto his adorable face.

The excitement presented within Tain's voice surprised Lily. He was just crying his heart out a few minutes ago—yet the current him sounded so cheerful—as if he was never depressed in the first place.

Something about the sudden change within Tain's personality made Lily a bit anxious and worried. She felt something amiss behind his innocent childlike smile…

But still, seeing Tain acting gleefully also made Lily feel at ease. Because now, she's certain that Tain's optimistic attitude won't be torn apart that easily.

Just as the both of them wanted to continue their conversation—the sound of the townspeople shouting from the outside caught their attention. While their voices couldn't be heard clearly—Tain, Elena and Lily could sense a tint of anger within their incoherent words.

"...Allow me to take a look." Elena mumbled as she exited the room.

As she made her way to the front door—she saw Andre attempting to calm down the raging villagers. The number of villagers present exceeded 70.

Andre had already expected this kind of situation to occur after bringing Elena and Tain into the village. While he had envisioned a future where a few people would come to complain to him—never in a million years had Andre anticipated just how much trouble his kindness and sincerity would bring him.

More than half of the residents were standing in front of him with rage and fury filled within their eyes. A few of them brought hoes, a few others brought knives, but most brought gardening tools. Nevertheless, all of them were armed one way or another.

Andre tried everything to lessen their irritation, but his endeavors only fueled their seething rage instead—as if he was dumping more oil at a never-ending flame that gradually consumed everything and anything in its path.

Just as the situation was about to worsen—a few people already prepared to strike down Andre—Elena promptly revealed herself to the townsfolk—stepping out of Andre's house with an expressionless face.

Every single person instinctively stiffened up—the hatred they once held towards Andre was replaced by a sense of dread. As Elena began ambling at them—their sense of fear only worsened the nearer Elena got to them.

One by one—all of them instinctively backed away—as if the grim reaper was in front of them, ready to bring them all to the underworld.

Andre was stupefied by the scene unfolding before him. He knew that everyone in the village had been taught to fear strangers, but under no circumstances could he have predicted just how fearsome the presence of a stranger was to the locals.

Seeing the natives gradually backing away from Elena made Andre calm, but also worry for what would transpire. Suddenly, an old, grumpy man screamed at Elena.

"What are you all scared of!?" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

The inhabitants were startled by the sudden ear-splitting sound. But felt intrigued and curious for the old man to continue.

"That foreigner has no left arm! She should be scared of us instead!"

His words reignited his fellow colleagues' determination. With their desire to drive the outsiders away from their beloved village being set ablaze once more—they instead started walking towards Elena with the old man becoming their leader.

While they still felt a certain fear towards Elena—their resolve overshadowed the terror and horror that had been installed within them from childhood.

Elena let out an exasperated sigh. She was hoping to not be involved in any bloody conflicts considering just how exhausted she is after the tragic events she had undergone.

Alas, fate seems to be in a mood to toy around with Elena's life. Elena stared at the oncoming crowd with a hint of infuriation.

'This will be…annoying.'

…