Chapter 39 – Cereals

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Before they could enter the room, the elf bowed and left.

— Thank you for all your help, Mr. Hert — Kazuki thanked him just before opening the wooden door.

The moment Rei, Mia, Takayo and Kazuki finally stepped into the room, they could feel the atmosphere itself becoming cozy.

The entire room was lined with wood combined with a bluish stone that resembled gray and covered the floor to the ceiling.

Three beds were placed in the small room, two singles and one double. A white sheet covered them, while two pillows and a thick brown blanket lay neatly on top of them.

The only thought in Rei's mind at that moment was how good it must feel to finally sleep in a bed, unlike before when he had to rest in a tent.

However, what seemed strange to the student was the lack of windows in the room. Instead, a large bear rug covered part of the floor near a fireplace that provided warmth and light.

The walls were covered with mosaics consisting of small paintings and framed artwork scattered throughout the room. They were exquisite-old, forgotten objects painted with such intricate detail that they almost looked like photographs.

Aside from the paintings, the rest of the place was warm, clean, and well-organized.

...

A short time after settling in, Kazuki and Rei began to organize their belongings, placing them on a simple wooden shelf.

Meanwhile, Mia and Takayo lay down on separate beds to rest, choosing the single ones.

Once the student finished placing his clothes and belongings on the shelf, he sat on the double bed and observed the children closely.

Soon, he noticed that both seemed anxious.

"They probably still have memories of what happened in the village. Even if they don't show it or talk about it, they must be thinking about it all the time, especially Takayo."

"Besides, they must be afraid of everything that's happened. We are in a completely unknown place."

Then he shifted his gaze to Kazuki, who finished packing his things.

"On the other hand, this guy doesn't seem to show his feelings very well. He always keeps a calm expression on his face as if nothing bad ever happened. I wonder if he's the kind of person who keeps everything bottled up."

"Well, I shouldn't think about that right now. My head is about to explode. I need some air to clear my head."

He thought after watching Kazuki for a while.

— I'm feeling a bit restless. I'm going to get some air. Want to come with me, Kazuki? — The student called his name calmly as he got up from the bed and walked toward the door.

The beastman turned his eyes to the boy who was still watching him.

— Go ahead, I still need to talk to the kids.

— Okay.

The student then opened the bedroom door and began walking through the hallways.

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As he walked through the corridors of Svishtar, the boy noticed that even though night had fallen, there were still many elves in the area. They were assisting some refugees sitting on the ground, while others were being moved to another section by elves due to their frail physical condition.

As he walked, he noticed the terrible physical condition of some people, with multiple wounds from burns, cuts, and battles with monsters and demons.

Some individuals, like a woman with countless deep wounds on her back-swollen, festering, and attracting insects and worms, — made the student extremely uneasy.

Old wounds that had obviously never been treated and fresh ones that were still bleeding. They were everywhere, scattered among the various beasts in the area.

"War is truly terrifying. I never thought I'd see something like this. Both the atmosphere and the expressions of the people here... they look dead inside."

"I still don't know why the elves are helping, but it's really nice to see."

"Even if it's not much, I want to try to help in any way I can. And just like Takayo, there must be people here who have lost everything and don't have any emotional support."

"I think it's the right thing to do. I'm no saint, but I can't just sit back and do nothing."

"Now that I think about it, it's admirable how the elves are helping everyone. Hert mentioned something about an ideology of unifying the races, — maybe that's why so many of them are helping as much as they can? Anyway, I won't dwell on it now."

As he pondered, the student moved further away and walked until he reached an isolated spot where he could think of a way to help others.

He used his "Create" ability to create a small leather pouch, then activated it again to create small granola bars.

He placed them in the pouch and returned to the main corridor, where he began handing them out to everyone he encountered.

"Cereal bars are the only thing I can think of right now. I hope this will at least ease their hunger."

"At first, I thought about using my healing ability, but after Kazuki told me that only one person on the continent can use it, I changed my mind. It would only draw unnecessary attention."

"In the worst case, the elves could arrest me or interrogate me... damn, I really don't want to deal with that."

As he handed out the bars to the people he met along the way, the boy also tried to talk to them, in case they needed someone to listen to their stories, — at least to give them a chance to vent.