What a truly sorrowful expression...

Was this really the same boy who had angrily pointed his blades our way? That terrifying assailant?

His eyes were so big, and were almond shaped and at a slightly upward angle. His nose and mouth were both small, and his chin was slender too. Honestly, from his face alone, he looked younger than his age of 13 or 14. I just couldn’t imagine it shifting into that expression that called to mind a wounded leopard baring its fangs.

However, those yellow eyes of his alone still burned away like flames, even though they were filled with great sadness.

“Why exactly are you trying to get revenge, Jeeda...?” Ai Fa calmly asked.

With that, the fires burning in the boy’s eyes grew even more intense.

“Don’t go asking such stupid questions. To restore my father Goram’s honor, after he had those crimes thrust on him and was executed, of course.”

“I see. We people of the forest’s edge are also in the process of restoring our honor that was sullied by our former leading clan.”

Jeeda was silent.

“Asuta already said as much yesterday, but even if the Suun clan was the one to actually carry out those crimes, there might still have been someone behind them pulling the strings. Right now, we’re fighting to determine the truth of that matter.”

Still the boy didn’t say a word.

“To you, we may be nothing but enemies you wish to take revenge upon. But won’t you join together with us to bring the truth to light? That is the path forward that we wish for.”

Without offering any reply, Jeeda pulled his hood back up. And when he did, I spied his left hand just a bit from under his cloak, as well as the fact that it had a grey cloth wrapped around it.

“I’ll get my revenge in my own way...” Jeeda uttered in a voice that made it hard to tell what he was feeling. “If you don’t like that, then take me down here and now. That should be easy enough with the strength you possess, especially since I’m injured.”

“I have no reason to cut you down. In fact, I feel glad that I did not do so three days back.”

Silently, Jeeda turned away.

Hurriedly, I called out at his back, “Please wait. Didn’t you hear anything from your mother? The truth is, some of our allies are actually searching for her now. With her testimony, they may be able to expose our enemy’s crimes, so—”

“My mother doesn’t accept the idea of me living for revenge. It’s been a year now since I cut ties with her... That woman was defanged when my father died.”

“A year... So you’ve been apart for that long?”

“I’ve been living on Mount Masara. I come down to town to sell the barobaro birds I catch... And that’s how I learned about you, Asuta,” Jeeda stated in a monotone voice, his back still to us. “That the people of the forest’s edge were doing business in the Genos post town... and that their crimes had been forgiven while the other criminals had been judged... The merchants were all saying stuff like that. I got so mad I couldn’t even think straight and ended up coming here to Genos...”

“I see. But I don’t think the people of the forest’s edge have truly been forgiven just yet. That’s why we’ve been giving our all trying to form proper bonds with the townsfolk.”

Jeeda didn’t say anything in response.

And before long, his small back started to vanish into the darkness.

I stepped forward without thinking, only for a voice to quietly say, “Don’t follow.”

With that, Jeeda disappeared.

“Hey, Ai Fa... Is it really alright to just let him leave without a fight?”

“There was no helping it. That boy is searching for a path forward he can believe in. And that’s not a task anyone else can interfere in,” Ai Fa replied, her gaze firmly fixed on the direction where Jeeda had vanished. “Besides, he possesses the same spirit that we do. I believe that he won’t be standing in our way as an enemy again in the future. So with that in mind, we just have to keep waiting for our paths to someday naturally overlap...”

“I see. You may be right, there.”

At the very least, I could definitely sense that it would be incredibly foolish to try to forcefully restrain the young hunter.

And besides, if Ai Fa trusted in Jeeda, then I would too.

At last, our enemy was starting to vaguely come into view. And no matter what sort of plot Cyclaeus might try to throw our way, we would never yield.

If he really was planning to forcefully rewind the history of the forest’s edge, and if those actions were acknowledged and accepted... It would be like trying to deny my entire existence since coming to this world.

Unfortunately, I had no way of proving that my actions were the correct ones. And that was precisely why I had to lay everything on the line and stand against Cyclaeus.

Starting with Ai Fa, a great many people had accepted me by this point... and I didn’t want to let that all be in vain.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go to sleep, Asuta.”

“Right.”

With that, we bid farewell to the windy night air of the forest’s edge, and once more tried to rest up for tomorrow.