106 Stump
I took a good look at the middle-aged man in front of me, accusing me of something. He looked like he didn't really know what he was talking about, but was desperate to blame someone.
...How does it turn out to be me that everyone's blaming all the time?
Well, I guess it's best to figure out what this is all about.
"And what exactly is it that I did?"
The middle-aged man clearly hesitated but eventually gathered his resolve.
"Ever since your family has been handing out that food, there's... there's this weird sickness spreading around!"
I blinked a few times.
"And that is enough for you to believe that I am the reason for this sickness?"
The middle-aged man paused before nodding.
"Y-Yes!"
I let out a long sigh. Jess, who was sitting next to me, seemed to be on the verge of blowing her top off. It seems like I should step in before that happened
"Then as an apology, you can sit at this table and eat as much as you want."
The middle-aged man looked rather confused.
"B-But..."
A bitter smile formed on my face.
"It's not like you can get sick again when you already are, right? Besides, I've already eaten from the same pot. If you think I poisoned the bowls or something you can get your own."
The middle-aged man scratched the back of his head. I noticed a few onlookers staring at us and whispering amongst themselves. The man himself nodded though.
"Ok..."
It looked like he really was that hungry. Though it was a reluctant one, I finally was able to get one more person to sit down.
After some time passed, Arianne had come along as well. She didn't say much, other than apologizing when asking for a second serving. As for the middle-aged man, he had ended up finishing his share quickly enough.
He gave a small bow towards me and sheepishly spoke.
"...Thank you."
I waved my hand dismissively.
"I'm the reason for the problem, right? There's no reason for you to thank me."
The man looked back awkwardly, with one arm on his neck. He laughed like he was in pain before nodding.
"Y-Yeah."
As he prepared to leave, I called out to him.
"You can come back tomorrow if you want. I can't guarantee that I'll be here, but at the very least there should be some people cooking some stuff."
The man gave me a curt nod before leaving.
Arianne looked at me strangely.
"Eh? What were you talking about? Did you do something to him?"
I shrugged my shoulders before swiveling some of the soup in my spoon.
"He accused me of being the one spreading the sickness."
Arianne tilted her head to the side.
"How would you have done that?"
I chuckled and held out one hand.
"Well, it wouldn't be hard for me to have done it. Though, probably not intentionally."
I mean, Nathan literally caused it to spread just by opening up some person's grave. Though, Arianne seemed to only get more confused by my response.
"Then why did you take responsibility for it? It looked like even the man didn't think that he believed it was you either..."
I lazily held up a finger.
"Arianne. One thing that humans like to do a lot is to blame other people. Especially if they are different."
Arianne tilted her head to the side.
"But isn't that a stupid way to judge someone?"
I laughed before leaning forward.
"If you had to choose between someone to change your clothes, would you prefer it to be a girl or a guy?"
Arianne immediately blushed before responding rather quickly.
"G-Girl!"
I smiled.
"See? You don't even know who they are, but you would still judge someone based on their initial traits. Sure, it may not be the most factually correct, but the human brain is programmed to react in that way. To judge things based off of preconceptions in order to get a sense of understanding, even if it is a false one."
I tapped the table a few times.
"On top of that, if you can just blame someone else for all of your problems, then you yourself won't have to take any of the blame. After all, by passing all the blame off, you won't have a reason to feel bad anymore. And it really is convenient to just put it on those assumptions you made earlier."
Arianne furrowed her brows.
"But isn't that... bad?"
I gave her a blank look.
"Maybe. But something people care more about than being right is their pride. Admitting that they are wrong is quite hard for most people, so much so they'd rather destroy their relationships with other people over asserting how correct they are while knowing they are wrong."
Arianne seemed partially dazed. It was almost like I just flash banged her with words.
15:33
"...B-But, would that hurt your pride then?"
"Good person doesn't need anyone to tell him that he is good!"
Out in the back, Gray had shouted out while carrying something. It appeared a few butlers and maids were trying to explain his job to him, while he was trying his best to act on it. As for me, I couldn't help but smile a little wider after hearing those words.
"What he said. I'm a prideful person, which means it doesn't matter what opinions other people may have. I will still always be proud."
I kinda felt like I was repeating myself with what I said to Raisa a while before, but whatever I guess.
Those were definitely words that I stood by.
Though, it would end up being tested the very next day.
"He's the one behind all of it!"
"My daughter died because of you!"
"Hang him! Hang him now!"
...
"N-Nathan?"
"You better make this quick, else I'm not listening."
Nathan responded harshly to the person asking him a question, which was Minori. Currently, the two of them were walking in the slums. Next to Nathan's side, was Edward. His eyes seemed to be on the verge of lifelessness as he followed behind silently, almost like he wasn't even there. He would've blended perfectly if it wasn't for his arm occasionally twitching, causing his hand to go into a grasping motion, almost like it was reaching out to get a death grip on something.
He and Edward were going back to set up their stall where they would sell pale meat. Minori was tagging along to have a chat with Nathan, mostly because this was the only time that he would ever entertain her.
Just two lines in, she already had the feeling that she was walking on eggshells.
"I just... I just wanted to know about Bryson."
Nathan already had a nasty expression on his face, clearly pissed off.
"This again?"
Minori flinched and hurriedly coughed.
"No, no. I just wanted to know something. C-Could you tell me, is he a good person?"
Nathan sneered disdainfully.
"Oh, you care now? What happened to the certainty you showed before? You were telling me that he was a bad person with so much confidence. You're questioning it now? HUH?"
With every single word, he seemed to get angrier and angrier before snapping at the end, shouting at her. Minori flinched once more, with a miserable expression on her face. Tears had already begun forming, but they hadn't fallen yet.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! P-Please... just tell me."
While expecting to be yelled at again, Minori only received silence for a good while. Nathan didn't say anything for a while, but when he did, he was strangely calm.
"If I had to say whether he is a good or bad person, then I'd have to say he's a bad one. But if there was one person I would choose to save out of every single other person in the world, it would be him. And if he ever told me to die, then I'd do it in a heartbeat. Actually, I'd do it faster."
A small smile formed on his face.
"But in either case, he would never ask me for something like that, and curse me out for saving him if I ever did."
Minori furrowed her brows.
"...Curse you out? For saving him?"
Nathan let out a small sigh.
"I owe him more than my life. But still, I'd be a selfish person and choose that he lived, even if he wants to die. And funnily enough, he would probably have the same thoughts about me."
Minori only furrowed her brows harder.
"What? I..."
Nathan laughed and waved exaggeratedly.
"Sorry, I was kinda just talking on my own. You said you wanted to know if he was a good person, right? Then how about instead of hearing it from someone, you go see for yourself."
Minori didn't exactly seem satisfied with that answer, but bit her lip and nodded.
"...A-Alright, Nathan."
Nathan nodded a few times.
"Since you didn't take too much of my time, then I'll add in something else too. I don't really understand emotions and those kinds of things too well. But something I do know is that no matter what storms of hate try to blow over that man, he will still be standing up effortlessly. However, that isn't because he is some massive strong tree. It's because there's hardly even a stump left of him."
He paused for a moment and even stopped walking. With a sad smile, he looked in the distance, where he remembered Bryson's manor would be. While all he could see were a few run-down houses in front of him, for some reason it still felt as close as ever.
"Basically, it's because there's nothing left to blow over."
But a couple of termites will fuck him over.
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