Chapter 112
Hey, Mr. Yenika (4)
Never panic, no matter how unexpected the situation may be.
Calmly assess the situation and take the most appropriate response.
These were principles that must not be forgotten, whether living in the wild, fighting, or dealing with the various events of the scenario.
After living like this for over a year, it seemed like I was no longer embarrassed in any way and could handle anything skillfully…
“….”
My brain suddenly lost consciousness due to Yenika’s sudden fastball. It felt like it was turned off and on for a moment. First, I had to find a reason to have time to organize my thoughts.
Fortunately, there was a very easy reason. It’s a thumb with blood dripping.
I took the leftover cloth and wrapped it around my finger as a bandage, giving myself time to give a cursory answer.
Yenika remained absolutely motionless while I performed a series of first aid tasks.
He had his face buried in his knees and looked like he was about to blow smoke out of his face. Judging from his reaction, it seems he himself knows the meaning of what he said. First of all, I think it is safe to say that there is no possibility that it was misinterpreted on my part.
After first aid for the finger, it is time to face the problem again.
“First of all… I’m sure these are things you would expect yourself to hear… Still, I’ll have to point them out and move on.”
He roughly threw the remaining pieces of cloth into the bonfire and burned them, and spoke while wiping away the blood-stained fruit with a handkerchief.
This was said after deep consideration on the other side, so I had to be as calm and sincere as possible and accept it naturally without showing embarrassment or astonishment. That is courtesy.
“…I don’t know if I need to say it again, but first of all, I like you quite a bit. I’m sure not only me but everyone else will think the same, but I think you are a really kind, sincere, and decent person.”
These words were just a cushion to get started on the main topic, but when Yenika heard those words, she suddenly buried her head further and her shoulders shook. The sight of him gasping for air makes me catch my breath for no reason.
I again removed the remaining peel from the apple and put it in my mouth. I cut off all the blood-stained parts and threw them away, but I felt uncomfortable handing them to Yenika to eat.
After taking a moment to calm down, I spoke slowly to Yenika, who had caught her breath.
“…Still, what I cannot help but point out is that I am also a man.”
In situations like this, we have no choice but to remain calm and take a realistic and objective view.
“Listen carefully, Yenika. I don’t know what you think of yourself… but you have a very beautiful appearance. I mean, you’re a beauty. If you’re an ordinary person, like you…” “
Stop…”
I’m here . I was literally speechless at the non-existent announcement of a halt.
Was my effort to speak calmly, keeping my expression as low as possible and keeping my tone down, all meaningless?
Yenika, who laid her head on her knees, was already blushing.
He complained with tears in his eyes as if he had been bullied by some kind of mean-spirited bully.
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t breathe…”
“…”
“No… I couldn’t breathe… Wait… Can I take a deep breath…?”
Are you still speaking respectfully…? No, it’s this harsh…?
“…is it so.”
I’m taking this again and sitting down…?
So, we stayed still for a while, just listening to the sound of the bonfire. Well, if you feel like you’re making a little progress, you take a break, and if you feel like you’ve made a little progress, you take a break… We’re doing this over and over again, so much so that it almost makes you feel like you’re doing some sort of bomb defusing project.
I grabbed two wooden mugs and filled them with cold water. I handed one to Jenica and held the other for myself as I took a few sips to quench my thirst.
As if her throat was burning, Jenica held up a large mug with both small hands and took a single gulp of cold water.
The atmosphere is aroused with the sound of fuhaa.
The feeling that had been meaninglessly heated up seemed to have calmed down again… so I brought up the topic again.
“So, let’s talk about living together again…”
I just said that one word again and it felt like the atmosphere was rising to the sky again. Yenika lowered her head again and blushed.
It seemed like he was thinking about what he had just said. At this point, no matter how many times I try to calm the mood, there is no point.
It is important to rush like a bulldozer and quickly draw a conclusion to the story itself. If things keep going like this, the story won’t end even all night long. Isn’t Yenika in a position where she has to go back to Dex Hall when curfew comes?
However, what is truly fortunate is that my composure is well maintained.
Although we were briefly shaken by Yenika’s explosive remarks, this is an issue that can be dealt with rationally.
All you have to do is calm down as much as possible from the position of a person with common sense and say what needs to be said.
If you think of an image of the wall of your heart, it is a huge iron fortress.
No matter how many bombastic remarks you make, if you maintain your balance, your reason will not easily break down.
Haven’t you learned how to remain calm and rational in any situation during the hellish life of the past year?
Moreover, the opponent is Yenika. In any case, it is Yenika.
He may have made people nervous by suddenly making an unexpected bombshell, but he is still a person with common sense. In that case, all you have to do is speak as a person with common sense.
“I can be considerate of you now and treat you as gently as possible, but no one knows how things will turn out if we live under the same roof. I want to always be considerate of you and respect you, but… Strictly speaking, in the end, all men are It’s similar. I’m grateful that you trust me. But… never forget that the only person who can protect yourself is yourself, Yenika.”
Even if I tried to talk about it separately, it would only have the opposite effect, so I ended up telling the conclusion all at once.
I took a quick look at Jenica, who was hugging her knees tightly, and it seemed like she was listening to my story.
I applauded myself for maintaining my senses even in this situation.
If we’ve come this far, there won’t be any more bombshell remarks from Yenika’s position.
However, as if to prove that my thoughts are the very essence of complacency, the story of him making eye contact with me and being straight…
“But it doesn’t matter if it’s Ed…”
Yenika’s words, which came out as if she was muttering, cut me off again. blocked.
“….”
“ah.”
After some time, Yenica’s response comes back. He must have realized what those words reflexively meant as he suddenly got goosebumps all over his body, shaking his shoulders, and the color coming back to his calm face.
The expression of being at a loss for words really fits the description.
I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out.
“Edneheun…”
Yenika swallowed her breath again, as if she had bitten her tongue while trying to say ‘Edne’.
Then, he covers his mouth with both hands and looks at me. I was already breathing hard due to the escalating atmosphere, but after making such a seemingly innocent mistake, I felt embarrassed. As for me, I was in the middle of rubbing my chin and holding on to the strings of reason.
Bad news overlapped.
Normally, I would have been able to deal with whatever was said, but ironically, all the situational variables were piled together in layers, pressuring my sense of reason to its limit.
Immediately after the really hard and difficult student council president election, I returned to camp and felt a sense of peace and freedom… This is the background of the situation.
It feels like the days of putting myself in extreme situations and being exhausted just by making a living are coming to an end. The basic infrastructure is in place, and the amount of work itself has been reduced considerably, so I feel relieved.
With Yenica, we exchanged some kind of polite language, so it felt a little more unfamiliar than usual, but at the same time, it felt familiar… It felt like a tug-of-war on a strange boundary.
Moon bright night. The moonlight softly shines down on the camp. A crackling flame. The sound of insects in the grass sounds somewhat more sentimental.
The girl was blushing, unable to control the sounds she made half impulsively.
‘Do you want to endure this? ‘Can you survive this?’ In a situation where the world seemed to be crying out for me… I just closed my eyes.
At this point, I actually felt calmer.
“Yenika.”
Just calling his name softly made his shoulders shake for no reason… It wasn’t very comfortable for me either.
Still, there is something that must be pointed out.
Even if you ask hundreds of men in the world, they will all lose their reason and become yes men, but it is still something you should not miss.
That’s the part about how Jenica came to say this.
Although I was momentarily taken aback by the shock of the sudden action, as if a bomb had exploded, I cannot make the mistake of being swayed by the situation itself and failing to grasp the essence of this incident.
So I asked directly.
“…is it very difficult?”
As if she had been doused with cold water at those words… the color drained from Jenica’s face. And I could clearly sense that he was becoming intimidated in an instant.
Even if Dex Hall is treated like a regular dormitory, it won’t be as bad as living in the wild. On the contrary, I heard that it was quite livable.
However, the reason why he suddenly said he wanted to come to the camp and live was obvious. Yenika was already mentally concentrated.
It’s been almost a year since I’ve been able to hang out with students of the same age while living in a group at Dex Hall.
Expectations, favors and respect. For some, it is the driving force that allows them to go further, but for others, it can be poison.
“….”
There was silence again.
The texture was strangely different from the silence before.
Yenika held her knees and stared blankly at the bonfire before letting out a bitter smile.
“I guess Ed doesn’t know anything.”
That ahaha smile is familiar. It’s the lively smile you make when you walk around the school grounds and receive greetings from your friends.
It was always a sincere smile, but not many people can read the strange burden inherent in that deep psychology.
In short, Yenika probably
wanted to run away. I kind of miss the days when I lived alone in a private room in the Ofilis building. Doesn’t that seem really stupid?”
Rather than actively answering anything, I just shook my head. Is there anyone in the world who would criticize me for being stupid about that?
“What can I say about this camp to me? It was like a refuge. So I guess I wanted to run away here if possible. Of course, it must have been a very burdensome story for Ed.”
“….”
“For Ed, this camp is like the product of the hard work he’s been building over the past year…? It’s also proof that he lived really hard in the wild. It’s absurd for me to set foot there now. I guess this is it…”
On the contrary, since she is Yenika, she knows it well.
The scorching heat of summer that can make people collapse from overwork, or the extreme cold of winter that can make people shiver all over.
In addition, this girl is the one who understands better than anyone else how special this camp, which has been built while directly dealing with various survival issues, has a special meaning to me.
She believes that it is truly shameless to try to invade such a space by bringing up her own emotional issues…
Also, there is a part of her that is misinterpreting the problem due to her sound temperament. It is about the act of ‘running away’ itself.
“It’s not something that can be solved by running away. Rather than running away from a problem, you should face it and think about fighting it. Yes, I also felt weak for a while.”
Yenika said that and nodded to herself. The look of intimidation was still there.
“Okay… I wanted to ask Ed at least once. “I knew it would be a burden… but I don’t know why.”
He said and stopped talking, sniffling.
We just looked at the campfire for a while, just sharing the time. We rested our
elbows on our knees and looked at the stars. I looked up at the sky.
Various constellations were shining brightly, but there was only darkness on the ground below… I couldn’t even see what was beyond the grass right now. Life was usually like this. It must have been the same for Yenika. .
I threw the apple, with only the core remaining, into the bonfire.
“It’s definitely a burden.”
I said the truth in a low voice. As Jenika was serious, I couldn’t treat her with lies. I was
completely intimidated by those words. Yenika put her head on her lap and smiled bitterly.
“Overall, Yenika, you are right. Even if you hear people say that they are going to live in a camp like this, it is natural that you are just dumbfounded and don’t know what to do.” “…
Ehehe, as expected.”
The wetness at the end of your voice hurts so much that you don’t drag it out any longer. I decided to tell her a story.
I shook off my clothes, got up, and sat down next to Yenika. As we sat side by side, I once again became aware of the girl’s small size.
“You don’t treat me with respect anymore.”
“Ugh.”
I hit the nail on the head. Yenika whimpered and quickly took a deep breath. Has that stubbornness, which I don’t know what it means, finally giving up?
In fact, it seems like she has finally realized the psychology of it. The reason she tried to show respect and widen the distance was because she realized the reality. Whether it was expectation or respect, the more burden was placed on Yenika… Due to her sincere and upright nature, it is highly likely that she would try to face it head on. In that case, it would be
either
the existence of this camp, which she had always used as a refuge, or my existence. Whatever… Even if you think it’s right to try to distance yourself, you can’t help it. You may have been caught up in the obsession that running away is not the right answer.
Because you are still young and immature, you may not know.
Reality is different from the world of fairy tales . Also, it is strangely different, so when trials come, the right answer is more often than not to run away
. I have seen many more people who have become happy by seeking a different direction in life rather than forcing themselves to face it and only accumulating a lot of scratches in their hearts.
However, I have only received sincere respect and goodwill. Considering her life history of receiving favors, it is highly likely that turning away from that favor and running away was not an option at all. That is the problem.
“But that’s right, Yenika. Strictly speaking, isn’t the fact that I’m a burden a completely separate issue?”
“Huh?”
“Let’s not be arrogant. Basically, when people live, they place burdens on others and also bear the burdens others give them. Common sense tells us that there is no one who can live without being dependent on others at all. We just live by leaning on each other like that.”
“….”
“And right now, I’m the only one who owes you more than one thing.” Things
like classes on elemental arts and help maintaining a secluded life… I already owe Yenika a debt. There are a lot of things. That’s why I made the next goal of magic engineering training a cane. It was a reward in its own way, and there was nothing I could give.
In a way, it is natural, but to this girl, even such a natural reward is a debt of her heart.
She was born with a kind heart and is beautiful. This is truly a gratifying thing, but sometimes it acts as a burden.
“I am indebted to you, so even if it is a bit burdensome, I am ready to handle it. Well, if you still feel like your financial calculations aren’t right, then I can ask for a burdensome favor next time. Anyway, we don’t see each other for a day or two, so isn’t this a problem that can be exchanged like the ebb and flow? We’re going to know each other for a long time.”
“Then…”
“…Still, being under one roof is a bit burdensome, so wouldn’t it be necessary to build another hut?”
Yenika’s pupils seemed to have subtly enlarged at those words. I had a feeling.
Using polite language, reestablishing the relationship, returning to a somewhat awkward relationship, and seeing each other from an objective perspective would all have some meaning. Seeing an
awkward and awkward relationship was also very refreshing, so I had a lot of feelings about it.
Yes . As for Nikah, no matter how stingy your relationship is, if there is someone in need, you will step in and try to help.
If you see someone lying on the street in pain, you will first try to help them before you can tell whether it is a beggar or a robber. It is awkward and unfamiliar. It’s hard to ask… but it’s difficult to talk to that shoulder. Look, do you need help?
But things aren’t always fair in the world. Not all good intentions are reciprocated.
Even if you’ve lived a life of giving… There is no way that someone will always be there for you when you are in pain.
As you sit down on the street and cry, someone touches your back and says, ‘Look.’ How sad it is that there is no one to say a word of concern to.
In the end, someone cannot bear it and ends up putting a hand on that shoulder. That is the difference between a person who has lived a life of giving.
“….”
After I finished answering, I also felt a little embarrassed. I felt emotional, so I just looked up at the sky.
I thought it was Yenika’s personality that she would jump around and be happy… but surprisingly, she responded calmly. She
sat down next to me, wrapped her arms around my shoulders and hugged me, and then Yenika said in a half-wet voice. I said,
“Yes, thank you…”
“…”
While holding Yenika face to face and stroking her head with one hand… I quietly looked at the sky.
The night sky of Aken Island was high and bright.
* * * [Good morning, Master Ed…! I don’t know if this is a sudden situation, but I’ll explain it to you slowly…!]
The next morning,
after sending Yenika back to the Dex building, I woke up to a scene that greeted me. It seemed like my camp was filled with all kinds of spirits.
At the center of it all was Tarkan, a high-ranking fire spirit whose appearance was difficult to even see with a reasonable amount of sensitivity.
“….”
[Oh, you’re awake. Ed. Ross Taylor.]
The figure swinging his huge tail back and forth and leading the army of spirits is truly the commander of the army.
[I just needed your advice. I have no experience building a cabin. If possible, I would like to make it similar to your cabin. I want to implement it, but cutting down wood and trimming it is possible even with the fern-like hands of spirits… but the construction itself is a more delicate task than I thought. ] ”
…Could you please explain this situation a little more slowly first? …?”
[You can’t tell by looking at it, but we’re building a hut right now.]
As for Yenika, after being held in my arms for a long time last night, she returned to the dormitory with a blush on her face.
How will she move to the camp in the future and when will she submit her resignation application? I was planning to slowly talk about the specifics of how to build the hut sometime today or tomorrow.
[We’ll talk about the details later. Honestly, I’m a little tired too. ]
“what?”
[ Yesterday, there was an all-night party in the spirit world… Well, there’s no need to tell you. Anyway, the situation is bad and we have to do what we have to do quickly. ]
No specific details are given properly.
[First of all, the site selection work itself has been completed, but… I think it would feel much better to build it across from the bonfire. There must be something romantic about the feeling of opening the door in the morning and meeting each other.
Well, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to build next to each other… but then it would feel too stuffy and it would be difficult to maintain the minimum level of privacy… hmm… isn’t it… After all, it is better to build as close as possible to what you are going to build. …. ]
“You’ve made it this far in just one night…?”
[I’m sorry. If I take away the driving force, I’m a corpse. ]
Is it possible that he is holding a grudge against me for cutting off his head in the first act?
The sight of the giant fire lizard giggling and laughing almost gave me goosebumps.
[The overall plan is about 10 days, Takan. As the commander of this fire mug site, I will establish the most efficient work plan possible…! ]
[Ten days…? ]
[ yes…! After thinking about the shift schedule between lower-ranking spirits and establishing a rest plan, I came up with a working period of that length. The direction of further reducing the work period depending on the progress of the schedule is… ]
[ Rest…? Why don’t you take a break…? ]
Tarkan opened his terrifyingly large eyes… and spoke in a low voice.
[I really don’t understand. Why do we take breaks or something…? ]
[ yes…? ]
[ In my time, my daily routine was to run around with a spirit messenger for three days and three nights, climb over snowy mountains for a week, and still fight the next day. Anyway, these days, as the number of spiritists has increased and contracts have become easier, the discipline of lower-level spirits has hit rock bottom.
Everyone just eats every day, takes a break, and all they can think about is work. With this in mind, when will I change phase, get a mid-level spirit, and meet a proper high-ranking spiritist to make a contract? ]
Mug is a spirit that can be astounding at the slightest glance. Takan’s words gave me goosebumps, but I couldn’t stop myself from nodding my head.
[ Then, if you push the schedule as much as possible… by about a week… ]
[ Well… if you proceed without shift work… wouldn’t you be able to push the schedule further…? ]
[ yes? ]
[ Do you know how hard Jenica is enduring every day right now? And now that this week has been decided, I will go to sleep every night with my heart pounding because of anticipation. Can’t you imagine that feeling…? ]
Tarkan spoke skillfully, as if wondering what the mug’s face was losing its color.
[I’ll finish it in 5 days. For architectural advice, you can ask Ed Rothtaylor here. ]
[ yes…! I understand…! ]
After saying that, he waved his huge tail and left to go about his business.
[This… such a murderous schedule… how… how on earth…]
Looking at the panoramic view of the camp, all kinds of spirits are sweating profusely, moving wood.
[If I have to crack it… I have no choice but to crack it… This fire candle mug… I can do it… I must… I have to do it…!! ]
If I think about it, I am the cause of all of this.
After Tarkan left, I looked at Mug, who was sitting on a tree stump, looking frustrated… I meditated to myself.
I’m really… sorry…!! Mug…!!!
It’s not really like that on purpose…!!