You're Safe Now - 75
He gave her a bright smile, and both Bell and Marc looked at her with gentle expressions.
Then a loud grumbling sound echoed through the air.
Marc looked down and realized it was coming from the girl's stomach. He chuckled before saying, "Pff… alright, how about we go eat first, okay? Then we'll help you get back home. Is that okay?"
The girl nodded.
…
Marc smiled before taking her hands and gently guiding her toward the campfire. The warmth of the flames quickly began to ease the cold from her small body.
"I'm Marc, and this is Teacher Juro, and this is Bell," he said, introducing each of them.
Bell and Juro both waved at her. After a moment of hesitation, the girl shyly waved back.
"Nery..." she quietly said.
"Ooo, is Nery your name?" Marc asked excitedly.
The girl nodded.
As Marc continued interacting with the little girl, Bell couldn't help but watch him with a quiet smile. "He's really good with kids. Even back at the orphanage, I could tell from the way he treated every little kid with so much love and care."
"Ah! I still have to finish cutting some deer meat," Marc suddenly remembered. He looked at Nery and smiled. "You go wait here and warm up with Brother Bell and Teacher Juro, okay?"
Nery nodded.
Marc gently patted her head one more time before returning to the deer and continuing to cut the meat.
Bell looked at Nery and patted the wooden log beside him. "Here, sit down."
Nery quietly sat beside Bell and Juro, holding herself tightly as she looked down at the ground.
Bell smiled before taking one of the sticks of chicken that had been cooking over the fire. He held it out toward her. "Here. You haven't eaten, right? Take this."
Nery looked up at him hesitantly. "Can I...?"
Bell gave her a warm smile and nodded.
With her frail hands, she nervously took the stick. Her eyes lingered on the cooked meat before she glanced to either side, as if checking whether she was really allowed to eat it.
Bell and Juro simply smiled at her.
That was enough.
Nery took a bite.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, she was munching away at the chicken without stopping. All three of them were surprised by how quickly she was eating, but none of them said anything. They simply watched her with warm smiles.
Then Nery suddenly began choking after eating too quickly.
Juro laughed lightly as he quickly grabbed his steel flask and handed it to her.
"Here, drink."
Nery hurriedly took it and drank.
Bell giggled at the sight, though his expression soon softened. "She looks like she hasn't had a proper meal for the whole day... maybe even two days..."
"Finally! I'm done!" Marc exclaimed as he stood up and stretched his arms.
He looked around before adding, "Now, we just need to find some sticks."
"Ah, wait. No need for that," Juro said.
"Hm?"
Marc looked toward him.
Juro stood up and casually walked behind the trees and bushes for a moment. He soon returned carrying a relatively large rock.
He placed it on the ground, then let mana flow toward two of his fingers. With one swift motion, he sliced cleanly through the rock, leaving behind a remarkably flat surface.
He then sliced the other half in two as well.
Juro placed the two smaller rocks beside the fire, standing them upright as supports. He then laid the flat piece of rock across the top.
A simple stone platform was formed on the campfire.
Now there was a fire burning beneath the rock. Juro reached into his pouch and pulled out a relatively small glass tube.
"Ooo, Teacher Juro, what's that?" Marc asked.
Juro grinned before saying, "Heh, I got some oil."
As soon as he said that, he felt a threatening presence behind him. It was Bell. "Why are you only introducing oil just now…? So we could've been grilling food this whole time…"
Juro nervously laughed. "Ahaha… ha… well… I kinda forgot I had this…"
Bell just sighed.
Juro then poured the oil onto the flat surface of the rock. The rock quickly began to heat up. "Mmm, that should be good. Alright, Marc, you can place the meat now."
Marc smiled brightly before quickly grabbing the pieces of meat and placing them onto the hot rock.
Meanwhile, Nery watched the whole scene while she continued eating. She looked at the three of them, seeing how naturally happy they seemed together. For a brief moment, an image surfaced in her mind of a time when she had been sleeping beside her parents.
"Nery?"
The voice pulled her back to the present. Her eyes were slightly watery.
All three of them noticed.
Marc immediately went over and hugged her. "Don't worry, Nery. You're safe now. Brother Marc is here," he said with such a warm tone and bright smile that Nery could only look up at him.
Her hand slowly clenched into a fist as she held onto Marc's shirt.
After that, they all began eating together.
Marc sat right next to Nery as they ate, and after a moment, he asked, "Oh, Nery, how did you end up here in the forest?"
As soon as he asked, she froze mid-bite.
Her body lightly trembled before she quickly answered, "I don't know…"
Marc looked down and noticed that her hands were shaking slightly. He gently placed his hand over hers.
"It's alright. We'll help."
Then Marc suddenly realized something. "Ah! Teacher Juro, can I try creating the cups?"
Juro smiled. "Hoh? You think you've learned the magic?"
"I've seen you do the magic multiple times, and I think I could do it!"
Juro smiled before grabbing a rock and passing it to Marc.
Marc caught the rock and focused his mind. He thought about what he wanted it to become, how the rock should look, how it should form, and recalled all the moments when he had personally watched Juro use the magic.
Then Marc incanted,
"Taza."
As soon as he did, the rock in his hand began to crumble. As it broke apart, the pieces shifted and took shape, forming a stone cup.
"Yesssss! I did it!"
Marc looked incredibly proud and happy that he had managed to do it.
"Nice, nice! Now then, I'm counting on you for the cup-making in the future! Ahahah!"
"Okay!"
Bell stared blankly at Juro.
"(ᵕ —_—) I don't think you should be happy about doing more work…"
But then Bell's gaze shifted toward Nery.
He noticed the amazement in her eyes as she watched the rock transform into a cup.
Bell smiled before lightly placing his hand on her head.
"Magic is amazing, huh?"
Nery lightly nodded.
Marc quickly filled the stone cup with water and passed it to Nery. As she drank, the flask eventually ran out of water.
Marc then placed some mana into the palm of his hand and watched as the flask absorbed it. The water inside began to refill.
Nery looked genuinely impressed as she watched the flask fill itself again.
Marc simply smiled, happy to see Nery making more expressions than before.
Time went on as they continued eating, talking, and spending the rest of the night together.
…
Eventually, they finished their meal.
Marc began rolling up some large leaves, carefully turning them into a makeshift pillow for Nery. Meanwhile, Juro was already lying down on the grass, resting his head on one of his arms.
Nery eventually got up from the log and turned toward the forest, clutching the front of her shirt.
Bell quickly noticed.
He crouched down beside her and asked, "Do you wanna go pee?"
Nery nodded.
Bell smiled before taking her hand and guiding her farther into the forest.
Once they had gone far enough, Bell loosened his grip and let go of Nery's hand so she could do her business.
But Nery instinctively held onto him.
Her hands were lightly shaking.
The moonlight above reached through the branches, but the trees blocked much of it, leaving the forest around them darker than the camp.
Bell noticed her trembling and simply smiled.
He raised his other hand and incanted,
"Gluhen."
A bright yellow light began to glow from his palm, illuminating the surrounding trees.
Nery stared at the light in amazement. More importantly, the fear in her expression began to ease.
Her hands slowly stopped shaking.
Still holding onto Bell's hand, she crouched down and finally went to her business.
After a few moments, Bell and Nery returned to the camp.
Marc immediately noticed her. "Nery! Come here! Look, Brother Marc made you a pillow!"
He happily showed her the makeshift pillow, even letting her lie down on it to try it out.
Bell sat down on the grass beside Juro.
The two of them looked up at the night sky.
After a moment, Juro spoke. "It's gonna get somewhat busy."
Bell didn't react. He simply looked up at the sky and casually replied,
"Yeah."
A few moments passed.
Both Marc and Nery eventually fell asleep.
Bell smiled as he remembered how Marc had kept entertaining Nery earlier, showing her different ways to make his mana glow and watching her reactions each time.
He then properly rested his head against the grass and closed his eyes.
…
Several hours passed.
In the middle of the night, Nery slowly opened her eyes.
She looked around.
Everyone was asleep.
Quietly, she pushed herself up and looked down at Marc.
Her expression was filled with worry.
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
Her body trembled.
She clenched her fist and slowly stood up.
Then, she quietly walked past them.
Before going any farther, Nery stopped and looked back one last time.
For a moment, it seemed like she wanted to return.
But her body was shaking with fear.
She turned away.
And then she quickly ran deeper into the forest.