Arms crossed and feet walking from one end of the room to the next was Brigan with an ugly expression. Prior to returning, he scouted the entire village for an hour, ensuring there was no water rabbit or shadowy figure silently lurking about.
Besides damages to the village, he did not find anything amiss or prowling left in the aftermath's wake. In the end, with a small measure of relief, he chose to head back and confront his suspicions. This led to his excessive pacing now while enduring the intolerable wait.
But a constant unease feeling burdened his mind. To discover that Elber was possibly the culprit causing the invasions, and their first meeting almost a certainty for being based upon lies, it forced him to do what he usually did as a last resort, contemplating the course to take next.
On one hand, he did not need to honestly place the matter of the village's problems on himself. Since there was a high chance his guess was correct, leaving the difficulties of the village to the villagers was normal because he owed Ebler, not the village.
On the other hand, he himself drove into the false integrities the place was experiencing without first having grounds to determine the complete picture. So by his own morals, he was obliged to see the process through 'til the end.
Nevertheless, there was another thing that left a sour taste in his mouth. To be used ignorantly by another and then willingly dropping the offense as it was, was not his creed. That being the case, he would wait and endure the time for Elber's arrival before hearing his confession to determine everything.
Click!
Frowning further as he regarded the sound, he departed the guest bedroom to stand near the opening front door. Facing it with a glare, he remained patient to see who was entering besides Elber since the sound of footsteps had two extra steps.
If the actions Elber took was to bring reinforcements after see his strength, it would prove even more that he was betrayed. And betrayal was not something he was capable of dismissing. Especially if he was certain.
The occurrence which permitted him to come to this very place originated from the act of betrayal. Although there was no proof of Enha's actions, he saw no other explanation to explain his midnight kidnapping.
"This is a misunderstanding! Young Brigan does not possess this ability." The voice of Elber argued, defending his case vehemently.
"And I told you, the victims that were hunted by the invasion's beast leader said they bore witness to him helping it. Your anger is toward the wrong person." Calmly refuted a charismatic voice. The tone itself spoke of someone experienced in addressing the public or being in command.
"How can that be true? Why spare them and bring future troubles? Do you not see the flaw in their testimony?" Once again, Elber asked accusingly.
"Blah, blah, blah! Save it Elber, your annoying!" This time, there was a third speaker who sounded like he carried open hatred for Elber. "It's not hard to deduce the facts regarding the boy. Him being stupid explains the hole in your theory." He stated matter factly.
"Cease agitating him Emeric, your past should never affect..." The words died as the trio detected the presence of Brigan's angry flaring eyes.
Ignoring the mean look pointed toward them, the one with a noble bearing met the glare unflinching. "It's good that you did not run. Otherwise, your well being would be foreseeable." He spoke calmly.
Brigan's anger grew. From listening to the short conversation outside the door, he got accused of being in cohesion with the beast leader and for attacking the village. Something which should be self-evident as being a lie since the running trio were unharmed.
However, the man he suspected as the village leader, and he once thought appeared admirably, turned out to be nothing more than a short-sighted fool. The weighted grief he showed during the yelling to the villagers was nowhere found.
The change did not surprise Brigan. Even if the emotions he showed were real, it meant little to him now. From his view, All three man were his enemies until he could prove differently.
"Who are you? And I wouldn't run even if the beasts returned," he replied ignorantly. They could accuse him all they wanted, none of the things they tried would succeed. He would keep a low profile until he could uproot everything.
"Your Excellency, isn't this proof of his stupidity? Case closed!" The one who was called Emeric said nonchalantly.
"Young Brigan please, you should be able to tell somewhat that this is village leader Jehan." Elber hurriedly helped. Their position was terrible from his eyes, so he didn't want to worsen the issue.
Again, Elber's methods stunned Brigan. Either the middle-aged man was really kind as he portrayed, or he was very cunning like a wolf lying in wait. Either way, he couldn't see through his means if it truly was false.
"This is also the man I said would hold your God Weapon until the loan ended. However, we just found out that the weapon is gone and there is someone suspected of providing the beast leader an entry inside the village. A mole you could say." He explained further, hoping to ease both parties so that things could be talked out.
"More words spoken from Mr. Goody Two-shoes, always having something to say while pleasing everybody. Mind your own business! Brat, nothing you say or think matters! This is the verdict! You come with us for your 'trial,' hehe... or you lose your life. You decide," Emeric ranted heatedly before giving a small chuckle.
Seeing how fast things were spiraling out of hand, Elber went to persuade Brigan to the best of his abilities. "I know this is very unjust Young Brigan, but please just comply for now. I swear, I will make sure everything turns out fine. Give me..."
"Okay!" He said, agreeing to both Elber and Emeric's demands. Since the beast he fought was the leader, he was confident that he had measures to protect his life or escape if the situation really did become terrible. He also chose to trust his instincts regarding Elber's interventions on the whole subject.
Elber was truly kind.
"...a day and I will have all the accusations clarified. You won't suffer unjustly, my young fri... Wait! Okay?" He rambled before asking.
"Yeah, I'll go along," Brigan replied easily.
"..."
Letting things proceed their course, Brigan willingly let them escort him out the house. But not walking very far did he stop and turn back to the stunned watching Elber. "Oh yeah! Elber, I'll be counting on you!"
With that said, the anger left him. For now on, he felt it was better to trust himself than doubt. After all, he didn't like being bitter.