Noctis opened his mouth to speak, but he realized that he probably wouldn't be able to control the volume of his voice if he angrily rebuked Spirit Ster now.
This would draw in unnecessary attention from the other villagers, which he clearly didn't want to happen!
Noctis closed his eyes and gathered upon the natural energy of the world to calm himself. After much effort, he opened his eyes and then spoke within his mind to reply back to Spirit Ster,
"This isn't the time nor the place to think about this! Although I do admit that she is a natural beauty, but she is still a few years younger than me! I can't take advantage of her mental state when she's so innocent and gullible… who do you think I am!? I have moral principles damn it! Also, I don't want to have to deal with this now because I don't even have a place to call a home, which is why I'm a lone wanderer for now… You tell me Spirit Ster, how in the hell can I marry and take care of her if my cultivation base is still at the lowest realm!?"
"Hahahaha kid, you got a point there! In the past, I didn't have to worry about all that stuff since I had a natural backing… you could say I was a 'silk-pants' young master back then that didn't focus much on cultivation and had just chased after girls. Your current starting point is vastly different than mine, but since you're so focus in your pursuit of strength, then I will admit that is worthy of respect. You indeed don't have to worry about this right now, but I am gonna remind you that you will have to eventually! At least try to talk to her or something; your experience with females is really pitiful if you ask me hahaha…" |
Noctis thought for a moment and was about to say something in return, but suddenly Spirit Magi was the one to interfere instead,
["You might as well do what Spirit Ster said… my reason is because I sense that there's actually something unique about this young girl. It seems like these villagers are more than what meets the eye…"]
Noctis furrowed his eyebrows because he didn't expect Spirit Magi's words at all. He was definitely implying that these villagers were not the everyday 'average' villagers that one would meet in the rural parts outside of a kingdom. He thought to himself that he wouldn't underestimate these villagers based on what Spirit Magi said.
Noctis breathed out a light sigh and then reluctantly spoke once again within his mind to Spirit Ster,
"Alright, I will trust in Spirit Magi's words, but I will also take note of what you have said. The matter with women… they can be far more complicated and dangerous than men… at least that's what I have learned when I was a child. Luckily, Mika looks around to be 13-14 years of age, so she isn't an adult yet. This shouldn't be difficult for me..."
"Atta boy, kid! Hahahaha… wait 'difficult?' Why do I have a feeling your treating this as a harder task than when you faced off against those wolves earlier…" |
Noctis cut off the spiritual sense between the both of them and then moved his eyes ahead before slowly walking towards Mika.
…
Mika had been silently watching Noctis all this time, but she couldn't help but notice all the weird facial expressions that he had been doing for the past few minutes.
She thought this was interesting and funny, so she brought one of her hands near her mouth and gently laughed under her breath. This didn't last for too long before she realized that Noctis was walking towards her way!
In a blink of an eye, she turned her head away and reflexively brought her hands towards her chest… she grew anxious and felt like her heartbeat was quickly rising to a very high level!
A few moments later, Noctis arrived by her side and brought his face a little forward before looking at her and calmly saying,
"You have been looking at me for quite some time, is there something wrong with my face?"
Mika was initially surprised at this abrupt question, but then she noticed Noctis's intense gaze staring right at her eyes, so she couldn't help but look down at the ground while her cheeks grew flushed with a tinge of rosy pink.
She quietly replied with a very soft voice,
"No… no there isn't…"
Noctis lightly smiled and then turned his head away to look at his surroundings. An awkward silence descended between the both of them, which lasted for a while before Noctis finally said,
"Your uncle told me your name was Mika… I know this isn't really right for me to ask, but why were you so far away from your group? It seems like your uncle and the other villagers were really worried about you and your brother's safety. If I wasn't there in time, then I couldn't imagine what would've happened if you jumped off towards the river stream below… at the very least, you would not have escaped with just minor injuries."
Mika slightly widened her eyes and shot a quick glance at Noctis before turning her head away in a shy manner. She looked ahead towards the front of the villager group and said,
"Thank you… S-Senior… My brother and I owe our lives to you. It was… it was my fault that we were separated from the group. You see… I have pestered my father for a long time to bring my brother and I out on a hunt. Uncle Hakan has been teaching us how to hunt since we were little, and I thought I was finally prepared to prove them I could hunt on my own! We snuck off from the main group, but I was too careless… we went through a few encounters, but I had lost my weapon, so you could imagine what happened afterwards."
Mika's voice was quivering, but she didn't realize it until after she finished speaking. She dropped her head down and returned to looking at the ground in order to calm herself.
Noctis remained silent and was about to open his mouth to speak, but then Mika suddenly continued from where she left off,
"I wanted to show them I was strong enough… I wanted my father to be happy and proud! My father… he… he hasn't really been smiling ever since mother died. He prioritizes the village above himself, but recently I have noticed that he becomes tired very quickly, and that his eyes always contains a hint of sadness in them. I feel like my brother and I have become somewhat of a burden to him since we aren't really special, and haven't done anything impressive..."
Noctis raised his eyebrows in surprise because he didn't expect that Mika would reveal all of this to him. He was a complete stranger to her, but she still spoke of some personal matters that were obviously very important to her. He thought to himself that these feelings must've been bottled up inside her for a long time and that she probably thought it was best to not talk about it to the people she knew, even thought she seemed rather desperate.
Noctis didn't answer immediately, and thought about her words seriously before saying,
"You and your brother are no burden, rather your father is very protective of you… why else would it take a long time for you to convince him to join the others out on a hunt? He must have known that you have been training diligently, but the death of your mother profoundly affected him. Regarding this matter, I'm sorry for your loss… The fact that your father paid more attention to the village despite that tragic loss means that he's a respectable and honorable man since he knows his priorities. He most likely tried his best to bury this sorrow, so others wouldn't have to worry. I knew a man that was similar this way…"
During this time, Mika was also confused about why she revealed this much personal info to someone she didn't even know. But for some reason, she instinctively trusted her savior and that she firmly believed that he wouldn't ever hurt her. It was a strange blind trust that she didn't understand, but what she did understand was that the man next to her had already deeply affected her heart.
Mika didn't expect that Noctis would answer in a sincere tone, let alone answer at all. This made her happy, which made her remember his words and had them be resounded within her mind. She noticed the last part in what Noctis said, so she softly tried to reply,
"Senior you…"
"You don't need to call me Senior. I'm only a few years older than you… so just call me Noctis."
Noctis felt quite strange when Mika addressed him that way the first time, so he couldn't help but cut off her words in order to get his request across.
Mika was rather taken aback, and grew somewhat nervous as the blush in her cheeks remained visible. She then continued where she left off and said,
"N-Noctis… my father reminded you of someone you knew? Who is it?"
Noctis closed his eyes and thought for a moment before saying,
"Your father reminded me of my adoptive father… It has been a long time since I have last seen him, but he has already passed away…"
Noctis lifted his head and opened his eyes to stare into the sky as he said these words… it was because he felt a stronger connection this way since his deceased adoptive father was already somewhere high up in the heavens watching over him.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"
"No, it's alright. My adoptive father has taught me many things, so the only thing I can do right now is to keep moving forward… that's what he would've wanted me to do at least."
Mika felt quite bad that she made Noctis remember his adoptive father that had already died, so she shamefully lowered her head down in order to not meet his gaze. She then heard his words about continuing to move forward, which made her think more highly of him.
Regardless, Mika still felt guilty in her heart, so she didn't say anything else… this caused yet another awkward silence between the both of them.
*Cough*
Noctis found something to say, which is why he faintly coughed so he could get her attention and to lessen the awkwardness. He then spoke in a more casual tone,
"Anyways, it is still quite respectable that you wanted to prove to your father about your strength. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but… you're still very young and the approach you took was too hasty and it ultimately got the best of you. Not to mention that you got your little brother involved… There's always plenty of chances in the future, so you should think more carefully because the decisions you make will affect the people around you and even more so to those who are the closest to you…"
Mika clearly heard these words that was meant to lecture her, but for some reason she felt strangely happier since it was Noctis who said it. If it were anyone else, then she definitely would've reacted differently, but the way he said it made her feel good and overall brightened her mood. The last part in what Noctis said especially inspired her, which made her gladly nod while trying her best to not smile too widely.
…
In front of the entire group, Hakan looked back and noticed that Noctis and Mika had been chatting for some time. He took more notice of Mika and saw that she looked to be in a cheerful mood since she was full of smiles.
Hakan thought to himself that his niece was never truly like this until now. She was usually shy and mostly displayed a smile on her face, as a façade to disguise what her true feelings were like. Hakan didn't expect that it was the young savior next to her that truly revealed her true self...
Hakan lightly smiled and looked ahead of him before shouting,
"We are near Taniko Village! Everyone, get ready to greet the village chief!"