"Are you sure they're not afraid of me?" I asked, while tilting my head.
Three children huddled themselves in the corner, averting their gaze from my figure. Their hands quivered at every jerk of my body, as if I was trying to bring them harm. But as soon as I voiced my concern, Alice jumped between the trio and wrapped her arms around them.
"Isn't Mask adorable? I mean, he looks like you but has wool for his skin!"
"AAAAAAH!"
The kids screamed in terror as they ran away towards their parents, waiting for them outside. Clint, who was watching the entire scene, rested his face on his waiting palm. A brief sigh escaped from his mouth, regretting that we did this.
"Hmm. The last time I checked, you're a nice guy. What did you do to them, Mask?" Alice asked.
"I did nothing! Am I the type of person… puppet to hurt a child?"
Alice shook her head and crossed her arms, pondering what to do about our situation. Even the parents that fetched their children had their eyes widened upon seeing the two of us interacting with the kids. It was as if they felt threatened just by seeing our presence.
"I told them I'm innocent! Not fair! We even defeated the monsters, and these kids are still afraid of us," Alice croaked, and fell to the ground.
She had been running around the village, fixing things using her magic. Alice wanted to show the people that she meant to help other people by using her abilities. But that purpose turned around to her and scared most of the people who witnessed the scene. It turned out that our plan failed to gather their trust for us.
But this girl refused to give up. Alice would relentlessly try to capture their hearts. The only problem that we needed to face was their shivering hearts and their fragile backbones.
"If Clint and his family could do it, everyone could! I mean, look at that guy! He's not even flinching. Is he flinching? Tell me you're not flinching, or else I will make you flinch! You're not scared of us, are you? See what I mean! Argh! This thing is so hard and stressful… I want a cup of tea…" Alice groaned.
Rowana, Clint's little daughter, prepared a cup of warm juice for Alice, which she asked for a while ago. The gothic girl expressed her gratitude to Rowana and cuddled with her. They were like two peas in the same pond. If people saw them together, they might assume that these two were siblings.
Clint cleared his throat and explained, "I was… a bit scared when I first knew that you were a mage, and that guy was a puppet. Embarrassing as it was, but that is the truth. However, knowing that you saved my daughter made me feel relieved. Since a powerful mage and her trusted puppet saved her, I placed my trust in the two of you for as long as I can remember."
"I'm sorry for bringing this up, but can I ask you something, Clint?" I raised my hand and asked.
"Sure. Go ahead."
"You told us you trust us. But why didn't you say anything about the villagers back then? We could've defended the town and turned united afterwards. It was a missed opportunity if you'd ask me. I don't want to come out rude, but I hope you understand."
Silence filled the atmosphere as everyone inside the room heard what I had asked. Even the villagers outside listened to our conversation and waited for Clint to answer my question.
But I thought I had crossed the line after asking for such a bold thing. Clint was the chief of this village. And anyone who heard my statement would consider it rude for the person who believed in us. So I attempted to erase everything and tell everyone it was just my misunderstandings.
'I asked nothing. I said nothing,' my mouth mumbled, hoping that these people would hear it.
Just as I was about to retort and cut off my question, Clint walked forward and took the spotlight from me.
"You are right. I should've paved the path and told the villagers earlier. But I felt too afraid. I was the most frightened person in this village when I first learned about your identities. So I did what I thought was best for them. I was wrong. I'm sorry."
Clint's words cut deep through my heart as I heard the magic words once more. I thought this world was a pantomime of Earth. But I had thought wrong.
Nobody I knew admitted their mistakes. And if they did, those scums were boastful enough to lift themselves once again, as if they were never saying sorry. It did not matter if those mobs were my parents or coworkers. All of them were the same, and I knew that.
But not here on this planet.
"I see. Thank you for saying sorry… And it wasn't your fault. It was nobody's fault, Clint. You're a good man. I admire you. You may be the best chief that this village has and will have until your reign. I hope you remain the same until your last breath guiding these people." I said, and lowered my head.
If I had a human vessel, my tears would flow from my eyes. I would have wept a thousand gallons of water after hearing Clint's words for me. Those were like music for my ears that I would love to listen to from everyone surrounding me.
It was not just Clint that changed my ideas and my beliefs, but also Alice. She had been there for me ever since and paved a way down that crooked road.
Clint did not want to add more fuel to the fire and let the conversation turn stale for the time being. It was for the best, considering the current atmosphere.
However, the noise coming from the front door shattered that awkwardness, with the children running towards us. These kids had sour facial expressions as they raced in our direction with open arms.
I thought we were under attack by them! But I had thought wrong.
"Alice! Alice! Sorry!"
"Mask! Mask, we're sorry!"
The children wailed in unison as they clamped us with their arms. They cried like a river while expressing their apologies to Alice and me. I did not know what to do, so I stole a glance at the gothic girl beside me.
Alice had already succumbed to the lightness! She had her lips moving upward for a smile while blasting a continuous chuckle! That girl enjoyed this situation we were in with the kids as they filled the room with bliss.
"Psst, Alice! What's happening?! Why did these kids have their hearts changed? One second ago, they were afraid of us! But now, look at them?!" I asked.
We were like mascots inside a mall that was in front of kitchen utensils and dull stuff. Those kids that did not want our attention came stampeding towards us like hyenas that found their meal. I did not know how to react to this occurrence.
Alice shook her head while laughing with the children. "I know, right?! And what are mascots? Do they look like food? I'd bet mascots are like food! You should probably just enjoy what's happening in front of us. Don't ask questions like why and how. Learn to accept everything without question! It's more fun that way, right?"
I heaved out a sigh and quivered my head. All I could think about was protecting this girl from various cults that could trick her! If someone says something about world peace by joining their organisation, Alice would believe their words!
"Who would say such a thing? 'Don't ask questions like why and how.' I don't know what has gotten to that girl!" I internally screamed, and sunk my face on the ground.
The surrounding kids poked my head, using twigs of some sort. These children thought of me as their action figure that could talk to them. One boy even mentioned that I was their favourite toy, and he cannot wait to play with me! And that game involved wrestling against each other, which proved to be a strenuous activity for an eight-year-old child!
We headed out of the shack and planned on returning the children to their parents. Since the night had already gotten old, we wanted these kids to arrive in their homes. We did not want them to stay late. This world had monsters in the forest, and it was Alice and my job to protect the village.
That was our side job for now if we wanted to stay in this town for a long while.
"Thank you, Alice, and Mask, for taking care of our children and our village." The parents thanked us and went on their way.
It was the first time in our life to receive an honest expression of gratitude from the townspeople. Our hearts could fly towards the moon if we wanted to right now.