"That's the disaster?"
"A sword?"
"It's black."
"And a little ominous."
"What about that red gem? Looks expensive."
"Is it just me or is the stone shining?"
"Can I touch it?"
Everyone expressed their interest and curiosity as Ale let them have a glance of his baby. He looked more like a proud parent showing off their child with every chance they got.
"Now now everyone. One at a time please, he's quite shy."
Ale spoke about the sword as if it was a person. It wasn't wrong either. The sword did have it's own consciousness and personality.
It was also capable of making it's own choices and decisions, just like before when it choose Ale as it's master just cause it took a liking to him.
"He?"
"Shy?"
"The sword?"
Ron, Phil and Gary, the three of them showed the most interest as they kept hovering over the sword and staring intensely at it. Being the strongest of the bunch, they probably felt more things compared to others when they looked at the sword.
"Yes. The disaster earlier wasn't intentional. Since it had no owner, it simply couldn't keep all of it's power under control and involuntarily released some of it, causing the disaster."
"Is that so.."
"So that's what happened.."
"Poor guy.."
The three looked at the sword with pity as they nodded their head in understanding.
"Also, it can change it's shape at will, but it prefers being a sword over other things."
"So it even has it's own preference."
"I wish I could change shape as well."
"The sword looks cool."
Ale looked at the three of them with a mixture of amusement and fondness as he continued answering their questions one by one.
"And it's black because black is it's favourite colour. The ominous feeling you're getting is because of it's power source, dark energy."
"Favourite colour huh..."
"Mine's purple.."
"But black is cool too.."
"Yeah, you'll love him once you get to know him. He's a fun guy to be around. Oh-!"
Ale made a surprised expression as he looked back at the sword. The red gem suddenly started blinking as if it was trying to say something.
"What is it?"
"Is he saying something to us?"
"Does he want to be our friend?"
The trio looked at Ale with sparkling eyes waiting for him to translate.
"Well.. It says that it's glad to have met you all. And hopes that none of you are prejudiced against dark energy."
Ale scratched his head as he conveyed the swords feelings to his teammates. The sword he knew from the past was a grumpy one, barely speaking a few words even with Ale himself during the first few months of their acquaintance.
The swords personality right now seems vastly different from the one Ale remembers of the past. It even sounds friendly. He wondered what might have happened in the next few years for it to change so drastically.
"Awww... He's such a friendly guy."
"Now I feel bad for misunderstanding and judging him earlier."
"Please tell him not to worry, young master. None of us are prejudiced against dark energy!"
"Yeah, it's just another form of energy anyway!"
Even Kevin joined them this time, showing his clear interest in a sword that knew what prejudice and social perspective was. He could already tell that the sword was smarter than the three idiots standing beside him. And a smart teammate was always welcomed by him.
"But.. are you okay with that?"
Stuart asked, no longer being able to suppress his curiosity either.
"Sorry? Okay with what?"
Ale wondered what he was talking about as he looked at him in confusion. Rudy took a step forward, ready to stop Stuart from saying something stupid, something that might hurt Ale's feelings.
"Yours is light, right? Isn't that the complete opposite of dark energy? Are you okay?"
But Stuart finished his question anyway. And he looked genuinely concerned about Ale as he did so. Although a little late, the others also realized what he was thinking about and could relate why he'd ask that question.
Light and dark, as they sounded, were the complete opposite. Light was life, it healed people. On the other hand, Dark energy was just another form of death, it carried with it the shadow of death wherever it went.
Two people with those two attributes were known to not even be able to tolerate each other's presence or be in the same room without trying to kill each other. That's how severely they affected each other.
Light tried to get rid of darkness, while darkness only wanted to consume light wholly. The two would clash and gnaw at each other mindlessly, forgetting their surroundings.
Yet, Ale, a person with one of the purest light attribute, was holding a sword full of dark energy as if it was nothing. If anything, the two of them looked like they were meant for each other. It was an anomaly.
"Should I not be okay? But I am, see?"
Ale hugged the sword tight as he smiled sheepishly. He knew the complex nature of Stuart's question, and he also knew what kind of answer he should give to that question. But he didn't want to.
Sometimes, letting people realize the answer by themselves instead of just handing it to them was the better decision. People needs to grow and have their own opinion, not what was passed onto them through generation. Ale learned that the hard way.
"It's weird indeed. Do you feel no repulsion when you touch it?"
"Are your insides okay?"
"No pain?"
Even Alice and Ash sounded a little worried as they both inspected Ale and his condition on their own way. Alice could sense if something was wrong with someone.
But seeing Ale hugging the sword like that, she could only feel comfort and calm from the duo. There was nothing of danger and worry.
"I'm fine. A little sleepy perhaps, but fine otherwise."
Ale yawned as he spoke. After that warm medicinal bath that Kevin made him take, he was feeling constantly sleepy.
"Since it'll take a while for us to reach the island, why don't you take a short nap in the meantime?"
Rudy offered as he gestured for the others to leave the room.
"Then, we'll take our leave."
"For real this time."
"Please rest well, young master."
"And call for us if anything goes wrong!"
"Don't expect something to go wrong, you idiot!"
"I wasn't?!"
Ale laughed as he watched them all bid their goodbyes and leave the room one by one. Rudy was the last one remaining after Kevin dusted the bed and took his leave as well.
"Shall I turn off the lights before I leave?"
Rudy asked as he looked around. It was definitely too bright a room for someone to sleep. And everything was white, automatically brightening the air even more.
"No. That's alright. I can't sleep if it's dark."
Ale shook his head and answered Rudy's question. Kevin would've already done that if it was necessary. But that guy already knew all of Ale's preferences and icks.
"Okay. Sweet dreams."
Rudy paused for a moment after hearing Ale's reply, but pried no further and left the room. There were things one should ask and things better left unknown. He decided that this was the later case.
Ale slowly succumbed to the drowsy feeling and closed his eyes. It didn't take long before he fell deep asleep.
After coming outside, Rudy headed towards where the rescued people were being kept. Most of them had come to their senses by now and was looking around in confusion.
After seeing Rudy, many of them stood up and approached him, wanting to ask questions about their whereabouts and what exactly had happened, why they were there.
Rudy pacified them calmly and gave them a short explanation on what was going on, how they rescued them from the disaster and were now taking them to the authorities so they could return home.
The humans looked relieved, seeing how they were rescued by fellow humans and was going to get help from the authorities. But that wasn't the case for the other tribes.
If anything, they looked terrified just at the thought of being handled over to the authorities, humans, at worst. Most humans of their world held them at contempt and wanted nothing to do with them. The rest kidnapped, smuggled and killed them at sight. The world wasn't fair for them.
"Um, excuse me."
A representative from the other tribes came up to Rudy with hesitation and fear. Normally they wouldn't even do that, approach other humans that is.
But considering the fact that Rudy and his teammates were the ones that rescued them, they at least had the belief that their lives weren't at stake.
"Yes. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Rudy asked politely, assuming that the one before him was older than him in age. Other tribes had a much higher life expectancy compared to humans, so they usually looked younger than their real age.
"First of all, thank you for saving us."
The representative guy thanked Rudy, feeling a little at ease after hearing Rudy's respecting tone.
"But can you please let us off at the shore? We do not wish to be handed over to the authorities."
He requested, clearly at unease.
"But you guys don't have your boats."
Rudy could sense their unease, but he also knew that they'd be in further danger if he left them be, just like that.
"We'll manage. Please let us off at the shore."
But the guy insisted, showing his clear distrust towards humans. He'd, no, they'd rather have it hard and take the long way back rather than rely on the humans.
"I can see where you're coming from. And I also agree with you. But you see.."
If it was the normal times, Rudy would've let them off just as they requested. But something was different this time. Someone's presence was making a difference in his decision.
"The guy that mainly rescued you all is the son of the Duke. The island is his territory you see. So, I'm sure you all will get the best treatment there. Can you please trust me on this one?"
Rudy, being the main character and having that hollow behind him, managed to portray Ale as the saviour that'd rescue them from their years of prejudice and suffering.
The people from the other tribes, the beast men, moved by his words and actions, decided to trust Rudy and this mysterious young master that saved their lives, just this once.
"Okay.. We'll follow your advice then."
"That's great."
Rudy smiled pleasantly as he watched them change their mind and agree to listen to his advice.