Night came while we were inside the Dakiya forest. We had jerky and bread for dinner because we couldn't start a fire while we were inside the forest, or it would only attract the monster. After we finished eating, we decided to sleep, so we covered the floor inside the carriage with a layer of blankets and laid on it. Father, just like yesterday, was sitting at the door of the carriage while holding Pride's leash, who was sleeping on the ground. He keeps Pride on his side because Pride might get attacked by monsters. I tried to sleep but I can't sleep so I stand up and go to father's side.
"Will, why are you still awake?" He asked me.
"I can't sleep; I'll stay here until I get drowsy so you can sleep for a moment," I answered.
"No, I won't sleep tonight." I need to watch my surroundings. "This place is not like the grassy plains where we slept yesterday; this place is dangerous."
"That's why I said I'd take a watch so you can sleep even an hour," I said.
"No, this place is dangerous even for you," he replied.
"Then I'll just accompany you until I feel drowsy," I said.
"Yeah, do that," he replied.
After a minute of silence, I suddenly remembered what I wanted to ask him.
"Father, is the monster here in the forest weaker than the monster you fought on the battlefield?" I asked.
"Yeah, they're weaker; that's why I can easily kill them with just one spell," he answered.
"What's the difference between monsters here and monsters on the battlefield?" I asked again.
"The difference between monsters here and monsters on the battlefield is that monsters on the battlefield were five times stronger than the monsters here," he answered.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Because the physical and magical traits of monsters on the battlefield were boosted by the demons," he answered.
"Now that I've answered your questions, it's my turn to ask you questions," he said.
"Okay," I replied.
"Will, what really happened while I was at the capital?" He asked.
That's right, Father doesn't know what happened while he was gone because we don't want to talk about it anymore. If we tell Father what happened, the memory of that time will just resurface. All we tell Father is that Uncle Philip suffered a trauma on the battlefield; that's why he was sent to the capital.
"I know that something happened, but it seems that you won't tell me even if I asked; that's why I refrained from asking." "But I really want to know what happened so I can help in any way." "Am I really that unreliable?" He said.
Father has a right to know what happened, but we hide it from him, and it makes him sad and think we find him unreliable. Maybe that's the reason why he's doing his best to look reliable this whole journey.
"No, if you ask me, you're a really reliable father." "We just hide it from you so it won't resurface again, but now maybe I can tell you what happened because there are only the two of us here." "Just promise me you won't tell them that I told you," I said.
"Will, thank you for trusting me," he replied.
After that, I told him all that happened while he was gone, and it made him surprised at what he learned.
"So while I'm in the capital, you're experiencing something like that." "I'm sorry that I'm not there to help you," he said.
"No, it's not your fault; what I did was out of pure selfishness, so if I ever got hurt while doing it, it's my fault," I explained.
"No, what you did was the right thing." "If ever I was in the same position, I would do the same thing." "Your mother might have a different view in this matter, but to me, what you did was right." "You protected Chris from getting harmed and stopped Philip before he did something irreversible to his family." "Be proud of yourself." "What you did was the right thing." He said, then patted my head.
Tears started to fall from my eyes. I don't know that just being praised like that can make me happy like this. No, maybe because he understood my intentions at that time while I was fighting Uncle Philip. I thought no one would understand my intentions; that's why I just kept these feelings to myself. But here's my father, who praised and understood me for what I did at the time, and that's what makes me so happy.
"You did a good job," he said, then hugged me.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there at that time to take your side." "So to compensate for it, from now on, if you have a problem, just come to me." "I'll do my best to help you solve it, but only when I'm not on the battlefield, okay?" he added.
"Yeah, thank you, father," I replied, continuing to cry.
In my mind, I'm thanking the angel who gave me the best father that I could ever ask for.
After that, we just silently sat there until I got drowsy and decided to go to sleep.