It was all conflicting so Reo decided not to continue to ponder over it anymore.
He sighed and shook his head. Masking his thoughts behind a neutral expression, he turned towards Mr. Ridge and asked:
"Why did you let us come with you?" Reo had his ideas concerning that, he merely wanted to hear it from the man's lips.
Mr. Ridge lingered silently for a few short seconds. His grey eyes were still, his expression was stoic and clear. Reo gave voice to what some others of the kids were thinking, so Don, Leon, Kyle, Trise and Lia all turned to him, awaiting a response.
Mr. Ridge shrugged his shoulders.
"Why ask that when you already know?"
Reo wore a small wry smile at that response and turned his face back to the view. The others however all arched their brows and tilted their heads in question at this vague and cryptic interaction between the two.
"They just met yesterday and they're already speaking in code." Don whispered into Leon's ears and the others nodded in unison. And Reo was forced to suppress a chuckle.
"It's a modest but fulfilling village," Mr. Ridge, after a short moment of silence, opened his mouth and began to say,
"It's a remote place, and it's location is privy to the constant threat of monsters that make up the packs of the whole mountain range. But it's also where my families and friends are. As a guard, it remains my duty to preserve the peaceful living of this...small group of lifestyle. But as a fellow villager, either way, my feelings towards that are multiplied."
As he spoke, I could feel the weight behind each of his words reverberate.
Mr. Ridge chuckled.
"You see, kids. I really like this village. Enough so that I didn't hesitate to join the team assigned to protect its gates from prowling beasts. My choice as a guard was entirely willing and not influenced by conditions or circumstances. It was a rather simple decision. I loved the place, my family is here, and I had power," at the last part, I watched Mr. Ridge clench his fist, and as he released it, his lips broke into a warm smile, contrasting his usual nature and appearance.
"So I decided to preserve it. I'll have you know I've had many opportunities to fully exploit my capabilities on the outside world. I've been to places, and seen all kinds of things during my life." Then he turned to me and added:
"Even fought side by side you're father many times before we arrived here."
By this time, I had already heard about something similar from Cliff himself when he recounted his adventures and time as Blood Knight from his prime. Mr. Ridge was one name to pop up quite often.
It wasn't an understatement to say Mr. Ridge was an incredible knight himself back in the days. He and Cliff were initially part of the same Adventurers party back when they were younger, just before the war that dubbed Cliff and his achievements Blood Knight. Even then, they both fought side by side and was also recognized.
"Tired of the liveliness and business of the big city, I retired and decided to raise a family in a more quiet and peaceful place when I found here. My time in the city was definitely a lively one with a lot of this and that happening and going on. It was a life filled with lots of excitement, but here, that's not the case, in fact, it's the exact opposite, excluding the periodic monster subjugations around the villages' perimeter."
He was tired of the excitement in the city that he decided to move on to the countryside where it was relatively more quiet and peaceful. It was something I could silently relate too, as well. The liveliness of the big cities can become a little overbearing eventually, you'd wish you could just go hang with a few relatives who lived in the country.
"At first it all started out as a means for me to just escape the relentless bustling of the big cities and a break from the aspects of the outside world. I found a small remote village situated in the mountains, away from the rest of the world. I arrived, it was friendly, warm and welcoming to me. I noticed the residents were happy and undisturbed by outside. They were calm and live out their days with fulfillment. Initially, it made me suspicious." His words forced confused expression on our faces.
"What?" We uttered in unison.
Mr. Ridge remained quiet, and gathered his thoughts before speaking.
"I had lived by the sword for most of my life. Fought wars, and beasts and all sorts of creatures. I had been around nearly all corners of the empire, and each had it's own fair share of problems. But this place was different. It had it's own problems of constant harassment of Magical creatures, but they continued to live untainted by even that. It was like nothing could oppress their smiles and gazes. For someone like me who had been in battles for more than I could count, the peace was... unsettling. I was overwhelmed, and felt lost."
"..." The lids of my eyes slowly widened.
"My stay which was initially supposed to be a short while, lasted months Instead. I got immersed in their simple lifestyle. At first I continued to deny the peace, but the longer I stayed, the more I realized, it was I who was tainted. The problem was me, not them. Those months eventually turned into years," he paused then turned his gaze towards Leon with a smile full of enough warmth to melt snow.
"After all, it was when I met your mother."
"..."
I could swear I noticed Leon's expression falter with bashful blush marks. The embarrassed blonde boy quickly turned his face away, a small curse left his lips, and Mr. Ridge laughed again.
This was the third time I had seen him do that. No matter how many times, I still perceived it as bizzare.
'But it's nice.'
After that, Mr. Ridge continued.
"I realized it was I who was disillusioned by the world. My experiences and childhood had raised certain barriers and nutured my perspective. And to ascertain this, I would leave the village, only to return back. It turned out, I couldn't feel at home anywhere else anymore. Anywhere else but here. Before I had realized it, I had thought this place as my home, and it took me as long as it did to make a family, to understand that. I understood that a home could be anything you willed it to be, as long as you've chosen it."
Mr. Ridge's words rang clear to me:
'The only one stopping you from recognizing your home, is you.'
Better yet:
'I'm the reason I feel lost here.'
Then he shrugged.
"It was my home, the place of my family, so I decided to preserve it. After all, I had the power to."
With that, Mr. Ridge concluded and made his point.
He wanted me to truly understand the value of what I see as dear to me and treasured. If I could truly understand that, then...
My gaze returned back to the village. The mid-afternoon sun was high. Then I turned my gaze back to the kids by my side.
Don had his hands folded and was nodding away resolutely with closed eyes, despite the fact he could barely understand the point of this exchange. Trise and Kyle were, as usual, bickering away, with Kyle in a very concerning clutch hold from Trise. Leon blue gaze remained still on the horizon, a sharp tinge of conviction hid in it's depths. Lia pulled her fluttering hair back, her mind absorbed in her thoughts.
Then the image of a bragging Cliff flickered in my mind, and the memory of Layla's harmonious humming, her figure as graceful as winter snow in her mundane activities chasing after it.
I traced my vision back to the village, feeling the wind against my face from such a high vantage point. I reviewed the words of Mr. Ridge, all of the hidden meaning and points.
"I see." I muttered with a small helpless smile.
"What is dear to me, huh. Family, my friends...my home."
Finding a tinge of amusement in my behavior and thoughts, I jerk my neck backwards and broke in heartfelt laughter. The palm of my hands pressing against my face.
"...Huh?"
I continued to laugh, as if a means in expelling all of my previous doubts, underneath the questioning gazes of my 'friends'. Slowly, it all began to resonate, my thoughts and emotion. They all began to make sense, now.
What I held dear, all I needed was to take a look at it, in the end.
"Uhh, Reo, are you okay? Did you get hit by Trise? Hey, Trise, I already told you not to hit Reo! Look what you've done to him now?!" I heard the rebuking voice of Don next to me and suppressed my laugh, using the chance to wipe the tears threatening to fall off the corners of my eyes.
Coming to this realization, this acceptance, all of a sudden, I felt weightless.
"No, Don. It's nothing. I'm fine." I said behind a few sniffles.
I turned to the rest of the others and channeling the new warmth in my heart, I gave my first genuine heart
felt smile in the past weeks.
"I'm perfectly fine."