Neither could I hear anything, nor could I see anything. In this darkness that seemed eternal, I began to wonder if I was dead. Being dead didn't make sense to me…
Fortunately, I was convinced that I was still alive, it turned out to be true as this void that I was in suddenly vanished.
What replaced this void was the sound of my usual surroundings. The sound of emptiness and the sight of almost nothing.
It was the cave area that I had become all too accustomed to already. I was back, no longer in that strange void, however, my subordinates were nowhere near me and I didn't seem to be in the town that had at least a bit of lighting. Thinking about it, the thought of magic came to mind.
"It seems to be some kind of teleporting magic." I muttered and looked down intently. Then, I crouched down to get a better view of a red calligraphy that had caught my eye just now.
There was a lot of dust on top of this red drawing, making it barely noticeable in this dark place that I was in. Fortunately, my eyes could see just fine enough, but the dust still hindered me from getting a good look at it.
This time, I was curious to know what kind of symbol-like drawing it was, and used my hand to wipe away the dust.
While wiping away the dust, all of a sudden, I noticed the calligraphy releasing a dim glow. Again, I was enveloped by nothingness. Just like before, it took a solid minute for the void to dissipate and reveal the destination that I had teleported into.
"He's back!"
It was the first clear line that entered my ears. It seems that I have returned to the town.
"Are you okay? What happened?" The hazel-eyed girl ran to me with a look of worry. Her cheeks were stained with water and there were still tears left in her eyes. It was enough to indicate that there had been a lot going on this side while I was gone.
"See! I told you! He didn't leave us, he went to that nest of centipedes I found!" Next I heard the exclamations of the strawberry guy while I was occupied by the hazel eyed girl. Right now, she was sticking to me like a moth.
Through the corner of my eyes, I saw the strawberry guy arguing with the others. He seemed to be protecting his pride, while the others showed sorry reactions.
"Something went wrong while I was gone, huh…' helplessly, I thought,'It seems that they become chaotic once I disappear… I better observe them more in the future and correct their mistakes…'
While in thought, I saw the strawberry guy letting out a sigh before walking his way towards me.
'Wait... That distance...' My face distorted as a certain thought popped up in my mind,
'Were they just about to abandon me?! But why? I was not gone for long, was I?' I was confused.
"Were you guys about to leave just now?" I asked the strawberry looking guy when I saw his mouth move to say something. I did not want to delay this question which could help to solve my confusion, as it looks more important than the words that the guy 'troubled-with-his-pride' might say.
A sense of status that he wants to achieve, a status superior to his fellow teammates as every one of his suggestions were accepted by the one whom they all decided to follow. This kind of pride… Although he might not be doing it on purpose, I keenly felt he was perhaps using his teammates as stepping stones?
I would say it is reasonable for him to do so though. Right now, it was quite right for him to defend his ego. His pride, self-opinion, or better said, the desire to feel important and superior.
I'd say it's even more than just reasonable for him to be trying to look better before the others, because the way he does try to make himself look better, is by flaunting that he was the only one who believed that I didn't abandon them.
How sweet…
Still.. I couldn't let something as a completely unbalanced team of subordinates exist. Although it is quite nice of him to be desperate to be a useful subordinate to me, it's better for me to set some limitations.
For this reason, I spoke my words first before he could. I wanted to prevent him from possibly rambling on about himself and diminishing the self esteem of others too much to the point that he might even develop an arrogant personality.
Answering my question, the strawberry guy nearly screamed as he rattled on and on, "They thought you were taken away by the sorcery of those evil people! I said you would come back here soon, but they didn't want to wait! They didn't believe me and were so persistent to look for you somewhere else! Idiots, all of them. Tch!"
Like I had predicted. I was able to avoid making the guy praise himself too much by having the first word.
Because of my preventive actions, his words were not too biased. I even felt like agreeing when he called them idiots. After all, if I did get taken away by magic, then rushing to save me when they don't even know where I am and when they don't even know how to get out, would definitely be the very last thing I want them to do.
The best course of action for them would have been to wait, investigate the last place I was before going missing, or prepare for a potential fight. They should have followed what the strawberry guy had been advising, because what if I had been injured in that place before teleporting back? I could have slowly bled to death with no one to tend to my injuries!
But, oh well, it was only natural for them, newcomers to emotions, to react like that. I didn't criticize them, nor was I disappointed. I had never planned to fully rely on them anyway.
I sighed inwardly. Witnessing my subordinates exhibit so many flaws within a day, I felt the weight of my responsibilities growing larger.
"Sutow.." I wanted to say something to the strawberry guy in reply to the words he had just said, but instead, I blurted out his nickname with an articulation mistake that made me not say the word strawberry correctly.
"What?" The guy tilted his head slightly, not asking what I wanted to say, but displaying confusion due to the word he couldn't understand, even with the passive mutual race translation.
"Ah, my bad-" I was about to correct my error; however, I realized that this situation was an opportunity. An opportunity for me to simplify things and to establish my position while also giving the strawberry guy a sense of achievement that won't easily develop into arrogance. A name is more of a personal connection between me and him after all. So with this, it's hardly possible for him to think of being better than everyone and eventually perhaps even me. He'll only have a closer connection with me compared to others. He won't be smarter, better, or stronger than others with this kind of achievement.
"That's your name. Sutow..." Was how I changed my words. "I'll refer to you as Sutow from now on," I continued. "Consider it a proof of recognition from me. A sign that you have made a few accomplishments in my eyes."