Takumi crushed the bullet in his hand, leaving everyone around him stunned.
It took a while before the crowd could even react.
"Hey, isn't that the kid who saved Julio's daughter? When did he get here?"
"Did he really just crush that bullet? How is that even possible? Can a normal person do that?"
"This is terrifying… Who is that kid, really? And why would he save the snow monster? Has he lost his mind...?"
Takumi couldn't care less about what these people were saying. He turned to glance at Chopper, who was barely standing, his body trembling from the wounds he had suffered.
Honestly, Takumi didn't have to interfere. If the story unfolded the way it was supposed to, Chopper wouldn't die from a few gunshots.
But the look in Chopper's eyes—a look of deep pain and despair, far worse than any physical injury—made Takumi hesitate.
"Run," Takumi said calmly.
His tone was indifferent, without much emotion. Yet to Chopper, who had been tormented and rejected by both reindeer and humans, these words carried immense meaning.
This human… he's different from the others.
That was all Chopper could think as gunshots rang out again.
Someone had circled around, trying to hit Chopper from the side.
Takumi raised his hand and caught the bullet aimed at Chopper, crushing it to dust.
Startled, Chopper instinctively stepped back.
Takumi looked at him again and repeated, "Run."
Without another word, Chopper turned and bolted into the pine forest.
At that moment, a familiar notification sounded in Takumi's mind.
[Beep! Helping Chopper escape danger and earning his favor. Sign-in progress increased by 20%. Current total progress: 50%. Reward: Fairy Sphere skill level increased by 1. Current Fairy Sphere level: Lv2.]
Instantly, Takumi felt a deeper understanding of the Fairy Sphere ability.
He couldn't help but think back to the past two months, when he had searched high and low for Chopper, only to come up empty-handed.
And now, Chopper had just shown up on his own…
I guess when it comes to these sign-in tasks, it's better to just go with the flow, Takumi thought to himself.
With that, he decided not to chase after Chopper. Instead, he took a detour, walking past the crowd and heading back into the town.
"Hey, kid! Do you realize what you just did?" one of the men yelled.
"You let the snow monster go! Do you have any idea how dangerous that thing is? That creature's nothing but trouble!" another shouted.
"Yeah, you shouldn't have saved that monster! If you're so strong, why didn't you just help us kill it?" someone else added.
As Takumi walked past the group of armed men, they bombarded him with complaints.
Ignoring them, Takumi kept walking, not interested in engaging.
But Law, unable to stay silent, shouted back, "Are you guys sure that was the snow monster? Did it hurt any of you? Did it do anything wrong?"
Law's questions left the crowd speechless.
After a moment of awkward silence, the townspeople began to grumble again.
"It hasn't hurt us yet, but do we really have to wait until it does before we take action?"
"Exactly! Even if it's not the snow monster, it's still a freakish creature—half human, half something else! Monsters like that are dangerous, no matter what. Even if we don't kill it, we can't let it near our town!"
Law was shocked by how deep-seated the people's prejudice was against the creature, who clearly wasn't the snow monster they feared.
Frustrated, Law clenched his fists and continued, "Have you ever tried talking to it? Do you even know what it wants? Do you really know if it's dangerous or not?"
"Talk to a monster? Are you crazy, kid? Seriously..." one man scoffed.
"We don't have time to get to know a monster. If we let it get too close, who knows what it might do? It could kill us in an instant."
"Yeah! That creature might be trying to trick us by pretending to be harmless, thinking it can fool us. Ha! It's insulting if it thinks we'd fall for that. How ridiculous."
Law was furious. He realized that no matter what he said, he wouldn't be able to change these people's minds about Chopper.
Arguing with these ignorant, narrow-minded people felt like a waste of time.
Realizing this, Law decided to drop it and turned to catch up with Takumi.
Ever since Takumi had stepped in to shield Chopper from the bullets, Law had suspected that the creature Takumi had been searching for over the past two months was none other than the misunderstood "snow monster."
At first, Law couldn't understand why Takumi hadn't said a word in defense of Chopper, especially when the townspeople were so hostile toward him.
But now, he got it.
There was no point in arguing with people who were so stubbornly set in their ways. Sometimes, staying silent was the better option.
After all, nothing would change. No matter how much was said, it wouldn't make a difference.
At least, that's what Law thought.
In reality, Takumi simply didn't feel like talking.
Soon after, news of Takumi's ability to crush bullets with his bare hands spread throughout Cocoa Weed Town.
Meanwhile, Takumi himself had already left the town, heading toward the small town near the harbor.
It had been a while since he'd visited a tavern, and today seemed like a good day to enjoy a drink.
After walking for over half an hour, Takumi arrived at the only town on Drum Island with an open tavern.
When he stepped inside, it was just like the first time he had walked into the taverns in Foosha Village and Shimotsuki Village—he was met with a chorus of mocking laughter from the patrons.
"Well, look what we have here! A little kid in a tavern? Are you lost, kid? If you're looking for juice, you're in the wrong place. The convenience store is next door, hahaha..."
"Check him out! He's got two swords on his waist and a gourd! What's in there, kid, juice? Hahaha."
"Hey, kid, this isn't the place for you. Go on home, hahaha."
Takumi ignored the jeers, walking straight to the U-shaped bar and sitting on one of the high stools. Before the bartender could tell him to leave, Takumi pulled out a handful of Beli and placed it on the bar.
The bartender blinked in surprise.
Takumi, his expression unreadable, said, "Give me your best drink."
"Uh, sure thing." The bartender quickly pocketed the Beli. As far as he was concerned, money was money, whether it came from an adult or a kid.
Moments later, the bartender placed a bubbling glass of liquor in front of Takumi.
Takumi had just taken his first sip when Law walked in, catching up to him.
"So you really did come here to drink," Law said, sitting down beside Takumi. He eyed him incredulously. "You look even younger than me. How can you drink so much?"
Takumi didn't respond, simply continuing to enjoy his drink.
When he finished the glass and pulled out another handful of Beli to order another, the tavern door suddenly burst open.
A man in a deep blue coat rushed in, looking panicked. "Something's happened! There's trouble in Cocoa Weed Town!"
********
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