"Get out, and never come back. You're not welcome here..." Those were the last words the young man said to Max before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind him with a fuming look on his face. Rosalia stood nearby, immediately noticing the shift in the mood.
"What happened, Light?" She hurried over to him with concern, leaving her father standing alone as he observed the situation with a serious expression. It was hard to tell what exactly he was thinking.
"That stranger... he's not a good person. Arrogant, hateful, shameless." Light's voice trembled with anger. "He wasn't even happy with what I gave him. That piece of bread... my mother..." His voice broke, and he began to sob. "She wouldn't have died if we had that piece of bread. And he... he—"
His face fell into Rosalia's chest as she pulled him into a hug.
"Don't worry, Light." She spoke so softly it could have warmed snow itself. "I won't allow anyone to harm our village. If he does not change, I will personally deal with it, okay~?" Her voice came out melodic, but her eyes glowed with a cold blue light as she looked toward the door behind which Max remained.
Meanwhile, the culprit himself sat in silence, deep in thought. Max was weighing his options in this world. It was already bad enough that he had made enemies of the first people he met.
This village was the only place he knew so far, and he did owe Rosalia and her father a favor for saving his life. He didn't want to remain in debt, so he began thinking of ways to improve the village's productivity with modern knowledge.
He might not have been a good student in school, but he had watched plenty of anime and movies, and some of them had included farming and crop growth.
"Can I do it? Or will I just make a fool of myself again?" His fingers tightened around the bread. It was so hard that it barely cracked despite him using most of his strength. "No, I'll do it. I just need to believe in myself for once."
His eyes burned with a determination he had never felt before. It was an unexplainable feeling to a person who had never truly tried, who had always given up on everything. This time, he wanted to prove himself—not to anyone else, but to himself alone—that he could be a real man when it truly mattered.
After Light had calmed down, Rosalia exchanged a few more words with her father. They came to the decision to execute Max tomorrow, but they had to make sure no one else in the village noticed. There had already been enough drama over the food.
Now she stood outside the door of the hut where he was staying, her hand resting against the wood. She didn't know why, but her heart was racing more than usual. She had never killed anyone before. Such a decision was not easy. But in order to protect the peace of the clan and keep their location secret, she had to become the leader her father needed her to be.
"Max, can we talk—?"
The old wooden door creaked open under her push, but what she saw next made her question her decision.
Her eyes met Max, who sat on the hard bed eating the bread he had been given, soaking it in water and quietly chewing without complaining about the taste or the amount. When his eyes met hers, a smile rose on his chapped lips.
"Oh, Rosalia. I thought you wouldn't come back today."
She stood speechless at his calm behavior. She had expected him to complain, to demand a richer meal from her, not to actually eat what he had been given without protest.
"Thank you for the food. I didn't get the chance to thank the boy who came here earlier. We... we didn't get off to the best start, and that's on me."
His hands pushed against the bed as he forced himself upright, setting the stale bread and mug aside. His legs trembled beneath him. His wounds might have healed, but his strength was nowhere close to returning.
"Today..." he said, barely able to stand, making Rosalia rush to his side to support him. "I want to work. Anything will do, as long as I'm not useless. I understand now that I didn't know the situation of this place. I want to earn my keep and not be a leech."
His eyes burned with a determination that was hard to fake, and Rosalia could see it clearly. Her heart split in two. She had already decided to kill him, and now he was suddenly showing the resolve to prove his worth? She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but in the end, she only shook her head.
"You have no strength right now. Even something as simple as chopping wood would kill you. Rest. I'll find you a job after your magic awakening ceremony. It will help your recovery." She tried to push him back onto the bed, but to her surprise, he resisted.
The reaction shocked her.
Where was he getting so much strength from? He had only just escaped death, and yet he was already showing signs of recovery. Was he truly human? Her mind reeled.
"No, I don't want to owe you for this delicious meal." He shook his head.
But then, something lit up in a soft blue glow. Rosalia waved her magic-infused hand before his eyes, and his body immediately slumped back onto the bed.
"Sleep..." she said softly, catching him and gently laying him down. "Rest today, and tomorrow I will keep my promise to you. I will help you awaken your magic."
She spoke to his sleeping face after casting the relaxation spell.
"I don't know what to do with you. You seem both good and bad, but my heart tells me you're not that bad after all. Am I stupid?" She brushed his cheek with the back of her fingers. "I might be making a mistake. I will trust the determination I saw in your eyes, but if you betray that trust even once—if I see anything that would make me doubt you... I will kill you. I can't risk my clan for you, Max..."
Her soft footsteps carried her out of the hut, leaving Max sleeping soundly, the bread now resting on the old table.
The moon soon replaced the sun, and then the sun replaced the moon, bringing a new day.
Max's eyes opened with difficulty, his head splitting with a sharp ache. He had slept for twenty-three hours. The timer on his system showed that his magic would awaken soon.
He turned his head to the side, feeling as if he had been hit by a train, but then he nearly fell off the bed.
"Rosalia?"
She sat on the chair, watching him silently with gentle eyes.
"Did you sleep well, Max?" she asked cheerfully, though faint dark circles lingered beneath her eyes. She had not been able to sleep at all because of the weight of her decision. "Follow me. It's time for your magic awakening..."