"How can I attack someone if you show me this scene?" Meliodas asked, with a grumbling tone.
However, this bard had already accepted his defeat. He knew I wanted to convey this scene to him, telling Meliodas that he was fighting against the wrong enemy.
"We need to choose our fights, Meliodas. Not every knight wants to use their power for evil. There would be some of them that could do those things. But don't exclude the knights that could actually change the system."
"I know. You don't have to tell me twice. I am not that stupid, Arthur."
After our exchange, Meliodas returned to the room and fixed his things. Meliodas glued his eyes on the ground, gathering his thoughts inside his head. I could only guess that he had a shocking revelation upon witnessing Fisher's family before him.
Well, Meliodas was a man who believed that those knights were all up to no good. And now that image shattered into a million shards, Meliodas placed some doubts in his beliefs.
"Maybe it's just Fisher who's kind to his family and an honest man. We cannot find anyone else besides Fisher, Arthur," Meliodas claimed, and rejected the scenery he just saw.
I shook my head and answered, "There are a lot of knights out there that are doing the same thing. However, since tyrants and other troublemaker knights would find these good guys as a hindrance, those good guys would disappear without a trace. Hence, those soldiers would either kill them or make them quit their posts. If I were in their shoes, I would have done the same thing. It's just a matter of chance in meeting these pure people, Meliodas. You have to know that."
Even back in my previous world, it was difficult to move someone's beliefs. But that thought could always have a replacement that could benefit the person. It was just a matter of patience and accepting those facts and opinions of others.
Meliodas also shared that same trait as those people in my world. I was no psychiatrist, but I knew that giving him some time to think would be worth a shot.
"For now, collect your thoughts and rest for the time being. If you're up for it, you could join us for a meal prepared by Fisher. Tomorrow morning, after we rest, we carry on with our journey. We cannot waste any second idling around in this place," I explained, while moving onto a different door. "Make yourself at home. All the villagers around here are nice, especially the old lady next door. Just a quick reminder, you need to shout at her. And by the way, you could have fun with the kids running around. You know, children. They're a little active nowadays."
After saying my fill, I exited the place and left Meliodas on his own accord. I waited for a few minutes to check his condition. Within those moments, Meliodas shouted inside the room, talking to someone who had a weaker voice.
I could only guess that Meliodas was talking to the old lady I mentioned earlier. That aged woman was also a chef who would prepare the materials for Fisher.
There was a door inside the room where I left Meliodas. That gate would lead to the playground where Meliodas would meet those rowdy children. It took Meliodas a few minutes before exploring the entire place.
As soon as Meliodas went towards the other room, he immediately interacted with the kids. I could only guess that Fisher's children also made Meliodas their playmate. Since Meliodas also saved them, those children would also see him as a hero.
"ARTHUR! HELP!" growls coming from Meliodas echoed behind that door.
But I paid no mind to that sound and continued visiting Merleen and Fenrir. Meliodas should be alright inside that room, together with the children. Those little rascals could keep Meliodas company, or the other way around.
"Have fun, Meliodas!"
"NOO!"
When I said my goodbyes, I hurriedly went towards the rooms of Merleen and Fenrir. Upon arriving at the designated studio, I opened the door and looked at their sleeping faces.
Fenrir and Merleen had it rougher when Meliodas created those sound waves. Fenrir was a wolf who had heightened senses, while Merleen didn't shield herself from those blaring sounds. The two shared some damage against Meliodas. Hence, making them deaf for a few seconds.
But within a few moments, Fenrir opened her eyes and slowly sat on the bed. She wiped her eyes and met my orbs staring back at her body.
"Are you fantasizing about me?" she asked, while half-asleep.
"Yes. The two of you," I answered, and threw a joke at Fenrir.
I expected Fenrir to hiss at me and smack me in the face after that perverted comment. But Fenrir allowed me to say those words and shook her head.
I changed the course of our conversation and asked Fenrir about her condition. Fenrir raised her head and told me everything I needed to do.
"When I heard those sound waves, my brain automatically shut down. Those sound waves Meliodas produced would only harm us…. me if he planned on attacking everyone. Arthur, do you remember the time where we teamed up and defeated the demon? My eyes did not turn deaf even after hearing those thunderous notes. But after that fight, my ears got temporarily disabled by the spell. I think it's the aftermath of that magic ability, considering that we're dealing with music. It's an ability that I am not confident about," Fenrir narrated, while crossing her arms.
The hound girl had a point when she mentioned all of those. Fenrir could hear all the sounds more clearly than most humans. This girl was a wolf, for Albion's sake. It was not a surprise to learn that Fenrir would feel more pain than us if her senses got affected.
"How about Merleen?" Fenrir asked. "What would happen to her? Is that condition permanent? Will that make her deaf throughout our journey?"
I wanted to tease Fenrir about her sudden concern with Merleen. She was not like this to the team. That girl always told everyone how she hated the group and would definitely watch us die.
But when Merleen got injured, Fenrir's eyes turned sour as she gazed on the ground.
"Merleen shielded me from the musical blast. Which I think is the reason I could still hear my ears after a few hours. If Merleen had not done that, maybe I would have been the one who got deaf instead of Merleen," Fenrir suggested, as she combed her hair using her hands.
"Come on, now. It's nobody's fault. And according to my system, Merleen's condition would go back to normal after twenty-four hours. As soon as we hit that time, we would resume our journey and head straight at the demon," I answered. "Even Meliodas changed. He's not our enemy, Fenrir. He's also our friend, okay? Meliodas did something wrong. But we should have the spirit to forgive him."
Fenrir was the type of girl who would start world war three when she heard a word she didn't like. This wolf girl would also attack anyone in sight as long as those people were criminals stirring trouble inside the city.
But besides these reasons, Fenrir was still a creature who could think for herself. Meliodas nearly killed Merleen and Fenrir. And it wouldn't surprise me if these two hated Meliodas' guts.
However, that conflict would prove to hinder us down in the future. As much as possible, I'd love to have peace between the two groups.
I told everything about Meliodas to Fenrir. Since I already locked the door, nobody would know about telling Meliodas story.
After a few minutes, Fenrir finally knew the reason behind killing soldiers. Since Fisher was also a soldier, Meliodas wanted to kill him too. Since I was not a soldier in this world, Meliodas did not see me as a threat. I also had the arcane capacity of a child that could barely practice magic. I was that pathetic that Meliodas disregarded me as someone capable of killing his uncle's son.
"So, what do you think about it? Care to give Meliodas another chance? He's just doing it to avenge the death of his uncle's son. But as a party, we would try to encourage Meliodas our policy," I said.
"And what exactly is our policy, Arthur?" Fenrir asked.
"It's uh…." I answered with a hoarse voice escaping my mouth. "We do not kill except if that person is a bad guy? Now that I've thought about it, that's really a complex rule we imposed in our group."
"You're the only one who imposed those rules, Arthur. I will just abide because…. nothing," Fenrir replied , and finally gave me her answer. "Fine. You've taught me something on our journey. Maybe we could teach Meliodas one or two lessons about his problem."
Fortunately, Fenrir agreed to that decision. And here I thought Fenrir would growl at me and punch me in the face.