Chapter 117: Feast

After saying all of those, Fenrir left the room to grab some fresh air. Well, I could only guess that Fenrir gave Merleen and me some alone time together. Since we had room for ourselves, we could do whatever we wanted before the feast could start.

The only people that could open that door were the owners of this house, which were Fisher and his family. Those people would knock if they noticed the locked doors, even though they owned the house.

But as I gazed behind, Merleen sat from her bed and stared into my eyes. Unfortunately, Merleen could still not talk after what Meliodas did to her.

It was difficult for the two of us to communicate with each other, considering our barriers to communication. But before I could say anything else, Merleen grabbed my hand and flashed me a smile. She could not have heard our conversation, since Merleen couldn't hear anything for now. But Merleen did that as if she was telling me there was nothing for us to worry about.

I patted her head and mumbled in front of her, "You're a real kind girl, aren't you, Merleen."

Even though Merleen did not hear my words, she let my hand caress her hair. After a few minutes of rubbing my palm on her head, Merleen pointed her finger at the door. When I turned around, Fenrir met my eyes, staring back at her figure. She had her arms crossed, waiting for me to look in her direction.

"Knowing Merleen, she would forgive Meliodas for her hearing loss. As long as you see the good in people, Merleen would act the same. You two are like two peas in a pond," Fenrir exclaimed, as she marched herself towards us.

Fenrir sat on the bed beside Merleen and me and continued, "I am not usually like this in front of people. But I changed because of you two…. Slightly, not entirely."

Merleen, who was beside us, pouted at Fenrir and me. She also crossed her arms and glared simultaneously in our direction.

"Let's continue this conversation later…. I hope. But for now, let's wait until Merleen regains her hearing condition," I said, while offering a red potion for Merleen.

The crimson potion I brewed had all the ingredients it needed to heal most conditions. I had not tried if this medicine would work with hearing impairments. But it was never too late to try. And even if it failed, these herbs would enhance the immune system of Merleen.

As soon as Merleen sipped the container empty, a window appeared at my top right view. My system only did that if I received important news from our party.

Upon opening the message, I found out that Merleen's condition would heal faster than we had expected. Instead of waiting for a day, Merleen's hearing impairment would revert to normal after a few hours. We could only hope that Merleen would attend the feast with two functional ears.

The only thing we could do right now was to wait and explore the village before nightfall. We could also rest on these beds and wait until Fisher and his family would call for us.

"Which do you prefer? Sleeping inside this room or exploring the village?" I asked Fenrir and Merleen.

I used hand gestures to convey the question I wanted to ask, since she couldn't hear anything from me.

After a few moments, Fenrir wanted to explore this village and look for something new. However, I could tell that Fenrir wanted to play with those children outside their houses. Since she already had spent time with a set of kids, Fenrir wanted them some more.

Merleen had an original plan for today. Instead of exploring unknown places, Merleen suggested we should stay inside this building until food could arrive. Merleen non-verbally portrayed that she disliked looking at everyone without hearing their words. I could hunch that Merleen felt unsatisfied looking at me conversing with another person.

"I guess I have to stay inside this room, Fenrir. Sorry," I mumbled, while lowering my head.

Fenrir shook her head and answered, "It's fine. It's not like I need some company."

"Just be back before evening, Fenrir. You don't want to be late for the feast these people prepared now, do you?"

"Not a chance, Arthur."

After our exchange, Fenrir left the room and shut the door. She even locked the gates, knowing what Merleen and I could do alone.

But the two of us already knew that we did not have any experience with those things. We would love to work that out together, but not right now. I wanted to hear Merleen's voice if we were to please each other.

As soon as Fenrir left the vicinity, Merleen dragged me to my bed and pushed me towards it. I fell on my back, startled by the sudden force Merleen did. Within a few seconds, Merleen came afterwards and sank her body beneath me. Despite being at the same age as mine, Merleen weighed nothing but a feather.

Merleen stayed resting on my chest with her hands wrapped around my body. She closed her eyes and yawned a silent yawn. That girl made sure she wouldn't say anything weird while she had an impairment in her ears.

After a few seconds, Merleen fell asleep, with her limbs wrapping around my body. It was as if telling everyone that I was her property, without having an audience inside the room.

As time passed by, I eventually closed my eyes and lived inside my dream world. It was like what Fenrir had mentioned earlier. Our team was free to roam around wherever we wanted to go. We had the freedom to choose our paths.

And the only thing that mattered most was our objective. Our party schemed on getting the sword to create a better place in this world. It may sound cheesy, but that was my goal from the very beginning.

It took Merleen a few hours before waking up from her slumber. I was also already awake before her, which made everything easier for the feast.

I turned towards Merleen and asked if she still couldn't hear my voice. I tried surprising her with a blaring scream, but it did not have any effect on her system. It only showed that Merleen still had problems with her eardrums, even after resting for a few hours.

"No good? Well, it can't be helped. We still have a few hours before your sense of hearing returns to you," I exclaimed to myself, even when Merleen couldn't hear me.

But that girl already knew the idea of what I had said, since we had stayed long enough to guess our explanations. Within a few moments, the door finally received a knock, with a voice following afterwards.

"Arthur, are you here?"

It was Fisher behind that door all this time. And here I thought it was someone else I had not known inside this house.

I slid the door open and greeted Fisher. That guy had various colours painted on his sleeves. Fisher's little child created these smears on his clothes. But instead of punishing these children, Fisher commended the two for their artistic layouts.

"Yes! Of course, I'm here," I answered. "Please come in, Fisher! This is your house, anyway."

"No. It's fine, Arthur….. Where is everyone? The girl with black clothing?" Fisher asked. "I believe her name is Fenrir. Meliodas is in the other house, talking with some children and their guardian."

He was describing Fenrir as the other girl who went missing inside this room. Meliodas, who I left inside the other room, found some way to spend some time. Instead of burning smoke, Meliodas might have had fun playing with those kids inside the other room.

"Yes. Her name is Fenrir. And she just went for a long walk in the woods to get some fresh air," I replied. "I don't know what happened to Meliodas. The last time I saw him, I left him inside that room."

That soldier did not mind Meliodas' attitude toward those children. He knew Meliodas changed for the best after spending some quality time alone with the kids.

And when Fisher heard my explanations, he told me that the feast he prepared for us would be around the campfire. He meant we would hold the banquet outside this structure instead of doing it inside. Fisher added he wanted to invite all the villagers inside this town.

Since these people had not used this building for a while, some materials would fall from the ceiling. That debris would leave a mark on our heads if those crashed above us. It was the reason Fisher relocated to that place in the open.

When we finished talking with each other, Fisher guided the two of us outside. As soon as we stepped foot outside, an enormous table filled with various plates greeted our eyes. A whole new scent of mixed vegetables and cooked meat entered my nostrils, luring me closer to the buffet-like dinner.