127 3.39 Taking care of injured - Part 2

They had built several tents in the open area between the forest. By what I could count, there were around 50 tents.

The knights were guarding the area against the surrounding monsters. But however you look at it, this place was too small to support a population of 5000 people.

A lot of people gathered around when they saw us land. That was natural since it wasn't usual for them to see people flying in the sky. Not to mention the fact that Flare was still wearing the cloth made up of blue flames.

There was a crowd of people staring at me. Some looked hopeful, while the rest looked scared. However, I couldn't blame them since I might have felt the same way if I was in their position.

Despite the variable expression, nobody was stepping up to come closer. Why would they? It's not like they know me in person.

"Isn't that the boy who was floating in the sky?"

"If I remember right, knights were talking about him… He helped put off the fire or something."

"Really? It's hard to believe a human can do that."

"Yeah, that's just what I heard. Who knows what really happened out there?"

I could hear various whispers about me, which wasn't strange since many of them saw me back then. But some women were hiding their children from me, and that led me to believe that their knowledge of what I did was pretty vague.

I smiled a little to make them feel comfortable as I opened my arms and started speaking.

"Please don't panic! I am Nara Yan. Most of you don't know me yet, and I don't blame you. We had been living in the same city, and by what I saw a while ago, that city is no longer there."

I paused to give everyone time to accept the fact. I wasn't trying to spray salt in their wounds, but they would have to accept the truth sooner or later. And right now, sooner is better than later because the faster we move on, the quicker we can rebuild what we lost.

"I know this is a tough time. We all have lost something important to us, but we survived a catastrophe. And now, we need to get stronger to be able to save what's left. We can't move back and fix what happened, but we can move forward, ensuring that we won't let this happen again."

"What is he talking about?"

"How can we even defend against that kind of threat?"

"That's impossible."

The atmosphere got noisier as people started speaking in disbelief. This was a predictable reaction since they saw the mightiest city in the province fall in a single day.

"Yes, it may be impossible the way we are now. But what choice do we have? Our only option is to rise up and move forward."

"Thank you for all that you did back then. We are alive because of you."

I wasn't sure how to respond. I was just speaking my mind until now, and suddenly the Duke himself came to me and bowed.

"No, there is no need for that. I just did what I felt was right. Though"—I looked towards the ground—"I wasn't able to save the city, and thousands of people died."

"No, I owe you huge gratitude for everything you did. It was my own so—"

"Wait! You don't need to do that seriously."

I stopped him before he could mention Goro.

Everyone here was frustrated and stressed because of everything that happened. If they realize that this all happened because of Goro, that might cause a lack of trust in leadership. And right now, we were in dire need of someone who could lead all these people towards rebuilding the city.

"...Anyways, I can treat the injured that are in severe condition, so I don't think we should be wasting any time here."

As I was saying that, Emma came forward, pushing the crowd aside. It was courageous of a little girl like her to do that.

She looked panicked, so I walked up to her and kneeled down since that would make the conversation easier.

It looked like she was having a hard time speaking, so I petted her saying, "It's alright. What happened?"

Her tiger tail was down, which was giving me the impression that she was worried about something. I looked to see if Dale or Elly were anywhere around, and I saw him searching for her behind the crowd.

As I was doing that, the Duke stood up and walked forward. "Everyone, these are hard times. Please continue doing what you are doing and support each other. We are continuously looking for ways to get through these tough times, and will soon come up with one."

After he said that, the crowd became thinner, but there were still a few people staring at me. I just ignored them and walked up to Dale along with Emma.

"Oh, thank goodness I found you."

For once, he forgot that I was standing right next to her. He lifted her in his arm and turned towards me.

"Both Diane and Ria were injured in the attack. She has been like that since the moment she saw Ria injured. They are still unconscious, but Marina is taking care of them."

"Where are they right now?"

"They are on the tent just up ahead. Follow me."

"Just a minute," I said, after which I turned around.

One thing I learned in my life was — there weren't many people to offer help and console someone who is tough for the sake of others.

I could understand the position that Duke was in. At this point, there weren't many who could help him out of this situation. So, it was my obligation to help him through these hard times.

I turned around and walked up to him. "Please take care of yourself. These are tough times, but we will find a way to get through and take our likes back to normal."

"I hope so. I don't want my people to suffer more than they already have."

I nodded in agreement and bowed slightly before turning around and walking back to others.

: Taking care of injured - Part 3