Chương 35: Chapter 32

Things had only turned awkward after their spout and it was like the lively atmosphere they had prior to it could never be taken back. To Sobelle, it felt like Chael had chosen to put distance between them because she agreed with Sobelle's stance, which made sense. Some people did that. Sobelle didn't mind it if Chael stopped being her friend after this, her presence hadn't really changed things that much.

"I'm sorry, Sobelle." Apparently Chael had other plans. Sobelle did not know what to say to this, no one had ever apologized to her before and all the others that she'd seen only made arguments worse. Creyla often screamed at her siblings after they apologized for something.

"Thank you." Sobelle closed the distance between them and hugged Chael from behind.

"I thought you'd start hating me after that."

"H-hate you? Sobelle! Uhm..." Chael cleared her throat and her voice went from sounding like the chirp of a bird to her usual tone.

"Yeah, thank you as well. I thought you'd never forgive me for screaming at you so suddenly, people call me arrogant and too smart for my own good whenever I argue my points you know? It's like my opinion doesn't matter so I thought you'd be the same..."

"No, I can understand that." Sobelle had never really tried to argue with anyone and just accepted whatever they had to say about her though. But she imagined that she'd be treated the same way if she did.

"I wouldn't hate you for saying that I'm wrong about knights."

"So you agree with me?" Chael suddenly exclaimed only to look disappointed when she heard Sobelle's answer.

"No, of course not. I wanna see knights for myself before I make that decision." Which made the most sense, she didn't trust this one girl to ruin her entire dream just because of an argument.

"Oh." Chael's disappointed face lasted only for a second before she forced out a smile and giggled.

"Alright, I'll take you out to see the knights one day. Then you'll see."

"What?" Sobelle had no idea what that meant. She hadn't planned on traveling with anyone in the future, so Chael suddenly announcing that just felt wrong. And why would they even be traveling together? She was going to fight things, and that wasn't something merchants normally did.

"I'll show you the knights, I'm a bit of a petty person whenever I lose an argument. Once that happens, I want nothing more than to prove my point and win." Chael only looked back at her once and Sobelle already felt wrong. The young merchant's eyes suddenly turned lifeless but then they went back to normal. And to Sobelle, that was far worse than whatever Chael had going on just now.

'She can control her emotions pretty well.' Sobelle did not know whether or not she could trust [Vibe Check] whenever she dealt with Chael. Ultimately making her doubt about the use of such a strange skill, she had expected the [Wisdom] stat to give her something related to decision making and this skill did not fit that at all.

"I'll wait for that then." Just like all the times Sobelle faced some form of adversity when it came to social situations; she chose to agree and not argue.

"Yes, you should." Chael left things at that and she didn't start another topic until the two of them were on their way back to the village. At that point, Sobelle was silently ruminating on the things Chael taught her. She believed that with her new foraging skills, she'd be able to survive in the forest all on her own. And she would have if not for all the mandatory things she needed to do on a daily basis like cleaning, medicine, as well as the maintenance of her gear.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. She was stuck in her head until Chael's words suddenly broke her out of it.

"Don't you find it weird that everyone in the village hates you? Why is that?" Chael's eyes simmered with something she kept hidden underneath.

"You saved them all and killed the Pudge! And now some of them are starting to say that they themselves could have done it and that it wasn't that hard to do." So everyone downplayed her achievements. That wasn't anything new, if anything, Sobelle was kind of surprised that it took them so long to start rumors about how she never did anything for the village by fighting the Goblins. It was going to happen eventually, and no one would have been able to stop it. Not even Sobelle.

"That's just what they do." Sobelle was frustrated about everything but kept it to herself. Gone were the days where she wanted everyone to praise her for doing good work, now she was just tired and wanted everything they did to stop.

"Rumors are normal around here, especially if they revolve around me."

"Hmm... I see, so you don't mind?" Chael asked and the silence that followed got the young merchant to scoff. She gently tapped Sobelle's bicep, then she pressed her index finger against the muscle and hummed.

"You're pretty strong, you care about your reputation, why not prove it?"

"Do you think that's how everything works?" If Sobelle were to ever fight people every time they spread rumors about her, then it wouldn't be long until she was seen as violent. The whole village was against her, she had no choice but to weather the tide and live while they tolerated her existence instead of wanting her to leave.

"No, but I like to think that the world would be a better place if it was." And this came from a girl who hated knights because according to her, such men threw their weight around and often threatened physical violence. She didn't say it outright, but Sobelle read between the lines to infer that much.

"Don't you think that it'd be better for you if you fought everyone?"

"I'd rather sooner call on the Frigid to curse them than fight them outright." Sobelle did not like the God who took her mother. But if it was the biting cold, then maybe he'd hear her plea and answer her prayers for curses.

"But it is at its weakest during this time, no? I think you're better off calling the name of the Scythe than some other God." Such a suggestion could sometimes be outright blasphemous, as no one in their right mind would wish for the death of another human being.

"I do not wish for anyone in the village to die." The last time it happened, everyone had to mourn and fast for several days. Sobelle did not want this.

"Why?" Chael just kept asking her questions for some reason, and Sobelle was close to feeling irritated about the whole thing.

"I don't see anything wrong with that."

"I do." And even if she were to hate someone so much, she didn't think she'd curse them with death. She wasn't evil.

"I'm not evil."

"You have to be if you want to keep going down the path that you have chosen." So Chael did not just misunderstood knights, but also mercenaries. She hated both professions.

"People out there are cruel Sobelle, especially those who are in the kind of work that needs to shed blood. If you are not cruel, then you are simply dead."

"Kindness is how we'd survive." Sobelle was blessed by the Gods and they would want her to do good. Even the crueler ones.

"Without it, humanity wouldn't be standing tall." Chael, in response to Sobelle's little speech, laughed like there was no tomorrow. She bent over cackling, and when she finished, she wiped the tears in the corner of her eyes. Sobelle simply looked at the young merchant, unable to figure out how she felt about such a visceral reaction to her own beliefs.

"Humanity survived because everyone is petty, Sobelle. We are spiteful creatures who would live just to hate on those who attacked us, we are also fearful of death and would do anything to keep our lives. Eating the most disgusting things is one thing, selling ourselves to those who we believe to be superior is another." Chael had... Strong beliefs when it came to that sort of stuff. Sobelle turned away. She shook her head, how could anyone even come to that sort of conclusion about the world?

If kindness didn't exist, then what was the point of humanity? Of the Gods? Of existence? Her mother was kind, and she was proof that it was real.

"Okay, I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable, but you understand me right?" Chael caught up to her and apologized for the second time.

"You need to realize that the world simply wouldn't do anything you want, it is a cruel place filled with monsters in human skin."

"I don't know how to feel about that." Sobelle was being honest when she said this.

"I'm just a peasant, I'm not some merchant who's been raised with education in mind and I'm not a noble either. Those issues are beyond me."

"Maybe. But that's why I'm telling you about them, you should think about it."

"Okay." Right now, Sobelle was just happy that she finally got Chael to stop talking.