I saw a Centaur boy captured in town.
By the time our second shopping trip was over, the sun had already begun to set.
“Ah, welcome back. It took you quite a while.”
“I got delayed looking at various things.”
I replied to Philiana, who greeted me with a smile, as if nothing had happened.
“But now we have everything. Thank you for your hard work. I wish I could have helped too.”
“No, it’s alright. It was crowded, so we were enough on our own.”
She took the luggage and began preparing dinner. Sharin watched me with concern.
“Is it okay? Not to say anything?”
“Well, even if I say it, they can’t do anything, right? So, isn’t it better not to know?”
“I guess that’s true…”
I sat by the bonfire and drank water. There was enough fuel, and it was warm. We decided to eat dinner together before resting. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the market one more time, and then we’ll depart. I followed my heavy eyelids and closed my eyes.
…It feels cold for some reason. I pulled the sleeping bag up to my shoulders, but it was still cold. When I opened my eyes slightly, the bonfire’s flames were weakening. Was Veronica not adding firewood? It was no use, so I crawled out of my sleeping bag, threw in some wood, and blew on it.
With a dry sound, the fire regained its momentum. While watching the flickering flames, I suddenly remembered the Centaur boy. I wondered if he was feeling cold in his cage right now. His parents must be worried about their son, who suddenly disappeared before their eyes. Perhaps they are still searching for him, or perhaps he is already gone.
For some reason, a sigh naturally escaped my lips. They would never imagine being in the middle of this desert. They might think I’m already dead, having gone to a completely different world.
“Yo, kid, why are you awake?”
“Ah, Veronica. No, it was cold.”
“My bad,” she said, and sat down on the cart.
“You know, this is a trivial story, but I went to town this morning and saw a captured Centaur child there. I can’t forget it; he had such beautiful fur.”
“And? Do you want to help him?”
“N-no, I just felt sorry for him. He’s just a child, after all. His parents must be worried.”
I understand. I’m just blaming Philiana and actually trying to hide my desire to help. But in reality, there’s nothing I can do. I thought that when I came to this world, I couldn’t do anything because I was overwhelmingly weak. My position is the same as Imon the melon farmer, a person who needs to be helped.
Looking back, I’ve always been helped by everyone. I can’t be selfish here.
“No, what do you mean ‘no’? I asked if you wanted to help, what kind of answer is that?”
“It means I can’t. I don’t want to trouble everyone any more than this.”
I turned my back on her and returned to my sleeping place.
“Wait, wait a minute! W-why are you making a decision without even consulting me?”
I almost bumped into Lauren, who suddenly appeared right in front of me.
