He only shouted hard for once, then he continued by sobbing quietly. He put his two hands onto his eyes, using their sole to close them.

The desperation that was depicted on his face was apparent. He seemed like he was at a loss, not knowing where to go or walk. Not knowing what kind of choice that he should take?

Should I just be ignorant about it? Should I just forget about it and move on with my life? Just what should I do?!

Time passed, and slowly the sobbing was no more. His cries that flowed on his cheeks had become dry, leaving the obvious trails that could be seen even if one looked at them by a single glance. He felt like he just heard a booming voice, but he did not even care about it.

His head was drooping down, with the eyes glued onto the ground. He had a black face drawn on his face, with a helpless looking appearance and countenance. His fists were not clenching anymore. The whole body of Timan was languid like a weak strand of paddy. A gentle push of a kid might even be able to take down Timan.

“What’s wrong with you, kid?” A voice sounded out so suddenly without any precaution or whatnot. The voice sounded so clear and vivid that it could be deduced that the source of the voice was not far from the boy. There was not even a step or two that could be heard by the boy so he could know that there was someone that came toward him. In this seemingly isolated and dense looking forest, it was hard to think one could achieve this kind of feat.

Or was it just that the one who said it just now had been in this isolated forest the whole time in the first place?

The boy wanted to ask who it was that called him just now, but when his eyes landed on a certain man after he looked toward the source of the voice, he was surprised. He did not expect that the man who had been commanding this village for just a few days was here! He did not know how or why the man was in this place. It was just an isolated place that did not have any resources to be brought out. There were no fruits from the trees, animals to be hunted, anything of the sort.

The man was Enjar. Alongside him, he brought a bag of striped jerky meat with him, with one jerky inside of Enjar’s mouth halfly. He was smiling when the boy saw him and looked toward him. His smile was like the sun. A smile that was gentle but not too kind. A smile that was full of vigor and positivity. With a strong looking body, it truly created a firm and confident man out of his image.

He was on the big branch of a tree, with one leg folded onto his body, while the other was swaying about in midair. He stretched out his body parts for a bit as if he had been sleeping on that big branch of a tree, possibly by leaning his back on the trunk. With one hand he raised toward the boy and waved it with a single swipe to greet Timan.

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Enjar approached the boy very quickly without even giving the boy a chance to say a thing. He jumped down toward the direction of the boy with a little bit of force put behind it. And because of it, he arrived shortly in front of the boy by bringing not only the bag of jerky meats, but also the winds because of the impact he had just done.

Timan was speechless honestly this whole time. Did he just show his unsightly behavior to Enjar? Wasn’t it not what he wanted? He wanted a chance where he could show his strong side so he could impress the man that the boy had been admiring for a while now, but what would Enjar think of him when he just witnessed something like what Timan did just now?

Enjar did think too much and just sat down beside Timan. He was still chewing on his jerky meat, and offered his bag of those things to the boy. “Here, take some.” He said with a relaxed tone and a relaxed smile, while also leaning his two arms backward toward the ground. He looked toward the sky looking like he was appreciating the atmosphere that seemed to be going dark soon.

“N-No, it is okay. I’m still full after eating at home a few moments before.” Timan shook his head nervously while also replying with an awkward smile. He was having a pretty weird face drawn on his face right now. How could he not after what had been happening just now?

“If you don’t eat, you will die.” Enjar replied while still having his jerky meat inside of his mouth. He only glanced for not even for a second toward the boy beside him, while having a smile attached on his mouth.

The boy gulped some dry saliva when he heard what Enjar had just said. He did not think too much about it and quickly took 3 of the jerky meats from the bag. He directly chewed one of them from the get go.

He only wanted to do Enjar’s bidding for the first moment until he tasted the jerky meat. Timan was surprised. He never knew that meat could be this delicious. The taste, the tenderness, the flavor, it was just so good. It took some time for the boy to finish it but when he finally ate the whole jerky meat, he felt glad that he took some from Enjar.

Enjar let out a little laugh when he saw the boy looking like that. He too just finished the jerky inside of his mouth, and took one of them again to chew from the bag. The two of them just sat there, accompanied by the occasional passing wind that fluttered their hairs into the air. The atmosphere was peaceful and quiet which could calm down any frustration one had been feeling. Including Timan who had a better countenance than before.

There was only silence when the two chewed the jerky meat. The boy wanted to relish the food so he did not say anything to bring up a conversation. And Enjar could understand the boy’s feelings, so he kept silent and enjoyed eating the jerky meat too. Or maybe it was just that the boy did not want to talk about his situation.

He was honestly embarrassed. If the man had been here for a while, then why didn’t he say so? It was unbecoming of him to scream out like a little girl in the middle of nowhere. He had been taught to be a strong man, a man that would not break his will and determination. A man that would not cry for something silly and dumb. So when he was put in a situation like what he had just now, he really could not say anything about it.

Time passed slowly, until the boy finally finished eating the third jerky meat. Enjar noticed this, and he asked the boy with a warm tone.

“Have you calmed down yet?”

The boy heard what Enjar had said, and unexpectedly his heart felt like it was being clenched by something. It was as if his heart was grasped by something that felt pretty strange to him.

Was it because of the remembrance of a certain someone that he just had a conflict a few moments ago? Was it because of the remembrance of the problem that he had been facing? Was it because of the pain that he felt when he was having a conversation with the same person mentioned above?

Nah, it’s not. It’s not that. It is because I feel the warmth and care, that I feel like I want to cry again.

The boy thought inside of his mind. He subconsciously held his chest with his right hand, with his head dropping down. He seemed like he was trembling, or maybe it was just because of the wind that had been passing through this place for a while. Enjar glanced his head toward the boy, and he rubbed the boy’s back with his gentle hand.