-uhh...(Glup glup glup)..ahh finally

Blondie said as she sat on a log swallowing a few mouthful of water from the water skin i gave her,she was throughly exhausted a bit nervous too because of the things she had seen while accompanying me and taking care of the injured people who were mostly female so to speak,anyways we had already finished tending to the wounded,night was also approaching in a few minutes,currently i was standing in front of my pot heating up the water for cooking i was going to make a thick soup so the injured could digest it more easily i was also prepare 4 other camp fires were i was setting up some roast for the female hobgoblins,i let hoboku,hobura and hobusaku help me prepare it from the start and finish myself it would be a good practice for them and i could spare some time with it too.

-ehm...sorron do you need any help !

Blondie asked.I stopped for a moment turning my head towards her thinking about it.

-yeah actually go to the wounded and check if everything is okay...

Blondie paled once more after i said it,she seemed reluctant to go,but did it anyways since i said that,she didn't want to go onto my bad side a bit fearful of me she quickly stood up and started going to the area were the wounded were located...they were all laid down on a line placed on top of pelts that were prepared beforehand all of them pretty much had the same expression on their faces...pain.

Even the ones who were sleeping had sweat drop from their foreheads profusely,shifting around because of the nightmare they were going through in their heads,truly agonizing if you think about it.

I had set a few female hobgoblins on that spot and instructed them to keep the wounded from moving so they wouldn't inflict even more pain on themselves or loosen the bandages i had put on them,getting blondie over there was actually not necessary since i had already placed my caretakers,no, the reason i send her there was because i wanted to let her see what kind of things would have happened to her if she continued to stay who she is,it wasn't the most humane thing to do,but it was the most right thing to do in this kind of situation i believed at least which was enough for me if you ask.

The wounds inflicted on the woman in here ranged from extremely severe to outright strange i was surprised that they were still alive,it showed that they really had the will to survive which was impressive on itself,but not useful with the way they were now,having a will is good,but not being able to defend that will is bad...dying would have been much better then enduring since death at least gave you some sort of salvation than believing in a empty sliver of hope that may never come true.

In the end and i am not saying that i will help them i have no intentions of really helping them out or bringing them into my group the reason i was doing this was completely different.

-Hey sorron do you have a moment...

While i was staring into boiling hot pot i realized that someone had called up on me the language was english making me guess who it was as i turned my head towards her eyes narrowed.

-yeah,sit down actually i need to tend to this

I said moving my eyes back to the pot staring at it...i have been doing this a lot lately staring into the boiling pot i mean its not that it needs my attention it just helps me to focus better its like a personal ritual of mine helps to clear the head.

Glasses girl in the meant time followed my words and sat down onto the log,she took a few moments to look at the female hobgoblins who were preparing the roast...while she was doing that she accidentally met with hoboku's gaze who in turn was looking at glasses girl with pure caution and hostility which wasn't anything new since these girls look at everyone like this the first time they meet someone..

Feeling awkward and defeated glasses girl quickly looked away slightly shaken,but not saying anything as i voiced my thoughts.

-You shouldn't do anything misleading or raise your voice the girls can be really protective about that sometimes...

Glasses girl acknowledged my advise and turned back to me with her own question in hand with many more,probably.

-really...thats good to know...by the way how..how are the others do you think they get better ?

She asked her voice cracking for a moment...i didn't mind that and just answered her question honestly a bit grim about it too.

-They heal after a few days of rest the game mechanic in this world is a bit broken since you wouldn't normal live with this kind of trauma and then survive...not sure about your gary guy he seemed to have lost a lot of blood,but maybe he will survive who knows..but healing is not important whats important is to think about the things that will happen after they heal

I said while putting the diced vegetables into the boiling hot water letting it cook up for a moment...glasses girl in the mean time repeated what i said that it was important to think about what to do after they heal which was crucial since their mental state would be probably at their lowest,experiencing this kind of event multiple times and living to remember it can be torturous on its own i wouldn't be surprised if most of them would take their lives after this or stop trusting anyone living a sheltered life,thats why i told her to think about it since this was her responsibility and not mine.

Getting to the main point glasses girl realized what i meant by that,but it only got her more distressed since she didn't know what to really do about it she wasn't a psychiatrist nor was i,but she wanted advise from me anyways and answered in the most straight forward way of asking.

-Can you help us ? like can you tell us what to do ? It's just that i don't think i can...

-Shut up...

I said a bit annoyed she took the tone very well and didn't talk any further a bit sour on her own,but that couldn't be helped...

I didn't want to be responsible for these people having to build them up onto their feet would take too much time for me since they were already broken from within i wasn't sure if i was capable of doing this having more mouths to feed is also problematic thats why i wanted to have glasses girl tend to it on her own...i believed so to say...i believed that glasses girl could be a pretty good leader herself she was thoughtful and careful about the things she approached thinking ahead of everyone in her group and trying to make the best out of a situation is something a leader should be capable of...the only thing she lacked was taking control she couldn't lead a proper conversation into her desire and only gave advice from the sidelines which would most of the time be ignored making her put things onto her own hands and make them happen instead of telling people about it and telling them to do it,but i wasn't worried if she can't get that control on her own then i am just going to force it into her no matter what.

-Yes i said that i would help you sometimes that i would be your ally your friend if you have to spell it out,but i never said i would lead you tell you what to do no...the moment you shook that hand and made an agreement with me you indicated that you were an equal to me you wanted my temporary help and not personal help at the time you probably believed that you would be able to do things on your own and make things better which didn't happen at all ending up in this kind of situation getting rescued by your own agreement with me and then asking for more help this time around you want my personal help asking me to fix up this mess you had stumbled upon yourself and asking if i could do something about it...aren't you a bit delusional ? I am not some superman that comes down and rescues you no,i am also a person in this forest like you who wants to survive and live peacefully everyone in this forest is for themselves if you haven't realized it yet

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I said without a change of tone in my voice continuing to stir the soup for a bit adding in some crushed herbs and other small spices i had prepared...

-Then what do i have to do ? tell me that at least i am lost and not sure what i am supposed to be doing..

She said bitterly almost at the brink of crying looking down onto the ground with a bitter face of hers,but i wasn't going to comfort her and just focused on the soup telling her.

-Do what you think is right and after all...there is always a second option you could always just walk away from them no one ever said you need to take care of them or be with them to hold their hands i am sure that you could survive on your own get strong on your own without anyones help...isn't that actually pretty easy ? How about i give you some basic equipment a sword,armor and some food with that alone and your brain you won't have problems in this forest...

Glasses girl looked up at me listening to my sweet words it was something to be considered seriously since this was an option that fitted her more then staying here with everyone else...she was strong i could tell she was.Hearing my offer glasses girl thought deeply about it and finally shook her head.

-No...i don't wanna i don't want to leave everyone i don't want to disappoint sarah...

She said calling blondies name it made me smile momentarily too as i saw her resolution to this take...if she asked for it i would have given her the armor and sword and left her be leaving this place the next day,i would have also probably taken blondie with me too since she had the bond with me and was a big help to me,but now glasses girl couldn't take back what she said she had her answer which was that.

Now that she had some kind of answer giving her small piece of advice wouldn't hurt would it ?

I thought as i summoned a bowl out of nowhere putting a little bit of soup inside and tasting it to see if it was alright or not...man i really want some salt...maybe i should add more bitter herbs or spicy once i should experiment with these herbs i could make something similar to salt maybe.

-try to be a bit more patient about this it isn't the end of the world yet or your life i can help you to some extend,but you have to do the rest on your own no one has ever gained something without sacrificing something else thats just how it is and thats what you have to understand these people will rely on you your judgment be it wrong or right

-How is that ever going to happen ! you know very well they won't listen to me and i don't know how to make them listen to me i am no one in their eyes ! they don't know me nor do i know them so why do i have to bear this can't anyone else do this then me ?

Glasses girl said frustrated and hurt,doubtful about herself as she had every right to be she naturally believed that she wasn't the only one who was able to do her job which was true in a sense,but also wrong since she was literally one of the few people here who could do anything about it...for crying out loud the others were beat and humiliated to the point of near death the other people in her group were just stubborn and dumb in general who else,but her ? Me ? no i already had my group and i am sticking with them.

I wasn't going to tell her that obviously it would sound like i was forcing her to be that very person no...she needed support a bit of reassurance confidence in general.

I thought once again getting some soup into the bowl not tasting it myself,but giving it to glasses girl instead who was surprised by my offer smelling the seductive smell of handmade food which she probably didn't taste since she got here...she accepted the offer pretty quickly holding the wooden bowl in her hand looking at the clear brown soup that was emitting hot steam...without a pause she gulped the whole bowl in one gulp almost burning herself with the soup...such recklessness really.

-How does it taste ? anything to add ?

I asked looking at the pot again thinking.

-Its really good,but it lacks salt...

She said tears falling down her eyes uncontrollably,she tried to hide it from me,but wasn't able to as she couldn't stop crying and sniffed a couple of times feeling embarrassed about herself the display she was showing me,she probably thought it was pathetic...but i didn't think it was pathetic...food was always something that could cheer someone up regardless of what it was emotions were also centered about food depending on the taste really...thats why the female hobgoblins are always cheerful and happy while with me they get to eat delicious food everyday they spend a lot of time with me and are attached that way like the saying goes "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" that wasn't only for men,woman liked food too,everyone did not anyone appreciates these small things back in my world since most of the people think food is something you should get without a question as it was laid out on every corner be it a fast food stand or a trash bin food was redundant there,but not here no if you get stranded and starve so much that you would give everything for a little piece of food you would understand how the little things in life are way more important then you thought they were...at least i thought so back in my world and even here it isn't different.

-Don't be like that glasses girl you really think that i would bother talking with someone who isn't fit to be the leader ? if that was really the case then i would have ignored you from the very beginning you understand i wouldn't be here talking to you which means that you are the only one who is doubting yourself...after all i believe in you so shut up and do your work didn't you say you didn't want to disappoint blondie ? then act like it glasses girl...

-MY NAME IS JANET YOU DOUCHEBAG BE A BIT RESPECTFUL AT LEAST FOR GODS SAKE !

She roared out of nowhere angry at the way i was addressing her...everyone had heard what she said the female hobgoblins in particular were agitated that she was talking to me like this angry because of it.

-Enough don't you dare to move i have it under control go back to work

I said using my transmission link to tell everyone...hearing me say this most of them were displeased,but obligated anyways and got back to work that was how it worked they trusted me and were faithful in what i did.

Turning back towards glasses girl i only laughed and told her.

-Hahaha really ? let me think about it first...how about you make me glasses girl ? if we talk about respect then earn my respect !

I said challenged glasses girl gaze as we stared into each other.

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