Arisu's black eyes, with their blue irises, were completely clear. A calm smile rested on his face—neither large nor arrogant.
"I've been watching you from the beginning."
Sol's expression didn't change as he heard Arisu's words. His gloomy eyes remained perfectly still, as if he'd known all along... even though he hadn't.
[Watching us from the beginning? Wait, that's not right—he was surprised when he saw us, acted like he didn't know us, even asked who you were.]
The system's voice burst inside Sol's head, charged with emotion, making him even more annoyed—it nearly showed on his face, like that voice was slowly eating away at his mind. He paused briefly, then said with unsettling calm:
"Azure?"
"Yes, from the moment you met her... but before you get the wrong idea, she didn't know anything—didn't even know I was watching her."
Arisu said, calmly emphasizing his last words.
"I know."
Sol's words came out automatically, without any hesitation.
Arisu's eyebrows rose in confusion, then he said:
"Huh?"
"She didn't seem deceitful, and I never sensed any ill intentions from her."
Sol said, coldly calm.
Sol could read people's intentions using several precise factors: body language, subtle facial expressions, eye movements, plus tone and pitch of voice, even sweating and body heat. If he paid more attention, he'd also focus on pulse and breathing patterns—indicators not easily controlled.
This ability wasn't accidental. Sol had lived a long time on Earth, encountered many kinds of people, and with enough experience, he'd honed his understanding of others until this skill became second nature—like a habit that didn't require thought.
Surprise showed on Arisu's face for a few seconds at Sol's response, then gradually faded. He spoke calmly, with something like relief:
"That's good... I was afraid you'd resent the nameless girl, hate her, and stop staying with her..."
Sol noticed Arisu still called her "the nameless girl," ignoring the name he'd given her. Meanwhile, that title was different from what the tribe called Azure—known among them as the "Disaster Prophecy."
"But you don't seem surprised at all... It's as if you have no emotions inside you, or never had them at all."
Arisu said in confusion, staring at Sol's gloomy, tired face, which remained unchanged.
"No... the thing is, I was expecting something like this.... No one trusts a stranger so quickly after initially suspecting them...not like you did."
Arisu's expression shifted, and he let out a quiet, embarrassed laugh, then said:
"Haha... Even though I tried to hide it, I slipped up from the beginning."
Arisu picked up his cup again, took a sip, then set it on the low table.
"The nameless girl has a very bad habit—sneaking out into the forest. Out there, she's out of my sight and exposed to danger..."
Arisu picked up the cup again and swirled it as he spoke, his expression shifting to slight sadness.
"The problem is, the danger isn't just from forest creatures... it extends to the tribe members as well. In fact, she might have a small chance of surviving the forest creatures... but with the tribe members, there's no chance of escape at all."
Arisu raised the cup and drank what remained of the pungent, strong-smelling green drink, then grabbed the pitcher and poured more.
"I had to keep her away from danger, but I couldn't protect her myself in front of the tribe. It was puzzling, but after some thought, I found a way... not perfect, but effective."
Arisu took another sip, then set the cup down, gripping it tightly.
"I watched her at first. When I found out where she went, I forbade the hunters from going there, claiming I'd be responsible for that area. It was easy...our Hunter Clan divides hunting territories among hunters for several reasons. That area was also far from the village, so no one objected. In fact, everyone was happy they didn't have to go far."
Sol wanted to ask Arisu something, but the system's voice spoke inside his head, interrupting:
[That's... that's a pretty twisted but clever method... still twisted though. Why doesn't he just protect her outright or order others not to touch her?]
"I assume you're wondering why the chief has to worry about others objecting...and that his decisions and orders should be obeyed no matter what... Well, it's like you said earlier...'false authority'..."
It was somewhat different, and there were those who would object to the idea that decisions and orders must be blindly obeyed without question... well, Sol didn't really care about that, but he understood the gist.
"Being in two places at once was hard... but with help from Serus, it became easier."
Arisu raised his gaze to Sol, then said with a hint of cheerfulness:
"You've already met him."
"You mean the angry hunter?"
Sol said, recalling the hunter's features clearly—those cold features that carried some anger toward him. That hunter was the only Sol had met, and also the only one—besides Arisu—who showed any desire to protect Azure.
"Haha, the angry hunter... seems he treated you badly. I'm truly sorry if he did anything wrong. He's sharp-tempered sometimes, but he's a good kid."
Arisu said, lowering his blue eyes slightly in embarrassment. He had an idea of what had happened without Sol telling him, suggesting he knew that hunter well.
"He's the only one I can trust to protect her... not just because he's kind, but because he has some... issues with Sky Dwellers."
[Issues, huh... sounds like he strongly hates you, Sol.]
"I don't think he was worthy of your trust...because Azure got hurt."
Arisu's expression shifted, then he said in a low tone:
"On the contrary...that's exactly why he's trustworthy..."
When Sol heard this response, he immediately understood what was happening—or at least formed an idea about it. And for some reason, Sol was sure of it.
"I was the one who told him to send the Treotil after her."
The system's voice gasped in shock, then shouted loudly in an angry tone:
[What?!..What is he saying?!..That's truly despicable!]
Sol remained calm, his expression unchanged. It was exactly as he'd suspected—and it seemed he also had an idea why.
[Why are you so calm?! That son of a bitch wanted to kill a little girl and you're doing nothing! Stand up and beat him!]
"I know it's a terrible act, something only a despicable person would do. But it was the only solution at the time...the tribe members' attention was slowly shifting toward that area. So I had to find a way to bring you here to the village, so you could be with her and protect her. Since you're the revered Sky Dweller, no one would object to your decisions...so there wouldn't be any problem."
[This man's mind is truly twisted... risking a little girl's life to protect her?...Why doesn't he just protect her himself and stop all this fucking nonsense?]
The system's voice still carried clear anger.
Sol thought to himself:
"I was wrong."
Sol realized he'd been mistaken—Arisu's reason for that act was to bring Sol to the village and keep Azure beside him for protection. That was completely different from what Sol had assumed—he'd thought the goal was to end her suffering by killing her.
"Everything was going well until the attack started. I didn't expect you to lose to the Treotil while protecting the nameless girl. And now... you've earned the name:'the Emberward'."
Sol raised his hand toward Arisu to stop him, then asked in his cold, calm tone:
"Wait...are you sure it's safe to talk about this here?"
Arisu smiled at Sol with sadness and regret, then said:
"Don't worry... Siraria is already handling it. She's not just beautiful—she's clever too. Right now, she's keeping the servants and eavesdroppers away."
[Ask that twisted mind bastard why he can't protect her himself!]
The system's voice spoke to Sol, but was met with refusal and silence. Not because he didn't care what was happening to the little girl... well, partly, but the bigger reason was that he suspected human meddling, and he preferred not to get involved in anything concerning humans.
[Ask him! Ask him! Ask him!...]
The system's voice kept repeating its words inside Sol's head, loud and insistent. Before, he could ignore her... but now she was doing it on purpose. Annoyance began creeping into him, so he decided to ask—but for some reason, his question came out differently.
"Why does the tribe hate her?...And what is this name?"
"Huh... right, I haven't told you about that. It's that the revered Sky Dwellers gave our ancestors a prophecy before they left...the Prophecy of the catastrophe."
Arisu's expression intensified, and he spoke in a firm, heavy tone:
"The prophecy of the catastrophe…will kill the Deity."