(Attendances… plz…)
….
What the hell is happening?
That was the single, loud thought echoing in Gojo's mind. He looked at the furious little girl and the giant monster at her side. He didn't know this kid.
He had been in this world for only a few days, and his schedule had been pretty open: annoy Ram, tease Beatrice, learn magic, and eat sweets.
He certainly didn't remember making an enemy of a child who controlled oversized dogs.
But then again, he thought, she specifically said I killed her sister.
He racked his brain. He hadn't fought many people here. Just that one night at the loot house. And the only person he had actually killed was...
Bam.
Everything clicked into place. His mouth opened slightly, forming a small "ooh" shape of realization.
That crazy gut-fetish lady.
He looked back at Meili, his expression shifting from confusion to an awkward sort of understanding. He pointed a finger at her.
"By any off chance," he began, his tone casual, "are you possibly talking about a sister who doesn't look like you? Maybe one who wears black and has a very questionable fetish for people's insides? Not judging, of course. Everyone has their hobbies."
Meili's eyes burned with hate. "So you really are the one who did it. You killed my sister, you bastard."
Gojo raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second. You weren't even sure it was me, and you were ready to kill me anyway? What would you have done if I was innocent, huh? Just said 'oops'?"
Meili didn't answer. Her cold, uncaring expression gave him the answer loud and clear. She wouldn't have cared at all.
Ram, who was watching this exchange with a frown, opened her mouth to ask a question. But before she could get a word out, Gojo moved.
He stepped behind her and scooped her up by the back of her maid dress again, ignoring her indignant gasp.
"Just give me a second, will ya?" he said to Meili.
And with a soft whoosh, he vanished, leaving nothing behind but a confused girl and her growling pet.
....
In the blink of an eye, the dark forest was replaced by the familiar outskirts of Irlam village. Gojo dropped Ram onto the grass a little less gently than before.
She stumbled but caught herself, glaring at him. "What are you doing?"
"Ah, nothing," Gojo said, waving his hand. "It is just a big misunderstanding. Give me a minute or two to resolve it. Go and tell the villagers that there is no more threat from the Mabeasts and they can relax."
Ram looked like she had a dozen more questions. She opened her mouth to demand answers, but Gojo didn't give her the chance.
"Counting on you, rude pink hair!"
And then he vanished again, leaving her standing alone in the fading light.
....
Back in the forest, Meili was fuming. She looked at the empty spot where the white-haired man had been. He ran away. He actually ran away.
"Coward!" she screamed, turning toward the path that led to the village. "I'll find you! I'll kill you!"
She took a step forward, but the air in front of her shifted. Gojo appeared right back in his original spot, hands in his pockets, looking like he had never left.
Meili didn't hesitate. She didn't want to talk anymore. She screamed out an order to her beast.
"Kill him, Garm!"
The giant wolf didn't need to hear it twice. It lunged at Gojo, covering the short distance in a heartbeat. Its intention was clear: tear this man limb from limb.
Gojo didn't move. He didn't dodge. He didn't raise a hand to block. He just stood there.
The wolf's massive claws slashed at Gojo's chest. But just inches away from his clothes, they stopped.
It wasn't that the wolf stopped; it was that the attack simply couldn't reach him.
The claws scraped against an invisible wall, sliding harmlessly through the air in front of him.
The wolf bit and clawed furiously, but Gojo remained untouched, like a reflection in a mirror that couldn't be broken.
"I don't want to fight," Gojo said, his voice calm over the sound of the beast's snarling. "What was I supposed to do? When a lady, even a pretty one, tries to spill my guts at our very first meeting? I mean, we didn't even exchange names at all. That's just bad manners."
The wolf roared, snapping its jaws at Gojo's face. Gojo leaned back slightly, examining the beast's teeth with mild interest.
"I mean, I'm still curious as to where she hid those blades," he continued, rambling on as if he were discussing the weather.
"She was just pulling them out one after another. Like, shwing, shwing! Does she have some sort of inventory space under her dress or something?"
Meili screamed in frustration, urging the wolf to attack harder.
"Sorry, got a little sidetracked," Gojo said, looking back at the girl. "Anyway. I was in a bind. I even gave her one chance to just run away. But she just kept trying to get to my guts and nothing more. And she was killing bystanders, no less. Not cool."
He took a deep breath, watching Meili's face. She wasn't listening. She was just a ball of pure, directed hate.
"So, all in all, it happened," he sighed. "I don't know what kind of environment you were raised in for you to be so blatantly okay with killing someone. Especially when you weren't even confident it was me. But oh well. Who the hell am I to tell anyone how to raise a kid?"
Was he sympathizing with her? Maybe a little. It was strange to feel sorry for the person currently trying to feed you to a wolf, but Gojo had seen his fair share of messed-up kids in his own world.
When he was done talking, he realized Meili hadn't heard a single word. She was just screaming orders, consumed by her tantrum.
"Well," Gojo said. "Enough of that."
He vanished from under the wolf's nose and appeared instantly in front of Meili. She gasped, looking up, but he was too fast.
"We will continue the talk later, without any violence," he said. "I don't think you are even listening to me."
He reached out and gently tapped her forehead with two fingers.
In an instant, her eyes rolled back. She lost consciousness immediately, her small body falling backward. Before she could hit the ground, Gojo caught her easily in one arm.
He looked up. The giant wolf, Garm, was staring at him. It had stopped growling, confused by its master's sudden collapse. It sneered at him, baring its fangs one last time.
Gojo grinned, cracking his knuckles with his free hand.
"Yeah... you," he said, walking toward the beast. "Totally didn't forget about you."
....
...
..
.
Back at the village, the mood had shifted.
The villagers, who had been huddled together with pitchforks and makeshift weapons, were now letting out breaths of relief.
Ram had returned and explained that the danger was over. The magical barrier wasn't fixed yet, but the threat was gone.
Ram stood at the village, her arms crossed, waiting. She tapped her foot impatiently. She doesn't even know why she listened to him at all.
And then after a few minutes of more waiting, she saw him. Gojo was walking out of the forest path, strolling casually toward the light of the village torches. In one arm, he held the unconscious Meili.
And in the other hand... he was holding a small, black puppy by the scruff of its neck.
Ram ran to his side, her eyes darting between the girl and the small dog.
"What is this?" she asked, looking at the puppy that looked suspiciously similar to the giant monster she had seen earlier.
Gojo just shrugged. "Nothing. Told ya, didn't I? It was a misunderstanding. Got it resolved... well, mostly resolved."
He lifted the puppy, which let out a tiny, pathetic yip.
"Found this little one shivering beside a tree, it was pretty roughed up already. I think we should get going and tell Roswaal to fix that stone or whatever," Gojo said, walking past her toward the carriage. "Though we... no, I mean I... already resolved the matter of the Mabeasts that came at us."
….
A/N: Finally finished with this village thing. Hope you liked the chapter and all.
&
you can join my discord server: https://discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y
Or in short just click in join via invite link in your discord and enter this code: 5Y7uZ2kN2Y