It Seems I've Gained a Strange Power
It seems I've gained some kind of strange power.
A deeper darkness lurked within the darkness.
I only realized it was a person thanks to someone's scream-like shout. Without that sound, I would have walked right past it.
There were only three of us here—me and two others.
The thugs numbered six.
Even without Geob-bo, they still outnumbered us. Normally we should have gathered more people before responding.
But somehow Popcorn had already arrived.
The little spirit tilted its head curiously while making soft pipi sounds. Drawn by the slurred shouts, it fluttered unsteadily toward the noise.
With Popcorn here, our smaller numbers didn't matter. Besides, I could see the distant torches changing direction. The other villagers must have noticed our movements and realized thugs were involved.
Relieved, I quickened my pace. The villagers who believed I was a mage didn't waste time worrying about the odds.
"You're trying to use a child who doesn't know anything?"
"Thank goodness the chief noticed. The kid could have been hurt."
"Hurt? Looking at what these bastards do, they would have killed him."
"Let's wipe them out completely. Those scum don't deserve to live in this world."
The villagers shouted in outrage as they charged into the darkness. When I'm with these people, I need to keep my wits sharp. They trust me so completely that I'm afraid they'll recklessly throw themselves into danger.
As we ran toward the thugs, a furious shout erupted from their group.
"Goddammit!"
"Steal their torches! They have fewer people. We outnumber them!"
"It's all because of that coward."
"Without torches we'll die out here!"
"Hurry before more of them arrive!"
"Get the torches!"
One of them charged straight at me. I twisted aside and swung my torch into his back.
That's when I felt it.
I hadn't used any more strength than usual, yet the man flew through the air as if launched, slamming hard into the ground.
It wasn't that I'd suddenly become as strong as the Hulk. It felt like the air resistance around him had vanished. Or rather, like the air itself had pushed him away.
It was as if the air was helping me.
I wondered if Popcorn had done something, but the little spirit was spinning in joyful circles with both arms raised high after I struck the thug. From that reaction, it clearly wasn't Popcorn's doing.
"Damn mage!" one of the thugs roared, only to be drowned out by the villagers' battle cry.
"Uwooooo!"
"This is wind magic, you bastards!"
"Come at us if you dare!"
One of the village men, his courage inflated a hundredfold after seeing my strike, hurled himself into the darkness. He leaped at a thug without thinking. This wasn't wrestling—what was he doing?
Before I could stop him, another man threw himself at the enemy. Torches shook wildly. Every flicker sent shadows dancing like goblins across the ground.
"This isn't working."
"More people are coming."
"Run!"
The thugs barely put up a fight before fleeing into the darkness.
"You baaaaastards!" one of the village men shouted, excited enough to give chase.
"Stop," I said, grabbing him quickly. "If we go too far from the village, we'll be in danger too."
"Chief... I'm sorry. I got too worked up."
The man smiled awkwardly, finally regaining his senses. Meanwhile someone retrieved a fallen torch.
I approached Geob-bo, who sat crying on the ground. Even in the dim light I could see his face was badly swollen. A cloth had been stuffed in his mouth, one end dangling out. One eye was so puffy the pupil was barely visible.
When I drew near, Geob-bo trembled violently and threw himself flat on the ground.
"Mmmph! Sh-shorry!"
I couldn't understand a word. I helped him up, removed the cloth from his mouth, and he immediately prostrated himself again.
"I'm sorry! I was wrong! I really was! But I only listened—I only found out today, I swear! I didn't actually try to kidnap the child. W-well, I d-did push Ji-geu, but I was careful not to hurt him, really! Please believe me!"
It seemed Geob-bo thought he'd be mistaken for one of the thugs. Tears poured down his face as he spoke without pausing for breath.
"I know," I said. "I also know you deliberately warned them not to come in order to protect Ji-geu. Thanks to you, I learned what they were planning. I'm grateful, not angry."
"...Uh..."
Geob-bo sniffled, staring at me blankly before glancing at the village men.
"You idiot! If something like that happens, you come running to us right away! What kind of suffering did you put yourself through?"
"Look at that face. It's a complete mess."
Hearing the villagers, Geob-bo finally seemed convinced.
"...Y-you really believe I didn't mean to...?"
His tear-streaked, swollen face turned toward me.
"Yes. I survived thanks to you. Thank you."
At my words, Geob-bo broke down sobbing.
"...Hoo... Hoo... Uwaaaa..."
I patted his shoulder. That's when Popcorn flew over, looking distinctly angry. The little spirit kicked at Geob-bo's hair with tiny feet, swinging them furiously. Eit! Eit! Bad guy! it seemed to shout.
Maybe Popcorn had witnessed Geob-bo pushing Ji-geu. Since it didn't understand human speech or actions, it probably thought Geob-bo had simply tried to hurt the boy. Or perhaps it still remembered when Geob-bo had pointed a weapon at me before. Only Popcorn knew the truth.
Geob-bo waved his hand above his head while crying. "I-it stings. Is there a bug here?"
It was Popcorn.
I smiled and offered my hand. When Geob-bo took it and stood, Popcorn threw both arms into the air in disbelief, as if asking why I would help such a bad person.
As I walked with Geob-bo, Popcorn kept flying in front of my face and dramatically flopping down in midair like a tragic actress. When I kept walking, it repeated the performance again and again. Soon it seemed to forget all about Geob-bo, completely absorbed in its new game.
"Hey Geob-bo, did you wet yourself?"
None of us had mentioned it, but one man asked outright. When Geob-bo couldn't answer, the man burst out laughing. The other villagers each gave Geob-bo a gentle pat on the back.
"It's all right. These things happen in life."
The man's voice carried warm laughter.
Though we still didn't have a single house, we returned to the village. Ji-geu and the other children stood waiting inside the bonfire perimeter. Someone must have explained the situation.
The moment Ji-geu saw Geob-bo, he came running.
"Uncle Geob-bo!"
When the boy rushed in, Geob-bo instinctively leaned back. He seemed to have injuries hidden from view. Still, he hid the pain and laughed brightly.
"What happened to your face? Did you get hit again?" Ji-geu asked worriedly.
Geob-bo shrugged. "It's fine. It's nothing. The chief and the villagers saved me."
"But your face looks awful. It's a total disaster."
"It looks like you have a rock stuck to it."
"That must hurt so much."
"Can you even see? I can't see your eyes at all, uncle."
The children quickly surrounded Geob-bo, chattering noisily. He laughed happily and soon began boasting. According to him, he'd already beaten more than half the thugs into a pulp before we arrived.
"Their heads are twice the size of mine. My principle is to return everything twofold."
"If I learn from you, can I fight really well too?"
"Teach me too!"
"But is it true? There were five of them."
Popcorn might not have understood the words, but it clearly grasped the atmosphere. It flew back and forth in front of the children with both arms stretched out in disbelief. You believe this? Really? its posture seemed to ask.
Popcorn, your expressions have grown incredibly rich. Even without a proper face, that fluffy body moves like it's making faces.
Among the children, Ji-geu's eyes sparkled the brightest. The others might have doubts, but Ji-geu seemed to believe every word.
After boasting to his heart's content, Geob-bo turned to Ji-geu.
"Sorry for pushing you. You didn't get hurt, right?"
"I was fine. I'm strong, you know." Ji-geu puffed out his chest.
"All right, let's treat those wounds first. If we leave them, they might fester."
At those words, the man in our village who knew the most about herbs brought over some medicinal plants. He'd been drying them, he said. They crushed the herbs into a poultice and applied it to Geob-bo's wounds. He let out a piercing scream. It must have stung terribly.
"Stop being such a baby. Hold still."
"The guy who beat those thugs half to death is screaming over a little sting?"
The villagers chimed in, sounding exasperated. Geob-bo whined, "But it really hurts..."
Ji-geu looked at him worriedly and held out his small hand. "Uncle, want me to hold your hand? It doesn't hurt as much if you hold someone's hand."
The villagers chuckled. Geob-bo shyly reached out and took the boy's hand.
That night we held an emergency meeting about Geob-bo. Every single villager agreed—he would become a full member of our village.
After the meeting, I saw Popcorn swaying as it flew out of the village. Had something new caught its curiosity?
Watching the little spirit's retreating figure, I thought about the strange phenomenon from earlier. I tried pushing rocks and trees afterward, but nothing like what happened with the thug occurred.
I stared at my hand. It didn't feel like power coming from my own body. Then it really was strange. No other spirits were visible, so why had that happened? It felt like the air around me had been helping me.
After gazing at my hand for a while, I returned to the others. The night was deep, but there was still work to do.
Lately my nightly routine was teaching the children their letters. Today was dictation day. We had no paper or pens, so we wrote on the ground and erased it. We'd prepared a study area by selecting flat stones and filling the space with soft sand. For now, that was our makeshift school.
When I headed that way, the children realized it was study time and scattered like their tails were on fire. Kids really are fast.
"Catch them for me!" I called.
The village men immediately grabbed the children by their collars.
"You rascals! Learning letters is important!"
"But uncle doesn't study."
"Uncle hates studying too."
"You kids aren't the same as us who've already lived our lives."
"Study hard and become fine adults."
Whether in this world or on Earth, parents' hearts for their children are the same everywhere.
The children dragged over by the adults sat down with long sighs.
"I hate dictation."
"I already memorized all the letters, so I don't need to do this."
"Do we really have to?"
"Can't we skip it?"
No, you little troublemakers.
The villagers worked on their own tasks while occasionally glancing our way. They smiled gently at the sight of the children thinking hard as they wrote words in the sand.
The boy who claimed he'd memorized everything couldn't get a single one of the ten words right. He always misspelled exactly one letter. While the other children bragged about getting one or two correct, he alone hung his head in gloom.
Hmm. This one really is a bit pitiful.