weight of pain
No one answered.
No one dared.
—Did you get what I asked for?
The silence was broken.
—Mom, no! I don't want to go!
A scream.
Desperate.
Daichi turned his face toward the sound.
His heart sank.
Soldiers pushed their way through the crowd.
Without hesitation.
Without care.
They grabbed a young woman.
Red hair.
Eyes full of fear.
She struggled.
She was crying.
—Please! No! I don’t want to!
Her mother tried to hold her.
—My daughter!
But she was stopped.
Pushed back.
A man—probably her father—held her back, firmly.
Preventing her from moving forward.
But her eyes…
Were shattered.
The young woman was dragged away.
Mercilessly.
And thrown at the nobleman’s feet.
The impact echoed in the silence.
Daichi stood motionless.
His body didn’t react.
His mind tried to make sense of it.
—What… is this…?
He muttered, in shock.
The nobleman approached the young woman.
He bent down slowly.
He held her chin.
He lifted her face by force.
He looked at her as if appraising an object.
And then…
He smiled.
—Hmm… yes.
—She’ll do.
Daichi’s heart tightened.
The nobleman stood up.
He looked at everyone.
—As promised… — he said, with a slight smile — on behalf of the lord of these lands…
He paused.
—We will continue to protect this town.
—And bring help… whenever possible.
No one answered.
No one moved.
It was as if everyone already knew.
As if that…
Was part of the routine.
The soldiers grabbed the young woman again.
She was crying.
She begged.
But no one intervened.
She was placed inside the carriage.
The door closed.
The sharp sound echoed through the night.
The carriage began to move.
Slowly.
Taking the young woman away.
To an unknown destination.
Silence returned.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
People began to disperse.
One by one.
Speechless.
No reaction.
As if that were normal.
As if there were no choice.
Daichi stood still.
Staring.
In disbelief.
His fist slowly clenched.
—…So…
His voice came out low.
Weak.
But heavy.
—…is that Miura’s “danger”?
The wind blew again.
Cold.
Biting.
And at that moment…
He understood.
That village…
Wasn’t perfect.
It never was.
Daichi stood still for a few moments.
Watching the emptiness left behind by the carriage.
The torches were still burning.
But their heat… didn’t reach anything.
The silence in the village seemed heavier than before.
He looked around.
People were already leaving.
Heads bowed.
Quick steps.
As if they wanted to forget.
As if that… had never haned.
Daichi blinked slowly.
He expected to feel something.
Anger.
Indignation.
Anything.
But…
Nothing came.
His chest felt empty.
As always.
—…
He looked away.
—This… should bother me more.
He muttered under his breath.
But his voice came out weak.
Without emotion.
He put his hand to his chest.
Nothing.
No pain.
No anger.
Just…
Silence.
And that bothered him.
More than the scene itself.
—Am I… really that broken?
The thought popped into his head, bluntly.
Straight to the point.
He took a deep breath.
And then, something different appeared.
It wasn’t anger.
It wasn’t sadness.
It was… curiosity.
His eyes turned back to the gate.
Toward the path where the carriage had disappeared.
—This world…
He furrowed his brow slightly.
—…is that how it works?
He looked at the soldiers who were still there, now getting ready to leave.
Cold stares.
No guilt.
Without a doubt.
Daichi clenched his fists slightly.
Not out of anger.
But for something that was just beginning to take shape.
—If that’s normal here…
He took a step back.
—…then I need to understand.
The night wind blew again.
Colder.
Heavier.
And, for the first time…
Daichi didn’t just feel lost.
But alert.
Observing.
Learning.
Like someone who finally realized…
That that world wasn’t just beautiful.
But dangerous.
In a different way.
Daichi returned to the tavern in silence.
He pushed the door open slowly.
The atmosphere was quieter than usual.
A few empty tables.
The sound of the fire crackling in the background.
Erza was behind the counter.
With her back turned.
Motionless.
—Erza…
She didn’t answer.
Daichi took a few more steps.
—What was that outside?
Silence.
For a moment… nothing happened.
Then—
CRACK.
The sharp sound echoed through the hall.
Erza had squeezed a wooden cup so hard that it shattered in her hand.
The pieces fell onto the counter.
She didn’t move.
His breathing was heavy.
Irregular.
—Useless…
He murmured.
Quietly.
Almost inaudible.
—Useless…
He repeated.
This time more firmly.
Daichi frowned.
—Erza…
She brought her hands to her face.
Her fingers pressed hard.
As if trying to hide something.
Or hold something back.
Anger.
Shame.
Guilt.
—Erza… — Daichi insisted, now more serious — can you explain to me what the hell is going on here?
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Then, suddenly—
—MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, BOY!
Her voice exploded through the hall.
Loud.
Sharp.
Daichi froze.
—"Stop asking questions!" she continued, without looking at him. "It's none of your business!"
The air seemed heavier.
Colder.
For a moment, it seemed as if she were about to say something else.
But she didn’t.
Erza turned her face away.
And she headed to the back of the tavern.
Disappearing without looking back.
—
Silence returned.
Daichi stood still.
Unresponsive.
His gaze fixed on the counter.
At the shards of the broken glass.
Something inside him stirred.
Slowly.
Heavy.
That didn’t make sense.
That village.
Those people.
That night.
And now…
Erza.
He clenched his fist slightly.
—…What kind of place is this?
He muttered.
—
Later, back in his room…
Daichi was lying down.
Staring at the ceiling.
But he couldn’t sleep.
The scene kept replaying in his mind.
The girl.
The screams.
The nobleman.
The silence of the people.
And Erza’s gaze.
That reaction…
It wasn’t that of someone who thought that was normal.
It was from someone who…
Couldn’t accept it.
But there was nothing she could do either.
Daichi turned his face away.
He looked out the window.
The night seemed darker than before.
Heavier.
— …
He closed his eyes.
But sleep wouldn’t come.
—
Time passed slowly.
Dragging on.
And when he realized…
Daylight was already beginning to stream through the window.
Daichi was still awake.
Sitting on the bed.
In silence.
Thinking.
And, for the first time since he arrived in that world…
He didn’t just want to understand.
He wanted answers.
Morning light streamed through the window.
Daichi was still sitting on the bed.
Without having slept.
His eyes were heavy… but his mind was restless.
— …
He stood up slowly.
He needed answers.
—
As he went down to the tavern, he found Erza already standing there.
Tidying up behind the counter.
