As I stepped into Alan's tent, I saw an unfamiliar face. It was a small girl, her hair had the same color as the sakura, her eyes were big and as black as the night; she seemed sick. The girl looked somewhere around eight and was talking to Alan before noticing me.
The moment she saw me, her big round eyes widened even more.
She quickly sped up to me with her small legs and caught my hands between hers; she seemed like she wanted to say something, but before she could do anything, the girl fainted. I quickly tried to catch her but due to my body being smaller than hers, she just ended up falling on me.
I was surprised and so was Alan, he quickly helped me get the girl off me and laid her down. The girl woke up a few minutes later and as if nothing happened she sped up to me once again and caught my hands between hers:
"Hello! My name is Liliya and my holy title is -le petit serviteur de Dieu-, call me big sister Lilliy!" The girl was smiling brightly, with no sign of dizziness or anything else that could have come after fainting. I looked at Alan and he definitely had an expression that was telling me to go along with her.
"Hello, big sister Lilliy!" I elegantly bowed and introduced myself "I'm Aloir, -l'enfant de Dieu, Sauveur du monde-." I raised my hand, pointed my finger to my head, widened my eyes and spoke again"Waa! Your hair is tied up very cutely, who was it that did such a pretty thing?" I must say, I'm quite the charming guy, almost blushed myself. Despite my expectations, Lilliy stared blankly at me, blinked twice and as quick as a flash her expression brightened:
"Thank you, your hair looks tasty! Brother Alan was the one to make those cute hair buns! Are you shy, do you want me to ask him to make some for you too?" I think I understand more about her now. She's a sweetheart, not too bright and sickish, there must be some reason as to why I met her, I'll have to ask Alan later when we are alone. As for now... she's way too cute! I really wish to see her smile some more! I looked at Alan who was watching us from a chair in the corner, he seemed fulfilled.
I made a small sign with my hand showing Lilliy that I wish to tell her something without Alan hearing. She got close to me and put on a curious face, I whispered into her ear "The truth is... I am very shy, I can't even think of telling brother Alan that I want a cute hairstyle too... Do you think you can help me?" I smiled satisfied, at the same time Lilliy widened her eyes and nodded seriously. She proceeded to run with her small legs to Alan and made him a sign to bend down, whispered something into his ear, looked at me and whispered again. Alan nodded and told her something.
A few seconds later Lilliy came to me and winked "See you later Aloir!", I and Alan were left alone in the tent. Alan came to me, breathed in and burst "Aloir, you are so adorable! Using her hairstyle as an excuse to be left alone with me! Is that how much you love your big brother?". Despite his words, I knew Alan wasn't stupid so I went right to it "Big brother Alan, what's the reason for my meeting with Lilliy?".
"Ah, I knew you'd catch on quickly, you're a smart child after all. The thing is... as you probably have realized by now, Liliya is sick, and it's not just a normal illness." Of course, I knew that much. It must be pretty special for them to need the hero himself, an inexperienced one at that. "Not a normal illness, is that why you need the hero?" I stopped a little to think and went on "Is this the reason you made me meet Lilly? To see how innocent and sweet she is so that I'll be willing to help?" Alan... Alan might misunderstand the meaning of my questions, but I need to know the truth no matter what.
"What you said is true, Aloir. I made you meet Liliya for you to get attached and do what I ask for regarding her. You might think it as harsh if you wish to, but I'm doing this for her." Alan said this so painfully... I can't even bring myself to get mad for being used...
"Liliya's illness is something passed on every child that has been blessed by the Tree of Life, a tree that's in the care of the Great Saintess from the Goddess of Life Yilia's followers, the most spread belief in this whole world. The tree needs a special child with a large amount of holy power for its recovery powers to work. One child is born every 20 years and their lifespan is short, they share more than half of their life with the tree. They can't do anything about it themselves so they use powerless children, it's just unfair!" What Alan said petrified me, I knew this world isn't developed, but for it to use children like this without a worry...
"What is it that I can do for Lilliy?" I asked, determined to help.
"Share your power. The blessed children have an enormous amount of holy power, but it's less than the hero's powers. The hero won't have many limits with training, it's not just holy powers, you'll exceed in everything. I am asking you to share a little bit of your holy powers with her every month until she reaches the marriable age, then do a small ritual and she can die of old age, just like that. There won't be anything happening to you. That's why, I beg of you Aloir, please help her!" Alan prostrated in front of me... I was shocked, how could someone as dignified as him do something like this? He must sincerely care about what happens to Lilliy.
"Alright. I have decided. I, Aloir -l'enfant de Dieu, Saveur du monde-, swear on my title as the 'hero' that I will help -le petit serviteur de Dieu- Liliya." Swearing on my name should show Alan how serious I am about this.
Alan raised his head and with tears in his eyes thanked me.
-A few minutes later-
"So... Aloir, you don't want to be called a liar by Liliya... right?" This question... It can't be it... "Noo!!" I desperately tried to run, but I was caught with the blink of an eye.
When Lilliy entered the tent, Aloir was sitting on Alan's lap while he was tying up his hair into two beautiful small ponytails. Aloir's soul seemed to have left his body long ago..
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Thank you for reading, chapter 6 soon to come.
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Mask Guy
FantasyLiving in a society that beauty is all that matters can be really hard if your face isn't how it's supposed to be. Meet Mask Guy, a child who has been given a mask since he was a baby and told through the years that he must never take it off because...
