He spun around to see what his men were doing, only to find them ravenously sinking their teeth into the fruit the being must have given them. Juices and an incredibly sweet aroma overflowed from the fruit they clutched in their hands.
Gia gulped loudly and wavered on whether he should partake with them, but he had something more pressing to do first. He glanced back at the shadow being. Fortunately, it seemed to be nodding contentedly. By that reaction, it appeared his subordinates did the right thing rather than being disrespectful.
Relief washed over him while, at the same time, he felt the need to scold his men for greedily devouring the fruit. But, in the end, he couldn’t tell them off when he saw the large teardrops falling from their eyes as they stuffed their mouths. He understood their suffering and starvation firsthand.
“Have some pears too.”
Something else plopped onto the ground and rolled in front of Gia. It was a green fruit this time. Pehr…that was another food they were unfamiliar with. The green skin made it seem unripe, but the overflowing sweet scent that was different from that of the apuhls dispelled that concern. This was yet another exquisite source of food. Gia picked it up and stared at it dumbly.
“You there! What is wrong with you? It’s a precious gift from my king. Accept it.”
The girl wore her displeasure and suspicion on her sleeve. Gia didn’t know what the evil being was thinking. But he could get a read on the girl’s personality to some extent.
She wholeheartedly respected and served the embodiment of ruin sitting there. She would likely never stand for anything that upset her master. An insolent person who treated her master’s gifts with disdain was no exception. In light of that fact, Gia appealed to the girl and the being she served.
“There are others who escaped with us to this land. Young children among them…and those children—our children—are starving to death. They haven’t eaten anything for days and are wasting away. Please give this generous and benevolent gift of food to those children rather than me. I beg you…”
Gia tasted something metallic on his tongue. Blood was seeping into his mouth from the corner of his lip. Without even realizing it, he’d bitten his lip in a bid to keep his overwhelming feelings of cowardliness and shame at bay.
He no longer heard munching and slurping from his subordinates either. His words had likely reminded them of their mission. Their clansmen were waiting for them as they fought against their hunger. With so many of their people no longer capable of even standing, they’d only one job to do.
But that was their problem.
Gia heard the girl click her tongue as if to silently convey it wasn’t her master’s concern. Even so, he bowed his head as if his life depended on it—and it did. That was the last shred of pride he’d left to give. He was going to bring this food back with him no matter the cost.
Gia did not back down, even when faced with a terrifying being of legend and the embodiment of ruin. Eyes filled with unwavering determination eloquently conveyed his resolve to achieve his goal at the cost of his own life.
His heartfelt plea was answered all too swiftly.
“I feel for you.”
The being undeniably said those four words.
“W-Wait! King Takuto?!”
The girl raced to her master’s side in a flurry and quietly advised it, but the jet-black darkness did not heed her.
Something plopped onto the ground, followed by the sound of many things spilling onto the ground together.
Gia’s jaw dropped as he watched the surreal miracle unfold before him. Out of thin air appeared more fruit, giant lumpy potatoes, and grain that resembled wheat.
That wasn’t all either: there was bread so soft, it squished when the fruit touched it; dressed animal carcasses with so much meat and fat on the bone it made you wonder how much they had to fatten the livestock for it; and on top of all that, there were beans, vegetables, salt, and what looked like spices. A literal mountain of food appeared from nothing, with that being as the source.
“For you.”
Gia couldn’t hide the waterfall of tears streaming down his astounded face, understanding the meaning of those words. This was the pure definition of benevolence. This omnipotent being listened to their circumstances and said, “I feel for you.” Then it produced an abundance of food solely to help them and their clansmen.
Accepting charity was foreign to their people. Dark Elves were an abhorrent race that’d fled the light. They were only allowed to barely survive by the mercy of the Elves, the Fae of Light. They lived in the shadows as objects of contempt.
No one was sympathetic when Gia and his people were banished. On the contrary, many said the world was purer now that the Dark Fae were gone. Elves naturally avoided them, but so did mankind, Dwarves, and every other race.
Gia believed that was their lot in life and their fate. He was convinced living nobly in harsh conditions, and enduring isolation from the rest of the world, was his race’s calling. He’d absorbed the idea that their lot in life was to tremble in a freezing, isolated corner of the world, with no god to save them.
But he was wrong.
This being extended them a helping hand.
Maybe they were being deceived.
Just maybe, it was toying with their emotions out of pure malice.
But even if that were the case, no one had ever sympathized with them, much less offered them aid.
“It’s a miracle!”
“We’re saved!”
“Oooh, thank you! Thank you, almighty being!”
Gia could tell his subordinates were beside themselves with joy.
“Almighty one, what…d-do they call you…?” Gia had to ask.
He only just realized he’d yet to ask that being’s name. He figured the word the girl used to address her master with was likely the name of the one clad in darkness. But that wasn’t good enough—Gia wanted to hear his name directly from him.
He wanted to know the glorious name of the being that had brought about this miracle as easily as waving a hand—the name of the benevolent one who’d bestowed the warmth of compassion on his race for the first time.
“Take it.”
It only answered with those two words in a detached voice devoid of emotion.