Volume 3 Chapter 55 (1/2)

By on • ( ) A Wish To Grab Happiness - Volu Voices

”…They're laughing at you”

A voice was heard a the crowd of people It resembled that of a rat

At the backside of the crowd, stood Wood, whose thick lips quivered faintly His sister Sereal grabbed her brother's left hand because it was quivering as well

At night the Poor People's cave was extremely dark The sky was pitch black The only place that was bustling with light was from the walls of the city-state of Garoua Maria that one could see from the distance

Usually, most people would've been asleep at this tied people beyond the walls So from the city-state

But, today was different There was a square in front of the old tavern, where a giant tree stood as a ritualizing sye fire pit was lit in the s

The scorching sparks froure in the dark

「Noe have here Where did you say you're fro, though I ade to speak up」

There was one particular ht of the fire pit showed his peculiar silhouette He htly as if he tried to relax areen clothes was known as Lugis

He was a unique e and youthful appearance, sometimes showed some oldness, and sometimes, simple naivety This man was the one who made a contract with Wood and his sister Sereal

Wood knehat this e the entire foundation of the Poor People's cave He said that we could ”paint the walls with a different color”

That was the reason why so athered here today As far as Wood was concerned, there wereto the old

Wood had been an inhabitant of the Poor People's cave for a long tih his reality was the opposite of his ideal life However, in this precise moment, he felt as if his body was petrified He couldn't ns of hope A hope that was too good to be true

Yet, the results were clear

The faces of the people gathered at the square were somewhat stoic They were not interested

They didn't coht places That meant that they just cahtened up, and because they were told to co here Wood understood it well

Wood held his sister's hand tight Sereal shook her body for a mo grip Yet, actually, Sereal just moved her body to ask her brother if he was okay Wood narrowed his eyes with a slight grin on his face to reassure his sister

Expectation and disappointis was his sister's lifesaver He felt that he wanted to do so would change even if he tried to help

How could one word change everything? Wood's cowardice clouded hisHis sister sed dry because of the ongoing tension She knew that everything wasn't unfolding the way he wanted it to be

Still, there wasn't such a thing called hope It won't happen Wood's eyes lowered down and he alis

「…I understood what you said You're talking about ”taking down” those walls 」

An oldvoice

Everyone called him an Elder In this place, it was rare for soe This place had a harsh reality Most of these people didn't even know if they could live tois nodded slowly upon hearing the Elder's words

「Unfortunately, we can't agree with that idea…Those walls have been intact since I've came here as a child You must know that those walls are ancient walls that nobody dared to destroy Besides that, what can we do about it as lowly people?」

That thin and treh the quietness of the dark

Wood's ears htly when he heard the Elder's response Ah, he was right What could we do as lowly people? All of the inhabitants of the Poor People's cave would be traainst the institution

Yeah, it was the harsh reality of their world Wood gritted his teeth Still, that scenario, yes the scenario of that possible hope, crossed Wood's ht that he couldn't even sleep at tioal of his life Yes, a goal at the end of his youth Once upon a ti people of the Poor People's cave, and pretended to be a strong figure with leadershi+p skills Eventually, he thought himself that he could ”destroy those walls with his own hands” Wood really thought that he could do it

But, the reality was different His sister was taken hostage His fellow comrades betrayed hiuardsoal of his life, yes the rebellion he planned for so long, was sht that it would've been better if he had died back then Because if he died, at least he would have died with a brave heart Even so, that didn't happen His robust body didn't succu else he could do but to live on

All that remained was the coward Wood He couldn't even save his sister without a voice All he did was run away and hide froht You're absolutely correct I agree hat you said This proposal is too risky and vague, and there's no guarantee that we're going to succeed」

Lugis spoke to the Elder with gently words instead of thorns

It didn't sound like a speech, or words of soe people's ht

「So, how are you, oldI' to be alive at least」

The topic wasn't that serious It sounded like an extension of a sis with suspicion

「Yeah, just living another day Even if mine and everybody's lives aren't favorable, I can still live here Yeah, I have this place, a place where I can exist That's e can't accept your proposal」

The Elder said everything he wanted to say with his words Not only him He spoke for every inhabitant of the Poor People's cave They didn't hope for a better life They just wanted to live They didn't want to suffer They weren't willing to sacrifice the only thing they had, their lives Yes, they were poor, but they were still alive

If they just wanted to be miserable, and live perilous lives, then it was fine No matter how unjust, how untenable, how absurd, these people valued their lives because they were grateful to be at least alive given their terrible circureed with the Elder's opinion The darkness was quiet and frightening No one wanted to listen anymore

「…Yeah, I understand I fully understand your feelings Elder There's nothing left on your hearts, no dignity, and no fighting spirit Every aspect of your lives was traely, this is stopped speaking Was this the end? Ah, of course It was all over now The results would've been the sa Then, it would be better to finish it early

Then, Wood took a step backwards to leave, but…

「That's right At best, the last thing you'll have is… 」

—

「…No matter how much I think about it, it's impossible How could one ”turn the heavens upside down”? I have no power at all, so I need your help」

I spoke the words that were been engraved in h

Ann and Filaret heard s up in advance It was a s

But, before that, I had to prepare ue Still, I wasn't that optimistic about this If words worked like miracles, nobody would have any hardshi+ps in the world, and I was sure that everybody would live more comfortably

But, I was a man who knew otherwise I lived a life full of hardshi+ps A life without ht that I could speak about my hardshi+ps to the whole world But, it would be hard to sway a person's heart It would be al tears to someone else's eyes with just words and not actions This task was one of the most difficult tasks I had to undertake

This was Ariene's specialty She inspired the audience to speak and share their opinions She ht

What she did was indeed very i our time in the Journey of Salvation But, I wasn't that interested on that matter back then I should have looked at itmy brain

They were the same inhabitants of the Poor People's cave they used to be They eak, sluggish, and didn't have the power to resist There was no way I was going to convince theht, I saw my old self in them

No, wait

Suddenly there was a shadow in my head It kind of cloudedabout the impossible all the tihts of h my brain

Even with all the impossible and improbabilities, I stood here Don't tell me that the words of that shadow, the one who sent me to the past, really inspired radually crossed through my e indeed, and there was that weird atmosphere that attracted rab his hand so h I wanted to change my past I tried to recall every event that happened, but I didn't understand why I was chosen to co special aboutat all even if I asked my former self about a possible solution to this problem