Raiden and the other kids from his age didn’t think that their first actions in that conflict would be to help so many wounded people. They also saw a lot of people dead and many people dying... some of them had been hit by cannonballs and survived, only to suffer for a while.

"I guess since I lived a peaceful life in the village, I forgot that this world is really a shitty world that slaves kids and make them work to death before they can reach adulthood," Raiden thought when he saw the sun setting."

Although they managed to help a lot of people, there was still a lot of work to be done in the port. Iri looked exhausted since she used all of her energy time and time again, but she still kept going working on the wounded, so Raiden couldn’t fall back either.

They only had the chance to take a break around midnight when some elves and dwarves approached from East... they looked like reinforcements of a nearby town, still, they couldn’t do much aside from taking the place of the warriors of the village and let them rest.

"Prepare out tents over there, Raiden," Iri said while rubbing her eyes. "I am going to talk with Mom and Dad for a bit."

Raiden nodded while looking at the reinforcements working, mainly ignoring the warriors from the village. While they were allies, the guys at the bottom of the chain of command didn’t like that they were being helped like that. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"I need more information... while we have been allies for many years, it doesn’t look like our reputation among them is that high," Raiden thought.

Raiden assumed that elves and dwarves might not be fond of the warriors from his village because the village warriors were a diverse group, including humans, halflings, and beastkins like Altria. In contrast, elves and dwarves appeared more homogenous in their society.

On the other hand, elves and dwarves appeared to maintain more homogeneity within their society. While they worked together for common goals within their country, Raiden noted a distinct lack of intermarriage or visible mixing between different races among them. This contrast struck Raiden as obvious because it showed how his village embraced diversity while elven and dwarven societies seemed to maintain stricter boundaries between racial groups.

"If they live longer, perhaps that makes sense," Raiden thought. "Maybe there is something like marrying outside their species dilutes their appearances or talents or something."

This observation led Raiden to speculate that elves and dwarves might view his village’s diverse warrior group with some wariness or indifference, possibly due to cultural differences or their societal norms regarding racial homogeneity. His assumption reflected his growing awareness of cultural diversity and its implications across different societies within this world.

That became even more clear when some elves passed nearby and then saw him... someone with dark hair like him was someone they had never seen before, so they clearly showed in their faces their confusion and a bit of disgust.

"Ouch," Raiden thought. "Just because I am not crazily handsome, you don’t have to look at me like I am a pig, you know."

Despite that kind of thought," Raiden couldn’t really care less about the opinions of strangers. He would feel bad if the people close to him suddenly felt that way, but there was a clear way to avoid that kind of nuisance. Ignore those people!

"Mom and Dad are busy talking with the commander of the reinforcements," Iri explained when she arrived. "We won’t receive further orders until everyone here is being treated. It isn’t likely that we will receive orders until... Hey! What are you looking at?"

Raiden ignored those eyes of disgust, but Iri was another matter altogether. Although they were supposed to be allies, she didn’t hesitate to raise her voice and quickly created a scene that made everyone look at them.

"My apologies..." The elf that looked at Raiden like he was a pig said after thinking for a short while. "I shouldn’t have shown such an expression."

Iri raised her left eyebrow, understanding the meaning behind those words... he shouldn’t have shown that, but it didn’t change the fact that he still could see Raiden as disgusting.

"Don’t mind him. You need to rest since you look exhausted," Raiden said. "I am starting to realize that I am a lot rarer, or perhaps unusual, than I had expected."

"What is wrong with you? If someone looks at you like that, you should punch them in the face," Iri said. "No one looks at my little brother and the son of our leader like that."

"Well, I understand your feelings, but we have more pressing matters right now," Raiden said.

Iri didn’t like that Raiden seemed unbothered by the way the elves and dwarves looked at him. Their disdain or indifference, stemming from their more homogenous societies compared to the diverse makeup of their village’s warriors, annoyed her very much so. She felt a protective instinct towards her brother and resented that he was being judged or underestimated based on these superficial differences.

However, Iri knew better than to let her emotions dictate her actions further. She understood that confronting the elves and dwarves or picking a fight with them over their attitudes wouldn’t solve anything. Using logic, she realized that their views were deeply ingrained and not something that could be changed through a single confrontation. Engaging in a fight would likely only escalate tensions and potentially endanger her group. Iri decided to keep her feelings in check, focusing instead on proving their worth through actions rather than words.

"... Fine, but if they keep doing that, they will have to learn a lesson," Iri said.

In the end, Raiden couldn’t only force a smile... his sister was just too sentimental for her own good, it was one of her strengths, but it could cause a lot of trouble to people around her and even more so to her.

When the next morning came, the group felt a bit better since they finally had the chance to sleep on proper beds. Still, soon, they began to work on repairing the buildings that had to be repaired. It was unlikely that the enemies would come to finish their job.

Raiden felt a bit troubled by the fact that he would leave Iri alone since she would keep helping the wounded, and he had to help with the rebuilding, but it couldn’t be helped. Before long, he also found his friends.

"Hey, Raiden... we heard some rumors about you yesterday," Javier whispered while looking around. "Are you fine?"

"Why wouldn’t I be?" Raiden asked. "Some stares might hurt, but they don’t bother me in the least."

"Those guys look pretty... but their attitude is quite nasty," Ruth said, and she looked pretty annoyed as well. "That only shows that you can be pretty outside and nasty inside."

"Let’s not generalize, something bad happens, it doesn’t mean that all of them are assholes," Raiden explained. "They are suffering from war, so they must be on edge as well."

Javier and Ruth were taken aback by Raiden’s behavior. The situation with the elves and dwarves was rather unpleasant, filled with subtle tension and unspoken disdain. Yet, Raiden seemed completely unfazed by it all. He carried himself with a calm demeanor, as if the judgments and sidelong glances had no impact on him.

Javier and Ruth had always known Raiden to appear more mature than his age, often displaying wisdom and composure beyond his years. However, even for him, this level of detachment was unusual. They had expected him to at least show some reaction to the uncomfortable atmosphere, but his stoicism was almost eerie. It was as if he had an inner strength or understanding that shielded him from the negativity around him, leaving Javier and Ruth both impressed and a little unsettled by his resilience.

"Anyway, we have a lot of work to do here," Raiden said.

Those three began to work, and along the day, they saw some elves taking quick glances at Raiden... but they didn’t show the same expressions as before. Black hair was truly unusual for them.