Life Simulation: My Talent Is Wool-Chapter 9: Choices and Consequences

After returning from hunting, someone knocked on his door.

Luan answered.

When they found out he was okay, they sighed in relief.

"Here, this is for you." Ursula handed him a pheasant.

"But..."

"Don’t say anything." She interrupted him: "No matter what, you’re a child and we’re the adults. Take this and eat well, understood?"

She placed the pheasant in his arms.

"Just accept it, kid." Marcos said while raising an eyebrow.

Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was receiving an intimidation, not a gift.

"So... I’ll accept it, thank you!" He made a small bow and showed a sincere smile.

"Hahaha, don’t worry about that." Marcos gave two light pats on his shoulder.

Even though they were light, Luan felt as if he wanted to hammer him into the ground...

After saying goodbye to them, Luan went inside the house.

The first thing he did was butcher the pheasant and salt it with coarse salt.

Using coarse salt significantly increases the shelf life of the meat.

Since there were still parts of the gray rabbit left, and he no longer had access to ice, it was the best way to preserve the meat.

*Cough, cough!*

Almost finished salting the meat, he hears the sound of dry coughing coming from the next room.

Finishing up, he took a full glass of water and went to Catharina.

She had woken up.

"Thirsty?" He asked, already half knowing the answer.

She nodded: "Yes."

Walking over to her, he helped her sit up, then helped her drink the water.

*Cough, cough*

She choked on the water. Luan helped rub her back while placing the glass on the floor: "There, there..."

"I-I’m better now, thank you." She forced a smile.

Shaking his head, he says: "Still thirsty? Want more water?"

She nodded.

This time, she drank more slowly.

After finishing drinking, he helped her lie down again, placing a piece of wet cloth on her forehead.

--

--

Time passed like in a video game scenario — day after day, night after night... and, when he realized, half a month had passed since he saved Catharina.

He also learned more about her situation.

Besides discovering the tragic event that happened when the bandits appeared... He also learned that her mother possessed the Lv1 talent, white fox spirit and her father, white snake spirit Lv1.

Perhaps because they had something in common, they stayed together, but when their daughter was born... She inherited aspects of the spirits from their talents, in other words, becoming a demi-human.

Because of that, her father ran away when she was one year old, and her mother isolated herself in a forest, fearing for her daughter’s life, in other words, she did everything to protect Catharina.

But fate plays in a funny way, sometimes in a very cruel way. Through a pair of coincidences, the bandits ended up in the same forest where she and her mother lived, and...

Well, after that it became hell on Earth for her, especially for her mother.

She cried a lot almost every night calling for her mother.

With each passing day, Luan saw a little piece of the little girl dying.

Sometimes, it’s in moments of peace that reality knocks on the door.

Before, she constantly worried and lived in fear, but now... When thinking about everything that happened, she could only lament not being strong enough to protect her mother.

"It’s all my fault... It’s because I’m a freak!"

She was young, only 10 years old, but she understood enough to know the reason they lived isolated. If she hadn’t been born... If she hadn’t been born a freak, her father would never have abandoned her mother, and her mother would never have had to live isolated, thus coming across those evil bandits, making her mother suffer.

"It’s not your fault."

Even when Luan said something like that, she simply remained silent. It became obvious that she didn’t take his words seriously.

Even if he said it wasn’t her fault, in the end, it was still her fault.

"Life is made of choices, your mother chose you, understood?" Luan said gently: "Do you think she would blame you?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Only upon hearing this did she react and shake her head, pouting with red eyes.

She knew, yes, her mother had always loved her and put her first. She would never blame her for something like that.

But, but... She couldn’t help but think... What if she had been born as a normal child?

Another thing...

He sounded out some villagers, only the closest ones.

From what he managed to discover, even though they weren’t so prejudiced, it was evident that they would not easily accept a demi-human in the village.

Because of that, he kept her existence a secret.

When he asked Catharina if she would like to go out, her answer was:

"I’m scared!"

"Are you sending me away? Can’t I stay? I promise I’ll eat less, I’ll work at home like a horse, please, let me stay!"

She became desperate.

Given the trauma she had suffered, it was understandable.

Luan told her softly: "I’m not asking you to leave, nor do I intend to do that, you can rest assured, but... Don’t you feel suffocated by staying only at home?"

"No, I don’t feel it, I like it!" She answered.

After hearing that, although it was her wish, he felt a little relieved deep down.

After all, he didn’t know what the reaction of the people in the village would be upon seeing her, and he would hate it if they tried to do something harmful against Catharina.

--

--

Hundreds of kilometers from Big Tree Village.

In a large almost empty warehouse, there were dozens of people.

There was something in common between them. Each one of them carried travel bags with them.

"When is he going to arrive?"

"I can’t wait any longer..."

"Didn’t Mr. Wilson say he would take us to the Great Sand City? Why is it taking so long?"

"He didn’t deceive us, right? I abandoned my village because of his promise."

"And me, who was the leader of my village and abandoned wife, grandchildren and children to come here?"

In a corner, an elderly man looked at this group of people and sighed with regret.

He in particular felt more guilty.

His village depended heavily on him, but then, he shook his head, hardening his heart: ’I’m no charity, I need to think about what’s best for me!’

Thinking like that made him feel a little better.

"Hey, is it just my impression, or is it getting hotter?"

"I felt it too, I..."

*Booom!*

"Ahhhhh!"

"Fire!"

Suddenly, a loud sound echoed, along with screams and more screams also echoed.

This was followed by a powerful voice like a thunder in the sky: "Come back!"