Hearing this, Ophelia couldn’t help but smile warmly as she glanced at her painting.

"Little one. The reason for the conflict between us and the Night Clan isn’t because of food or water."

"It wasn’t?"

"Nope."

"Then what was it?"

"Revenge."

"Revenge??"

"Yes, revenge."

"I’m confused." Rick tilted his head with a puzzled look on his face and Ophelia couldn’t help but smile at how cute he looked right now.

"Let me ask you a question, Rick."

"Um, okay."

"Why are the spirits angry at us?"

"Because we welcomed the Vikings into our home?"

"That’s right. So if we want to make the spirits forgive us for what we had done in the past, what do you think is the most direct and most impactful way for us to do so?"

Rick remained silent before opening his mouth to speak. "By chasing the Vikings away from our home?"

"That is correct and that is exactly what some elders and Chieftains concluded on." Ophelia replied before continuing.

"Many elves, elders and Chieftains alike, had grown frustrated by how things had changed for us, but no matter how many times we pray to the spirits, none of them seem eager to listen to us. So a few Chieftains and elders suggested we chase away the Vikings or slaughter them altogether, just as they did to our kind, and maybe, just maybe, the spirits will forgive us and give us back what we had."

Rick remained silent as he finally understood a little of where this was going. "So, is there a conflict between us and the Night Clan because one of us doesn’t want revenge?"

"Well, your mother sees no reason in us going to war against the Vikings when we barely even have enough food to take care of ourselves. Besides, the Vikings overshadow us in numbers and fighters, so your mother believes many of us here are unready and unfit for war, but the Chief of the Night Clan thinks otherwise, and now he is trying to use brute force to convince your mother into joining his side."

Rick remained silent as he tried to align his own reasoning with that of the Chieftess.

From what he had heard so far, Rick could see that his mother was clearly acting in a way that would ensure her own people’s safety.

She clearly didn’t want to send them out to face the Vikings, due to the fact that the Vikings clearly looked like a race of people raised for combat.

They had more combat experience than the entire elven population, so it was suicidal to think they had a chance against the Vikings when even the Vikings’ weapons were things no elf had seen before.

"So, Rick. Now do you understand the reason behind the conflict between us and the Night Clan?"

Rick sighed softly and nodded in response before turning his gaze toward a different section of the cave.

Then he grabbed one more Thornfig fruit to eat, but before he ate it, Rick noticed the shaman hadn’t taken any for herself yet.

"Have you eaten this morning?" Rick asked, but Ophelia shook her head with a smile.

"Don’t you want one?" He offered the fruit in his hand but Ophelia shook her head once again.

"It’s fine, Rick. You seem like you need it more than I do."

"Not really. I’m just eating it because I have nothing else to eat, but the truth is, I don’t really like how it tastes."

"I understand you don’t like the taste, but you need to eat something if you want to have enough strength for your upcoming awakening."

"I know, but you also need to eat something as well. So, if you’re not going to eat, then I’m definitely not going to force myself to eat anymore." Rick placed the fruit in her hand and Ophelia grabbed it before glancing back at him.

"So, you’re saying if I eat it, you’ll force yourself to eat more?"

"Yes, I’m sure you need the fruit just as much as I do." Eating something that clearly didn’t belong to him but to someone else felt strange to him, especially knowing that he alone would be the one eating in her cave.

It made him feel like the worst kind of freeloader imaginable, so this was the only thing he could think of to somehow redeem himself and his image.

Meanwhile, Ophelia smiled and simply walked over to a bunch of dried leaves arranged and shaped like a bed.

Then she sat down to eat the Thornfig in her hand, but to her surprise, Rick walked closer to sit next to her.

Then he grabbed a fruit of his own before opening it to eat.

He watched his grandmother have a bite of her fruit, then he beamed and asked happily. "You see? It’s nicer to eat with someone than to eat alone."

Ophelia’s smile widened even more and she was genuinely surprised by how much Rick had changed overnight.

He wasn’t the scared little elf who mostly kept to himself and distanced himself from everyone else.

He wasn’t frowning as he had always been, and right now, he had a cheerful and relaxed vibe around him that made it impossible for anyone not to smile and reciprocate that happiness.

"You’ve really changed a lot, Rick."

"I have?"

"Yeah, but you’ve changed in a good way and I’m sure your mother and sister will be very happy to see this new side of you every day."

"Thank you, but I’ll be happy to show this side of me to you every day too, you know?"

Ophelia smiled and took another bite of her fruit. "I’d like that."

"You know, I’m surprised by how free and happy I am when talking to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it’s because I heard you could destroy a whole clan with your sneeze, so I thought you would be a scary shaman to talk to."

* Cough!!*

Ophelia nearly choked on the fruit she was eating. "What? Where did you hear that from?"