To be exact, I don't know how powerful Baro was before losing the power of the forest, but now he is very weak to me.

I remember there was a man named Dazai Osamu in the original world, who said that preaching is just a kind of self-satisfaction.

So I didn't say anything. Baro kept attacking me, and I kept throwing him out.

At first, just one encounter would make Baro realize the gap between him and me. But now, even if he realizes the gap, he still keeps trying unwillingly. That's anger.

The last hope of the fire, the anger that was destroyed.

"I shouldn't have trusted you from the beginning! You liar! All you humans are liars!"

The purple hair shone in the moonlight.

The last time he attacked me, his ghostly figure was completely exhausted. He used all his strength to charge at me but fell heavily to the ground after missing.

"Aaaaaah!"

He let out a desperate cry like a cornered beast.

Ilan hid in the distance, watching me and Baro with worried eyes. The little fluffy ball glared at me angrily, apparently thinking I was bullying the boy.

How would I bully him? I thought about the lines and actions of comic villains.

I stepped on his head and ground it into the ground.

"Is that it? Are you done already?"

"Damn it..."

His voice was weak, like a thread. He tried to force himself to stand up, but his strength was exhausted.

I've never been a fan of preaching to kids. Even though preaching is a skill reserved for elders, it's better to use actions to make them understand my point. He should have recovered a bit from his stupidity by now.

I grabbed his dirty purple hair and pulled his face close to mine.

He spit at me immediately.

Sigh. He's still not repenting.

I let go of him and wiped off the spit from my face with my sleeve.

"Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders?"

"You're not... an elder... you're a demon..."

He said in a halting voice.

I picked up a piece of the broken bow and threw it in front of him.

"Do you know why it's broken?"

He didn't look at the bow but glared at me with gritted teeth.

"It must... it must be your doing!"

He still had the strength to accuse me. Not bad.

"Listen to the sound of the bow."

He looked at me doubtfully, but eventually put his ear to the bow.

For a moment, his expression was full of astonishment.

"Do you understand now?"

He looked at me without a word.

If I had asked him to listen to the bow's sound at first, he would have refused. It's only after he's been beaten down and unable to move that he'll reluctantly accept my advice. I could have taken the comic approach and let him beat me without fighting back to awaken his conscience, but I didn't choose that because it hurts.

"I don't understand..."

He started crying, grabbing handfuls of sand and throwing them at the broken bow.

"Why... why..."

I grabbed him by the collar of his cloak and lifted him up, dragging him back into the house without a word.

Since he's come to his senses, I no longer need to be his enemy.

So, I made a meal for him.

"... It's disgusting."

He took a sip of the soup and said.

How could my cabbage and radish fish soup be disgusting?! I won't accept this!

I tasted the soup in front of me and immediately spat it out.

What is this...

Then I remembered that after cooking dinner today, I switched the positions of the salt and sugar. But I forgot about it when I cooked this time.

I apologize! Oh god of food, please forgive me! And Baro, forgive me too!

I tried to take the fish soup from Baro to pour it out, but he suddenly drank it down with determination.

"... It's disgusting."

I squatted in the corner gloomily.

There's no need to say it twice, right?

He said with a straight face:

"However, I still quite like it."

I snorted and rubbed his hair. It's not that I particularly enjoy this action; it's just that as an older person, I'm happy to see a younger one recover their spirits. In a way, rubbing someone's head is a skill reserved for taller and older people. Both conditions happen to apply to me, so I unconsciously triggered it.It's not that I want to rub it, yes, definitely not.

He shook his head but didn't resist too much.

"Where do you plan to go from now on?"

His only reliance was ruined, and he probably wouldn't take revenge on Ropana anymore.

"Going to other forests, I will always find a home."

"Really?"

I wiped my hands on my apron.

"When you have nowhere to go, come work as a clerk at my place. Although the work is more tiring."

After eating, he put on his hood and left in the dark.

I picked up a piece of a broken arrow and put it to my ear to listen. The weak words were intermittent -

"Live on... don't use... you are... the last..."

I slammed the fragment hard on the ground.

I failed. I failed.

Although the result was good, in terms of the casting level, I lost.

The bow would break for only one reason. The magic tool required a resentful and angry soul, one full of hostility towards this world, but the warrior hoped that the last forest kind Baro could survive. Although it was noticed during casting, it could have been forcibly forged by igniting hatred and other external forces if detected earlier.

As an uncle of a weapon shop, I didn't fulfill the customer's request.

Just when I was full of regret, Ilan hugged my waist tightly. It's more accurate to say that her height and arm span could only embrace my waist. She had a lot of strength and might have used the power of a ghost.

I patted her head.

Her red eyes were as clear as a spring.

"You did nothing wrong, brother. I, I know that the person named Baro, when he first came, was full of terror. But when he left, he was gentle. Brother, you are a gentle person..."

In the cold winter night, I exhaled a pure white breath and gently hugged Ilan.

"Thank you, Ilan."

The little furball rubbed its face against my back.