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It had been rough.
The boy wasn't exactly sure how he had managed to survive for so long in that forest.
Hiding from anything dangerous, sleeping in the treetops to avoid nighttime predators, laying traps for small animals, and foraging for any edible plants to eat. Everything was done to survive.
But occasionally, the monsters still found him, and he was forced to fight for his life.
It always went poorly.
Being so weakened, mentally and physically, after running away on that night, he had no confidence in combat. Any monsters he encountered were more than enough to nearly kill him, even with any magic he might have used.
He nearly died to goblins, wargs, giant snakes, and various more monsters. Running away was his only option, yet even that was almost too difficult at times.
It was torture.
He couldn't keep it up. It was already difficult to move even after just a few weeks, but he didn't have any other options. He was lost, weak, and without any will to try and find a way back to civilization. Honestly, he would rather die than that. He never wanted to see another human again.
And based on those past few days, his wish was likely to be granted.
He would die there before ever seeing another person, without ever feeling comfort or safety. That was nearly guaranteed.
It was his choice to run away, and now he was paying the price. He had no right to complain, not after wishing for this.
But… somehow, his death never came.
Instead, he lived.
Aly was saved by a silent yet terrifying man.
That man seemed like an elf, since he had long ears like elves apparently did, but he was not. Aly assumed he was a half-elf but that might not have been true.
Either way, the man was intimidating. Incredibly so.
He killed the goblins with brutally efficient and fast movements. Even if the boy's vision was hazy from blood-loss, he could still make out the inhuman power of his strikes.
The boy was relieved, and happy, that someone had tried to come for him in his last moments.
But he was still bitter.
After all, even if the gods had decided to grant him a savior, they did it too late. He knew what a wound like that in his leg would do.
The bitterness only lasted a few moments, though.
Since the man, who had already shown his strength in combat, then decided to heal him.
Aly was amazed.
The man who revealed his name was Link, then asked Aly to follow him.
Of course he did. He was afraid of what might come, and this Link terrified him, but it was the only possible option. He didn't know where they were headed, or what this man's motives were, or even what Link was like, but Aly didn't care.
After all, Link had saved Aly's worthless life for no reason at all, so even if he was scary, he was still a better person than anyone the boy knew.
...
They walked for hours, and after learning of the man's goal to bring him back to civilization, Aly nearly ran right then and there.
It was a prospect that still filled him with fear, even more than limping back into the forest and dying. He couldn't help but tremble when thinking about being surrounded by people again.
But for some reason, he stayed.
It might have been the respect for this man that saved him, or the fear of dying alone, but when he heard Link's earnest desire to help him, he found himself traveling with the half-elf.
That honesty in Link's voice was the only thing making Aly stay.
"I'll help."
Such a stupid and naive statement was enough to break any of the doubts the boy might have had. -This man had genuinely saved his life, and after that realization, Aly knew he couldn't leave.
And for the first time in memory, he began to feel safe.
When standing next to such a powerful entity, who had already sworn its assistance and help, there was no need to feel stress towards his surroundings. Aly knew, even just minutes after meeting this man, that any danger would be easily dealt with.
After all, Link gave off that aura. The aura of an individual possessing extreme confidence in himself and his abilities. It was obvious the swordsman knew what he was doing, and what his goals were. Just by looking at the man, Aly felt like this person had already planned out his next moves and was beginning to forge ahead, with fierce determination.
Aly was very wrong, but he didn't know that.
And every time Link revealed more of himself and his capabilities, the boy only felt more awed. After all, Link had magic items that only very high-ranked adventurers could have, and combat skills that seemed impossible.
It was confusing that someone like this had no idea about any surrounding kingdoms or lands, but Aly rationalized that Link must have come from a very far-off country.
Link began teaching the boy swordsmanship. His movements were swift and graceful, something Aly could not hope to copy, but he tried to learn as best he could. The boy began to grow through this training, and combating various monsters they encountered with Link's backup. He felt himself become confident in his steps.
It was a freeing feeling, but one Aly did not exactly enjoy.
Fighting all of those monsters, even with the help of Link, was stressful. Every time he drew his sword and heard the sound of metal cutting through flesh, the screams of the monsters he killed, he felt a surge of horrible emotion.
Whenever he picked up a weapon, it felt the same. Like he was about to be forced into yet another nightmare.
He had heard about some kind of goblin nation to the west, as well as all sorts of civilized countries built from demihumans.
Yet the creatures in this kingdom were relegated to the forest and killed on principle. Sure, they were bloodthirsty and attacked humans on sight, but was there ever a real attempt to just communicate with each other?
Every time he killed one of those goblins, Aly couldn't help the feeling that he was also killing a creature like himself.
Fighting was a necessity, something he needed to do to survive. It was not an action he liked to do. In fact, he enjoyed it less than almost anything in the world. But when Link told him to fight, he did not protest or voice another opinion. He recognized that the only way forward, the only way he could stay with Link, was to become powerful.
But the boy's dream of becoming strong, just as strong as the man who saved him, was quickly shown to be impossible.
After their encounter with and flight from the Wise King of the Forest, Aly could only look at the half-elf with fear. After all, what could someone do to ever become the equal of an individual possessing four separate talents?
An existence like that was one in the domain of heroes. Even if a person trained to the point of coughing blood every day, for their entire life, they would never come close to a being like Link.
Aly felt his motivation begin to die out.
He realized that the person he traveled with was an anomaly. Something that didn't normally exist in this world, and something that did whatever it desired, with no consequences.
As they traveled through the plains and away from the forest, walking alongside a road that would doubtlessly take them to civilization again, Aly spoke less and less.
It was as if a weight had been thrust onto his shoulders, and the burden of traveling with such an individual made itself known to him.
He didn't deserve to stand next to a man like that.
Not him, not the worthless leftover who had cheated his way from death. Comparing Aly to Link was like comparing an ant to a dragon. They were different existences, and when put next to each other, the ant wouldn't even be noticed.
But when the boy considered the option of leaving and setting off on his own, back to the forest and back to his death, he couldn't move. Not after looking at Link's face, and seeing how even though the man was so silent and unexpressive, his eyes were bright and filled with emotion.
Guilt welled up in him, and he kept quiet.
Even when they arrived at a town, and complete fear overtook him, he hated the thought of distracting Link.
A man like that one didn't deserve to hear his complaints. He just had to suck it up.
However, when they arrived at the village, Aly realized something.
These people, these humans, were very different from what he was expecting.
Carne Village was a strange place.
Honestly, when Aly first saw the group of well-trained goblins obeying and talking cordially with a village girl, he thought he was dreaming.
A scene like that one should not have been possible. Not in this country, and not anywhere.
But he soon understood, as he listened to these people's stories.
His nervousness, his fear at being in a place like this and surrounded by humans, began to disappear as he heard what had happened and he saw the raw pain on their faces.
Their lives had been destroyed, and they were ripped away from any past normalcy. Now, these villagers were just trying to cope with the fallout.
Aly felt overwhelming familiarity.
His fear disappeared completely. It was like he was within a group of peers, people that he understood as if they were family.
And when Link told those people that he would offer help, the exact same way he had told Aly days before, the wave of relief that overcame him nearly caused the boy to break down crying.
The two of them were quickly ushered to meet the village chief, and Link said the same thing. They were willing to help, and Aly agreed wholeheartedly. The boy wanted to stay here in this place and meet these people who had lost so much, yet still had their spirits. He wanted to support them.
The chief was a middle-aged man, but his expression belonged to someone much older and more jaded, someone who had seen hardship and experienced great difficulty.
He welcomed the two of them with a shadowed smile, and offered a small house in town they could stay in, asking if they were going to live here for a long time. It was clear the chief was hoping they would say yes. Having more residents would greatly help with bringing the town back to how it used to be.
But Link immediately shook his head, and explained he wanted to stay in town for a few days, maybe a week, but no more than that.
Aly wasn't sure if he liked it.
But he didn't disagree.
...
The construction efforts continued with great progress after they arrived. It seemed like Link was helping speed everything up thanks to his physical strength, and Aly could already see the villagers begin to warm up to the half-elf.
It made sense. Link didn't complain, always did what you asked, had incredible strength and flawless looks. The people in the village all seemed to look up to him.
Aly watched it happen in somewhat smug satisfaction. It felt nice to know the person who everyone admired.
But the boy didn't just stand around.
He helped clean the houses, take care of livestock, and make the meals that the working villagers shared after the day.
He spent his free time mainly watching the goblins, seeing how they patrolled and followed orders from the otherwise unassuming village girl, Enri.
Apparently she had summoned them from a magic item gifted by the village's savior, but that confused him slightly. Magic items that summoned creatures were supposed to be time-limited, right? How could the goblins that come from an item like that persist for so long?
That didn't matter, though. What interested him was how they interacted with the people of the village.
He saw how the villagers deferred to the goblins with respect, and interacted with them kindly. The goblins helped defend the village and even began to train people in archery and spearmanship.
It was all so surreal.
When the village kids greeted him, it felt like there was a distance between him and them, but that soon disappeared.
He had expected them to be immature and whiney, like the other children his age he remembered meeting in towns and cities.
But instead, they felt… normal. At least, normal to him.
They were rational and hard-working. He found that he liked helping around the village next to them and occasionally chatting together.
As another few days passed, and he saw that Link was preparing to leave, Aly realized that he didn't want to go yet.
In fact, as he continued speaking with, helping and living next to all of these people who held none of the bigotry and disgust that he normally saw in humans, he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to leave.
So on their fourth night in the village, as they made dinner in the small house they had been given, Link told Aly that they should leave soon. Link wanted to make his way to the nearby city of E-Rantel and continue with his goal.
Aly said that he wanted to stay.
The boy expected discomfort and confusion on the half-elf's face, but there was nothing like that.
Instead, Link stood still and motionless for a single second, before giving Aly possibly the largest smile the boy had seen on his face.
Link nodded, still with that smile on his face, and agreed wholeheartedly.
They had a good dinner that night.
And on the next day, as Link prepared to leave, a group of adventurers arrived in town.
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*Author's Note*
Ha! Surprise interlude!
Although I don't usually write from the perspective of side characters, I think this chapter went pretty well. I got across everything I wanted to with Aly, and I like where he ended up. I always enjoy reading interlude chapters since I like seeing how side characters view the MC and what their thoughts on the world are, but I know that they can get a little tedious, so I'll try and not write too many of them in the future. I just wanted to show some things with Aly during this chapter. Next time we'll be back to normal.