NOVEL WEB Chapter 196: Heartbroken Midget
"Ennya?"
Hal flapped a tent cover open, finding a sulking midget at the small bed on the far corner.
"What? Why are you here? Go and team up with that heartless Stiff Face!" Ennya said with a sullen gaze.
Hal sighed, walking closer and sitting beside her.
The red-haired midget didn't try to drive him away again. Instead, she simply turned to face the wall, hugging her knees.
Ennya felt betrayed.
Earlier, she had tried to fight for her subordinates who were captured for desertion, but her traitorous childhood friend sided with Stiff Face instead.
How could she not be angry?
She already lost two subordinates, and Bryan, too, as he would have to be treated by a higher-ranked Augur back at the capital to regrow his lost limb.
Ennya was naturally happy that he would be rewarded for his courage in battle.
However, she was also saddened that he would no longer be a part of her platoon, since regrowing a severed hand wasn't easy and would take at least a month.
Zephyron firmly stated that a platoon must have twenty members, so Bryan would have to be replaced by another youth.
At the very least, she hoped to naively take the four who fled back, thinking that they were merely acting on her orders and were being unjustly punished.
It was then that the traitor suddenly chimed in, urging her against it and calling her underlings deserters like Stiff Face did.
She desperately argued, even daring to shout at the Wind Magna, but in the end, they shut her down with a flurry of analytical arguments that made it impossible for her to continue.
How could she contend against the two of them when they both use such complex logic?
Wasn't this too unfair?!
She could only blame herself for the downfall of the four who escaped from the battle, thinking they would be punished because of her orders. Y%o!ur su!p!p.ort+ at M@V@^$L+EMP^#Y^R k!e^e$p&s the ser%ies. g-oing.
Sure, there were the more loyal ones who didn't listen to her and planned to fight to the bitter end, but does that mean the other four were traitors?
Could people truly leave behind their comrades to their deaths?
She found such a thing a bit difficult to believe, especially after Bryan's sacrifice.
In the end, Stiff Face called her naive, repeating the same argument again and again: the deserters were soldiers. They knew the consequences of following her orders, yet they fled anyway, hoping to hide behind the excuse of "obedience" when, in truth, they were simply afraid to die in the line of duty.
They weren't fit to be part of a Magna Prospect's platoon.
Hal didn't say anything at that point, but knowing him, the look in his eyes made it clear he agreed with Zephyron.
What can little, silly her do against such eloquent tongues?
Ennya could only storm out of the meeting tent and sulk in hers.
The only solace she could find amidst the storm of emotions in her heart was that the four wouldn't be punished too harshly.
Stiff Face had said that despite their "sins," they would, at most, be assigned to cleaning duty and barred from promotion for two years, since she had, in fact, ordered them to flee.
She could accept that.
What she couldn't accept was Hal siding with that heartless Magna, choosing him over her—his own childhood friend.
But then again, Hal had, most of the time, stood firmly by what he believed was right.
It never mattered to him how many people were on his side.
There was a time in the past when all seven of them had teamed up against him, insisting he was wrong.
However, in the end, it turned out they were the ones who had been mistaken.
She could also sense that he was doing this for her.
So, despite the "betrayal", Ennya couldn't truly bring herself to hate Hal.
"I'm sorry for siding with Zephyron, alright? But I think he's right. I just don't want you to be in danger in the future due to incompetent subordinates, that's all." The traitor apologized as gently as his familiarity with Ennya allowed, fully knowing what she was sulking about.
Still, he remained firm in his stance, as he truly didn't want the day to come when news of her death at the hands of the fell race would resound throughout the Imperium.
It would be one of Hal's darkest days, should it ever happen.
Ennya didn't respond, continuing to sniff sullenly while staring at the tent walls and hugging her knees.
Hal sighed once more.
It was always difficult to reconcile with Ennya whenever she became like this, but he knew what to do.
Snapping his fingers, the system interface opened. Hal quickly navigated to the Chaos Shop window.
Shortly after, a massive selection of items was displayed, but he ignored most of them, focusing solely on the pastry section.
He had already seen it while browsing in the past, so Hal was sure that the one he was looking for was available.
'Let's see…Aha! There it is…'
He quickly tapped on the item and unhesitatingly purchased it for 10 Chaos Points.
It would've been equivalent to ten [Common]-tier draws, but he couldn't bear to see the usually jolly midget so downcast and heartbroken.
This was but a small sacrifice to lighten his and her heavy hearts.
[You have purchased a [Cream Pie] for 10 Chaos Points! The item has been sent to your inventory.]
Hal quickly retrieved the pastry from the inventory, dangling it in front of Ennya before finally giving her the delicious Cream Pie.
Almost instantly, the midget gave in.
She loved Cream Pies, after all, quickly grabbing the packed pastry that slid down her knees and stopped in her stomach.
"Forgiven…" she declared, her subtle sobs momentarily stopping as she hurriedly opened the strange, see-through packaging.
Ennya took a large bite and munched on…
Hal didn't speak, allowing her to enjoy the Cream Pie in peace.
He even gave her a cold chocolate drink for another 15 Chaos Points to complement his first reconciliation gift.
Around seven minutes later, she finally finished snacking and was ready to listen to what the traitor had to say.