"Heh..."
Sato let out a silent, mocking breath. If he hadn't learned of Wilma's scheming beforehand, he might not have thought much of it.
But now, there was no way he would let the matter slide so vaguely. Even if he ended up leaving and never dealing with the Village of Dragons again.
"Wilma! I want to know. Before I came here, what exactly did Zweilous do wrong? Did it really hurt Ron's parents?"
The bonfire festival fell into awkward silence once more. The lively mood had now been completely ruined, and everyone turned to look at Sato.
This outsider… so brash!
Wilma was clearly displeased too. Her cloudy eyes locked onto Sato, but all she could see in his gaze was sincere worry and seriousness.
"I'm Zweilous's Trainer now. Even if it made mistakes in the past, I should bear the responsibility. So please, Wilma, tell me the truth!"
Sato slightly leaned forward, his head lowered, his posture one of genuine remorse, instantly earning the villagers' favor.
'Trying to out-act me, old hag? Please.' Sato sneered internally.
"Ahem… Sato, there's no need for you to worry about this. Our village will handle the matter-"
"PLEASE!"
Sato interrupted loudly, looking every bit the fool who wouldn't stop until Zweilous's "name" was cleared.
Wilma felt as though she had swallowed a bug. She couldn't even tell if Sato was really that naïve, or if he had seen through her plan to isolate him.
"Young man… it's really not a big deal. We've seen Zweilous go berserk plenty of times. Ron's parents just happened to be unlucky this time."
"Exactly, exactly! You can't just believe everything that kid Ron says. And besides, didn't we all help rebuild their house? It was only money lost, that's all."
"Right, right! Don't keep bending like that, it's bad for your kidneys..."
"Stand up, stand up! We're here to celebrate your arrival. The bonfire festival still needs to go on!"
"That's right, that's right…"
"…Are you saying Zweilous really did hurt someone?" Sato continued the performance, his face filled with sadness as he questioned the villagers.
"Uh, well…"
The villagers fell silent. Sato and his group were guests, guests who hadn't even been properly welcomed yet. Dragging them into village affairs like this just wouldn't do.
If word got out, others might think the Village of Dragons couldn't even spare a Zweilous, or that they didn't know how to treat guests properly.
"I want to visit Ron's family. If I can, I'd like to do everything in my power to make up for the mistake Zweilous made. After all, I'm its Trainer now!"
From behind the crowd, Joseph subtly held Phoebe back from speaking. "Sato will give us a proper explanation. Trust him."
Ryoko also tugged quietly on Phoebe's sleeve, urging her to stay calm.
Phoebe pursed her lips. She had never seen Sato act like this before…clearly, he was hiding something.
But recalling the explanation he gave earlier, she ultimately chose to step aside and watch how things unfolded.
At this moment, Sato's sudden outburst completely ruined Wilma's plans. Worse, it gave Sato a chance to earn even more goodwill from the villagers.
And as the de facto "ruler" of the Village of Dragons, Wilma couldn't go against the will of the people in a moment like this.
"Sato, you really don't need to worry about Ron's family. Our village will help them through these hard times. Even though Zweilous is your partner now, what happened took place before you met it, so you're not responsible."
On the surface, Sato nodded obediently, but inside he felt as refreshed as eating ice cream on a scorching summer day.
Forcing Wilma to say those words herself… his goal had been completely achieved.
"Then… alright. But if Ron's family really needs anything, at least while I'm still in the here, I'm willing to do whatever I can to make up for it."
Sato knew when to retreat. He wrapped up his performance flawlessly, winning even more silent praise from the surrounding villagers.
'What a fine young Trainer!'
---
The bonfire festival continued.
Although Ron's outburst had been unexpected, Sato's "sincere and upright" response won over the villagers even more.
In fact, the festival ended up feeling more genuine and lively than before.
Even Ron's mother came over multiple times with a face full of apology, saying Ron hadn't meant any harm.
Sato responded with his usual obedience, which even moved Ron's mother to affectionately ruffle his hair.
"If Ron were a girl, I'd ask your parents to arrange a marriage between you two!"
'…'
"Hsss!"
Without caring for anything else, Sato quickly escaped Ron's mom's petting. 'Lady… that mindset is a bit dangerous. I can't handle it!'
"Ahahaha…"
Sato's exaggerated reaction made everyone around burst into laughter. Curious bystanders came over to ask what had happened.
One person told ten, ten told a hundred, and soon the entire village was laughing, growing even fonder of Sato.
Not even Sato or Wilma could have predicted such a result.
"Where's Wilma?" When the festival was halfway through, Sato pretended to only now notice her absence and asked curiously.
"She said she's too old to hang out with young folks like us, and told us to treat you well," the villagers answered with a laugh.
"Oh, okay." Sato nodded "obediently", breathing a slight sigh of relief inwardly. At least for tonight, nothing else should happen.
The bonfire festival ended in laughter and cheer. After giving Joseph a subtle glance, Sato turned and followed Ron's mom.
"Ma'am, I'd like to go visit Ron."
"You should go rest. That brat's probably long asleep by now. Don't worry about that Zweilous thing anymore, really!"
"…I noticed youre husband hasn't shown up again either. The way he treated Ron earlier… I'm just a bit worried…"
In his heart, Sato silently apologized for taking advantage of her love for her child.
And though he didn't finish his sentence, Ron's mom filled in the rest herself: 'Could Ron have been tied up and beaten by his dad?!'
"Aiya! That old man never knows when to hold back! Now that you mention it, I really am a bit worried."
Without another word, she bolted off, not even looking back at Sato behind her.
Just as expected, when Sato arrived outside the house behind her, he could already hear Ron's heart-wrenching wails from inside.
"Axew Axew"
From behind the door, an Axew -who had been locked out- saw Ron's mom return and leapt into her arms like a savior, crying nonstop.
"You old bastard! Open the damn door! If you lay one more finger on my son, I swear I'll castrate you!"
"Pfft!" Sato covered his mouth from behind, barely holding back a laugh.