HMPH... YOU'RE RIDICULOUS.
WHAT WERE YOU DOING OUT HERE, ANYWAY?
TH-
THINKING.
WHY WOULD YOU BE THINKING AROUND A BUNCH OF DEAD PEOPLE?
D-DEAD...?
THAT ROCK.
AND ALL THE OTHER ROCKS HERE.
THEY'RE THE GRAVES OF OUR ANCESTORS.
THEY WERE KILLED IN THE WAR THAT PEOPLE FROM YOUR KINGDOM
WAGED IN THESE MOUNTAINS.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE, ELDER. I BROUGHT YOU SOMETHING NOURISHING.
THIS STUFF IS BITTER,
BUT THEY SAY THERE'S NOTHING BETTER FOR EXTENDING YOUR LIFE.
I'VE STOCKED YOU WITH A FEW MONTHS' WORTH OF GRAIN AND FIREWOOD,
AND I'LL HUNT FOR MORE IF YOU NEED IT.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED? MEDICINAL HERBS?
HAH, YOU STUBBORN OLD FOOL.
AND YOU CALL YOURSELF THE MOST RESPECTED ELDER IN THESE MOUNTAINS?
ASIDE FROM FEELING SORRY FOR THE CHILD,
THERE IS NO REASON TO HELP HER.
ELDER,
HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED A KINDNESS
FOR NO REASON AT ALL?
I HAVE. MANY TIMES.
FROM YOU, WHEN YOU TOOK ME IN AFTER MY PARENTS DIED,
AND FROM THIS VILLAGE THAT RAISED MY SISTER AND ME.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, I GREW UP KNOWING HOW TO SHOW THAT SAME KINDNESS TO OTHERS.
GO ON AND LIVE LIKE THAT UNTIL YOU DIE OF OLD AGE.
HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED A KINDNESS FOR NO REASON AT ALL?
RELAX.
I'M NOT HERE TO HURT YOU.
WE NEED TO STOP THAT BLEEDING FIRST.
SKY-BLUE EYES... THE EYES OF THE GROER ROYALTY.
YOU INVADE OUR LANDS... AND NOW YOU PITY US?
WHAT GOOD ARE LANDS IN THE FACE OF SAVING A LIFE?
I HAVE AN OLDER BROTHER BACK HOME, AROUND YOUR AGE.
LET'S JUST SAY I'M FEELING SENTIMENTAL.
EVEN IF THERE IS SUCH A THING AS KINDNESS WITHOUT A REASON,
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE TRULY CAPABLE OF GIVING IT?
COME ON OUT.
H-H—
HELLO.
WHAT WERE YOU DOING OVER THERE, CHILD?
I-I WAS POLISHING THE STONES.
AND WHO TOLD YOU TO DO THAT?
N-NO ONE.
I-I JUST WANTED... TO A-APOLOGIZE
T-TO THE ANCESTORS OF THE M-MOUNTAINS.
HERE, LOOK.
SEE HOW OUR MOUNTAINS ARE SURROUNDED BY THREE KINGDOMS?
ONE OF THEM IS YOURS.
THOSE THREE KINGDOMS
INVADED OUR MOUNTAINS JUST TO FLEX THEIR MUSCLES,
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DIED.
SO HOW COULD ANYONE HERE NOT HATE YOU?
I-I DIDN'T KNOW.
I-I'M SORRY.
I-I-I'M
S-SO
V-VERY SORRY...
It is revealed that the rocks in the mountains are the graves of ancestors; they died in the war started by the kingdom. A man brings nourishing food, grain, and firewood to an old man, defending kindness without expecting anything in return. Through an encounter with a wounded child and a little girl polishing the stones and apologizing, feelings of hatred, guilt, and compassion intensify.
