Wilderness
He Ao lay prone on the vast Snowy Plains, his white tiger-skin clothing covering him and concealing his body amid the snow.
Beside him, Silvi was entirely covered in snow, with only her little face, still bearing faint cracks, exposed. "Big guy, I feel like that uncle seemed a little unhappy when we made so many demands."
"He wasn't unhappy. He was actually very willing for us to make demands of him—the more, the better," He Ao said casually. "He was merely telling us that doing these things was 'difficult.'"
"What does that mean?" Silvi asked in confusion. "What use was there in telling us that?"
"It's a favor, more or less," He Ao said with a smile. "When you do something for someone, you need to show a certain degree of difficulty. That way, they'll feel that you truly put effort into it and paid quite a price, so they'll acknowledge that they owe you a favor.
"If you accomplish it too easily, they'll think it was easy for you, and that the favor they owe you isn't worth much."
"I don't get it." Silvi widened her eyes. "But if we owe him a favor and still make so many demands, won't he dislike us and make things difficult for us?"
"No. He actually hopes we'll owe him as many favors as possible." He Ao smiled at her. "When drawing two strangers closer, sometimes 'accepting' is better than 'giving.'
"When you accept a gift, you have a reason to 'repay' the other person. The other person will also readily accept your 'repayment,' perhaps even want you to repay them. Back and forth, the barriers and suspicions between you are weakened."
"Is that so?" Silvi stared wide-eyed, shook her head, then buried her face in the snow. "Adult matters