As if she had finally made up her mind, the woman spoke at last. "I saw Erlang just now..."
"Huh?"
The woodcutter froze.
She'd seen his younger brother?
Don't disturb his younger brother while he's studying.
That was the woodcutter's first reaction.
"I saw..."
The woman hadn't noticed the woodcutter's slightly unusual expression. She continued, "Even though Erlang was the only one in the room..."
"He acted as if there were someone else in there, talking to... chatting with them..."
"Oh..."
The woodcutter froze.
He never would have guessed...
That what the woman wanted to tell him...
Was this.
His first reaction was anger.
He wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of his younger brother.
But the next second...
He suddenly remembered something that had happened not long ago...
Not long ago...
Actually, some time had passed.
He'd thought he had already forgotten about it.
He hadn't expected...
To remember it again so soon...
The woodcutter's expression grew complicated.
His face, which was already rather stern, grew even more severe.
The woman's heart skipped a beat.
She inconspicuously edged back a little.
"I mean well."
"I saw it with my own eyes..."
"I thought I ought to tell you."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to feel at ease."
"Erlang..."
"Is the pressure of studying too much for him?"
"I've heard people say..."
"Some people study until they..."
The woman swallowed unconsciously, then said somewhat indistinctly, "Go crazy..."
When they failed to achieve the results they wanted, day after day, month after month, year after year...
Few people could pick themselves up after failing again and again...
More people...
Were crushed by their repeated failures.
There were...
Quite a few people like that.
"No!"
The young woman couldn't help speaking up. "My younger brother