"Many things—you can only truly understand them..."
"...when you experience them yourself."
"Only then can things change."
The woodcutter's voice was low, and his words carried a hint of profound meaning.
"My little brother was frightened by me."
The woodcutter was also a little surprised that his moment of inspiration had worked so well.
"...He got angry."
The woodcutter smiled wryly.
"He thinks I'm teasing him."
Huh?
The woman blinked in surprise.
Then she began to understand.
Indeed...
The woodcutter's behavior could give his little brother that impression.
"I explained it to him."
The woodcutter shrugged. "I asked him to try to understand how we feel."
"I acted that way for a moment, and he couldn't take it..."
"Has he ever thought about how long he's been acting strangely..."
"If we hadn't been considerate of his feelings, we would've confronted him long ago. We couldn't have kept putting up with it."
"I hope he—"
"No."
The woodcutter shook his head.
"I begged him to think about how we feel."
"I told him I'd get down on my knees before him."
"I begged him to forget the Black Monster and go back to how he used to be..."
The woman's mouth fell open.
Get down... get down on his knees?
"Of course, I didn't actually kneel."
The woodcutter smiled.
"I was just trying to provoke the kid."
"He wouldn't make me kneel."
"So I pressured him..."
"If he refused what I asked—"
"My request wasn't much."
"He also said he'd give me three months."
"So I didn't ask him to forget the Black Monster."
"Though I'd very much like him to."
"But I keep my word."
"I only asked him..."
"Not to let what happened last night happen again."
The woodcutter looked at the woman. "Last night,