"Just put down human."
Haimo's voice was very soft.
"But..."
Enju Aihara looked up.
Her large brown eyes were full of uncertainty.
"My eyes..."
"And my strength..."
"I'm... different from humans."
"But you're a person, Enju."
"And that's a talent unique to you and the other children."
Haimo interrupted Enju Aihara and gently crouched down, bringing his eyes level with hers.
"Red is beautiful."
"It's the color of life, and the color of strength."
"Here, no one will reject you because of your eye color."
"Look."
Haimo reached out and pointed to the other side of the hall.
"There are all sorts of oddballs here."
Enju Aihara followed Haimo's finger with her gaze.
Over there, a red-eyed Beast Human girl with long rabbit ears skipped past carrying a pile of documents, her short tail twitching behind her.
At the counter, a scruffy, one-eyed middle-aged Dwarf wearing a black eyepatch was laughing and chatting loudly with his companions, revealing a missing front tooth.
"Look at all the different people."
"All their different features."
"But no one stares at them, and no one points fingers at them."
"Everyone is busy with their own business, or even if they notice them, they just greet them as though it's perfectly normal."
"See?"
Haimo gently ruffled Enju Aihara's hair.
"Here, people only care about strength."
"As long as you're strong enough, as long as you can come back from the Dungeon alive."
"No matter what you look like, no matter what features you have."
"Everyone will respect you."
"In fact..."
Haimo leaned a little closer and lowered his voice.
"In my eyes, red eyes are very popular."
"Really?"
Enju Aihara blinked.
The inferiority in her eyes dissipated little by little under the wash of Haimo's words.
In its place, a gleam gradually brightened.
"Of course."