The response was immediate and unanimous.
"No! No, Hero, never!"
"We didn't know! We didn't understand!"
"It's a demon weapon! A demon weapon!"
"Whatever it is, we're terrified of it now!"
"We'll never speak badly of it again! Never!"
Heads shook vigorously.
Voices overlapped in a chorus of denial and fear.
The elves who had been so dismissive, so casual in their mockery, now looked at the gun with the same expression they might reserve for a hungry predator.
Luca let out a long breath. Some of the tension left his shoulders.
"Good." He said quietly. "That's...That's good."
He then looked at the destroyed wall, at the scattered fragments of what had been so beautiful, and his expression softened into something almost sad.
"Then I want to apologize."
The elves blinked, confused.
Luca continued, his voice sincere.
"I'm sorry for shocking you all like that. I'm sorry for scaring you, especially the little ones."
He glanced at the children hiding behind their mothers.
