Chapter 413: Hero´s missing 2
The four members of the gauntlet knights entered the bar and took their seats at a table, ignoring the master and Savory who were about to close the bar for the night. Apple, who had neatly followed them, was next to me.
“What’s going on……I don’t even need to ask”
“Asti-san and Becker-san said we could go back, so Naris-san, who was craving a bath in particular, wanted to hurry up……well, everyone was enthusiastic about it”
“I see”
Well, there’s no Laila to boil the water at the bathhouse over there, so it takes a lot of guts to bathe in the water. I think Almeida and Sharon would still do their best to groom themselves, but I wonder about Tetes and Naris. I think they would make an effort to do it a minimum number of times. ……Without our whispering, Almeida half-stepped from the table and looked at Neia at the counter. Perhaps Neia was a little taken aback by her confession being judged as a 「Sleep talker」, and looked back at her with a pale face.
“I bought a little bit of your skill and determination, but from what I said earlier……it seems you can’t deny that you’re just following discipline”
“Discipline……discipline and so on”
“I’m sure you’ll find that even without will, justice, or any of those things……as long as you have discipline, a warrior can do more than you might think. I was the same. ……No, but I still had a little and that’s why I had to fly out of that Rennes forest”
“……”
“The bottom line for warriors is that they have a clear target to hit and as long as there is someone who properly praises the achievement of the punch, that’s enough. In a way, I can’t deny the fact that things go easier if there are no unnecessary values. ……In the crowd”
“……Yes”
“But if the group itself is the problem……there is justice to measure it and the will to just deny it. ……Andy Smithson is a dreamy, sweet young man and that is why he is rich in such power. He is on the outside, unable to belong anywhere and he can have such big ideas……that things could be better, that he could change something with his own hands, about anything. That is also true. I know now that it is a real challenge to have it”
Almeida nodded, looking at me sideways.
“Joke. It’s a joke, Al-chan’s”
“Shhhh. This is not the time to make fun of her”
“…………”
Almeida returned the staff with only her wrist and dexterously tapped Tetes and Naris on the head.
“Ouch”
“Guee”
The two become teary-eyed.
“Neia Grans. I’m sure you’re a warrior to the core……and I’m sure you have predecessors that you admire from the bottom of your heart. I had my own. Humboldt, the 『Strange Sword』, and Jack Simon, the 『Flying Dragon of Radius』……”
“Who?”
Naris mutters in a whisper. Tetes guards her head as she teaches Naris in a whisper.
“Both are famous heroes of Afilm. I think it was during the Fire Dragon War……”
“That long ago!?”
The iron staff falls down again to the surprised Naris. Naris quickly grabs it with a white feather.
“Wait! D, Don’t just hit me”
“I just don’t want you to mistreat those who have been alive since the time of the Fire Dragon War. Humboldt is the one who was active during that period, while Jack Simon was even older”
“Uhee. For some reason, I can see that Almeida-san is getting older……chowaa!”
Almeida took the staff again and hit Tetes.
“It can’t be helped, if I talk about admiring it, it will become a memory of when I was just starting out!”
“I, I understand!”
As expected, Neia was left behind. ……Realizing that, she cleared her throat and Almeida spoke again.
“……If you admire a warrior as a warrior, you will probably come to admire living in the same way and being a martyr in the same way……however, the person you admire really has the same aspirations as you do now. Did he die like he was trying to imitate someone else?”
Almeida looked Neia squarely in the eyes. Neia turned……her eyes away.
“Besides, you have already walked outside your duty as a warrior. You can no longer be in the position of a simple soldier, who could think of nothing…….and yet you still ape imitations? Do you pretend to remain unthinking and capable only of childish imitation and sully the worthy death of the warrior you admired so much with your feckless playacting?”
“That’s not……what I meant……”
“Even so, if you insist that the path you should follow is the path you should take, even your predecessors won’t be upset. The death of an excellent warrior isn’t to repeat the same death. Be the last one. It’s for the sake of it, isn’t it?”
“That……is…….”
Neia gave a small snort.
“……But that person told me to die like……this, and that one day I will live to protect someone like myself, until I die”
“Are you going to take it at face value that it is nothing more than the knowledge of a warrior?”
Almeida snickered.
“What is the purpose of being a warrior? It is to fight. Why are they allowed to exist only for the purpose of fighting, without the ability to create? It is because they can take the place of someone who does not have the strength to fight. Then the warrior’s mission is to continue to protect someone. It is the same everywhere. It’s just a matter of not wasting your life”
“But”
“You’re too young to know better, hero”
Almeida approaches Neia, picks up her hat faster than she knows when she took it and throws it at me as if to discard it.
“Ah…….”
You shouldn’t be able to react to it. Almeida is also fast, but Neia was able to handle even 100-man commander Becker. That’s probably why the turmoil is so great.
“Don’t avoid looking at me. If you don’t like me, glare back. ……I’m not as naive as Andy and Jeanne. Let me tell you something. Such honor is of no use to you once you step out of the country”
“U……a……”
“Have you ever thought how precious it is to have so many people wishing you 『Be happy』? You should strive to be happy for those people, not for yourself. Your being at peace will save them. It is more fortuitous than in the battlefield where the only way to find peace is to kill something. Are you so intoxicated by tragedy that you are willing to cut it out of your own life? That is not courage. It is folly”
Almeida’s harsh words were probably due to her own life as a warrior, her determination to abandon Glory and the presence of her mother, who tried to embrace her. She cannot forgive Neia, who is too much like her and has stopped thinking, trying to be stoic. Neia could no longer bear such a look from Almeida. And it also saves her.
“……I think it’s unique to Al-chan to be able to intervene in a story you’ve heard halfway through and be so infatuated with it”
“……Don’t make fun of me, Tetes!”
Tetes didn’t feel sorry for Almeida’s yelling and stuck out her tongue while drinking the wine Savory had brought for Almeida.
“I think it’s terrible to intrude into private affairs just because the other person won’t object”
“That’s……but you’re not wrong”
“What’s the point if you preach without knowing and it’s a perfect match? You’re going to be a fortune teller, Al-chan?”
“So don’t be ridiculous……”
“I don’t think a guesswork sermon is worth that much. It’s in bad taste to keep pushing a floundering opponent into a corner”
“……A, And you know it”
Almeida also looked embarrassed. In a different sense from Almeida, Tetes’ fearlessness is strong.
“I agree with Tetes, Almeida”
“Even the knight chief……”
“In general, you may have a good point. But that’s all. It’s tactless to attack an individual for that. It’s not graceful”
“…………”
Almeida stumbled back to the table, even Sharon admonished her. And Naris, who had been unable to get into the flow of things, crossed her arms and said, 「Well, that’s about it!」. She was forced to put it all together and received a pain in the back of the head from both Almeida and Tetes. I laugh encouragingly as I tip the hat to Neia.
“……For you, it’s probably more important than anything else to carry on the will of your predecessor. But you have to make sure you don’t misread it. ……These are the thoughts that you put your life on the line for”
“……Yes, that’s right”
“I’m sure you’ll think that life here is carefree and blessed and that it’s definitely not your safe haven. I want to make sure that everyone in Kalwin can enjoy the same level of comfort as we do here. Wouldn’t it be great if Neia could do the same?”
“……Yes. But that’s only if the royal families readily agree to open their borders……”
“I’m going to do something about that. ……You know that, too. In any case, the existence of the land called Kalwin is a hope for each country to pacify the demon territory. As long as that is the case, Kalwin will definitely become easier in time. Sooner or later, it won’t be necessary for the heroes to carry all the burden. So the fate that you……heroes have to bear will definitely change”
“I’m sure it’s not that big of a deal when Andy says it. It’s supposed to be a big story about a whole country”
“Huhuu”
Jeanne and Apple, who were listening to my declaration beside me, each chuckled.
“It doesn’t matter. I have a lot of great allies”
I puffed out my chest. I don’t feel that I have as much justice or willpower as Jeanne and the others say, but I have absolute confidence in the strength and number of allies I have. In front of me and Neia, ceramic mugs were thrown out.
“Yes, yes, let’s stop talking about something urgent. The closing time is too late and there is no time to rest until the evening business. For me and the master, the right attitude for customers is to contribute a little to sales. It’s not a thing!”
Savory was half smiling and half resentful. Naturally, there was plenty of beer in the mug.
“I’d like to refrain from drinking too much alcohol in the middle of the day”
“If you get drunk, you can go to the hot springs, or you can go to the extent of assaulting women”
She pointed at the gauntlet knight table.
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
“I’m sure you can do whatever you want to me and Oregano, of course, but you can’t do it to Laurier. Don’t be too hard on Laurier! She’s just a little girl!”
“She’s getting more and more unreliable!”
The tavern owner let out a sigh while looking sideways at Savory who was having fun with the small play.
“Even if you don’t put out that weird play, I think you’re a bit too greedy. Laurier-chan, Irina-chan, Jeanne-chan and Cute-chan, to put it bluntly, they’re not good partners for a slightly grown-up adult to meddle with”
Of course, there are unavoidable circumstances for each of them. No, not so much for Laurier.
“I’m forgiven”
“Uoo”
Suddenly, a presence appeared beside my chair and it was Maia. She was holding the mug I was supposed to be drinking from in one hand and giving me a thumbs up.
“No, I think Maia-chan is pretty out of it too……”
“No problem. Safe”
“No, no, no”
“Safe”
“……Well that’s fine”
She silenced the tavern owner with a push. Maia, you’re not great, you’re terrible.
“……L, let’s be happy, shall we? It’s okay. Andy is an expert”
“……I, I understand”
Apple gently admonishes and makes Neia nod. I know we haven’t solved the fundamental problem, but……I think we’ve made some progress.