CH35: Advice
“Oh, you’re the hero who slayed the Black Dragon! Are you sure? You’re wasting your time here…
My grandpa saw me and started teasing me.
“Hero”… I’m not supposed to be a hero. But you already know I killed the Black Dragon?”
“Hohoho. You defeated a deep-level boss single-handedly. I’d call you a hero. Besides, the town’s talking about it now. Even I, who can barely hear, can hear them.
Deaf, right?
“You were just lucky to beat it. I don’t know if I could do it again.”
“Is that so? From what I’ve heard, Orn hasn’t been attacked once, has he?”
No, there’s no way that information’s even out there…
Grandpa sometimes shows his ability to gather information as good as an active informant.
I’ve known your grandfather a long time, and I still can’t get to the bottom of it.
Well, selfishly, I consider my grandpa like family, so I don’t care who he is.
So? What are you doing here today?
I just wanted to talk to my grandpa for a minute.
“Oh. What do you say?”
“I just got recruited by the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky.
My grandpa has listened to me complain a lot in my life.
I’m not gonna keep secrets from my grandpa, and I’m gonna tell him what I just said.
“Well, of course. A swordsman capable of defeating the Black Dragon would not be overlooked by the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky who has lost his vanguard attacker.
“… Yeah. Well, nine times out of ten, it’s because of what Grandpa said. And it was a pretty sweet offer. He said he’d take me on as a vanguard attacker in Selma’s party, and he’d even offer me a seat on the executive.”
“Oh, that’s a good deal.”
“Yeah… But I’m not sure.
“… Why is that?
“You know, when I was partying with Oliver and the others, I pushed myself too hard for the party.”
This city is more crowded than the others because of the Great Maze.
Young people come into town all the time, looking to make a buck.
Therefore, the city has a lot of entertainment such as casinos.
“There’s a lot of entertainment in this city. I was interested in them, but most of the work behind the party, negotiating with the authorities and all that, was done by me. Luna helped me sometimes, but I had my own training to do, and there was no time to play. I became an explorer to be strong and not cry myself to sleep when things got unreasonable, so I wasn’t complaining… But eventually I was kicked out of the party.”
I think some people think it’s unreasonable that they were kicked out.
But I don’t think it’s unreasonable.
The party I was a part of had the goal of conquering the Grand Labyrinth, and there’s nothing wrong with letting people leave if they can’t keep up with it.
That’s just because he wasn’t good enough.
I know that in my head.
But emotions are not so simple.
I’m still frustrated, and I feel like I’ve done everything I can to help him.
“I’ve participated in the Night Sky Silver Rabbit’s mission and I know that clan is a comfortable clan. I’m very eager to join. But the only thing the hares want is my knowledge. They’ll use me, and if I’m no longer needed, they’ll throw me away again. I’m afraid of that… I can’t make up my mind…”
“Ho-ho-ho!”
Grandpa was listening to me and all of a sudden he starts laughing.
“I’m sorry for laughing all of a sudden. Orn has always seemed so grown up to me, so I’m glad to see that he’s thinking in an age-appropriate way.”
“I’m old enough? I’m thinking young?”
I’m miffed by Grandpa’s comment, but I try to keep my cool and ask him questions.
“Yes, I know.”
You’re easily answering my questions.
Orn, I think our society is based on mutual benefit.
I think the word “reciprocity” means a mutually beneficial relationship.
“No man can live alone. We all have someone to support us and sometimes we support others without knowing it. The same is true of Orn and me. Orn uses me to get what he wants. I use him to make money. “Use” is not a very positive word. But what Orn means by “use” can be translated as “to make up for something.”
“We make up for what we lack…”
“Yes. Orn seems to think that when he joins the Clan, he’s the only one who gets something out of it, but is that really the case? Does the Clan offer nothing to Orn?”
I felt like the scales fell from my eyes when I heard my grandfather’s story.
All I ever thought about was how I could be used.
If I join a clan, I’ll probably need to rely on my clan’s contacts.
I help the clan to conquer the Grand Labyrinth and they help me in many ways.
I’ve always been reluctant to join a clan or a fixed party, but my grandpa’s story has changed my perspective on the matter.
I’ve only ever done full-fledged labyrinth exploration with a party of heroes.
<I thought it would be fun to explore the labyrinth with the members of the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky.
Surely I’m going to be used by the Klan.
But whether or not I can get rid of it after that depends on how hard I try, doesn’t it?
I hope I’m indispensable enough to make the Clan think they need me, even after I’ve given them everything I’ve got.
My grandpa smiled when he saw my face.
I see you’ve changed your mind.
“Yeah. You’re a great grandpa. Thanks for listening to me.”
“You’re welcome, then. Listen, Orn. Decisions you make after you’ve made up your mind will always come back to haunt you. ・・・・・・. So whether you join the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky or not, you’ll regret it one way or another. That’s why I think the important thing is that you should make a choice that your future self, who will regret it, will be at least a little satisfied with. Well, I don’t know what the future holds, so I’m worried about it now.”
You’ll regret it, I’m sure.
Having a choice means that the future will diverge.
I think it is an everyday occurrence for everyone to think, “If only I had done this at that time…”.
That’s why you should make a choice that makes sense to you when you feel that way.
I knew it… The words of an elder are heavy…
I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice. I’ll come back and get you something.”
“Mmm. I’ll be waiting.
