106. The Lost Sheep
I continued to walk down the street without laughter.
Despite the fact that on earth there were delicious food and festivals commemorating the end of the Demon King, the people underground were barely surviving, even sparing the strength to speak.
It would be possible to make a living if they went underground, but the reality is that they cannot do that.
There is a threat from monsters outside.
Especially after the demon king was defeated, many monsters escaped from the demon’s control and returned to their wild state.
No matter how good the Kingdom of Hermod is, it is true that monsters run rampant in the end, so such rumors spread, and it was also true that the population of wild monsters actually increased.
Originally, the monster would have been dealt with slowly after defeating the Demon King, but…
I couldn’t do that because of the terrible things that happened that day.
Arcel sighed and stopped his steps.
People who collapsed from hunger.
People who fell sick.
Besides, it’s not just the people here.
In addition to those who lost their homes due to the murderous taxes and fell underground, many people were probably driven out of the capital.
There is no way to know what happened to them.
Whether he was caught by a thief and killed, or became a meal for a monster.
As a strong idiot, he couldn’t help them right away and couldn’t save them.
In the first place, they did not have the ability to save people, so they simply pursued peace through force.
There was a lack of ability to help, and a lack of even a hand to extend.
He even didn’t have enough heart to take out his anger on Stella.
What kind of hero is this?
Even though the curse has disappeared, they cannot be saved!
“Damn…”
He clenches his fists and blames his helplessness, but that doesn’t change anything.
Would it have been different if I had colleagues next to me?
If there were people who helped the inexperienced and inadequate warrior by his side as a saint, would he be able to save them?
Such thoughts came to Arcel’s mind.
He shamelessly got rid of them himself…
“…Is it really the right path for me?”
Arsel asked, looking at the water pooling underground.
I don’t know where it fell, but there was a very small and delicate leaf floating in the stagnant water.
Where did the tree grow in this place without a single ray of sunlight?
Or did it just attach to and fall off from a person or an animal?
He didn’t know where it came from, but Arcel looked at it and desperately hoped for an answer.
I didn’t have the courage to see her face again, but I still missed her voice so much now.
Whenever she doubted whether she was really going down the right path, she always had someone by her side to show her the way.
“Saint, please let me know if my prayer reaches you. “Please tell me the path I should take, just like you did then.”
Her tears ran down Arcel’s chin.
When those tears fell into the stagnant water, her waves rose and her fallen leaves were pushed to her edge.
Memories of the past are reflected in the water that has been pushed out like that.
The day she set out on her journey for the first time.
When he set out on a long journey to defeat the Demon King, the first thing the hero killed was not a monster or demon, but a human.
Dozens of people lost their lives on the spot.
Perhaps, he even thought that he might not have the right to criticize Morian.
†††
The journey of the great warrior who defeated the Demon King was not all smooth from the beginning.
To be honest, Arcel at that time knew how to deal with others with a sword, but he had no idea how to deal with others with conversation.
He learned how to handle and command soldiers from the knights, but he never learned how to talk to people.
“Damn…”
It was the same after I first left the Kingdom of Hermod and entered the forest road, when I encountered a group of thieves.
“It’s okay, warrior. There is no need to blame yourself like that. “I’m sure they will have God’s guidance.”
It was late at night, I couldn’t sleep, so I was looking at the bonfire alone, when suddenly I heard a benevolent and warm voice.
He didn’t even have to look up to see who it was.
The warrior thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“… Maybe he could have been made to surrender as the saint said. Still, I cut them all down. “They ignored the voices pleading for their lives.”
“Why do you think that is so?”
To the warrior who was alone and gloomy looking at her bloody hands, the saint held out her clean hand and showed her smile.
-Stop on the way there, I won’t kill you if you just follow what I’m told.-
An hour ago, a group of dozens of thieves attacked the warrior group, thinking they were just tourists.
No matter how much they are thieves, they have a long way to go and their scale is not that large, so I thought there was no need for a hero to deal with them. The saint and the wizard stepped forward and tried to resolve the situation through conversation, but the warrior was unable to do so.
Of course, I didn’t just draw my sword from the beginning.
From Noble mtl dot com
-Die, trash.-
-Wait a moment, warrior!-
However, when the thieves saw the appearance of the saint and the wizard, they reached out with dark intentions and tried to forcefully capture them even though they said no.
The warrior who only looked like a young girl slaughtered dozens of thieves in an instant.
She cut down the thieves who were bigger and armed than her with ease.
Originally, thieves were no different from demons or monsters.
Even though they are originally human, no one will ever criticize a warrior for killing a thief because they have stopped being human.
However, the hero’s own humanity was only regretted by the bloody tragedy that he belatedly confirmed.
I don’t regret killing the bandits.
Still, he was blaming himself for cutting down those who were human and begged for their lives without hesitation.
In essence, you only realize what you regret after you have already done it.
“I drew the holy sword and received teachings to save the world from the devil. But from the beginning of this journey, I first cut down humans, not demons or monsters.”
The hero looked at the bonfire with a bitter expression.
Maybe he didn’t need to kill them all.
Even if he were to kill him, it would have been resolved by just slitting the captain’s head as an example, but he chose to kill himself.
“…Besides, I think I subconsciously wanted it to be like this. I felt frustrated that the saint was trying to persuade the thieves. She said afterwards that when she cut them she was finally relieved of her frustration and she was delighted.”
It was only a moment, but it felt like I had let go of reason.
“That can happen. To be honest, we tried to explain our situation for 30 minutes and just move on, but they couldn’t control their desires of the moment and revealed their true feelings. It can’t be helped. “Because that’s what s*xual desire is.”
The saintess smiled sheepishly and sat in front of the bonfire.
A few hours passed after the thieves were dealt with, and before I knew it, starlight was whispering in the sky.
“…Then I couldn’t control my momentary desire and cut them down?”
With those words, the warrior put his hand into the bonfire.
She was a saint who was shocked for a moment, but thanks to the protection of her holy sword, the hero was not burned by her fire and only the blood stains on her hands were burned.
“…Is this your first time cutting a human being?”
“No, until a few days ago, I was personally executing the condemned prisoners of Hermod Kingdom with my own hands.”
I fought for my life with the death row inmates.
If the warrior is defeated and killed by the death row inmates, it is over, and if the death row inmates kill the warrior, their guilt is gone.
Both sides fought desperately for their fate.
On the one hand, to change the fate of being executed, and on the other, to protect the fate of being a hero.
The one with the strongest will of fate was always the hero.
“Then that’s enough. If this was the first time the warrior took someone else’s life, there might have been a problem, but if not, it’s okay.”
“Why are you saying it’s okay? “In fact, hasn’t he now gone beyond being a murderer and has become a murderer…?”
At first, the warrior did not understand the saint’s words.
I was wondering if she would be given immunity even if this was her first murder, but the saint was actually defending herself.
Is it because they are companions with the warrior? Because you were ordered by the king to protect the warrior?
“You just chose the easy path. By nature, living things instinctively choose the easy and safe path. “The warrior probably thought it was an easy and safe way to kill the bandits.”
Honestly, I still don’t understand it very well.
“If the warrior is thirsty because he has not been able to drink water for several days, and he finds cool water in front of him, will he drink that water through a straw? Or will he just lift the bowl and drink it?”
Then the saint filled some of her holy water in her leaves and handed it all to her warrior.
She was thirsty and tried to drink right away, but the saint told her to wait a moment and said something like that.
“Of course, if I feel thirsty, I think I’ll drink the whole bowl. “It takes a long time to drink water through a small straw.”
“The warrior killed the thieves in the same way. “I tried to drink water through a straw, but the warrior, who was thirsty, just chose to drink from the bowl.”
A saint who speaks with a smile.
The saint explained that the massacre of the thieves was ultimately due to thirst.
“If this was your first time taking a life, I would have scolded you harshly. That would not have been an easy path, but would have been just blood-drunk and slaughter that went beyond the protective instinct.”
It is inevitable that life is harmed due to the protective instinct.
I chose to live, and there is no reason for anyone to die without any resistance.
However, if a person went beyond the protective instinct and harmed life more than necessary, it was very dangerous because the person had a tendency to enjoy blood.
“But the warrior probably just chose the easy path. Besides, the hero wasn’t like that from the beginning, he just made a choice to protect us.”
A saintess praying to God with her hands together.
Her appearance in the moonlight was so beautiful that if it were a man, she might be captivated.
Perhaps if the hero had been male, he might have been able to understand the thief’s feelings at least a little.
“Furthermore, nature’s teachings tell us that in order to hunt prey, we must keep in mind that we too can become prey. Those thieves may also have been examples of such teachings. “I say this from the perspective of serving God, but in the end, the law of the fittest follows in this world.”
He then said that he could now drink the holy water.
The warrior understood the saint’s words and drank the water contained in her leaves.
“Huh?! Cough! Cough!”
But suddenly I felt something stuck in my throat and started coughing.
“Is this…?”
I spit it out to see what it was, and now I see that there was a small, delicate leaf floating in the holy water contained in the leaf.
She probably didn’t see it because she was concentrating on the saint’s words.
“But we shouldn’t just choose the easy path, right? If you drink water too recklessly, you may end up pretending. “Please remember that sometimes drinking slowly through a straw can be helpful.”
The saint spoke with her kind smile.
When she saw that smile, her hero also laughed.
“Furthermore, in the future, the warrior will take more lives with his hands than now. But don’t try to shoulder all that guilt alone. “It will be carried by me and my other comrades, as well as those whom the hero seeks to protect and those whom he has saved.”
He was resentful of himself as he mercilessly cut down the bandits, but a warrior was originally someone who carried on despite carrying such a burden.
Even though he did not become a warrior because he wanted to, he ultimately chose to become a warrior.
He couldn’t stop doubting himself forever.
“…I understand. Thank you, saint.”
“My role is to give directions to lost sheep. And, the hero was very cool when he blocked the thief’s hand reaching out to me.”
So the warrior spent the night in front of the bonfire with the saint.
There is still a long way to go.
This was only the first step of the journey.
Thanks to the saint, she realized the direction in which she should move, and now she had to move forward in that direction without giving up.
Because he is a hero.