Chapter 16
Translator: sleepingjay

We put Cyril, who’d lost his soul, into the servants’ care, and ended up being lectured sharply. It was true that what I’d done was overkill.

While reflecting on my actions, I teleported to the village with Seth.

We could have used the horse carriage, but there was little time left so I took Seth’s hand and teleported us both.

Without considerably expert skill and vast magic reserves, it was impossible to use teleportation magic. So, Seth was excited at experiencing teleportation magic for the first time.

Since he wasn’t listening to what I was saying, I left him behind like that and headed to the village head’s location.

“That’s how it is, so for the time being I won’t be able to come regularly. But even so, if there’s any emergency tasks, I’ll immediately rush here. Don’t lose the bell I’d handed over to you before!”

“Got it. We’ve been giving you trouble, haven’t we?”

“……It’s fine. I don’t dislike you guys after all.”

“Fuhahaha! Is that so, you like me huh!”

“……No? I meant everyone in the village. I didn’t say anything about liking you.”

“Sure, sure. I was just teasing Lily a little.”

Saying that, the village head laughed a manly, hearty laugh. Just like his strong appearance suggested, he had a frank and refreshing character. He was still actively working in his 40s.

However, the event that had occured when I’d just arrived at this village had caused the village head’s leg to become injured.

Now he was in the middle of a gradual rehabilitation, so when I came by here every day, I would massage his leg to relieve the pain.

“Putting that aside, you’re also having it quite hard, eh? Even though you’d finally been liberated from your burdens a bit, and was starting to live like yourself.”

“…… Certainly, it’s a troublesome matter. It’s not something I can refuse to do though. It’s not like I’m not angry that I’m being forced to do this, but, Andrea is cute. Maybe because he’s similar to me, so rather than abandoning him, I’d like to teach him a bit. ……M-my own weakness, I don’t want to lose to it, so I thought I’d be happy if I could find anything I could help him with.”

“Is that so? ……You, take care of yourself a little too.”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mm-hmm.”

When I self-consciously conveyed my feelings, the village head patted my head with a warm smile.

When I first came to this village, I was probably just a coward that only wanted to die.

Because I’d lost everything and I only had my high ego left. Even though I couldn’t stomach that I didn’t have a single thing anymore, I had no other choice.

Wealth, reputation, anything and everything, had been snatched away from me. They had been snatched away by my foolish brother. The person who had done it, was that brother I’d looked down on. This situation shredded my dignity to pieces. To distract myself from the pain, and thinking of myself as a victim, I’d found fault with everyone around me.

“…… That time, I’d really given you trouble.”

“For sure. Not only was the guy we picked up a human who was completely clueless about the world, but he also had the nerve to look down on us. Pretending to be an adult by brandishing an empty, prideful attitude…… But still, that brat has now grown this much, hmm? That’s why, when it comes to these children, we adults also started looking forward to their future. We’d thought, “What kind of person would these guys become in the future?” and so we started wanting to help.

“Certainly, that’s how it is. Somehow, I can understand.”

Commoners put more importance on work than studies. That was why there was such a difference in knowledge levels between nobles and commoners. However, there were a lot of commoner kids who, if they were to study seriously, would be even more diligent and excellent than the nobility.

Hence, when I see kids who were clever or had some special skills, I wanted to see them through to their futures. As much as I could, I wanted to support these kids to where they were aiming or dreaming for.

“I’m sure that, just as you wish, your heart will be transmitted to the children of that knight commander guy.”

“Thank you.”

At the very least, I was able to explain the general outline of what was happening to the village head.

For the time being, I wouldn’t be able to carry things out as usual, but even so I hoped to do as much as I possibly could.

To finish up, I gave my greetings to the village head’s wife, then I went to Seth, who had been standing by outside.

Leaving the village, we headed to my house. There, I planned to tend to the medicinal herbs, and also pick up some necessities. When that was done, we’d go back and the day would be done.

My shoulder sagged since it had been a long day. But in the middle of the road, I saw the rabbit beastchild Latho waiting for me.

“What is it?”

“Why does Lily have to be taken away?”

“Aah, you must have eavesdropped, hadn’t you?”

“Because – we’d heard it, you weren’t going to tell this to us, weren’t you? That’s why, we had to listen secretly.”

“Well, that’s right but……”

Unusually, Latho was sullenly pursing his lips and sulking.

Within that group of brats, Latho was the one that was most clever and obedient, so that was why it was very rare to see this kind of face on him.

“If you’d listened to us talk, you should understand, shouldn’t you?”

“…… But, Lily hasn’t done anything bad at all? If he doesn’t believe Lily, that commander must be a guy with a narrow, bad heart.”

Latho’s words surprised me.

Next to me, even Seth’s shoulders were shaking as he stifled his laughter.

“I see. So, that’s how Latho thinks of this.”

“Yep.”

“Let’s take a little stroll?”

“Yep!”

Energetically nodding, Latho held out both of his arms to me.

“What’s with those hands.”

“Ehehe, piggyback!”

“Seriously…… Why are you guys always taking advantage of people who are being kind to you?”

“Don’t knooow~! Faster, let’s piggyback, Lily~!”

“I got it.”

In accordance to his request, I gave him a piggyback.

Placing Latho on my back, I strolled to the village.

“So then, how much do you understand?”

“Lily’s big sister is a bad person, so because of that even Lily is thought of as an evil guy! Then, then – they also think Lily is going to threaten the commander’s children, or kidnap them, and then use them to get the commander to give Lily money!”

“I see. So you’ve understood that much. Latho is very clever.”

“Ehehe. But, but, I don’t get it? Why does Lily have to apologise? Lily and Lily’s sister are different people, right? That commander doesn’t even know all the kind things Lily’s done for us, that’s why he said those mean things. I don’t like that commander!”

“Ahaha! You don’t like the commander, even though he’s someone everyone admires so much?”

“Yep. Because – he’s bullying our precious Lily. Someone like that isn’t a hero!”

“……That’s right, huh.”

Certainly, I’d thought of it as unreasonable too.

However, family was a connection you couldn’t sever completely no matter how you tried to sever it. This was an understanding I’d obtained through my own situation.

When it no longer had any relation to me, I could push it away from myself. I could tell myself I was better off without such a family. But, such blood relationships were like a curse. Even now, some part of my heart, perhaps, still wished for that connection.

Perhaps, if there’d been even one chance when I’d still lived in that house. Perhaps, if I hadn’t given up, would something have changed……

Even though it had been my own choice that had led to my fall.

“But you know, Latho. People will sacrifice anything in order to protect somebody. Even if it’s an amazingly strong guy, or even a hero – this is unchangeable for all of us.”

“……”

“Perhaps when Latho protects me, there will be some other person being sacrificed. There’s nothing we can do about this kind of thing, because it’s something that will happen in many, many situations. For the empire’s hero, his children are his treasured ones. They are the ones he would put down his life for. And a guy who could hurt those treasures appeared. Even if it’s just a one-in-a-million chance, don’t you think it’s natural that he would doubt that guy?”

“…… But, but still!”

“En, thank you, Latho. That’s why, I’ll prove my innocence, and then I’ll put that annoying commander in his place! And to compensate for taking me away from Latho and others, I’ll get him to give us sweets!”

“Really?! Lily is super awesome! Even if you’re beaten down now, you can get up and win something from it!”

“En, that’s right.”

“It’s that stubborn and sly part of Lily that I really respect!”

“…………Sure, thanks.”

Although Latho’s words made me completely speechless, it was true I had no room to counter them.

……I should probably keep my self-important behaviour to a minimum in front of the children.

We parted ways with Latho, who had recovered his spirits, and then Seth and I arrived at my house.

“Anyways, that kid sure is interesting~”

“Don’t keep laughing, help a little.”

“Sure, sure. You’re really a slave driver~”

After collecting necessities and other things I wanted to take away, I placed a protection spell on the things I was leaving behind.

When all the work was more or less settled, Seth asked me:

“By the way. That, just now. You said that in order to protect, people would have to sacrifice others, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Do you really think that?”

“……Yes, that’s what I think. That was how I had protected the people of my fief. It’s by no means something I’m proud of, because due to this method, there are people who had died. But, this is what I’d chosen. I’m someone who can’t watch the people of the fief I protect die. And countless times, I’d taken revenge on the bastards who wanted to take advantage of us and push us into ruin. You also know this, don’t you? Nobles are creatures who bath in blood. Upright, virtuous people don’t exist within the nobility. Without exception, they must have sacrificed someone or something.……In this, even you knights are the same, no?”

“……You’re right, the truth is like that. ……Even the people I’ve killed, since I know they may be someone’s beloved, at times I’ve also become bitter about it. I’ve thought: ‘This is such an unpleasant job’.”

Spilling those words, Seth’s eyes turned stony as his gaze became lost in somewhere far away.

However, hadn’t Seth forgotten one important thing? At Seth’s words, I tilted my head in confusion.

“……That’s true, but did you forget that because you guys are the swords of the empire, the citizens don’t have to do things like killing people? You guys kill people, yes. However, at the same time, you put your lives on the line too, don’t you? If you don’t defeat your opponent, they would kill you. Isn’t that enough reason?”

One wouldn’t be able to protect one’s country by being clean.

Even if you were a broadminded, generous person, at times there would be no other choice besides making inhumane decisions. Hence, people who were kind in nature, whose hearts would collapse from such pressure, should leave the borders of the country.

“You knights are also gambling with your lives while fighting. That’s a fact, no?”

“…… Well, that’s true.”

“But even so, there are still people whose hearts never fall, no matter what vicious environment they live in. With whatever reason, people live by their own choices. Consequently, these choices are what makes one’s present self. So people whose hands are dyed in evil, even if they were to be judged by others, are merely reaping what they have sowed. I don’t think Knight Commander Moorwright’s way of doing things is wrong, though there are still things I’m not convinced about, and things I’m dissatisfied about. However, being a commoner with no means to oppose his methods was a consequence of my own actions. That’s why, if you have time to be depressed about this, you’d better hurry up and prove my innocence, idiot Seth.”

Don’t put on expressions that don’t suit you.

I gave Seth, who was laughing despondently, a kick to his ass. With his emotions shifted, we left the house.