Ch.94Chapter 94. Great Power for Great Responsibility.

When a dim light shone into the tent and birds began to chirp, I finally managed to escape from the two people who had fallen into deep sleep. I decided to sit by the campfire for a moment to catch my breath.

Damn, it’s still ridiculous thinking about it. One person would have been hard enough to handle, but two people wanting to sleep together? Why did I make such a choice yesterday?

“Good morning, young man.”

As I sat alone by the campfire trying to calm my mind, a shadow began approaching from the thickets beyond the hill.

I felt somewhat cautious at first, but soon realized it was Jean, who had agreed to oversee my training, and I relaxed.

Perhaps he had been standing watch and came to wake us as it was approaching time to rise?

“The two young ladies seem to still be sleeping in the tent… You must have felt quite burdened to wake up this early in the morning.”

“Haha… Well, both of them are far too attractive for someone like me.”

“Those attractive ladies sought you out and embarked on this arduous journey. I thought you would get along with them when the situation arose, but perhaps this old man was being unnecessarily meddlesome?”

“…No, I don’t blame you, sir.”

I appreciated his consideration, but ironically, this wasn’t something that could be resolved with such thoughtfulness.

The two of them fought over me because their feelings for me were genuine.

And the guilt I felt watching them grew heavier each time, knowing that the heart and investment one should have for someone couldn’t be divided.

“It’s just that I’m indecisive. If I had more conviction in my heart, I could make a clean decision.”

“…So your concern is that you can’t make a definitive choice.”

“It can’t be helped. That’s how human relationships are.”

No matter how close a relationship might be, hesitation arises when trying to close the distance for each other’s sake.

Even if I want to repay someone who has sacrificed so much for me, being true to those feelings would mean giving up the other person.

And that means hurting the other person.

The thought of removing either one from my daily life was already inconceivable—I couldn’t bear to hurt either of them.

“Having to hurt one of them… how can I not be afraid?”

“Afraid, you say…”

As I began to feel pathetic about myself, Jean poked at the campfire with kindling.

That seemingly insignificant action made him appear as though he knew the answer to my serious concerns.

“Well, I think the young man might be overthinking this.”

“Overthinking? What do you mean?”

Yes, with age comes wisdom.

With that hopeful expectation, I asked again, and soon he answered with a faint smile.

“If choosing between the two is too burdensome, why not aim to choose both from the start?”

“…What?”

“There’s nothing strange about it. Even the most faithful husbands sometimes commit adultery.”

Adultery?

No matter how much I’m struggling between these two women, that’s not an appropriate thing to say in this situation.

If it wasn’t a joke, I would have felt offended, but his voice carried both ease and weight.

“It might be difficult for ordinary people to maintain relationships with multiple partners, but nobles often enter political marriages and keep concubines for political reasons. Even in the wild, the leader of an animal pack typically monopolizes the females in the group.”

“That’s… such cases exist, but isn’t that a completely different world from ours?”

“What does it matter if worlds differ when the whole world is falling apart? Rather, to adapt to this world, you might need to get used to breaking the common sense you know.”

As if dismissing even that disconnect, he laughed heartily and began to look at me.

Despite the wrinkles covering his face, his gaze was sharp, as if piercing through my retinas.

“Young man. I too highly value your upright character. Such a mindset could rightfully be called a ‘quality’ in this chaotic world.”

The gravity I felt from him immediately taught me.

What would follow was nothing short of a maxim forged from the years he had lived.

“But what you adhere to is ultimately nothing more than an ‘artificial concept.’ It’s merely inherited morality and notions created for convenience, which can be broken at any time depending on the situation.”

“…Are you saying that the more chaotic the world becomes, the less we should cling to common sense?”

“If it harms you, then yes. In fact, many people think this way and engage in infidelity.”

I could understand what he was saying.

Like the Fallen Heroes or Murderers…

They too show extreme behavior, adding to this chaos, because they firmly believe that’s how to survive in this world.

“…It sounds like you’re pushing me to commit wrongdoing.”

Society is maintained through artificial concepts that create order, as he said.

In a world where such concepts are gradually being destroyed, stubbornly adhering to common sense might actually become poison.

I felt that rebuke mixing with my indecisiveness, leading to deep self-loathing.

“I’m telling you to become a hero.”

But his next words uprooted my self-deprecation.

“…What?”

“Young man.”

-Crackle, crackle.

The campfire continued to burn.

I had momentarily forgotten to add more firewood, but Jean paid no mind to that and continued speaking in a solemn voice.

“I truly believe that even if humanity loses its place to live, people like you who maintain such attitudes will remain in this world. And if such a world truly comes, I believe the world will be rebuilt centered around those with character like yours.”

“No, that’s too much praise. How could I possibly…”

“Because everyone will long for the past.”

I felt confused by his inexplicable attitude.

But when I looked back at him, I could see an inexplicable regret in his eyes.

“They’ll want to return to a time when common sense had its place, and they’ll want to preserve traces of that time.”

“…Sir.”

“And no matter how chaotic the world becomes, those who have something to protect will never easily stray. Do you know what those who refuse to stray commonly pursue?”

As the fire gradually died down, leaving only embers in the ash pile with nothing more to burn, he turned to me quietly and said:

“Power.”

More powerful than the campfire that had been burning brightly until now.

With an intense gaze that had a stronger presence, without hesitation.

“Power…?”

“Yes, if you grasp stronger power, no matter what kind of world it is or what happens, you can bear the responsibility for actions that deviate from common sense.”

A very simple, and in some ways even futile…

But precisely because of that, it was advice that could be called a truth that penetrates this world.

It resonated deeply with me, who had been keenly aware of my powerlessness.

“So if you have concerns, whatever they may be, focus on building your strength first. That will create a foundation for you to handle what you desire.”

-Chirp, chirp.

The birdsong grew clearer.

As sunlight rose to replace the extinguished campfire, Jean, taking in that light, stood up and turned his back to me.

“It’s about time, so I’ll go catch something for breakfast. You should wake up the ladies.”

“Ah, yes. Please be careful.”

Tap, tap.

As the sound of his staff tapping the ground gradually faded away.

I quietly took time to engrave his previous advice in my heart, looking down at my hands in the place he had left.

“If I…”

If, as he said, I could grasp power.

“If I become a Hero…”

If I truly become strong enough to be a Hero.

I felt the belief blooming within me that all the concerns I currently have would no longer bind me.

*****

After completing the morning preparations, our journey resumed.

The cargo area was still cramped, of course, but the journey afterward wasn’t as stifling as before.

Though the previous advice didn’t offer a clear solution, it did help calm my aversion toward the two women.

“Um, Hyoseong? This seems too much for you…”

“It’s fine. Compared to when I worked as a porter, carrying two people is relatively light.”

Though Irie asked with concern, I didn’t mind and seated her on my legs, pulling her body as close to me as possible.

This way, both women would have some space and feel less cramped, and more importantly, if I intervened directly, there would be fewer chances for them to fight.

“I’ll have to get used to this now, since I’ll be doing much harder things once we start training. Is this okay with you too, Merilyn?”

“…”

“…Merilyn?”

“Yes? What did you just say?”

Merilyn turned to me, startled.

But her usual bright smile was barely visible.

Instead, her stiffened face was flushed red.

“No, I just asked if this arrangement was okay with you.”

“Y-Yes. It’s fine.”

Merilyn answered timidly, placing her hand on my arm that was embracing her.

Even her usual playfulness had subsided in this moment, as if she hadn’t expected me to take this initiative at all.

Come to think of it, was this usually her reaction when I took the initiative?

“Um…”

As I pondered this, Merilyn, watching me carefully, began to shift her weight toward me, closing the distance.

“If it’s not too presumptuous, may I move a little closer?”

“Ah, yes. If you’re comfortable with it… Irie?”

No sooner had Merilyn closed the distance than Irie buried her face in my chest.

Fidgeting with her hands, she squeezed her eyes shut and whispered quietly from my embrace.

“T-This much should be, okay, right?”

-Gulp.

Forcing a swallow down my dry throat, I quietly pulled her back more firmly.

“Yes, yes. It’s fine.”

Yes, this is something I’ll have to get used to from now on.

If I gain power in the future, I won’t have to give up either of them, and that will secure opportunities to become even more special than this embrace.

So to strengthen that resolve, I need to pay more active attention to my relationship with both of them from now on.

“Halt!”

Our heart-pounding journey was interrupted when someone shouted from outside the carriage.

Thinking we might be arriving soon, I stepped out of the carriage ahead of the two women to assess the situation, looking at those blocking the road.

A checkpoint at the entrance to the garrison area. It was guarded by heavily armed soldiers.

“This is a garrison area under Imperial Army control, and entry is restricted to those with unclear identities. If you don’t have permission to enter, turn back quietly!”

At the forefront, shouting, was an older man in red armor.

Despite his age, his spirit was clearly felt as his voice echoed throughout the valley.

But in that voice full of dignity, I felt an inexplicable familiarity.

“That person is…?”

It didn’t take long to realize why.

The man at the checkpoint was Brigade Commander Marcus Cradle.

One of the leaders of the “Brigade,” the core force of the Imperial Army, whom I had seen before when I was following the Hero on a request.

At that time, I was just a porter watching from afar, but conversely, he was one of the Empire’s key figures who couldn’t take someone like me lightly.

“Ho ho, well now. I tried doing some delivery work to get inside somehow.”

Jean, rising from the driver’s seat, approached him casually despite his high status.

“If I had known you were stationed here, I wouldn’t have bothered with a cargo delivery request… Perhaps this is why one should keep in touch with acquaintances.”

“…Jean, is it?”

“Yes, it’s been a while, Marcus.”

Jean approached him, leaning on his staff.

The greeting that followed, filled with nostalgia, revealed a name that even I, eavesdropping, couldn’t take lightly.

“It’s been more than just ‘a while,’ hasn’t it? It seems like it’s been over 10 years since I last saw you.”

“Ho ho, we were both following Tachia half a century ago, but has it already been that long? Time certainly flies.”

Tachia?

Did he follow the Tachia I know half a century ago?

…Or perhaps her child?