episode_0061

Ironically, human emotions are often contradictory.

As the saying goes, the end of tuning is purity.

Because at the end of happiness there is unhappiness.

If you ask why this phenomenon occurs, you could say it is because the threshold for happiness is gradually increasing.

Just like how no matter how delicious a food is, if you keep eating it, you won’t be able to taste it anymore.

Just like how any entertainment, no matter how fun, becomes no longer fun if you keep doing it.

Of course, most people cannot reach this level, so they dare not know that there is misfortune at the end of good fortune.

Because it is a phenomenon that only a very small number of extremely wealthy or powerful people can experience.

We may ask one question here.

If your threshold for happiness becomes incredibly low due to continued unhappiness,

That is, if you ask what exists at the end of misfortune, Arthur will be able to answer as if it were a given.

“I’m happy.”

At the same time, Arthur will feel that everything around him is losing its meaning, as if he has fallen into an optimistic nihilism.

To say that everything was meaningless was the same as saying that only Arthur could give it real meaning.

“There’s no need to study anymore.”

Happiness comes from not trying.

“There’s no need to compare yourself to others anymore.”

Happiness comes from eliminating all ties in life.

“Now I’m going to do as I please.”

Happiness in the false freedom called free-range, without fences.

“And then you have to die.”

Finally, happiness at the end of life.

By redefining the meaning of the many things that made him feel unhappy, Arthur began to feel happy.

Thinking it’s a mistake…? No way. The person I love the most is cheering me on right next to me, so this can’t be a mistake.

right?

“Then, Arthur. From now on, let’s live happily.”

Look at this.

Hilia is telling me to be happy.

“I’m having a hard time.. Can I drop out of the academy? Hilia.”

“Do whatever you want.”

Arthur’s steps became faster as Hilia spoke while stroking his head.

Arthur kicked open the door to the faculty office and got straight to the point.

“I came here to apply for resignation.”

“Yes..?”

As the woman doing the administrative work looked flustered, Arthur showed his student ID and spoke again.

“I want to drop out.”

“Ah..! Yes! I will help you.”

The woman who received Arthur’s student ID began to check the various procedures, and after a while answered with a troubled expression.

“That.. 1st year students cannot apply for withdrawal..”

“Ah.. What should I do? Hilia. Leaving without permission? I think it’s okay. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Suddenly, a cold sweat began to run down the woman’s head at the sight of Arthur talking to himself and talking nonsense.

“Then how about taking a leave of absence? Taking a leave of absence is possible..!”

“Leave of absence, leave of absence.. Leave of absence..? Okay. I’ll take a leave of absence!”

After that, the woman watched Arthur’s expression and asked him various questions, but Arthur answered vaguely and waited for it to end quickly.

“Well… I need a reason for taking a leave of absence… What could it be?”

“Why? Ah..! That trip! I wanted to go on a trip, but there’s someone precious to me there. I really want to meet them.. That’s why..! I have to go quickly.. Huh? But she’s right next to me..”

“Are you okay?”

Are you okay?

I’m happy, what are you talking about?

The woman asked with a worried face, but Arthur didn’t notice anything.

He just gets annoyed by women who bother him.

“Honestly, I don’t want to hear what you’re saying, and I’m not even curious. Just take a leave of absence.”

“#$%&#@!!”

After that, the woman continued to talk to me,

“Hilia, you can go home soon, right?”

Arthur ignored her while talking to Hilia.

The woman reluctantly had no choice but to approve Arthur’s request for a leave of absence.

“%$&#..”

“I guess it’s finished. Thank you.”

Arthur nodded to the woman, took Hilia’s hand, and headed out of the academy.

A crowded street.

It was a scene I often saw, but today, perhaps because I was with Hilia, it felt new.

“Hilia! Shall we buy some skewers?”

Arthur saw Hilia nodding with a smile, perhaps because she wanted to eat it too.

“Please give me two skewers!”

Arthur, who had placed his order, took out his wallet to pay while watching the man wrap the skewers.

“Huh? I don’t have any money.. Hillia! Buy it for me!!”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes..?”

Why does everyone say the same thing when they see me?

“Hilia will give you the money!”

Arthur confidently pointed to Hilia next to him, but the old man’s expression gradually darkened.

“Wow.. That age already.. That’s perfect. I’ll just give you the skewers, so enjoy them.”

He is a strange person.

You even received money from Hilia and now you’re acting all showy by saying you’ll just give it to her.

Are you a scammer?

“Why are you looking at me like that? You’re a strange person! Aren’t you, Hilia?”

“Yeah. What a strange person.”

See, I’m not weird.

Everyone else is weird.

Yum yum.

Arthur, who had eaten up the skewer as if inhaling it, cleaned up his place, got up, and went to find a carriage to leave the capital.

In order to return to the village, they had to first go to a city called Padun, but the carriage to Padun was so expensive that Arthur, who had no money, could not afford to ride it.

“Can’t Hilia give it to you instead?”

I tried asking her like I did with the skewers, but unfortunately, Hilia just shook her head.

“Then I have to earn money.. Should I become an adventurer?”

“That would take too long. How about walking instead?”

Since I’m traveling alone with Hilia…

good..!

“Yes!”

Arthur, who had just left the capital after being checked, walked along the road in front of him without any plan.

“Hilia, can I go here? I don’t know the direction.”

Arthur was scared that he might get lost.

I felt reassured when Hilia told me to follow her and gave me directions with her hand.

“I’ll only trust Hilia! Hehe.”

In the end, Arthur, who was following Hilia, got lost.

… … …

How many days have passed?

Arthur continued to walk without being able to eat, sleep, or wash properly.

“I’m so tired today, should I rest now and walk again tomorrow?”

“Okay.”

At some point, Arthur no longer saw Hilia, and only heard her voice.

Arthur didn’t care. He thought that hearing voices meant that Hilia was around, so he figured that his eyesight had gone bad.

“I’m hungry.. Hilia, can I eat this..?”

When was the last time Arthur had a normal meal? Whenever he came across a plant he had never seen before, it became a daily routine for him to put it in his mouth.

“Wow, wow!”

“This, I don’t think this is edible. Hehe..”

Arthur, who had roughly emptied his stomach, lay on the ground and looked up at the sky.

The sky is clear.

Wouldn’t it be okay to just close my eyes and sleep?

Because I have no strength left in my body.

“Arthur, look over there.”

“Huh..?”

When I looked up at the sky again at Hilia’s words, I saw black smoke rising.

“Let’s go over there, Arthur. Maybe we can get some help.”

Arthur got up, his body weary, and headed towards the direction of the smoke, where he found a group of men and women sitting and resting around a campfire.

“Excuse me, over there..”

The group looked wary as Arthur suddenly appeared from the grass, but they put away their weapons after seeing Arthur’s behavior.

“Are you okay..?”

A woman who appeared to be the leader approached Arthur and spoke to him, and Arthur, feeling that he was now safe, gave way and sat down.

“Yes.. I’m just a little tired, so it’s okay.”

Arthur was lucky enough to meet some friendly adventurers and was able to recover his condition with much help.

“So where did you say you were going?”

“Ah.. It’s a city called Padun.”

“Padun… Ah! Now that I think about it, didn’t you say you came from Padun before, Essil?”

Arthur followed the leader’s gaze and saw a woman wearing a large cone-shaped hat. Her name seemed to be Essil.

“That’s right. But why is that?”

However, perhaps because she was feeling uneasy, Essil’s attitude was nervous.

“Hmm… We have to go south from here, but Padun is to the east, and none of us have been to Padun before, except for one person? But asking a man to go there alone is no different from asking him to die… It would be good if someone could take him there. If possible, someone from Padun who knows the way, can use magic, and there won’t be any danger on the way…”

“Ah! Got it! Got it!! I can go!”

“Of course! Thank you, Essil. And of course, we will distribute the reward money for the subjugation, so don’t worry and go.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Get ready to buy some alcohol when you get back.”

“Then of course it is.”

After muttering for a moment, Eshil turned her gaze to look at Arthur.

“Hey.”

“Yes, yes..?”

Arthur’s timid reaction seemed to make Essil feel even worse.

“Do you have money?”

“Uh…”

Arthur, of course, didn’t have a penny.

Thinking about it, Arthur remembered that escort missions usually cost a lot of money, and he was afraid that he would be abandoned if he didn’t have any money, so he spoke urgently.

“No, I don’t have it now.. I’m at home..!”

“Home? Sigh… That won’t work. This place can’t be done without prepayment.”

Arthur’s heart sank at Esil’s words, but the leader started to laugh loudly, telling him to stop teasing.

“You know it’s real, Essil. You look like you’re going to cry right now?”

“No.. Are you kidding..?”

Arthur shed a tear of relief when he realized it was a prank, but Essil’s face turned pale as if it looked different to other people.

“Huh? What a bitch. She makes men cry.”

The people around them also responded in agreement with the leader’s words.

“Making a man cry, you’re total trash.”

“Let’s get rid of the useless milk now.”

Eshil’s face turned red like a beet as she became the butt of a joke in an instant, and she made a decision to avoid this situation.

“Oh, did you say Arthur? Sorry… Was that a joke? Hey, let’s start from the beginning. And I don’t need money, so don’t worry..!”

The decision was to get out of here quickly.

“Are you leaving already? Then have a safe trip!”

Eshil, who had vaguely ignored the leader’s words, gestured to Arthur and urged them to leave quickly.

“Essil!! Don’t confess to me like that just because I’m pretty!!!”

The leader, who wanted to tease Essil until the end, made a playful joke, and Essil raised her middle finger and looked behind her without even looking back.

“Water.”

Eshil, who had created water while casting a spell, shot it straight at the leader.

However, the leader, who was soaked through the water, responded by saying that he was grateful for the coolness.

Arthur, who was watching this whole situation, thought.

They are funny people.

If it were normal, I would have thought that the road to Padun wouldn’t be that boring. I felt grateful.

But Arthur, who no longer trusted anyone, was secretly delighted at having caught a fool.