<h4>Chapter 337: Secret base under construction 2</h4>


    “sh sword!”


    Neia tries to bite at the sh sword and loses her bnce, pulled by the back of her hair in my grasp and slumps into the river.


    “What is it?”


    “That, the story is……!”


    “You hide your mistakes, don’t you? I was even going to ask him 『What if』 during that fight with Orn”


    “……B, But that’s……”


    “Are you going to leave yourself misled and entrust him with the future of Kalwin? What morality do you intend to move him, even shameful of your sins as a hero?”


    “…………”


    Neia turns her face down and shuts up. She took off her clothes to bathe in the water and forgot to cover herself, which should have been a very sexy sight, but the way she cowered as if enduring was very painful.


    “Excuse me. Shall we continue our conversation?”


    “Wait a minute. It’s not like I can really be a hero who wields the sh sword and I’m not going to let Neia get that far……”


    “You know, Andy Smithson. ……I want you to know. Neia shouldn’t have to carry this on her back alone”


    “……What the hell is that?”


    “There is justice in that country. It is a cold justice built not on its own life or on its children, but on preserving for the future the thing called Kalwin. It is a faith that justifies a man’s fileting and eating another man as if it were nothing. It’s something we all turn a blind eye to, telling ourselves that it can’t be helped”


    “……Isn’t that how much pain you’re in?”


    “Do you really think so?”


    “?”


    The voice of the sh sword erases some of its aloof color.


    “Thirty thousand people, divided into divisions, living in a closed society, under the rule of a king who concentrates defensive and police powers in the hands of only five warriors, living side by side with death, reproducing distortedly on a barrennd. You may be convinced by the stories alone or you may find them too grim a reality for you toprehend, let alone intervene”


    “sh Sword……you are”


    Neia mutters, in a stunned tone. The sh sword that only says what it wants to say. As if it were an unbelievable fact to hear. The sh sword pauses for a beat.


    “But as you have thus found a rtively safe area, the demon territory is by no means an ocean filled and swarming with monsters. It is a well-known fact that while it is firmly believed that humans have been destroyed, dragons still exist. And yet, they still stick a handful of people on a small, thin arablend, always producing just enough food, never improving or expanding the arablend and never giving them a chance to learn anything outside of their profession. It is a system that, under the guise of emphasizing quality, makes the people defend themselves with a defensive force that is clearly outnumbered or even outmaneuvered. ……Doesn’t that make you ufortable, Andy Smithson?”


    “……I, I don’t want to be told that it’s difficult. I’m not a learned man myself”


    “I want you to answer the question. Don’t you think it’s strange?”


    “I think so. But I only know the ground I’ve been on and I can’t tell you where to go or what to do to make it work”


    “I don’t care. ……Let’s just conclude for now. There is something wrong with that country”


    The sh sword asserts. Neia gasps.


    “sh Sword……you, Kalwin……”


    “Is it strange to speak ofck of loyalty? But, you see, I am a relic of a much older age than my country can be. Whoever calls himself king, whoever decides thews, it is not enough for me to pay my respects. Listen to me, Neia. I am the sword of the hero. It exists to be the weapon of those who have the strength and determination to protect their people, in ordance with the legacy of my friend Grans. ……Upon which I wish to speak to him”


    The sword wriggled with a pulsating, rainbow-colored light.


    “Your mistakes. To him who has values other than yours. ……Fine, Neia”


    “…………”


    After a long silence, Neia was quiet.


    “Yes”


    She nodded.


    -


    “There were certainly many monsters around that valley. The royal court entrusted Neia, who had be an official hero……with the task of reinforcing public safety. In the end, it was an execution”


    “……E, Execution?”


    From the words enhanced security we suddenly jumped to the extreme.


    “There is no such thing as a long punishment for Kalwin. If you put someone in jail, you will only increase the number of people who will not work and who will not be able to feed themselves. The same is true for the punishment of blinding them or cutting off their hands. The basis of thew in the country of Kalwin is the single point, 『Do not allow people to consume unnecessary food』”


    “……So the clearest example of this is execution”


    “That’s right”


    Those whomit serious crimes are killed inrge numbers to make an example. This is not particrly unusual. It is an effective crime control measure. However, in the Kalwin Kingdom, the penalty is much less severe, mainly because 「People eat while they are serving their sentences」. In other words, if youmit a crime, you are killed. Behind the extreme simplicity of the system, there is probably ack of heroes to enforce it. With only five people in charge of protecting thend and punishing criminals, it is impossible to stay on top of things.


    “Neia cut down criminals of all kinds, including wheat thieves, those who hurt their neighbors in fights, rapists, escapists from prison……and many other minor and serious offenses. Let the hero do it first. They wanted the people to fear that they could do no wrong as long as there were heroes and they wanted the heroes to understand their own mission. It would be a shame if, when they encounter a criminal in the act, they are unable to cut him down”


    “…………”


    Capital punishment is everywhere. Executioners are still everywhere. Their work is necessary and there is nothing wrong with their executioners. But when I hear that Neia was forced to do it, I still feel bad about it. I can understand the strong attitude that Neia showed toward the misunderstood radicals at the royal academy. Neia is in a profession where she has to be and to Neia, the behavior of those extremists was an unbelievably evil imitation.


    “In the midst of all this, there was a man who said the same thing as that girl called Naris. ……It was an elf, wasn’t it? What was his name?”


    “Evans……san, it was”


    Neia mutters the other’s name painfully.


    “What do you mean, the same?”


    “It was his settlement that was to send a child to a neighboring settlement. But the child was a half-elf. ……He was the only elf in his settlement who had a child at the same time. So he tried to save the child. That is a felony”


    “……Felony”


    “For the neighboring settlements, it’s like having their food stolen. ……He yelled as he was pulled over. Same thing”


    “…………”


    “『I don’t have any regrets. What’s wrong with protecting your children? Sure, we may be able to support them today and tomorrow, but that won’t be enough for ten or even a hundred years from now. Without a partner to entrust the future to, without a hope to entrust the future to, we are just supposed to make wheat for the king and the heroes to eat until they grow old and die of fear of monsters? How can I live with that』. ……Neia stopped her hand. But that was it”


    “…………”


    Neia remained downcast.


    “Neia was urged by the king many times and atst he lost his head. His son was sent to a neighboring settlement as nned and needless to say the rest went without saying. ……Ah, yes. Neia couldn’t make a decision, you know. Remembering Faria’sst appearance and thinking she was right, all she could do was y him”


    “……I, haa!”


    Neia screamed sharply as she hit the surface of the river, then stood up and nodded, unable to……do anything.


    “I……thought I had done the right thing……being a hero. If I forgive him, it will be……”


    “You’ll forgive the others and the reality is that Kalwin doesn’t have the productive capacity……to feed them all is that what you’re trying to say?”


    “…………”


    “Do you think it was courageous of you, Neia, to leave such an irrevocable murder to the logic of your hearsay from the royal court? You”


    “But what should I do……what should I do……!!”


    Neia cries out at the words of the sh sword. I also clearly think that what the sh sword said was reckless.


    “Hey, that’s not a good idea……”


    “Andy Smithson. What would you do? What could you do?”


    Suddenly dumped, I freeze. I think for a moment……


    “……That would be irresponsible, no matter what I say”


    I give a slightly evasive answer. Even if I could think of a few other possibilities, in the end it’s all a matter of consequence. Saying it over what Neia did would only hurt Neia, no matter how you look at it.


    “Let me put it this way. ……What would you do if Neia made that usation against you?”


    “……!”


    I imagine it and cringe.


    “I wonder if I would kill Neia. Can I tolerate Neia’s child being ughtered, baked and eaten?”


    ……There is no way I could do it. I knew it wasn’t a good idea and I felt bad for Neia, but my mind had begun to do the math on its own. How to do something about it.


    “……Neia would surely have cut it in the end, crying, whether it was you or Faria. Andy Smithson. What would you do?”


    “……I’ll buy you some time. Earn……”


    Think of a number of means. Change the location for a reason, pretend to kill and hide or blend in. If the dragon is nearby, they could even consider negotiating for shelter. I’m not sure how much I’m going to be able to do with this. ……The only way to make assumptions is to put them in the same perspective as Neia’s at the time. I know that, but the moment I realized I had to execute Neia with my own hands, I thought about all the possibilities avable to me at the moment. I was so sure of this that I had to execute Neia by my own hand. ……And before I could continue, the sh sword rxed its tone as if reassured.


    “That’s right. ……Ah, it seems I’m not wrong in my estimation. You are just what Neia and I need”


    “Eh……”


    “Neia is now trying to resist her fate. She is trying to change the fate of Kalwin, who will continue to wallow in darkness forever. She is making a decision, as a hero, to create a new path for her country rather than simply return to it and protect it. But that’s as far as Neia will go”


    “……That far?”


    “I can’t lead you to any new answers any more. That is the price Neia has paid for living as a hero. She can only choose to live as a hero, bear her sins as a hero and die as a hero. Neia cannot even think what you just thought. The sense of heroism that is ingrained in her will not allow her to do so”


    “I’m……”


    Neia sounds confused at the words of the sh sword and her ears droop.


    “So, brave one. Remember. I trust your feelings. I want you to understand Neia. There are some things that cannot be reached by the courage of Neia alone, born in that Kalwin. You are the one who can do anything to save the one you love. You are someone who can transcend all barriers and authority just for that. I expect you to be that way until the very end of this journey”


    “……sh sword”


    Neia mutters as if she has been poisoned and the sh sword huffily extinguishes the rainbow-colored light.


    “……I got my hopes up”


    I stroke Neia’s hair from behind again and make a little fun of her.


    “E, Emm, sh Sword is a guy who only gives advice after all, so you don’t have to take it so seriously”


    “No, I’m the kind of person who works hard when people expect me to. ……Well, I’ll do the best I can”


    “Haa……”


    After giving Neia’s breasts a quick squeeze, which she didn’t seem to know how to react to, Neia finally realized that she was an embarrassing sight.


    “Hi, Hyaa!?”


    “And while we’re at it, let’s wash here, too”


    “I’m not dirty!?”


    - ToC -