Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter 7

JULIUS, AGE 13: PROGRESS 

It’s been several days since we held a funeral for Mr. Tiva and the others. 

Our force has set out on its final mission. 

Mr. Tiva, who was really what held the force together, is gone, and this is the last major organization base that we’ve found. For these reasons, the pontiff has announced that the force will be disbanded after this mission. 

There are still many mysteries surrounding the human-trafficking organization, and we don’t know where most of the kidnapped victims have gone. 

But it would be difficult to keep searching at this point, and since we’ve destroyed most of the bases, there shouldn’t be any more victims in the future. 

We’re not satisfied with that conclusion, of course. 

But somewhere in the organization is the villain who killed Mr. Tiva. 

Just as my master said, I’m not strong enough to defeat that person right now. 

Even if I was to stubbornly insist on chasing down the organization, I’d only die a pointless death if I wound up facing off against that person. 

So instead, I just have to do whatever I can. 

And that first step is the force’s final mission. 

We gained control over the last base easily. 

The force’s motivation was higher than ever, not least because it was a chance to avenge Tiva and the other soldiers who lost their lives. 

And the enemy’s morale was strangely low. 

When we interrogated some of the captured bandits afterward, we learned it was because the organization representatives had suddenly stopped coming. 

Normally, when the bandits capture someone, an organization person will appear out of nowhere and take the victim away, giving the criminals money or goods in exchange. But now that they stopped showing up, the criminals weren’t getting paid, which hurt their morale. 

The organization must have decided to stop their kidnapping activities. 

So while we weren’t able to figure out the source of the organization, there won’t be any more kidnappings. 

Although, since we never found out where the people who’ve already been captured were taken, it’s hard to call this a draw. 

However, as a silver lining, we were at least able to rescue the people who were captured by the last base. Since the organization members never came to get them, they were simply being held there. 

Fortunately, they weren’t treated too poorly, in case the organization came to pick them up. 

We’d managed to save people in the process of destroying bases a handful of times before, but this was a much higher number than usual. 

When we brought them back to their home villages and towns, their family and friends wept and embraced them. 

For all the time I spent on this force, that was what I wanted to see more than anything else. 

It took until the very last mission, but when I was finally able to see that and know that we’d saved someone, I quietly cried tears of relief. 

When we returned to the Holy Kingdom of Alleius, we were promptly treated to a celebratory banquet. 

It was a modest affair, held only with the force members and their families. The pontiff kindly provided the hall for us. 

There was plenty of food and drink for all, and the force ate and drank without reserve, savoring every morsel. 

Once this banquet ended, the soldiers would all go back to their respective homelands. 

This jumbled mix of people from different nations would probably never be gathered in one place again. 

So they all cut loose and celebrated to their hearts’ content. 

Although unfortunately, since Hyrince, Yaana, and I aren’t old enough to drink, we couldn’t quite keep up with everyone’s enthusiasm. 

Still, it was fun. 

At the peak of the excitement, as more and more people drink themselves under the table, a man sits down across from me. 

“It’s over, eh?” 

“Yes.” 

It’s Mr. Jeskan, the adventurer. 

He’s had a considerable amount of liquor himself, but the only effect I can see is a slight redness in his cheeks. 

“Oh, where’s Mr. Hawkin?” 

“Ah, he’s passed out drunk over there somewhere.” 

Mr. Jeskan points across the room, where a group of drunks are piled unconscious on top of one another. 

How in the world did that happen? 

And I don’t see Mr. Hawkin in there anywhere. Is he underneath them? 

“Won’t he get crushed under there?” says Hyrince, aghast. “Physically speaking, I mean.” 

“Ha-ha-ha! He was a famous thief, despite all appearances. He’s not soft enough to get crushed that easily.” 

Mr. Jeskan chuckles. 

“So, Mr. Hero, the force is disbanding as of today. What will you do after this?” 

“…I think I’m going to travel to different places and try to help people who are in trouble.” 

I saw many different nations in my time with the force, but the human-trafficking organization and their thugs weren’t the only cause of people’s suffering. 

Monsters, poverty, discrimination, dangerous environments… 

They all had different problems, but in one way or another, we never saw a single place that you could truly call peaceful. 

“I know there probably isn’t much that I can do. Most of their problems are probably beyond me. But still, I want to do whatever I can to help people.” 

“How admirable…!” 

Yaana clasps her hands together and gazes at me emotionally. 

“Very admirable, indeed.” 

Jeskan chuckles as he repeats Yaana’s remark. 

However, unlike Yaana, I can’t help feeling like he’s making fun of me a little. 

“Excuse me, is there something you’d like to say to Sir Hero?!” Yaana demands of him indignantly. 

“My hometown was destroyed by bandits.” 

At this sudden declaration, Yaana falls back with a gasp. 

“It was a tiny settlement with just a few families, so small you could barely even call it a village. I didn’t want to spend my whole life in a place like that, so I ran off and became an adventurer when I was still a kid.” 

Jeskan takes a gulp of his drink as he tells us about his past. 

“The rest wasn’t exactly dramatic. I heard through the grapevine that my hometown had been attacked by bandits who slaughtered everyone and stole every last item worth a damn. Not like I hunted down those bandits and got my revenge or anything, either. By the time I heard about it, some other adventurer had already found their stronghold and wiped ’em out.” 

“That’s, erm…that must have been awful.” 

“Nah, not really.” 

Yaana offers her sympathies, but Mr. Jeskan lightly shakes his head. 

“A shabby place like that with no defenses was bound to get destroyed by monsters or bandits eventually. That’s why I ran off in the first place. When I heard it was gone, all I really thought was Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me.” 

Looking shocked, Yaana opens her mouth, but Jeskan continues. 

“But I did learn something that day: People are evil deep down. They’ll be as ruthless as they have to be to save their own skin. That goes for the robbers who destroyed my hometown—they were willing to murder and steal for their own sakes. And it goes for me, too. I abandoned my home so that I could survive. And even when it was destroyed, I didn’t feel a thing.” 

Mr. Jeskan speaks without a hint of sarcasm, as if he’s simply stating the truth. 

“You saw the guys our force was fighting, didn’t you? They had the same blood that runs in our veins. But they did things so heartless that it was easy to forget.” 

The people we were fighting are human just like us. 

Sure, our circumstances are different, but we’re all people. 

In other words, if our positions had been reversed, we might’ve walked the same path of evil—because we’re all only human. 

“People aren’t as noble as we’d like to think. But you still want to use your power to try to help them, Mr. Hero?” 

Jeskan turns to me. 

I already know the answer. 

“Of course.” 

I’ve decided to live my life in a way I can be proud of. 

I want to be a noble person like Mr. Tiva, the kind of person people will mourn when I die. 

Quietly, I touch my scarf. 

“I learned in my time with the force how easily people can turn to the path of evil, too. But that’s exactly what my power is for.” 

Humans stain their hands with evil deeds all too easily. 

So I just have to make sure it doesn’t come to that. 

“I am the hero, a symbol of hope for the people. An emblem of justice. And the enemy of evil. I’ll become the hope of humanity and show them that I’ll never let evil win.” 

“So you’ll stop evil from ever happening?” 

“Yes.” 

“Do you really think that’s possible?” 

“I won’t know until I try. But I certainly won’t give up before I’ve even started. If people have grown anxious because the previous hero hid himself away, then it’s my job as the current hero to quell their fears.” 

“So you’re cleaning up the last guy’s mess?” 

“I am here. I am the hero. That’s what I want to let everyone know. As long as I do that, I’m sure the future will be full of hope.” 

“Ha…ah-ha-ha-ha! What a gem!” 

Mr. Jeskan bursts out laughing, as if he can’t hold it back any longer. 

But this time, it doesn’t sound like he’s making fun of me at all. 

“So this is the hero! Yeah, I get it now. You’re the hero, all right!” 

He bangs his glass on the table a few times as his laughter continues. 

“…Hey, Sir Hero.” 

Then, when the laughter finally subsides, Mr. Jeskan looks at me. 

And calls me “Sir Hero.” 

He was calling me “Mr. Hero” up until now, so I feel as if this means he’s gained a new respect for me. 

“I happen to know a skilled adventurer and a thief who’re out of a job as of today. Any chance you’d be interested in hiring ’em?” 

“You mean…” 

“Oh, right, the pay. How about we call it even for the right to see this hopeful future you’re talking about at your side?” 

Mr. Jeskan grins at my surprised expression and raises his glass toward me. 

I break into a smile and hold out my own cup to meet his. 

“I believe we have a deal.” 

“That’s what I like to hear.” 

I’ve gotten a good idea of Mr. Jeskan’s and Mr. Hawkin’s character through our time together in the task force. 

At a glance, Mr. Jeskan might seem cynical and pragmatic, but moments like this show that he has a sense of justice and adventure deep down. 

And as a former gentleman thief who stole for the sake of the poor, Mr. Hawkin is just as kind as his past would suggest. 

Mr. Tiva once told me that I should gather companions who I can trust. 

And I know I can trust Mr. Jeskan and Mr. Hawkin. 

If they’re willing to join forces with me, I could wish for nothing better. 

Thus, I gain two trustworthy new companions. 

Incidentally, Mr. Hawkin learned of all this while he was recovering from a hangover and made his own headache worse by shouting in surprise.