Volume 4 Chapter 22 The Weak Side Of Humanity
"I'm back."
"Welcome back!"
Currently in the invasion zone of the Forest King's Army, attacking the Rain Great Forest.
While we were taking a break, Rose returned after going to fetch water.
It must have taken about 20 minutes, I guess.
I'm feeling a slight sense of discomfort.
"It seems like you took quite a while, but did you go that far just to get water?"
"No, the water source itself isn't that far away."
Well, with Rose as she is now, she could probably sprint from one end of the forest to the other in no time.
So, the distance to the water source doesn't really matter.
"So, was something going on? It took you longer to come back than usual, Rose."
"I was fighting a monster for a bit. That's why I took a little longer to get back."
"Ah, I see..."
A battle with a monster, huh.
Now that I think about it, I feel like I heard some commotion...
That's why I told her it was dangerous to go alone.
But still...
"Are you hurt or anything? Oh, wait, it's unnecessary concern for Rose."
"No, I'm perfectly fine. It's just..."
"Just...?"
Rose looked apologetically at everyone.
"I couldn't get any water."
"What? Why?"
"The monster I was fighting fled into the river I was planning to draw water from, and it felt rather inappropriate to fetch water from there..."
"Oh dear..."
Well, that's certainly unpleasant.
First of all, I'm not sure if the river in the monsters' habitat is safe to drink from, so let's make do with just my own drinking water.
Fortunately, I still have enough left.
Even so...
"Hmm..."
"Huh? What's wrong? You look like you're thinking really hard."
"Oh, no, it's just that something's been bothering me... Rose, was that monster kind of 'strong'?"
"Huh? Hmm, how should I put it...? From what I could see, it seemed to be a monster from the Forest King's Army, and I feel like it was a little strong, but then again, maybe it wasn't all that much..."
Rose, who was asked, gives a hesitant reply.
She probably doesn't remember it very well.
For Rose, that's just the kind of monster it was.
But then, a monster that could escape from Rose in her current state seems pretty strong.
If it were a monster around here, its head would have flown off the moment it made eye contact with her.
I wonder what kind of monster it was that managed to escape from Rose...?
"Oh, by the way, the adventurers we met at the kingdom's garrison were attacked by that monster."
"Is that so? So, did Rose help them out?"
"Yes, that would be the case."
Seeing Rose nod, Cosmos makes a clearly displeased face.
"Ugh. They didn't need to be saved. Those kinds of people should really learn a lesson the hard way."
"Well, it was quite a disadvantageous situation... But in exchange for helping, I was able to get a promise to apologize for the disrespect towards the kingdom's army. They went back peacefully from the forest."
"Do you really think those guys would sincerely apologize? I can hardly believe it."
"Hmm, they thanked me with tears in their eyes, so it seems like it wasn't a lie..."
Tears, huh?
I can hardly imagine those guys shedding tears.
It seems like they had quite a scary experience.
That makes me even more curious about the monster that attacked them.
Those people are supposed to be well-known adventurers, and I felt their skills were considerable.
A monster that could scare such skilled adventurers to tears.
Could it possibly be one of the executives of the Forest King's Army...?
As I was deep in thought, Rose's voice interrupted my musings.
"By the way, how many Cursed Funeral Trees are there? Are there still a lot left?"
So far, we have already destroyed 6 Cursed Funeral Trees.
While defeating monsters from the Forest King's Army and Spirit King's Army, we've been randomly breaking them, but I really have no idea about the total number.
I'm curious about how many there actually are.
By the way, even if we don't know the appearance of the cursed funeral tree, I can distinguish it from ordinary trees using Trainer's Divine Eye skill.
"How about capturing a monster from the Forest King's Army or the Spirit King's Army and forcing it to speak?"
"Don't say it so threateningly... At least say 'extract information' instead."
As I was having that conversation as Cosmos, Ms. Nemophila unexpectedly voiced a practical opinion.
"For now, why don't we just search for Forest King Gálu and Spirit King Vamph? That should suffice. And along the way, destroy the cursed funeral tree."
"Well, that's true. If we can make those 2 surrender, both armies will be neutralized. After that, the kingdom's army and the adventurers in this country can clean up the rest of the cursed funeral tree."
What we need to do is neutralize both armies.
Once that is accomplished, the people of this country can also destroy the cursed funeral tree.
So, finding Gálu and Vamph and making them surrender is the quickest way to a solution.
However, we have no clue about where they might be.
"What if we split up to search?"
"Split up?"
"I mean, wouldn't it be faster to search if we each went our separate ways?"
"So don't say such scary things! Are you trying to leave me alone?"
If the other 3 were alone, it wouldn't be a problem at all, but if I were by myself, no matter how many lives I had, it wouldn't be enough.
Cosmos's cheek, knowing that, had a mischievous smile on it.
"Of course it's a joke. There's no way I'd leave you, the weakest one here, all alone. You just need to sit back and watch us shine."
"...I'm not going to act like I own the place. Well, I won't deny that I'm 'weak,' though."
So I'll quietly watch from the back.
There's almost nothing I can do during battle anyway.
With all that going on, we decided to continue exploring the invasion zone and wrap up our break before moving on.
Since Cosmos wanted to pick flowers, I decided to gather everyone's belongings with Ms. Nemophila while she went to the shade with Rose.
At that moment, Ms. Nemophila suddenly called out to me.
"Hey, Roezé..."
"Hmm? What's up?"
Looking at her, Ms. Nemophila was giving me a suspicious glance from between her blue bangs.
I didn't have any memory of being looked at like that, so I instinctively held my breath.
Did I say something weird?
"Since you made me stronger, I've started to understand a bit about others' strengths."
"Huh? Strength? Um, what are you talking about...?"
"My job class is a power meant to protect someone, so I think I can easily sense how much of a threat the opponent poses. That's why I can feel incredible power from both Rose and Cosmos... and also from Roezé, I sense an astonishing power."
"..."
I was taken aback by the nonsensical talk.
Not understanding what Ms. Nemophila wanted to say, I was left with nothing to respond...
"Earlier, you were saying that you're weak, but..."
She spoke while staring deeply into My eyes, as if trying to see through me.
"Isn't Roezé... stronger than that?"
"..."
...Me, strong?
What on earth is Ms. Nemophila talking about?
She must have seen me being utterly useless up to this point.
How can she say such a thing with such conviction?
Does Ms. Nemophila see something that I don't?
Is there a strength within me that even I am not aware of?
But maybe it's just Ms. Nemophila's misunderstanding, a mere overestimation.
"...I don't think I'm strong."
So I shook my head with a restrained feeling.
"I believe that 'strength' is the power to stick to your own will."
"The power to stick to your own will...?"
"Rose, who can help those in trouble with overwhelming strength and speed. Cosmos, who can uphold her own righteousness with her unique magic. Someone who can fulfill their wishes solely with their own power. I believe such people are strong."
I have seen many strong people with my own eyes until now.
Compared to those people, I clearly lack strength.
I do not possess even a fragment of the power to reliably make my wishes come true.
That's why...
"If we apply that standard, there's no way to think of me as anything but one of the weak."
"..."
I don't particularly want to belittle myself.
But this is an undeniable fact.
I am clearly one of the weak, a being that needs to be protected.
For a long time, I've been part of the hero party, and I've been vividly shown the differences in talent.
Since starting Nurturer, amazing people have gathered around me, and every time I see everyone's strength, I can't help but hope that I might have some talent too.
However, in the end, I have no hidden power, and I'm left only feeling disheartened by my incompetence.
I know best that I have no talent.
Perhaps having become a bit too self-deprecating, Ms. Nemophila spoke apologetically as if she sensed my feelings.
"I'm sorry. I might have said something strange."
"N-no, it's not something Ms. Nemophila should apologize for..."
"What do you mean it's not something to apologize for?"
While we were talking like that, before I knew it, Rose and Cosmos had returned to us.
Lost in deep thought, I didn't notice them, and hurriedly brushed it off with "nothing."
Rose and Cosmos seemed curious about what Ms. Nemophila and I had been talking about, but they didn't press the matter.
After that, we decided to start exploring the forest again.
Still, I wonder why Ms. Nemophila suddenly said something like that?
She mentioned that her Princess Knight job class had developed to the point where she could sense others' strength, but for her to feel such a tremendous power from me is strange.
I was a bit concerned about that, but I decided to put it aside for now and focus on searching for Forest King Gálu and spirit king Vamph.
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