99 – middle ground-14

“I’m going to take on a new job. I’ve got enough money ready and I’ll start working in a little while.”

“All right!”

I had entered the tent without washing the blood, so the smell seemed to still permeate my clothes.

The dapper-looking man and other executives were listening in horror. An accident like that just happened, so you can’t help but respect me.

“Until I return, neither plunder nor fighting will be allowed. I will bring food and I will leave some money behind, so there will be no shortage.”

It was a resource prepared to solve the problem peacefully, but now that it had happened, I had to use whatever I could.

“I’m going into the middle ground. I won’t give you a fight, but you’ll have to help me find it.”

“I will definitely do it.”

But even in his fear, he was actively listening to me.

It was only natural that he suddenly became the captain of a huge mercenary corps.

Scattering them clumsily is worse than killing them. The atmosphere in the nearby villages was hideous, but there was no way strangers would be welcomed.

They would starve to death while being torn apart, or they would become looters again and raid private houses.

If that were the case, I wouldn’t be able to control them one by one. Countless other mercenaries or adventurers had to be summoned to hunt, or a large number of soldiers had to be put in.

After somehow rallying the forces, they had to be controlled. Otherwise, the work I did would be meaningless.

“Today… the former captain attacked first, and we just defended, and we didn’t intend to go this far.”

People didn’t easily make eye contact, probably because they were recalling the moment when a person was punched and killed in front of their eyes.

“Even if there is a difference of opinion, I wouldn’t go this far.

But it’s not good for them to be too afraid of me. Fear it, but be able to understand it.

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Just like watching a beast in an iron cage, we should think that they are safe if they don’t act foolishly to enter the cage.

Neighborhood cleanup is over. Now we have to leave to solve the request of the Swan Mercenary Corps.

My body wasn’t tired at all, but my head was dizzy. My steps were heavy.

/////

“…Looks a little unwashed.”

It must have been washed enough to wash it, but it still smells strangely fishy.

There wasn’t high-end soap, but there were herbs to get rid of the disgusting scent during the adventure.

But even after using up a week’s worth of herbs, there was something left.

I felt a little sorry for Nerwen, who must have worked so hard to collect this, but even if I dug it up again later, I had no choice but to use it now.

“It doesn’t smell like anything, master. Don’t worry too much and come in and rest…”

Nerwen’s face softened. A face that was so gentle that it was hard to believe that it was an elf, and seemed to be worried about someone.

“No, it really smells.”

I washed my hands enough to wash them, so I didn’t think that was the cause, but what about under my fingernails? No red liquid was present, but a foul odor may remain.

Or is it around the neck? I wiped it clean in my own way, but since it was invisible to the naked eye, blood could have remained.

Although unlikely, there could be something on the nose or near the philtrum.

I don’t know where the smell comes from, but considering the faint smell of blood, it could be the smell coming directly from my nose, not from another part.

“Enerel.”

Eleanor’s eyes met. Her mouth didn’t open, but I could see what she was trying to say.

“It was necessary. In the first place, isn’t it less cruel than you thought?”

“I’m not blaming you. I have no right to control your actions. If you ask me for my personal opinion, I think I’m backing down.”

“You mean you should have killed them all?”

“We can’t confine them, and there’s no stable space to re-socialize them. There’s a limit to simply scaring them and replacing them with a captain.”

This incident shocked me too. I wanted to yell at you not to accuse them without proof, but at least some of them will have criminal experiences.

It was dangerous to say that the Swan Mercenary Corps sabotaged the business. It was hard to think that the mercenary corps, which seemed to have few people, seriously stole the work from the poison scorpion mercenary corps.

It was likely that resentment had built up because he had been hampered by crimes such as robbery, theft, and human trafficking.

“You are right in thinking that the crimes they committed were due to their livelihood and precarious circumstances. It is certainly noble to see them with compassion.”

Eleanor’s words did not contain contempt for me, but compassion.

“However, there are not many people who can regain their humanity by solving that problem.”

Maybe she’s right. All of this will be in vain, and you may regret it later.

“Nevertheless, I will do this.”

“If that’s your choice, I’ll just follow.”

Eleanor nodded slowly.

“But the way is strange. Was it necessary?”

“…was it painful?”

I think it’s a moment. Since he died without even having time to scream, I don’t think the pain would have lasted long.

“Never mind that. I’ve never died either, but I guess the pain was probably determined by the time leading up to that death. It died in an instant.”

“Then, is there any problem?”

“What I want to point out is the method. Was there any reason not to use a sword?”

“I heard that the pain that person goes through is similar?”

Then there was no reason to hesitate. Just as the values of nobles and commoners were equal, there was no reason for the value of death to differ.

“If I had to kill a person, I had to kill it more shockingly.

“I agree that it was a more efficient method, but it’s missing an important part.”

“What?”

“It’s you, Enerel. The pain of the dead is not the problem, aren’t you struggling?”

different. As always, her thoughts and mine were very different.

“You have no obligations or responsibilities on this earth.”

It was the first time I had felt Eleanor’s voice warm.

“Of course helping others is noble. Valuing life is valuable. But it’s not worth hurting your spirit.”

“…”

“Aren’t you feeling too much guilt? It’s not a matter of cruelty. It’s only natural that you feel shaken, as you clung to him as far as you could feel his heartbeat, and killed him with a fist made from your fingers.”

Thank you for being considerate of me, but it was useless.

“It wouldn’t have been like this if I’d rather have used a sword and cut it at once. No, you didn’t even have to get your hands dirty. If you had just ordered us, you would have killed us instead. Why…”

“Because I had to feel it!”

The premise itself is wrong. I didn’t do this because I didn’t know how to avoid the pain, I did it because I had to feel it.

“It shouldn’t be comfortable for people to die. It shouldn’t be if you don’t think about anything!”

When traveling as a member of the hero’s party, Eleanor killed quite a few people.

And every kill was graceful and cool, as was her grace.

Of course, he kills people who can be killed without any emotional change. Just as sheaves of straw are cut, not people, wicked people are cut by her righteous sword.

that might have been the right thing. There were some obscure people, but most of them deserved to die.

But killing shouldn’t be pretty. Even if there is a fair killing, there should not be a beautiful killing.

“It was a minimal sacrifice. Rather, it was a death enough to be considered insufficient. You should not bow your head, but be proud!”

“I don’t want to be that kind of person! I’m proud of what I did well!”

It was a fair murder. He first turned against me, and I needed his life to stop the plunder and battles in this province.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t bear to justify it by saying that it was a ‘necessary thing’ for the subject of killing a person.

Although many things have happened and the hatred has faded, the person I hate the most is the humans in front of me.

And now it seemed to me that I was caught between them.

“Are you saying it’s enough to just cut it off with a knife and wipe off the blood on it, huh? That’s comfortable. It’s so comfortable that I can kill a few more people?”

“…Sometimes you have to do that.”

Eleanor’s hands gripped my shoulders. I glared at her like I was going to kill her, but she didn’t even have time to feel my hostility.

“Because you are a good person, you will continue to save others. And each time you do, you will have to make a choice. Is this person worth saving or should you kill this person to save others?”

“…”

“Are you going to go through this process every time? Are you going to kill someone while struggling like this?”

Eleanor’s body was getting closer. She held me tight enough to feel her heartbeat.

“That’s too painful…”