The World Tree's Shade
The world is full of things that are just... bothersome.
"Yeah, you're right," Lois replied calmly, his voice soft and measured as always.
"I didn't know that."
"Because you've always been in a position where you never had to worry about bothersome things."
"Oh."
I walked alongside Lois, staring blankly at the sky.
My vision was only half a circle, yet I could still understand the vast openness above. The sky seemed to stretch endlessly, as if it might accept anything I threw at it.
Until now, the world had been black and white to me—good and evil.
I swung my sword for the righteous, punished the wicked, and found no logic in it. Even when I spared someone based on the weight of their sin, I still believed that sin dragged down the value of existence. The heavier the sin, the more it stripped life of its worth.
But the world wasn't so simple. There was far too much gray.
For instance, the people in the slums survive by stealing today. They commit serious crimes often. Living in a place with no laws is exactly what that means.
Aside from that, every person I had met wasn't evil.
Committing a sin.
Being a villain.
Those two things weren't the same anymore. I had started to feel that separation recently.
I used to misunderstand the old saying—"hate the sin, but not the sinner"—and simply accepted it as an old proverb. Now I understood what it truly meant.
I hated both the sin and the person who committed it. I never forgave them.
Perhaps for some people, that wasn't wrong. The very idea of standing against evil might not have been wrong either.
Protecting people should never be wrong.
But.
Just because someone sinned didn't mean they stopped being human. They still deserved punishment.
Determining the exact weight of that sin had become increasingly complicated.
Adding a person's heart and circumstances to the scale of sin wasn't easy at all.
"It's complicated."
"It really is."
"Then how do you even live?"
"I don't live that hard. I mostly just don't care."
"Really?"
"Libia, people aren't as sensitive to good and evil as you think."
"Oh."
"What matters to me is whether it harms me, right?"
"...So if it harms me, I choose evil?"
"No."
Lois gave a small smile.
"More precisely, I can choose evil as well. Even if it means my own harm... even if it's my life. There are people who would still choose not to, even then. And it's not just heroes. It can exist among ordinary people too."
"..."
I recalled the scenes from East Port.
Everyone fought for their lives, burning their last breath for the weak.
They never gave up simply because they were weak. Those people were more like heroes than the Hero himself. It had left a deep impression on me.
At first I thought it was just duty—people dying to protect others. But there was no question, no doubt.
It shone so beautifully that it completely rewrote the meaning of heroism inside me.
The meaning that had been betrayed and slowly reshaped by Lois.
"Believing in people is tragic. It hurts my heart."
"Tragedy exists everywhere. There are tragedies from not trusting people, bad things that happen after doing good, and good things that happen after doing evil."
"So there are exceptions everywhere?"
"Yes, but choosing evil for the sake of those small exceptions doesn't make sense. If someone truly wanted those exceptions, they wouldn't have committed the act in the first place."
"That's true."
"Libia."
"Hm?"
Lois gazed at me quietly.
As always, his blue eyes seemed bottomless, like the ocean itself. Even with my half-closed eyes, they were so deep that I felt my mind drifting every time I looked.
"If believing in people leads to betrayal, then would you stop believing in people?"
"No, Lois said it yourself. Tragedies can happen even without trusting. Of course, if he asked if I wanted to be betrayed or to be used, then no. But that's not what he meant."
"Yes."
"Somehow, that makes more sense."
"...Really?"
"I think I just confirmed something. Right now."
"Well, you just confirmed once more that I'm an idiot."
"Yeah?"
I'm somewhat of an idiot, yes. It felt a little embarrassing to admit, but it was true. And like I said earlier, situations like this—heroes, saviors—aren't something an idiot could handle.
But still.
Because I was insensitive to human malice, I ended up betrayed and in this state. But if given another chance, what would people choose?
Would they cheer me on in a crisis, or abandon me?
It troubled me a little.
I would never abandon this path even after betrayal. Maybe it was because the meaning of the Hero was already too deeply embedded inside me.
But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Nor did it mean it didn't hurt at all.
Just as a wound stings, the feeling of my heart being pierced by a sword wouldn't be painless either.
"I hope things turn out well."
"..."
"Why can't everyone just get along?"
"...If everyone just got along, there would be no Hero work to do. We'd just be unemployed."
"No world that beautiful where heroes have nothing to do. If people could simply become that, it would be the most applauded thing in the world."
"..."
"Why? Did I say something wrong again?"
"No. I just thought it was good."
"Really?"
"Anyway, we'll arrive at the village soon. Speaking of which, if the First Hero is currently taking the role of the Hero of Monsters, we might have to fight him depending on the situation."
"...The First Hero."
The First Hero.
Mikhail Reinhardt.
A relative of mine and a distant senior as a Hero.
He was said to have fought the Demon King to the death and saved the world. But in reality, he had lost to the Demon King and been betrayed, just like me.
In terms of talent and strength, there was no doubt. He reached the Demon King's Castle in an even worse environment and defeated the Demon King.
Moreover, he had accepted the power of the Evil God. For me right now, defeating him would be difficult.
"It must be uncomfortable, considering he's your ancestor and senior."
"No, not that much. I haven't even met him yet. ...But I do wonder what he's thinking right now."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Has he already become a monster driven only by blood and revenge? Or is he still a human with human suffering, but still unable to stop?"
The two looked almost the same, but they were completely different things.
The first would be dealt with as a monster.
The second would be dealt with as a human.
Looking at the result, it would be the same. It wouldn't carry such heavy meaning. But... at least for me, it did.
"Libia, which side would you prefer?"
"Either way, it's saddening. That path might have been one I walked too."
"..."
Well, unlike that time, Alex had received the power of the Evil God, so maybe I wouldn't have become a monster. But the possibility was high that I would have lost all sense of the value of human life and rampaged like a wild animal.
Suicide. Rampage.
At that time, those were the only choices. But the moment rain fell, Lois gave me one choice, and that single choice allowed me to choose from countless others.
It was insufficient to thank him enough.
"If Mikhail had someone like Lois, he might not have walked that path."
In utter darkness, light was easier to see.
But sadly, Mikhail was never given even that thin line of light. What he saw was a black light that led him deeper into the darkness from the darkness itself.
Following that unseen light, Mikhail walked the path of corruption.
It was truly saddening. But that didn't change what I had to do now.
I had walked a path that no human should walk for far too long.
Then its end... at least for me.
"If I hadn't been there, you might have walked the right path properly."
"...That's meaningless, Lois."
"Why?"
"Because you were there."
I smiled as I said it.
Lois looked slightly surprised.
"Assuming there was no one there is meaningless. So you should take a little credit. You are the one who saved me in name and reality. Or more positively, by saving me, you saved many things too. That's exactly what a Hero is."
"You're exaggerating."
"Exaggerating? If the people I save in the future are all said to have been saved by Lois, I don't mind."
"No, that's way too much. It even makes me feel burdened."
"Lois doesn't want to become a Hero, huh? He doesn't like being famous?"
"I don't have the vessel for that fame."
"Even though you've already contracted with the Spirit of the World Tree."
"You're surprisingly modest about your own pride."
"I don't want to hear that from you."
"Aren't we similar? We should meet people like us, don't you think?"
"W-Wait! Don't try to tie me into some fateful something every time I breathe!"
"It's good. I'm not as romantic as Lilith, but I do want that kind of romantic feeling. Romantic, I guess. I don't dislike the racing heart."
Of course, I don't mean huge things. Atmosphere, right? Atmosphere.
Should I say I want that atmosphere?
It's complicated.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"..."
"..."
I stared blankly at Lois. Lois walked along as if nothing were happening.
Eh?
Eh?
What?
What did he just say?
"W-Wait! Lois! What did you just say!?"
"The village is in sight. We arrived sooner than I thought."
"Keeping it in mind means you plan to do it, right? I... I care about heart and atmosphere more than money or glory...! Lois! L-Let's go together!"