Persuasion
Lampon Pashtra, having regained her senses and pulled herself together, glared at me with eyes swirling with suspicion and vigilance.
"Just who on earth are you?"
"Didn't you hear me earlier?"
"Not that! How did you know about the staff? And how did you know about the village chief's crimes?!"
"Like I said, didn't you hear? Prophet, divine avatar... maybe something like that? Or maybe not."
"How can you be so irresponsible...!"
She gaped at me in sheer dumbfoundment before gradually managing to regain her composure.
"...What's your objective?"
"My objective, huh... Well, now. To grant enlightenment to a pitiful fool like you, perhaps?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means I don't really have a specific goal. Personally, I wouldn't mind having you, but... I've got no intention of forcing it. So in the end, I just saved you in passing. Leaving you there felt a bit uncomfortable, you know?"
"...You saved me? Me?"
"Yeah. You."
Looking into her blank, airheaded expression, I smirked. After gulping down a mouthful of booze, I leaned in close.
"Because you were pitiful. That village was deceiving you. You were being exploited, plundered, and used."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Even when told the plain truth, she flew into a rage. I simply nodded.
I had expected this exact reaction. In the game, she gave players high blood pressure in the exact same way.
Psychological domination, brainwashing, conditioning, mind control—she hadn't been subjected to anything of the sort. How could common, backwater bumpkins ever pull off something like that to begin with? Especially against someone vastly stronger than them.
In other words, Lampon Pashtra was simply an idiot—blindly optimistic enough to take everything at face value.
"The villagers were all wonderful people! Sure, the men leered at my body whenever they had the chance, and the women gossiped behind my back and froze me out, and everyone conspired to take the monster materials I harvested and the bandit bounties I earned, and they saddled me with trumped-up debts to mortgage my home and my parents' keepsakes, but even so, they cared for me! They worried about me!"
"......"
I blinked at her in utter disbelief.
Perhaps... she wasn't just ordinary stupid.
"Hah... I didn't realize it was this bad."
I wasn't the only one stunned. The other women listening in—even Vivian, whose head was usually filled with flowers—hung their jaws open, staring at her in disbelief.
"You're dumber than I imagined. I desperately want to believe you're just playing dumb... because communicating with you is practically impossible right now."
"What did you say?! Who are you calling dumb! And usually, the person who calls someone a fool is the actual fool!"
Her screeching reply was so infuriatingly dense that something boiled up from the depths of my chest. But the moment my gaze dipped down to her colossal, quivering chest and the generous hips spilling out over the sides of her seat, all that annoyance evaporated into thin air.
...This really is a bizarre sensation. My emotional swings were so extreme I felt manic-depressive. What is it about these clumps of fat that drive a man into such endless turmoil...?
"...Whatever. It's fine. I didn't plan on persuading you from the start anyway."
"What!?"
"Regardless, you'll have no choice but to follow me. Right?"
I waved the staff lightly, offering a taunting grin.
"G-Give that back right now!"
She lunged with a furious glare, but her hands were forcibly halted before she could even get close.
"Ngh...!?"
"Be still."
"I don't know the exact situation, but I'd prefer if you stayed quiet."
Pinned beneath the razor-sharp intimidation radiating from Muriel and Rebecca, Lampon Pashtra gritted her teeth in helpless frustration.
"...Ugh! I-If it's come to this! I'll have to unleash my secret technique!"
"Muriel. Rebecca. Subdue her with everything you've got."
Before my command even finished leaving my mouth, the two women moved. They pinned the resolute Lampon Pashtra to the floor, twisted her arms behind her back, and flooded her body with mana.
"Kyaaah!? Ah, aah...!"
"Berserk... no, Sacrifice? You startled me. Going straight for burning your own life force—you really are an idiot, aren't you?"
"Wh-what... H-How do you know that technique...!?"
Even completely pinned, her eyes burned with combative defiance.
"......"
Barbarian blood, through and through. Her resistance was fiercer than expected.
I pondered for a moment, then sighed, finally realizing the necessity of talking her down. Nothing would be more annoying than her trying to self-detonate every single day of the journey.
"What a colossal pain in the ass... Fine, whatever. It's not like it's hard..."
I took a swig of booze, drew deeply from my cigarette, and let out a long stream of smoke before lowering my voice to a profound, weighty timbre.
"Answer me! Just how on earth...!"
"I wonder. How did I know? Could it be because I was an acquaintance of your father, who was slain by monsters and is no longer of this world? Or perhaps a friend of your mother, who died giving birth to you? What do you think?"
"...!?"
It seemed even an idiot could realize something was eerie at this point. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped in utter shock. Borrowing the liquid courage of the alcohol, I offered her an enigmatic smirk.
"I know you, Lampon Pashtra."
"What are you..."
"'Grow straight and strong.'"
"...!!"
"Ah! It seems even a fool remembers her father's dying words! Your father, Rampon Vanmoor—a massive, dependable man who carried the blood of barbarians—would be overjoyed to hear that!"
"J-Just who... are you...!?"
Ignoring her bewildered gaze, I took another heavy swig from my bottle.
"Pheeew... It's all right. You've endured enough."
"...Excuse me?"
"I know the gloom and dark thoughts you harbor, and the doubts you could never quite shake. I know you cursed the nightmares that woke you at the crack of dawn, chewed on bitter, piercing loneliness, and bore the malice and greed of the villagers who harassed and ostracized you. I know you fought life-or-death struggles again and again, yet still wished only to live uprightly, to live properly, and to prove your roots were not a lie."
"H-How... How could you..."
Struck right where her deepest vulnerabilities lay, her eyes trembled violently, and the words caught in her throat.
"Your efforts were not in vain. The convictions you fought so desperately to protect, the justice you held in your heart, and the goodness you constantly agonized over—they have value. I acknowledge them."
Fear, terror, sorrow, then joy and rapture flitted across her face in rapid succession.
She really had an expressive face. When it came to sheer innocence and naivety, she could give Vivian a run for her money.
"Yes. Deep down, you knew you were weak and foolish. You looked away because you didn't want to admit it, but you sensed instinctively that you couldn't withstand the storms of the world. That was why you locked yourself away in that tiny village. In your heart and mind, you always treasured the great adventures of your ancestors that your father spoke of, yet you could never take a single step into the wider world for that very reason."
"......"
"Am I wrong?"
She flinched at the abrupt question, her lips parting and closing several times before she forced a voice from her throat.
"...Y-You're right. I... I was terrified. In such a tiny, insignificant village, it was already so painful and exhausting... I didn't know what would become of me in the wider world... I thought I'd be swept away in an instant and taste hellish agony..."
Meeting her trembling confession, the corners of my mouth curled upward.
"Haha! Excellent! That alone proves it! It proves your wisdom! The goodness you carry! Your justice! Your conviction!"
"...Ah."
"Yet at the same time, it proves your foolishness and inadequacy!"
"Ehh?"
"If you had been just a little wiser! Just a little shrewder! Just a little more worldly... you undoubtedly would have taken that step! You would have abandoned that wretched, filthy village long ago!"
"......"
"Yet that does not make you wrong. It is not a sin. How could ignorance ever be a crime? Lampon Pashtra. You possess potential. Just like the legendary journeys of your ancestors your father spoke of, you too can embark on countless adventures."
"Th-That's... There's no way... N-No... I..."
As she faltered in total confusion, unable to string a coherent sentence together, I reached out and gently tapped her on the head.
"So, I will guide you instead."
"...What did you say?"
"Who could turn a blind eye to a dazzling star shining in a trash heap? Who wouldn't feel sorrow watching a flower that bloomed through filth be trampled and soiled? I feel the same. Though this is neither goodwill nor righteous justice, out of sheer pity, I shall show you the world you never knew, the world you yearned for. If you couldn't step forward because you knew your own foolishness, if you couldn't step forward because you knew your own weakness, if you simply lacked courage—then I, who know your wisdom and strength, will pull you forward myself, even if by force."
"R-Really...?"
"Yes. In the end, you will see and hear with your own eyes and ears. You will confirm that the countless feats of your ancestors were not lies, that the world is vast and deep, that dreadful evils exist, and that there are people who rise up to defeat them."
"...Ngh."
With a choked whimper, tears began welling up like pearls before spilling down her cheeks.
"Really... Truly...? Is it the truth...? You're not tricking me, right...?"
"What would I gain by tricking you?"
Smirking, I tilted my chin. Muriel and Rebecca released their hold and stepped back.
"Sniff... hic... I-I... Besides my father, this is the first time... Anyone has ever... offered to guide me... Hic! Telling me you believe in me, acknowledging me, calling me wise, telling me I have value... Uwaah! Other than my father... you're the first one...!!"
As she burst into full-blown wailing, I waved my hand dismissively and took another swig of liquor.
"Whoa..."
"...Remarkable."
Arpe and Nemeth, who had never witnessed my silver-tongued clown act before, let out murmurs of awe with utterly indescribable expressions.
"......"
I usually relied on alcohol to pull off this sort of nonsense, but that didn't mean I wasn't embarrassed. Still, letting it show would only make things weirder, so I put on an iron-clad poker face and ignored their stares.
It took a considerable amount of time for Lampon Pashtra to calm down.
The task of consoling and soothing Lampon Pashtra was eagerly taken up by the younger girls in our party.
"Are you okay now?"
"Snort! Y-Yeah..."
"Would you like some chocolate?"
"I'd love some... Thank you..."
"I'll cast some holy magic on you."
"Oh, wow... My body feels so light. You're amazing, aren't you...?"
"Ahaha..."
As she exchanged quiet words with the kids, she kept sneaking glances in my direction. When I gave her a small nod, her face flushed bright red, and she hastily looked away.
"...Lord Alzen. You've acquired yet another woman."
"Hm? Not quite yet. Pashtra is a woman with a strong adventurous spirit. Once her fire is lit, she isn't the type to stay still in one place."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
When I beckoned to the bashfully smiling Lampon Pashtra, she startled and froze stiff.
"Come here, Lampon Pashtra. I'll show you how to use your family heirloom."
"Y-Yes! Ah, pardon? Uh, yes!"
It was frankly astounding how someone could prove a complete lack of thought in a single reply. Then again, I suppose that was part of her charm.
Chuckling, I passed the staff to Muriel.
"This is a staff, but it's also a sword. And a map. However, it doesn't respond to ordinary mana."
"Uh, th-that's right... I tried channeling not just mana, but aura into it as well, and nothing happened... I thought my father had lied to me..."
"No, your father spoke only the truth. Muriel. Channel an Aura Blade into it. Keep it weak, not strong. We wouldn't want to wreck the carriage."
"Understood."
Kzzzt!
Taking a short breath, Muriel infused her Aura Blade into the weapon. The staff gave a violent shudder and began to glow brightly.
The light crept up the length of the staff as if alive, pooling at the blunt end and undulating with intensifying radiance.
Fwaaash!
Immediately after, a long beam of light shot forth, pointing in a specific direction.
"Let's head that way."
"Yes, my lord."
Nemeth steered the golem horses, and the carriage banked smoothly, surging forward along the trailing beam of light.