Chapter 202: The God of Waters and Fishing I (2/2)
“It’s good that you understand that much.” [Sereriputa]
“This much isn’t really anything to speak of, though… Isn’t it common sense for anyone to beco wary when acquiring sothing related to a great deal of wealth? In my past life too, people who won big at the lottery would also receive a warning from the bank.” [Ryouma]
“Pu, ahaha!” [Sererpitua]
Sere suddenly raised his voice and laughed at . …Did I say sothing weird?
“Sorry, sorry. It’s just that… Are you really not self-aware? Or are you just playing the fool?” [Sereriputa]
“? Can you explain it in a way that’s easier to understand?” [Ryouma]
“Ahh, right. Let’s see… First of all, you said it was a ‘given’ to know that much, but it’s actually surprisingly hard to act properly in spite of that.
For example, in human society it’s a ‘given’ that one should greet soone when you et them. It’s a ‘given’ to respect older people, right?
But there are actually a lot people who can’t do that ‘given’ thing and because of that people get mad at them, right?” [Sereriputa]
“…Right. I got told that a lot at my company too. I rember telling a kouhai of mine too.” [Ryouma]
“That’s right. It may be important, but people have a surprising inclination to be negligent in such obvious things. Even that lottery you were talking about earlier. The reason why the bank warns people is because a lot of people failed after winning the lottery, right? Well, people who fail even after being warned are bound to fail anyway.” [Sereriputa]
That’s true, but I still don’t get it.
Weren’t we originally talking about believing in the survival of the fittest?
“That’s not really the point. The main point is wariness. When you realized that you could get a lot of money out of sothing, the first thing that ca to your mind was to be wary of other people. Such wariness is crucial in a dog-eat-dog world. Living creatures without wariness can’t survive in the wild. They’ll be killed imdiately.
Moreover, you hired two forr assassins in your store, right? You noticed it before hiring them, right? They were hiding so weapons, so you thought sothing was off… The reason why doesn’t matter. The act of hiding that in such a way that others don’t notice is an indispensable skill to assassins. If a common person could easily see through them, then they would be nothing but a third-rate assassin. Are those two employees of yours that incompetent? The answer is no. In other words, that’s just how wary you are of other people.” [Sereriputa]
…
“The law of the jungle – that is the natural world. There may be people who believe that beasts don’t concern them, but as far as I’m concerned, humans are no different from beasts. They live in the sa world, after all. They just do things differently.
For example…” [Sereriputa]
That last thing he muttered seed frightfuly loud.
“You build and learn various things, right? Why?” [Sereriputa]
“!” [Ryouma]
Another unrelated question.
But for so reason, my heart jumped when he asked it.
“Because I have experience working various jobs… And I’m the sort of person who would look up sothing whenever I beco curious about it. There’s sothing really convenient called ‘internet’ back in my previous world, after all.” [Ryouma]
“So in other words, you jumped from one job to another.” [Sereriputa]
“The way you word it is a bit misleading, but yeah.” [Ryouma]
“Every ti you changed jobs, you had to resign from your old job, right?” [Sereriputa]
“That’s right.” [Ryouma]
I wonder why. He’s just asking so obvious questions. But for so reason I’m feeling anxious or restless. There are emotions swirling within that I can’t put into words.
“You resigned from a lot of jobs. If I asked you why, I’m sure you have a lot of reasons to give. So I’ll just ask you this. Did you leave all of those companies on good terms?” [Sereriputa]
“That’s…” [Ryouma]
An emotion I can’t understand began to grow within .
“There’s no way. After all, from what I’ve heard, humans need a good reason to resign from their work.” [Sereriputa]
It’s true that I didn’t leave all of them on good terms.
“A lot happened.” [Ryouma]
One ti your relationship with a coworker and a boss turned sour and you were driven away.
One ti you were charged with sothing you didn’t recall doing.
One ti you were vilified for so reason you didn’t know.
One ti you had to leave because it was convenient for your employer.
One ti the company went bankrupt.
One ti—
Every ti his voice resounded, images from my past would flash through my mind.
It felt disgusting. It was as if I was being washed away by a muddy stream.
“U…!” [Ryouma]
“Sorry. Looks like I made you rember a lot of painful things.” [Sereriputa]
As I endured that disgusting feeling, before I knew it, Sereriputa-sama was right in front of and was hugging . He whispered by my ears like soone comforting a child.
“But that is a part of you. Even if you’re strong physically, societally speaking, you are a weak human. And the things that you’ve experienced have undoubtedly been carved into your soul.
How many years has it been since you ca to this world? You spent three years in the forest, so this should be your fourth. Just 4 years. The things you experienced aren’t sothing you can forget by living comfortably for 4 years.”
Strangely enough, his voice this ti soothed .
“How long do you think it would take to heal a human’s heart that has fallen sick? It varies depending on the person and the sickness, but there are people that never recover. If you think a heart can be healed after resting for just 3 years, you’re underestimating it. Even if the patient is none other than yourself… You need to treasure yourself more.
You were planning on spending this past four years in this world living as fun as you could to forget all of your worries, right? I get where you’re coming from. It’s also true that you’re having more fun compared to your previous life, but… That’s just you ignoring the problem. All it takes is for soone to poke you a little, and it will all co bursting forth.
I an in the first place, even minor things can trigger your mories. It’s happened in your everyday life here, right?” [Sereriputa]
So that unpleasant feeling from before was rembering my past life? Sothing is weird, but… It feels comfortable…
“…Actually, you know all of this already. Why don’t you try to rember it? What was the first thing you asked Gayn and the others? ’I want to live away from people.’ ‘I want to live freely in the wild.’ The one who asked for that was none other than ‘yourself’.” [Sereriputa]
“That’s—” [Ryouma]
…That’s true. There’s no doubt about it.
“That was the answer. You should have just lived away from people like that. If you did, then you would have beco free in the truest sense, but Gayn and the others just had do a half-assed job picking out the location. Because of that you ended up back in human society before your heart could be healed.
“! Wait!?” [Ryouma]
“…Yes. Oh, but don’t get wrong, the duke’s family don’t an you bad. They just wanted to take care of a strange child they had no relation with. A human’s virtue. I know that.
But, in the end, you left them.” [Sereriputa]
“!!” [Ryouma]
That unpleasant feeling is coming back. Stronger and heavier than before… I want to refute his words, but the words won’t co out. This isn’t a conversation at all. But even then, he just keeps continuing.
“You refuse to make friends too. You et people in your travels and get along with them, but the only ones always with you are your familiars. Even though there are so many people who want to be your friend after seeing how strong you are. Even though you could just talk with adventurers that you’ve already been acquainted with.
Even though you have a store now, you use training as an excuse to leave.
…You don’t seem to realize it yourself, so allow to enlighten you.” [Sereriputa]
‘The truth is you want to be with others more than anything else, but you’re afraid of getting too close.’
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