Published: August 15, 2025
Scared? Why? It's like a fog has settled over my mind...
“Didn't I tell you earlier? The mountain of unfair experiences you've gone through has been etched into your soul. You certainly yearn to live peacefully with others in a community like a village. And you find joy in a peaceful daily life. That much is not wrong.
But you know that it's not as simple as just saying it. Reality isn't that kind. The happiness you have now is fragile — easily shattered by even the smallest reason. Humans have desires, fear things different from themselves, and exclude others.
So even though you deeply wish for 'sweet ideals,' you can't help but remain cautious, never forgetting reality. Even unconsciously, more than ordinary people. In a way, you could say it's 'abnormal' — like a beast hiding its breath in a world full of enemies... It's the two sides of the same coin.”
“...Then, what should I do?”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
For some reason, Seerelipta's eyes widened when he heard that.
Then, laughing softly, he stepped back and returned to the position before he was about to hug me.
“It's difficult, but my recommendation is to ‘be freer,’ I guess?”
Freer?
“Exactly. You should be honest with your feelings and desires. You want to be part of the crowd so much that you still hold back and don't fully unleash your power. Especially in combat ability. Using your familiar effectively to make a difference isn't bad, but in doing so, you're partly hiding your full strength from others. You understand why, right?”
“...”
“To be frank, your individual combat ability is extremely high, even from your previous life. If you gave your all, you would already be on par with an A-rank adventurer. With time and achievements, you could aim for an S-rank title. Considering your age, that's already abnormal strength.
Add the magical talents given by Gain and others. They're still weak now, but if you hone your skills, you'll be able to unleash powerful magic and, combining Earth's knowledge, develop more complex and potent spells. With your familiar's backup on top of that, you might be able to handle any situation.
And with great and excellent power, naturally, a corresponding noble personality, attitude, and cooperation with those around you are expected. If you refuse such behavior or attitude, you instantly become a dangerous person. Praise turns into a storm of criticism and insults.”
Putting the future aside for now, I could understand what he meant.
“But to be honest, I don't really care about that.”
“...Why?”
“Heh, didn't I tell you? Humans are part of nature. And nature is a world of survival of the fittest.
Humans built vast forces in nature through reproduction and intelligence. They formed unique values and rules to lead their increasing numbers and protect themselves from threats. As humans, living in human society, you must follow those rules or be excluded... but that's only within the framework of human society. For example, like how you lived in the forest for three years, once you step outside that framework, human rules don't apply.
This world is filled with magical beasts, and outside human living areas, there are many dangerous places. So there are still many undeveloped areas untouched by humans, and there are blank zones between countries that belong to neither side.
Find a place you want to live, make your own rules however you like, and live as you please. If your power isn't enough, you might be pursued by magical beasts or nations, but that's just survival of the fittest. You can run or fight.”
He added further.
“More so, I think living as you please even within human society is fine. For example, killing people who annoy or interfere with you. You'll be pursued as a criminal, but in the end, it's because you had the power, and they didn't have the means to protect themselves from you.”
Seerelipta said this so straightforwardly, as if it were natural.
His distinctive gentle tone from when I first met him was gone.