☀️ Arselia and Akonia

- Well, well! - The gang leader whistled in surprise. - On this career path, I've seen those who took up swords; those who willingly parted with their belongings, sometimes earned through backbreaking labor, and sometimes obtained through less noble means; those who agreed to pay with their bodies; those who unsuccessfully tried to run; but for a victim to try to appeal to the high ideals of their robbers and thereby touch the invisible strings of their souls? This is the first time I've witnessed such a sight!

- I've also encountered various kinds of robbers, and I'll tell you, separating true scumbags from people caught in difficult life situations isn't that hard. Anyone who can speak up deserves to be heard. And you can never say in advance - maybe that's exactly what will help them. In my experience, there have been the most incredible things you would never believe.

- Actually, robbing defenseless women has no less nobility than buying ready-made products at the market, especially meat. - Katsukoy Queensglory objected. - Take a chicken for example - try raising it first, then cutting off its head, plucking it, and cutting it into pieces. It's not that simple and is an order of magnitude harder than exchanging reams for something already made. As you rightly noted, we risk our lives here, which is more than can be said for ordinary townspeople. I, you know, am from Lauria - a land of wa...
- So! - Katsukoy Queensglory artificially coughed to return the attention of those present to himself. - I am from Lauria - a small land of warriors, where the military craft is the trade of many generations. But tell me, what is the point of this profession when there is no opportunity to apply it anywhere? Wars are decided by numbers, magic, and technology, but not by personal skill! What good is it that I can cleave an arrow flying at me in half if the next moment I am shot with pistols, turned into undead, hypnotized, or simply surrounded and stabbed with blades? Fighting mindless animals also holds little meaning, and the adventurer's guild, hmm, it seemed to me that the quests there are of the "fetch and carry" type, or is your experience different from mine and I am mistaken? At least in this path, I can meet worthy opponents and live outside the slave paradigm of modern man!

- Can you really cleave an arrow? Oooh!.. - Ayano clapped. - Then you are all the more wasting your talents. But allow me to ask, Queensglory-san, you surely come from a proud lineage, don't you? Even if not noble - that's not important at all - would your ancestors have nodded approvingly at something like this?.. I won't make assumptions, but still... it seems to me that few ancestors would wish such a thing for their descendants. For example, I don't know mine at all - my parents were destroyed by demons when I was at a very young age - and yet, in my heart I can feel them and understand what is right and what is shameful. So, in the adventurer's guild, the tasks vary, and depend on the region - of course, in a calmer region there will be fewer tasks, and they themselves will be simpler, while in a densely populated one you will find a great variety of them. Yes, not all of them will suit the profile of a skilled warrior, that's true. But all of them will be worthy of being completed. By completing a guild quest – you are not just doing something for money out of desperation, but helping a specific person with their unsolvable problem, entering their life – for otherwise they would not have brought the problem to public judgment. You make your personal contribution to the well-being of your society, and in return you will receive just such gratitude even beyond the contract. By building social connections and gaining weight in the society you live in, you will open up both new opportunities in life and new meanings for life itself – you will find something worth protecting with all your skills. Perhaps this is exactly what fate intended for you, but you haven't found it for yourself yet. And what does it mean that "fighting mindless animals is pointless"? You are mistaken to think so. Firstly, by doing this, you are doing an unconditional good for humanity. You might think the hunter's guild is an organization for hunting rabbits and squirrels? Oh-ho-ho, you are greatly mistaken. It is engaged in destroying monsters and their lairs. So, secondly – some monsters, let me note, can put up such a fight that you will need all your ancestral skills down to the last grain of experience to deal with them. Harpies? Yes, they exist too, but that's trivial. What about gigapede, for example? Monsters, you know, do not fight in the same style as humans – you must always be on your guard with them. What is familiar to you in a fight with a human: their specific range of movements, mindset, perceived morale – almost all of this is meaningless in a fight with a monster. That is where your skills will be tested from start to finish – and not by some mass-destruction gas that will turn you into undead before you even close for melee combat. Do not underestimate monsters or the hunter's guild, Queensglory-san.

- Now me! My turn! - Zhurtre Clairehunter stepped forward. - Like many here, I am from Risserlanger. My height is 171 centimeters, weight - 65 kilograms. I graduated school with a gold medal, and was also the best athlete in my class! Sprints, marathons, pull-ups, push-ups and so on - I was number one in everything! But then somehow it happened that I couldn't find a decent job, and girls stopped paying attention to me... That's when I met the boss, thanks to him I was able to live like a human being! To feel free! Needed! And I got to know female warmth! And the forest, well, if you get used to it, it's no worse here than in the city.

- I can understand where this comes from... - a sigh. - But this really is not a way out. Do you know what the fact that several girls rejected you says? Only that they were not right for you. You can always find someone better, and outside this forest there are an incredible number of them. Why did you state your height and weight so precisely?.. An ordinary person wouldn't be bothered by such things. Perhaps, some influence from your negative experience with those very girls, but if they based their refusals on something like that, then... they were simply fools, or rotten people who were trying to find some material pretext for refusal in order to make you blame yourself for it, rather than themselves for their own unwillingness. Such people are a minority, Clairehunter-san, that's no reason to give up trying entirely. Didn't find a decent job – what kind of job were you trying to find? Company director? You understand yourself, even with a gold medal, that's not something you can get with a snap of your fingers. And think about this: a job is not just a regalia to flaunt in front of other people or to do under duress for money. Yes, many of us live that way, and it doesn't make them happy. Think – what makes you happy? What was your dream as a child, what would you be able to do all day with interest? Surely not robbing random passersby? Living in the forest, you will never meet the girl of your dreams, with whom you would want not just to temporarily "experience warmth", but to start a family and continue the line – and this is the most important thing in life, nor will you find a decent job with which you would feel much more spiritually fulfilled.

Geondan Escape II sighed.
- I investigated a case involving a modeling agency that was supposedly involved in unsolved disappearances of young people. The first time, the boss demanded I drop the case, the second time he fired me, and the third time he threatened to find a reason to throw me in the dungeon. How can one live in a society where there is no justice? I envy those who can turn a blind eye to all this. At any rate, here everything is honest, albeit just a little barbaric.

Ayano struck her fist into her palm:
- Oooh! Are you by any chance talking about the Risserlanger agency "Let's Be Beautiful" or whatever it's called?.. - she exchanged glances with Sonata and the others. - If so, then fate itself has brought us together today! - taking out a temple notebook and twirling a cherry pencil between her fingers, she opened it to the right page. - I beg you, tell us everything you know about this case! You have no idea how useful information from someone of the guard will be for us. We intend to cut this tumor out of Risserlanger, and no red tape will stand in our way. We already have its former head in custody, and all the officials who might have condoned this will face a very unenviable fate, you can be sure. And you know what, Escape-2-san?.. Honest and just people like you are needed by the imperial law enforcement agencies like no one else. This is not local flattery – I truly believe so. Believe me, I myself have had to deal with... let's say... less than worthy representatives in these organizations, - she whispers to Sonata. - Listen... If we manage to get out of here with minimal losses, maybe we could reinstate him in his position or even promote him?.. Or am I just daydreaming and the ship has sailed? A man like this shouldn't be wasting away in this cursed forest. Why are people like him eating reindeer moss, while the Victor Llosses are cutting down peaceful folk? This is sheer madness.

- A masseur? - The dwarf, Ors Massage, was deep in thought. - I've never thought about that, but it sounds interesting.

- Yes, as an example. In our time, you know, people desperately need this service – with all our sedentary jobs and so on. And I haven't yet seen this niche filled anywhere I've been, except for one single place nominally not specializing in this and leaning more towards the spiritual aspect. So, possibly, I've just revealed a real gold mine to you, Massage-san.

- Hm?.. - Pipdorm Managerovich stared at the priestess in surprise. - It's as if you read my thoughts, ha-ha! The thing is, I worked as a residential complex manager until a certain time! But it so happened that from a certain point on, such businesses began to be shut down to provide all imperial citizens with their own housing, so I was left without my favorite job.

- I see... - Ayano nodded. - Yes, I heard something like that on the news. But listen, Managerovich-san, not everything should be limited to dragonblocks. If you were really very successful working in this field, then with your experience, you could become a hotel manager, a ryokan manager, a dormitory manager, or anything. Don't think that you've "lost your favorite job," even if that's factually the case. It's better to consider the idea that your favorite job has evolved into a new quality, which will both develop you further in this same field and bring you new interesting experiences. Do you understand what I mean? Life doesn't end after being fired. And while staying here in the forest, you clearly won't be able to regain even a microgram of the previous life you loved so much.

- I tried! - Exclaimed Tomsak Ordermade, who had been silent until then. - I loved Arselia more than anyone, but I was not allowed to become her servant! They said I must first find harmony within myself!.. So I decided that I would use my magical talent for the benefit of those who need it... And these fine gentlemen are wonderful people to whom I am ready to offer my humble assistance and open their eyes to the splendor of Arselia.

- You know... I'm not surprised they said that. I've also had not very good experiences with them, albeit mostly not explicitly negative. Church officials can be very tough nuts to crack... But allow me to ask, do you sincerely believe that Arselia would approve of her prodigal son indulging in all kinds of debauchery like a default bandit? Of course, we cannot presumptuously put words in her mouth and pretend that's how it should be, but think for yourself with your heart – would Arselia, in your place, be engaged in something like this? If I have any right to imagine what she would think of this, it seems to me that her heart would bleed from the injustice. From what I've managed to understand about church officials – it all depends on the specific person. Even if a particular clergyman in Risserlanger, or wherever else you applied, refused you, that doesn't mean another will refuse you as well. However! That also doesn't mean that their words should be completely ignored by you. Look, Ordermade-san... You were refused and you perceived it as an absolute and unconditional refusal. But did you make a real effort to understand why it was given to you? Perhaps they considered your love for Arselia excessive – that's quite possible if the person you're talking to doesn't share your same degree of zeal. No one here dares to diminish the extent of your love for her – that goes without saying. However, think for yourself, ultimately, does your method of embodying your love for her benefit her? Here's what I mean – imagine that you yourself are the object of love for some woman. And imagine that this woman starts going everywhere and proclaiming at the top of her lungs that you are the most admirable person in the whole world. For a while, you might feel gratitude or another pleasant sensation from this recognition, however, after some time, you will catch yourself noticing that the people around you look at her with disapproval, because she so peremptorily intrudes into their lives and disrupts them; and you yourself will feel awkward because she utters your name. Do you understand what I mean? Bright love is a wonderful feeling, one of the highest; but everything is good in moderation. By taking medicine beyond measure, you will harm your own body, and perhaps the same applies to your situation. Have you considered that option? True love – it is within you, and you have no need to bring it to public judgment, that's what I'm saying. Quite the contrary – quiet love can nourish the heart of its object and other involved people much more fully than love vulgarized by open proclamation.