“Damn it…”
He cursed to himself.
He had never felt like this before. Or perhaps, he had been in denial.
When going to help the village, the idea had entered his mind.
I will be pardoned now…
So his actions were a desperate attempt to erase the sin he had committed.
“Hey!”
“Ah?!”
He raised his head in surprise. The guard from earlier was back, as well as the robed tactician.
As the guard left, the tactician sat down on a chair and faced him.
“You seem to be suffering.”
“What would you know about that?”
“I know about the family you couldn’t protect.”
Poro felt a tightness in his throat. He thought of cursing the tactician. Instead, he just looked down and groaned.
“I…was a coward… My wife and son were begging me to help them! And yet…I couldn’t return… No, I didn’t return!”
He tore at his hair and dug his nails into his scalp.
“And what did such trash do in the Hero’s army?! He saved someone else, as if it erased his previous horrible actions!”
The joy of leveling up, and the idea of saving people with the Hero.
But in the shadows lurked his true intentions.
“I am just…the lowest scum in the world!”
“No. I do not agree.”
Poro looked up, dumbfounded. The tactician did not have his usual smile.
“I don’t want to hear cheap words of comfort.”
“I think what you did was commendable.”
“Stop it! It wasn’t my intention…”
“Are you saying that you should have left that family to die then?”
Poro paused and listened to the tactician’s words.
“Regardless of how you felt, they survived because of you. And so they will be alive tomorrow.”
Tomorrow.
The word was like a salve on Poro’s wounds.
“Though you curse yourself for being a coward, you still saved two lives.”
“Ah…ah…”
Poro pressed his head against the bars and wept silently.
“You can still make up for your sins. Of course, I do not think you have actually sinned.”
“But…but I…”
“In the end, it is the monsters and Demon King who are at fault. They are the real reasons that your family and you have suffered.”
Vengras extended his hand through the bars and placed it on Poro’s head.
“You are not to blame. Our god, Lord Furukamuto, shall wipe away all of your sins.”
“Oh…oh…”
He groaned as he felt something warm enter his chest and lift the burden that had been stuck there.
Poro didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he raised his head again, he felt as if he had been cleansed.
The tactician smiled at him.
“Now, Mr. Poro. I have a suggestion for you.”
“Ah suggestion?”
“A special unit will be formed soon. And I am thinking about putting you in it.”
The tactician explained as Poro looked confused.
“After the precious battle, we know how powerful that demon general is. Too powerful for our soldiers. And so we are putting together a Giant Slayer unit.”
“Giant…slayer…”
“A small unit of elites. They work directly under the Hero, and are among his strongest soldiers.”
It sounded so ridiculous. Why would Poro join such a group?
“Why…would you choose me…instead of some nobleman…a seasoned warrior…”
“Because you swore to kill the Demon King. With blessings, anyone can become more powerful. But spirit…that is a different matter.”
Kill the Demon King.
Yes, he had sworn that.
To slay the monster king who had killed his wife and child and brought so much suffering.
“Use your spirit to aid our Hero.”
The answer was obvious.
Within the dark cell where even the starlight did not reach, Poro nodded silently.