CH 56

Chapter 56 – Glasses boy is banished from the village

Should leave the village.

I thought about the meaning of those words for a while, but I could only think of one conclusion from it, “Huh? You mean I’m banished?” I asked.

It was quite unexpected to hear this from the old man.

But he nodded, “Temporarily though.” and added this incredibly important word. What’s up with that? Say this kind of important thing first.

I mean, it would just be too weird to be kicked out now, like, why would I have even come to this assassin village then?

So far, I have yet to learn anything. We were just preparing the foundations to get our daily life here established, and I was just planning on getting started on learning proper assassin skills.

“A lot of unexpected things happened, and most of them were related to you, so I decided to temporarily push you away.” The old man explained.

Unexpected things?

“I have good reasons for it. Listen to me first, then I’ll answer your questions.” The old man told me, stopping me before I asked anything. He emphasized that this banishment had a good reason behind it.

He then started explaining things to me.

First of all, the long carriage trip. Apparently, it is set up in a way that will cause the students to get along very badly. Each student should not feel like cooperating at all, so they’d try learning how to survive on their own.

And so, once they arrived at the village, they’d already know which wild herbs can be eaten, and they’d immediately start thinking about how to catch prey.

We were told that we could do whatever we wanted in the village, but the first thing was naturally decided in advance.

No matter what we do, hunger would definitely come to us. If we don’t eat, we can’t live, so that would be the first priority.

So, the first goal of the village was to teach the students how to live a self-sufficient life.

However, this year, thanks to Cherry using recovery magic on us, and me easily obtaining food, we were able to maintain a decent relationship during the carriage trip.

But that was not all, the problem only grew from there.

In particular, I seem to be the problem, because I’m responsible for obtaining food, so the other students won’t learn how to take care of themselves. If they don’t even try learning it, then they will never learn it.

“I suppose there is a difference between not doing something because you don’t want to and because you can’t…” I muttered.

Even if we had exchange conditions for the meat, it didn’t change the fact the meat was being given to people who couldn’t obtain it in the first place.

Now that I think about it, lending them food might have actually been a bad idea, even if they would have to pay me back for it later…

Even if we don’t take the village’s educational policy into account, them being unable to live without me would definitely be trouble.

I think Chace might be able to obtain food for himself, but Cherry and Florentine probably can’t.

It’s not like we’re going to be together forever, and I’m definitely going to prioritize myself doing those assassin studies. It’s not bad for us to rely on one another, but this shouldn’t become excessive.

Even if things are fine to me now, it won’t be good for them in the long run.

“Also, you already hunted a monster in the mountain. It’s too early. It would be very troublesome for other students to try imitating you and enter the mountain’s forest.” The old man told me.

I was keenly aware of that myself though, which was why I refrained from hunting in the mountains again. That mountain is too dangerous.

“And the most important issue, is that you are stopping others from thinking. You’re talking too much. Encouraging growth too much.” The old man told me.

Ah… This was about the thing with Chace? Is it something he should have learned on his own…?

I guess the old man wanted Chace to climb the stairs of growth by himself, because my interference forced Chace to climb them ahead of time.

I can understand that much. If you think for yourself, notice your strengths and weaknesses, then draw your own conclusions, you’ll naturally grow. That’s the best way to learn.

However… “We can only stay here for a year though? Since we only have this limited amount of time available, don’t you think it’s a waste to spend our precious time doing trial and error?” I asked.

Our time is limited, so we should hurry and grow as much as possible now.

“If someone stops growing, then a person from the village will contact said person and encourage them. That’s also a part of the role of this village. Until that point is reached, we let people progress on their own.” The old man replied.

I see. So, if Chace kept on going with his unreasonable training for a while, then someone from the village would intervene?

In that case, I guess me speaking up might not have been that great.

“At this rate, the other students will end up relying on you for the rest of the year. Even if we tried stirring up discord now, it wouldn’t solve the problem, and would only drain the spirits of all four of you.

“Therefore, you should leave the village. Cut ties with the others and wait until they have grown up a bit more.” The old man told me.

I understood his point. It was true that I might be hindering their growth, and maybe they’re hindering my growth too.

It’s probably due to a difference in experience. I had already been working as a hunter for a while before coming here, while the other three are still amateurs.

Due to that, our paces are different, and there is a lack of balance between us.

The only ways to solve the problem while I stayed here, would be to either have me hold back, or force them to speed up their growth.

“You should visit the assassin’s guild of a different town. They’ll introduce you to someone who will be your mentor.

“Right now, there is nothing that you can learn at this village. Train at a different place.” The old man told me.

That seems to be the conclusion that the old man reached. Let both me and the other three grow at our own paces.

To do that, I need to be isolated and learn in a different place for a while.

In the meantime, Chace, Cherry and Florentine will gain experience in supporting themselves.

Once both sides have made enough progress, we’ll reunite.

And thus, my banishment was decided.

******

For some reason, I spent my last night in the village with the cat… Well, with the Sand Warg.

Then, in the next day, “My family got in touch with me. It’s an emergency, so I’ll have to meet up with them for a while.” I told this, during breakfast, to Chace, Florentine and Cherry.