Chapter 223: Schiltach [1]

"Say, Zero... If there was someone you knew... Someone you wanted to believe was a friend but did a lot of bad things... What would you do?"

Even though her words were a bit jumbled up, it wasn't hard for me to understand what she was getting at. Still...

She had asked quite a hard question for me to answer, as both sides of me would inevitably carry different answers. No matter what, though, I didn't want to give her an answer I couldn't stand behind. She deserved at least that much from me.

Inspecting the giant woman, who now looked smaller than ever, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to give her an answer. Because I didn't think I could give her an answer that she would want to hear.

Slowly, I began to vocalize my slightly incoherent thoughts, making sure I didn't go too far.

"Hmm... If I wanted to be friends with someone who did bad things? I'm assuming that you don't actually believe them to be a bad person then? Because if you did, you wouldn't want to be friends with them."

Yes, I know. This was absolutely a question that was more for my own sake than hers, but I couldn't help but want an answer to it.

Flinching a bit, surprised to hear my rebuttal, it took a moment before she opened her mouth.

"I guess... I don't? I'm not sure. He has done... a lot of bad things. But I'm not sure if he truly is a bad person. Or rather, I guess I don't want to believe he is. Haha... I'm sorry..."

"No need to be sorry. In fact, I'm quite happy that you trust me enough to ask me something like this. But, I guess the answer is that you have to decide."

Confused about what my words meant, her brows raised a bit, "Decide?"

Nodding, I explained myself, making sure I kept a gentle smile on my face.

"Yes, you have to decide. Good or bad, just or unjust. These are all terms that don't have clear definitions, and in the end, you have to decide for yourself what you believe in. The one thing I could say is; make sure that you yourself believe it, that it's not what your surroundings are telling you to believe."

"I see..."

Lowering her head, it appeared that my words had created some sort of process inside of her, a process where she was finally thinking about the situation for herself on a deeper level.

"Say, Zero... How are you just able to move forward like this? Even with your... challenges, you keep on moving, as if nothing could ever stop you. Just like... him..."

"Because I don't have a choice. Not to mention the people around me, but if I stop, what will happen to me? Won't I just end up with regrets?"

"Regrets..."

Ultimately, I knew I couldn't just tell her to either give up on James, nor could I tell her to chase me with all her might. This was a decision she would have to make on her own, and it would have to be based on her own emotions.

Sadly, I already knew that no matter the answer she chose, it wouldn't matter. Because James was already lost, and there was no way for him to come back.

That was the reason why I was envious of Zero. Because he still had a chance, an opportunity to surround himself with great people. If only...

*BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!*

Suddenly, the sounds of a huge siren traveled across the academy, signaling that everyone was to gather in the main stadium. Prior to this, we had already gotten information about what this would signal, but none of us would have wanted to believe it would happen so soon.

"Zero, let's go!"

Quickly, she got up to her feet and more or less carried me from the ground, less gently than what I had wanted, but at least it didn't take many seconds for us to start running, with Sophie clearly feeling stressed about what was to come.

Yes, it had finally happened. The monsters at the border had begun to gather in the inner sectors. And that meant that not only the teachers would have to depart, but the students as well.

Everyone would have to go together to defend our nation against the threats of the wastelands. Everyone except for Zero.

==========

"Sophomores and freshmen of Ainu! We have now gotten word from Schiltach that they are in need of backup, and to which we will be sure to answer their call."

Standing in the large stadium, that was now used as an assembly hall, with our principal in front of us, I wasn't too surprised to see that no older students would join us to help out at the border.

The reason for this was simply because juniors and seniors were already expected to be out and about, helping with different missions and assignments. In other words, the only available ones were us.

Continuing, the snaky old man spoke calming words, not wanting to make his students more agitated than needed.

"As you might have already heard, we are not going there for you to stand in the frontlines. We are merely there to help with stray monsters and to assist with other menial duties. That is not to say our work will not be important, but as we are a third-party actor, we do not have permission to shoulder the responsibilities of the border defense."

Going to battle wasn't all about fighting. Just the logistics of health care, rations, and weaponry were more than enough to justify needing some assistance, so even if my friends weren't going to fight on the front, there was more than enough work that needed to be done.

And yet, knowing this, I still couldn't help but feel some slight anxiety knowing they would be in so close proximity to the battlefield. Because even if it didn't necessarily need them, Zero still considered them friends.

"We will be moving at dawn. Unfortunately, we will not be able to pass you all through teleporters there as you are too many, so we have to wait for our buses to arrive. Oh, one last thing."

With everyone keeping their eyes on our principal, I was a bit thrown off to see that he was finally wearing what I could only view as a real smile. A smile that almost made me think he truly cared about us.

"Not a single one of you is allowed to die."

==========

"Do you remember what I told you, Zero? No matter what, absolutely no matter what, you are not allowed to follow us. Understood?"

Having told me she needed to talk to me, I was currently in Ms. Turner's spacious apartment for the first time, now sitting down with a cup of tea in my hands with her accompanying me at her kitchen table.

"Yes, yes. I know, I won't go."

Inspecting me with incredulous eyes, hesitant to believe my words.

"Haaa... Alright, good. Dr. Smith will also be staying behind so take this as an opportunity to keep on practicing your healing magic. Unfortunately, all your other classes will be canceled as the other teachers will have to go."

'Well, thinking about the level of our teachers, it shouldn't take all too long for them to finish up there.'

With a large part of our teachers being [A]- or even [A+]-rank, it shouldn't be all too hard for them to extinguish the threat and come back. Still, even though I knew this to be the case, I had a nagging feeling that things weren't going to go as planned.

'-as we are a third-party actor, we do not have permission to shoulder the responsibilities of the border defense.'

The principal's words were still etched into my brain, and I had a feeling that this might not be as simple as I wanted to believe.

If one were to think about it simply, the teachers would just go there and kill the monsters as fast as they could. However, what about the politics behind it? If Ainu went there and solved the issue by itself, wouldn't that undermine the authority of the border defense a lot?

It would also create a situation where the nation didn't feel the consequences of not sending adequate resources to deal with their own situation. More or less, it would mean that the changes that needed to happen might not.

Adding on to this, I thought myself to know what kind of person the principal was. And I didn't believe for a second that he carried an altruistic heart that would dismiss politics to save people.

"Hey, Ms. Turner... You will make sure to take care of things as quickly as possible, right?"

For some reason, her face paled at my question, as if she already knew what I was suspecting.

"O-of course... Of course! We will beat those monsters black and blue! Don't worry, we will be back soon!"

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