Chapter 17: Lefiya’s Decision!
Chapter 17 - Lefiya's Decision!
"Why did you join Loki Familia, Lefiya?"
"Eh?" Lefiya was shocked by Shiro's sudden question and pondered.
That's right, why did she join Loki Familia to become an adventurer?
At first, it was because she wanted to study in the school district, and when she graduated, she thought of being an adventurer as just an ordinary profession.
Then she joined Loki Familia and met the person she admired—Ais Wallenstein.
She wanted to become a dazzling person like Ais and worked hard with this thought in mind.
Afterwards, without realizing it, she had come to think of the members of Loki Familia as her family, so much so that she didn't want to disappoint them.
"I want to be like Ais-san!"
Admiration, huh? It's going to be a bit troublesome.
Shiro found a rock to sit on.
To be honest, he didn't want to break the elf girl's dream, but if she continued like this, so half-heartedly, she would definitely hit a wall sooner or later.
And if someone died because of her, her personality would change drastically.
"What kind of person do you think Ais is?" Shiro asked.
Speaking of which, Lefiya was all fired up. She wanted nothing more than to drag Shiro along and talk for days and nights.
"A-Ais, Ais-san is, of course, strong! And beautiful! She also protects me in battle! She moves forward without any hesitation!"
"Although she doesn't show much expression on her face, she cares very much about us in the Familia! If I had to describe her with one word, it would definitely be 'hero'!" Speaking of this, Lefiya had adoration on her face.
"What about her flaws?" Shiro asked.
"Flaws… Ah! One flaw is that she loves to eat Jagamarukun too much! Really, I've told Ais-san so many times not to be picky about her food, but because she looks so cute when she eats Jagamarukun, it's all good!"
Lefiya's fanatical words left Shiro speechless.
This girl wouldn't happen to have a crush on Ais, an Ais fanatic in disguise, would she?
Like this, there would be no end to it.
Shiro interrupted Lefiya, who was preparing to write a short essay praising Ais.
"Lefiya, you know, admiration is the furthest thing from understanding."
Shiro had no idea when he had learned this phrase, but he found that it fitted perfectly here.
"What?" Lefiya was confused.
"Actually, Ais isn't as perfect as you think. Rather than saying that Ais is perfect, it would be better to say that you have only projected the great aspects of an adventurer onto Ais."
Shiro was interrupted before he could speak further.
"Even you, Torajirou-san, can't slander Ais-san!" Lefiya was instantly furious.
"Listen to me first. I only spent a day with Ais, and I don't understand her that well."
"However, even so, I found that she seems to be quite anxious about becoming stronger. When we first met, didn't Ais rush into a group of monsters while forgetting about you and was reprimanded by Riveria?" Shiro tried to explain.
"That's because I'm too useless… Ais-san had no choice but to come back to protect me."
When Lefiya said this, her pointed ears, symbolizing the elven race, drooped down.
"Let's think about it the other way, Lefiya." Shiro tried to divert the topic.
"If you or Riveria were bringing a newbie from the Familia, would you abandon them and rush into a group of monsters?"
'Sorry, Riveria, since you've asked me to fix Lefiya's problem, then let me borrow your name one more time. You definitely won't blame me.' Shiro thought while trying to justify his actions.
"Eh? Of course not." Lefiya didn't hesitate to answer.
"That's right, so why exactly did Ais rush into the group of monsters?"
"If she was really such a flawless person, shouldn't she have defeated the monsters in cool style while protecting her companion?"
"At the end of the day, Ais is just a person, although she's more special than others. She also worries because she can't get stronger, and she also has favorite things she loves to eat."
Shiro didn't intend to slander Ais. He merely thought she was a mysterious person, someone suitable to be the heroine of a fantasy story.
Lefiya's admiration for Ais and her respect for Riveria made this honey-colored elf conflicted.
Seeing that he had achieved the effect he wanted, Shiro immediately took advantage of this opportunity.
"To put it bluntly, being an adventurer is quite a cruel profession."
"Lefiya, you only saw Ais's cool side and wanted to become an adventurer like that, but you didn't see the anxiety in Ais's heart to become strong beneath her cool exterior."
"She just hid that part of her, making you have a misconception about senior adventurers."
"Lefiya, in my opinion, perhaps you're not ready to become an adventurer at all."
As he said this, Shiro killed a monster that had just respawned from the wall.
Damn, that almost scared him to death.
The atmosphere was just right, and he was nearly interrupted by it.
"You can actually look at the lower-level members of our Familia to see what real adventurers are like."
"Although they belong to the glorious Loki Familia on the surface, they also get injured, and they also get frustrated when the day's harvest isn't good."
"What you've always wanted to become isn't an 'adventurer', Lefiya."
Lefiya widened her eyes after hearing this.
"What you've always wanted to become is a 'hero'."
"But before being a hero, even for the sake of your companions in the Familia, how about trying to become a proper 'adventurer' first."
"Not as their useless junior, but as a 'comrade' by your companions' sides."
Shiro looked directly into Lefiya's eyes, hoping to convince her with the sincerity in his eyes.
"I'm not good enough, I'm very weak, and I often get scared when I see monsters..." Lefiya avoided his gaze guiltily and murmured.
"Lefiya, courage can't be forced. Perhaps when an important person dies in front of you, you will mature."
"However, since you don't believe in yourself, you might as well believe in us."
Hearing these words, Lefiya slowly raised her head and looked into Shiro's eyes.
"You only need to focus on casting magic. Entrust your safety to us."
"Just like Finn and the others agreed to let you hold a sword and fight on this floor, the monsters on this floor actually can't hurt you at all."
"You understand this too, right? Whether it's Finn or Riveria, they wouldn't want to risk the safety of a companion to train their courage."
"So let's start from this floor, please give me your trust, Lefiya."
As he spoke, Shiro picked up the sword that Lefiya had dropped when she had run away from the ground and handed it to her.
"Lefiya, you definitely won't die here. This is the promise that I, Torajirou Shiro, make to you. Even if I die, I won't let you suffer."
"How about it? Can you try and believe me and focus on defeating the monsters on this floor, or will you forever continue to just be a mage protected by others in the team? There's nothing wrong with this, but Lefiya, you definitely don't want this, right?"
"So, no matter what choice you make, I support you." Shiro said what needed to be said.
Lefiya clutched the sword in her hand.
She actually knew that when Loki Familia went on an expedition, someone would definitely get hurt.
Before, she thought that it was very normal for an adventurer to get hurt, and she had subconsciously ignored the painful screams of her Familia companions.
Now that she thinks about it.
Why hadn't she gotten injured in the past?
She had always thought it was because she looked up to the "hero" of Loki Familia, and that "hero" would protect her.
No matter how scared or cowardly she was, the "hero" would definitely save her.
However, now someone was telling her that her "hero" wasn't really "flawless".
Even Ais-san would worry about not getting stronger.
So, she hadn't gotten hurt in the past because everyone had protected her too well.
What does this mean?
Aren't they all companions of the same Familia?
Everyone paid special attention to her because of her weakness.
Then what about the painful screams of other members of Loki Familia?
What about them?
Was it because everyone was subconsciously taking care of her and ignoring the pleas of the others?
Then, should she run away? Because she could end up in the same situation and get injured too.
The "hero" she had thought before was just a normal person.
Should she hide behind everyone like before, and apologize foolishly afterward?
After knowing all this, could she still hide behind her companions and naively smile like before?
Or should she try to believe the person in front of her?
She was special.
Lefiya was very clear about this, even if she chose to escape, her companions in Loki Familia would still forgive her, and they would still block danger for her.
Ais-san, the captain, Riveria-sama, Gareth-san, Bete, Tiona, and Tione—everyone was very strong, so it wouldn't matter if she was a bit more cowardly or relied on others a bit more, right?
However, what was this feeling in her heart?
If she had to describe it, she could only think of one word—unwilling.
Why was everyone only taking such good care of her?
Is it because she's been worrying them all along?
They were all kind people who were very carefully looking after her wellbeing.
There seemed to be something burning in Lefiya's chest.
This feeling was very uncomfortable.
She couldn't calm down either.
Now, the person in front of her was telling her to believe him, to help her become stronger.
As expected, she's still so immature. She was moved by his words.
She still wants to stand beside everyone instead of hiding behind their back like a coward, even though she knows it will cause trouble for them.
However, she still wants to become a person like Ais-san.
No, it's not right. Ais-san also has her troubles.
Then let her become that flawless person.
She also wants to become a "hero" trusted by everyone, not a coward who hides behind their companions' backs.
"Torajirou-san, please help me become stronger!"
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