It's almost evening. I'm sitting on the two pillars that crushed Llyod. From here, I can see the sunset on the horizon. The breeze brushes against my skin, and my hair flutters in the wind. In front of the pillars lies the massive crater I created. Should I cover this up?

I decided to use my magic to throw all the dead bodies into the crater. Then, I summoned a fireball to burn them all.

I wonder where Stella and Ishla are now. I hope they're safe both of them were wounded.

I touch the pillar and leap back to the top of it. I've gained massive stats from killing all those people and completing the quest. But honestly, it doesn't really matter. All I want is to live peacefully. This "isekai" thing isn't as fun as I thought it would be. What's even my purpose here? Sure, the quest tells me to kill the Demon Lord, but then what?

Humans will be free from the demon threat, and sooner or later, they'll just start killing each other. Without a common enemy, we'll end up destroying ourselves just like in my previous world.

Humans dominated the planet there, and then they started nuking each other, bombing cities, killing millions. Invading each other for what? To protect themselves from what they believed was an impending threat? What kind of joke is that?

Like, Yes, I'm going to kill you now because later on you might kill me.

In that case, We're just so fucking scared of each other, so we try to dominate the other before they dominate us.

Well, it's not like we can do anything about it. That's just how we're designed. That's where we came from. We evolved from the first cell designed to consume other cells just to survive.

- How about you, Llyod? What drove you to plot all of this? You looked so desperate to kill my mother. Was it simply an order from your king? Or was it something else? Gold? Land? Power? Or maybe you were trying to protect someone? To save someone you cared about? -

Well, you're dead now, so you can't respond.

Suddenly, I detect a footsteps running toward me.

-- Sister Stella! Leon! --

I look behind me. It's Sting. He stands at the edge of the crater, frozen in place.

-- What the hell happened here? -- he stammers, stunned by the sight. -- Where's Sister Stella? And Ishla? --

I decide to prank him. I force a tear, jump down from the pillars, and hug him tightly.

- Brother Sting... My mother... and Ishla... they're... -

His face grows serious, his eyes focused on me, anticipating the worst.

-- Don't tell me... Sister Stella... -- he falls to his knees and starts crying.

He's overreacting. I didn't expect him to take it this seriously.

Stolen story; please report.

- Both of them teleported away. -

-- WAIT, WHAT!? I thought you were about to say they were dead! -- he exclaims, his voice rising as he realizes it was just a prank. -- Don't joke like that, Leon! Gustav would kill me if something happened to you and your mother. He told me to protect you both until he returns! --

Yeah, yeah, even though Dilo beat the crap out of you and I had to step in to get revenge.

Sting squints at me suspiciously. -- It feels like I don't like what's you thingking. --

Oh great, now he's a mind reader...

-- Kidding aside, tell me what happened here. -- he demands.

We sit on the pillar as I recount everything happened. Well, almost everything, I leave out the part where I accidentally killed some of the villagers. I'm not sure how he'd react to that since he grew up here. This village isn't that big, and he probably knew a lot of them, he might also found out soon.

His expressions shift wildly as I tell the story, from tears to worry, to anger, and finally, to pure shock

.

-- Wait, you're telling me you crushed the knight between the two pillars we're sitting on? That's insane! -- he exclaims, his tone full of disbelief. -- We're screwed now. The kingdom will definitely launch an attack on this village, thinking the villagers killed those soldiers. --

They won't. I let the captain leave, I already anticipated the risk to the villagers if I killed everyone. I bet the captain will report how I massacred the entire army. -

Sting looks at me in disbelief

-- How can you say something like that with a straight face...? -- he mutters, clearly shocked and worried. -- Never mind. I almost forgot you're the child of Brother Gustav and Sister Stella. Those two are the biggest troublemakers I've ever known. They almost destroyed an entire village once when they found out Sario was being bullied by the kids there.

They're not ordinary people, just like you. They were blessed with skills and talents by the gods... and here I am. I spent my time training with Sario and Brother Gustav, and yet I'm so weak. I can't even protect my friends... or my pride.

When Dilo beat me, it made me realize just how powerless I am. And honestly, I fell offeneded how a boy like you managed to defeat not just Dilo, but also the knights and an entire army. It makes me feel worthless. Maybe I should just quit being an adventurer.

When Lian comes back, I'm going to propose to her. Maybe I can settle down as a farmer like my parents. No, I'd rather be a traveling merchant. After all, I became an adventurer to travel and see different places... --

- So, you do like Lian. - I teased him.

-- Oh, did I accidentally say that out loud? -- he scratches his head awkwardly. -- Well, yeah. I've loved her since we were kids. She's caring, smart, passionate... and the most beautiful person I've ever known. She's one of the reasons I stuck with our group after all this time. Me, Sario, Lian, Brother Gustav, and Sister Stella, we all grew up in this village. And now... I can't stand seeing everything fall apart. The impending demon invasion, Sario's death, Brother Gustav and lian both in the war, and Sister Stella almost being killed... It's too much. And the fact that I can't do anything about it...

I'm just a weak side character, Leon.

I can't save anyone or fight for someone. I wish this world were more peaceful... -- Sting looks at me and forces a small smile.

-- Well, I think there's one thing you can do, Brother Sting. The one thing only you can do: help me travel to the Kingdom of Tlauven. I'm going to look for my mother. -

He jumps down from the pillar. -- Sure thing! If you need your big brother Sting's help, don't worry. I've got you covered. --

- As I thought, you're really reliable, Brother Sting. Now, where are we going first? - I asked with enthusiasm then I jumps down from the pillars.

-- Okay, listen to me. I know this is your first time traveling, so listen carefully. First, we need a map. --

I listened to him seriously, counting on my fingers based on the number of things we needed.

-- Then we need water and food, enough for the first week of travel. And we’ll need weapons. --

I was still listening and had already counted four on my fingers.

-- And lastly, the most important one... we need a navigator who can read the map. A traveler would be a good choice. -- He said with a smile.

I wasn’t sure if I should be surprised by this or not.

- You told me to leave it to you, and now you’re saying you don’t even know how to read maps? - I retorted.

-- Well, in our party, Sario was always the one who read maps while I focused on... --

Before he could finish his sentence, I cut him off.

- Focused on Lian? - I teased.

-- No, no! Of course not! I was very professional and focused on both Lian and finding food and water sources! -- He retorted. -- Anyway, leave everything to me. I know a researcher from another village who travels a lot. Maybe she can help us. -- He continued.

A researcher? - I asked.

-- Yes, her name is Arci. She researches stones and minerals. -- He replied.

So, basically, she’s a geologist? - I asked curiously. Did scientists even exist in this world?

-- Geo... what? -- He replied, confused.

Maybe the term didn’t exist in this world.

Yes, like people who study stones and stuff, people who are obsessed with rocks, gems, and whatever else. - I replied.

-- Well, Arci isn’t like that. I mean, she studies the composition and structure of those materials. She’s more like an alchemist. She can tell if a battle happened on certain land, if the land is suitable for living, or if a cave contains precious metals like gold and silver. -- He explained.

Yes, basically a geologist.

-- I’m going to Arci right now to ask if she can accompany us. In the meantime, stay at home, pack the things you need, and wait for me tomorrow early in the morning. -- He instructed.

Well... - I turned my head and looked at the crater.

-- Wait, you mean...? --

- Yes... we don’t have a house anymore. It just evaporated. - I replied, smiling awkwardly.