The three idiots who couldn't become heroes are preparing a man's meal today as well. - Chapter 46

Episode 46: A New Attempt

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“…Report.”

“I did my best. That’s all.”

Such an exchange unfolded in the usual branch chief’s office.

This time’s request was essentially a harassment against the royal palace.

Or rather, it was meant to make the existence of the Walkers known.

By that standard, I’d say we more than succeeded.

“There’s been a flood of complaints… Someone attacked the ‘Hero,’ or there were too many people around for the Hero to act.”

“Then tell ‘Hero-sama’ this—he’s just an incompetent bastard.”

“As expected… you were the cause of this.”

With a deep sigh, he tossed a leather pouch my way.

Opening it, I found three platinum coins and several gold coins.

“Is this really okay?”

“You all did more than enough. I’ve heard the situation as well. Do you want to hear about the casualties?”

“Tell me. Even if it was a mess, I ended up taking command.”

“You don’t need to take responsibility.”

With that, the branch chief began explaining the situation.

From the last battlefield, there were five casualties.

Just looking at the numbers, it was quite the accomplishment.

Against hundreds of monsters and magical beasts, only five deaths.

All five were Walkers, meaning there was no loss to the kingdom.

…So what?

I still let five people killed.

“Don’t dwell on it. You did well.”

“Even so… I killed five people and brought misfortune to those connected to them. That doesn’t change.”

“Those five died because they were caught in the Hero’s reflected attacks. It’s not your fault. Everyone else survived. There were serious injuries, but most of the support was directed toward healing, which helped. The one responsible is the Hero who carelessly cast magic. The royal palace denies it, of course.”

“If that’s the case, then I should be the one to bow my head. The ones left behind need someone to blame.”

“No, I should be the only one apologizing. Don’t take more of my job from me.”

As we continued our argument over who should take responsibility, time passed.

Neither of us was willing to back down.

At that moment—

“Kitayama-san, why do you go out of your way to gather resentment onto yourself?”

Airi, who had been waiting quietly in the corner of the room, suddenly spoke up.

She had an expression of deep sorrow, yet her eyes held anger as well.

“Why are you trying to bear all the responsibility alone? You weren’t officially assigned as the leader of the entire group, the people around you just put you in that position. And the cause of the deaths was the ‘Hero.’ So why do you feel the need to take responsibility? You saved people. You didn’t kill five people—you saved dozens of others.”

Her voice trembled as she confronted me.

“Even so… I was the one temporarily entrusted with the field. That means I bear responsibility. Because of my lack of knowledge and poor judgment, five people died. That means I have to make amends. There’s no way I can claim I had nothing to do with it.”

“You’re ‘Otherworlders!’ It’s only natural that you lack information about this world! And despite that, you kept casualties in a large-scale battle to just five. That alone is an achievement that will be spoken of for generations! So why are you the one spreading bad rumors about yourself?”

“What does that matter to the families and comrades left behind? Can I really say, ‘At least the losses were small, so it’s fine’? To those left behind, those five aren’t just numbers.”

“But you weren’t even directly involved! You weren’t formally assigned as the commander! And they knew what they were getting into—they accepted the mission knowing it was a life-or-death situation!”

“Even so, they followed my orders. I can’t take full responsibility, and most of it will fall to the Guild. But at the very least, I need to bow my head.”

“I don’t understand… Why do you insist on taking all the blame? You did everything right. You defeated a high-ranking ‘Magic Turtle’ that even the Hero couldn’t. You took down a dungeon boss-class magical beast. You charged into a swarm of monsters more fearlessly than anyone else and saved countless lives. No one thinks you’re at fault. And yet… you idiot. You absolute fool.”

Airi was probably right.

I really did push myself this time.

I even managed to take down some ridiculously strong ones.

But none of that mattered to the families left behind.

I heard that the kingdom wasn’t providing any compensation to the deceased’s families.

And the Guild could only offer condolences and financial support to those who had personal savings set aside as “insurance.”

Basically, life insurance.

And in this world, that was only available to those with considerable financial security.

That’s why they needed help.

“It’s not like I plan to take care of all of them. I’ll listen to their stories, see what they have to say. And if there’s someone with no options left—or someone with the drive to move forward—I’ll bring them into the ‘Clan.’ It’s for my own sake. People like that will take work seriously.”

“What a kind ‘selfishness,’ huh? Leader. Are you planning to keep taking in people like that? Without a proper plan, you’ll never be able to support them all. Can you really earn enough to provide for them? Can you keep performing at this level forever? Can you keep bringing everyone back alive, even with a title like ‘Dead Line’ hanging over you?”

A tense silence settled between Airi and me as we glared at each other.

She was right.

What I was trying to do was just an idealistic fantasy.

A temporary solution at best.

If I kept this up, what would happen in the future?

How long could we continue living like this?

I had no idea.

And yet, here I was, trying to take in people I didn’t even know.

Airi was calling me out on it.

She was forcing me to face the truth—

That this kind of thing couldn’t last forever.

I know.

I know full well that I don’t have the capability for something like this.

But even so—

I can’t stand the idea of abandoning someone who lost everything just because they got involved with me.

I know it’s nothing but an idealistic sentiment. I know it’s selfish to the core.

Even so, I don’t want to stand by and say, “It’s got nothing to do with me.”

I’ve seen too many people cut others off without hesitation—I never wanted to become one of them.

And just as I was caught up in those thoughts—

“Excuse us!”

“Pardon my intrusion.”

Two familiar voices barged into the branch chief’s office.

Iris and Nakajima.

Two people who had absolutely nothing to do with each other—or so I thought—had just shattered the tense atmosphere hanging over us.

“We have a proposal for the Walker Guild and its branch chief!”

With a slam, Iris closed in on the branch chief.

That tiny girl puffed up her tiny chest, grinning with self-importance.

This one… she’s about to say something ridiculous again, isn’t she?

“We’re considering establishing a training facility under the guise of an ‘orphanage’ in Fortia’s territory! The goal is to cultivate better Walkers and craftsmen. The primary targets would be orphans and the impoverished, training them from childhood in specialized skills. For now, we can only provide education in blacksmithing and enchantment magic… but more fields should be added in the future. The Fortia family will provide funding, but ideally, we’d like support from the Walker Guild in this city as well. What do you think?”

…What?

She barges in out of nowhere and then starts talking about this?

An orphanage? In this world, where children are sold off without a second thought?

“This isn’t something that will yield immediate profit. It could take years, maybe even over a decade. But eventually, individuals equipped with skills and knowledge will naturally start appearing as newcomers. Not a bad prospect, is it?

We’ll treat the cost of their training as a scholarship, which they will repay while working. If they die, that’s the end of it, but if more skilled Walkers survive and thrive, the investment will pay off, and the guild will gain a valuable workforce. Not a bad deal, don’t you think?

And then there are the ‘families left behind’—like the ones we see now. We could take them in as well, or perhaps employ them as facility staff. Doesn’t that sound like an interesting possibility?”

Iris spoke all this in a single breath before taking a deep inhale.

Beside her, Nakajima stood, beaming with confidence.

Some of those words sounded eerily familiar. Scholarships, structured repayment…

Could this be Nakajima’s idea?

Still, there were plenty of issues to consider.

“Even with support, we’re not talking about an enormous amount of money. Think of it more as leaving behind your name as a sponsor. We’ll use vacant buildings in Fortia’s territory, select those who gather, train those who should be trained, employ those who should be employed. Of course, we can’t take in everyone. But at the very least, we can reduce the number of people falling into misfortune—like the families left behind this time.”

Nakajima smiled at me as she said this.

Ah, damn it.

These two had already seen right through me.

Unlike me, who was just flailing around trying to help however I could, Nakajima had come with a structured plan and presented it to the branch chief as a proper business proposal.

This was work—an investment in the future.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s certainly not a bad idea. Training craftsmen and Walkers from childhood, increasing the number of young people with fundamental skills. It’s a system that sounds worth supporting.

However, I can’t approve it with just this. You say you’ll train Walkers, but who’s going to train them? Hiring instructors costs money, and those who teach will have less time for their own work.

Who in their right mind would take on such a troublesome job?”

The branch chief, despite his words, seemed oddly at ease as he smiled at Iris and Nakajima—

As if he already knew the answer.

And, of course, it was Nakajima who responded.

“I’ve always admired the profession of teaching—of guiding and educating children.

Kitayama-san told me to live freely.

And so, I want to fulfill my dream.

I will teach the skills of a Walker.

What I don’t know, I’ll learn from ‘Hearty Eater’ and pass it on to the children.”

“It won’t be easy. Taking in children with nowhere else to go, those left behind… it’s a heavy responsibility.”

“That’s why I sought advice. Annabelle-san and the dwarves have agreed to cooperate.

As have the representatives of ‘Hearty Eater.’

Kitayama-san and Airi-san are still pending, but—”

Nakajima’s gaze turned toward me.

Naturally, the others followed suit.

Damn it, why is it always the big decisions…?

No—if everyone else had already agreed, maybe it wasn’t such a big decision after all.

“By the way, Shiro-san was quite supportive too.”

“Shiro was?”

“‘I actually like kids,’ apparently.”

That’s just like her.

A stray cat through and through.

“In order to make this happen, Branch Chief, I need to ask something of you.

If you say no, I won’t be able to grant Nakajima’s wish.”

“Sigh… I think I already know, but go ahead and say it.”

With an exasperated shake of his head, the branch chief let out a weary sigh.

I flashed him a bold grin.

Time to add to your workload.

 

“Permission to feed the residents of the facility ‘magical beast meat.’ Of course, I won’t force them to eat it. Also, give me information on the family backgrounds and relatives of the Walkers who died this time. I’ll use it for visits and recruitment.”

“You guys really… including the newcomers, you always manage to keep yourselves busy, huh?”

“If you don’t like it, you can always fire us, y’know? After all, ‘Hearty Eater’ is just a bunch of out-of-control idiots.”

“There aren’t many smart Walkers to begin with. Taking care of those idiots is part of a Branch Chief’s job. Go for it, ‘Hearty Eater.’ Live as greedily and shamelessly as you like, and save as many as you can. I’ll be waiting to hear the results while I clean up the mess. And if this project succeeds… it’ll be quite the achievement for me. After all, solving the poverty problem the king himself couldn’t handle would practically make me a hero.”

The Branch Chief grinned wickedly, and the others around us smirked as well.

That was quite the cool-sounding speech, but basically, he’s just saying we can live as we please, right?

Well, that’s my specialty.

“Nakajima, I’m not the brightest guy, so I probably won’t be much help. I get that it’s not just a place to take in kids, but how far ahead have you planned?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been studying various things on ‘the other side’ with the goal of eventually becoming independent. As long as we have enough hands, we can do plenty. We can train craftsmen while selling prototype products, or even capture and breed mandrakes to sell as high-end ingredients. It’s actually a lot more promising than ‘the other side’ in terms of available resources.”

“Haha, that’s reassuring.”

As we continued our conversation, I noticed a certain someone pouting.

“Kitayama-sama! What about me!? Don’t I get anything!?”

Iris-jou puffed up her cheeks in protest, looking adorably sulky.

Damn, that’s cute.

A true lolicon would probably take a critical hit from that expression.

For now, I just patted her on the head.

“Sorry for the trouble. But now that you’ve gotten this involved, there’s no turning back. You sure about this?”

“If that’s the case, then how about one of ‘Hearty Eater’s’ three main members… marrying into my family as my husband—”

“Sorry, but we don’t have any lolicons. Try elsewhere.”

“At least let me finish my sentence before rejecting me! In a few years, I’ll be all ‘boing-boing’ you know!?”

“If that happens, I’ll be the one begging you.”

“Remember this! I will become like that, just you wait!?”

And with that, it seemed the matter was settled.

There were no official contracts signed yet, but judging by Iris-jou and Nakajima’s attitudes, they were completely serious about this.

For our part, we’d be gathering ‘magical beast meat’ and earning money—not just for ourselves, but for the lives of others as well.

At a glance, it might seem like we just added more work for ourselves, but in reality, we were protecting our comrades and our family.

I don’t know who else will become part of that family, but one thing’s for sure—things are about to get busy.

I couldn’t help but grin.

“So, this project will be carried out in cooperation with House Fortia, this city’s Walker Guild, and ‘Hearty Eater.’ Does anyone object?”

“No issues here.”

“Same here.”

And just like that, we had a new job.

Providing relief to the families of those who lost their lives and finding work for orphans.

Most kids in this world end up sold as slaves, so we might even end up interfering in that area too.

Things are about to get busy.

After all, we’ll need even more ingredients than before.

Just as I was thinking that, Airi let out an exaggerated sigh.

“You do realize, don’t you? Taking responsibility for other people’s lives isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

Being unmarried and without children, I could only respond with a wry smile.

Well, we’ll figure something out. Probably.

“You’re part of ‘Hearty Eater’ too, right? You’ll help shoulder the burden with me?”

“…You know, that kind of statement is basically a proposal, right?”

Despite her words, Airi eventually smiled.

Expanding the business… it’s a classic trope in these iseki stories, but I wonder how this will play out.

Honestly, I’m leaving it all to Iris and Nakajima, so I don’t really know.

But one thing’s for sure—our environment is about to change yet again.

“Alright, time to get to work.”

“You’re the one making all the work for yourself, you know? Leader.”

With an exasperated yet amused look, Airi smiled warmly at me.