Volume Three, Chapter Four: Lonely Meets Lonely
"As expected, the leader of Pilates is the head of Asanato, Apolito. He is rumored to be a man with the blood of Hades, the god of the underworld. He is feared even by his comrades. It is said that he always stays in his room and gives instructions from there, but there was a time when he alone crushed a thousand Pilates in battle. He is a terrifying man."
With Kazanzakis-san's introduction letter in hand, I borrowed a suitable sailboat and crew from Kazanzakis-san and headed towards the island known as Asanato's hideout.
Honestly, Kazanzakis-san is truly amazing.
"Do you have a chance of winning?"
Murasaki asked with a worried expression, or rather, he asked various things and became convinced.
This person is probably a loner like me, right?
It seems he schemed against a thousand Pilates alone to save his comrades, and fought with personal strength and strategy. Since then, he has secluded himself in his room.
Just like me.
"By the way, how many Sea Serpents are you bringing?"
Aoi asked.
"For now, I might use them for intimidation, so let's bring them all."
"Then we'll make sure to scatter them so they don't stand out."
"Huh? Are there really five hundred?"
"Yes, I think they will continue to increase from now on."
They're still increasing.
It's almost like a kingdom of monsters.
As our sailboat approached the island, Asanato's swift boat approached us. When the crew of the sailboat waved the Kraken flag, we were guided to the entrance of the island by the swift boat.
As soon as we got off the sailboat and were guided to Apolito's place, Apolito, fully armed, stood in front of us like a guardian deity.
How did I know it was Apolito?
His heavily armed subordinates were standing a step back.
This is that.
It's an atmosphere that says they don't want to get involved.
I understand it well.
What a déjà vu.
"Tell me your real name."
Apolito came straight to the point.
Apolito was in his twenties, tall, and had a sturdy body of nearly 190 centimeters.
His voice was also very deep.
"Well, it's Kogorou. Kazanzakis-san contacted..."
"Don't lie. There's no way a guy with a name nobody knows would be here."
"Well, Kogorou is not wrong."
Because it's a name I changed.
"Do you think such an incomprehensible person would bring hundreds of Sea Serpents like this?"
"Huh? You can tell?"
"I can tell! My skill is scouting! Don't underestimate me!"
I see, so that's how he dragged a thousand enemy Pilates into complete darkness and defeated them.
In that case, what should I do?
Should I honestly say that I changed my name?
"You, take out the sword from the scabbard on your back, not your waist."
Geh, he went straight to the point!
Oh no. I should not have brought Gouten with me.
"Um..."
"Listen, if you came for a discussion, show everything first. Otherwise, I can't agree to any negotiation."
I sighed and drew my sword from its sheath.
"So, it's Gouten after all."
The surrounding pirates started buzzing.
"The rumored savior, what do you want? Tell us the truth!"
"Alright. Actually, I decided to change my life's course and become a merchant."
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Whaaat?"
Wow, the atmosphere is intense.
Well, I guess I'll be honest here.
"I fought bravely in the Battle of Alexia. But, well, my way of doing things is unique, so everyone kept distancing themselves from me. After the battle ended, they all disappeared, and in the end, I became a loner and shut myself in."
Ah, it's painful to say it.
Tears are welling up.
"So, basically, what happened was this. You did the reconnaissance and fought for the sake of your comrades. But before you knew it, your comrades had all fled from the darkness. And since you could see how they escaped with your scouting skill, it made you lose trust in people."
"Yeah, that's right. Even though they didn't do anything, everyone's eyes towards me gradually turned colder."
"Those people are individuals who avert their gaze when you look at them."
Apollito's subordinates behind him had surprised expressions.
"But what really bothers me is that the enemies are the ones who receive sympathy."
"Yeah, I've heard that it's cowardly."
"That's it! That's exactly it!"
I continued speaking.
"If you don't do anything cowardly, you'll lose. So I did it, but the result is being a loner."
"I understand."
Apollito's subordinates held their heads and struggled.
"In that case, let me ask another thing. What about Conchue's story?"
"Oh, that one? It got troublesome, so I ran away."
"You ran away? Instead of sacrificing yourself, you ran away?"
Apollito asked in surprise.
"Well, you see, things flipped completely in Alexia. I'll say it clearly, I could have won. If I had fought, I could have won. But it would have caused great damage to Conchue's citizens, and if I did it my way, the disgust from the people around me would have become even stronger."
"I see."
"You've thought about it quite a bit."
Aoi-chan made a sharp remark.
"Exactly. I worked hard as a hero, but in the end, I became a shut-in NEET. If I had not been a savior, the outcome could have been slavery or something even worse."
"You ended up going on the defensive. I understand."
Loner Meets Loner.
After that, we bonded and became sworn brothers.
Since it would be good for the Savior to have a brother, Apollito became my younger brother, despite being older.
Indeed, loners can understand each other.