Unfortunately, Jae had still not regained his sense of taste.
Shido felt a little disappointed by that, but he finished cooking a meal for Yoshino.
He was curious about the taste of the Estus Soup Jae had made, but since one of the main ingredients was alcohol, he did not try it.
It would not have been a problem to eat it, but his conscience would not let him.
“Here. Eat slowly.”
The dish Shido set on the table was oyakodon.
Yoshino scooped up a spoonful of the freshly made oyakodon, still steaming, and brought it to her mouth.
It was hot, so she blew on it to cool it a little before eating it in small bites.
“……!”
Before long, Yoshino tapped the table and raised a thumb.
At her passionate reaction, a smile appeared on Shido’s face.
Watching that, Jae was still drinking the Estus Soup he had made.
[...He still hasn’t even taken off his helmet.]
Jae was currently eating without removing his helmet, letting the Estus Soup flow through the gap in it.
It was no different from when he had traveled with Siegbert, so he ignored Kotori’s dry remark.
Even so, it was rather strange that not a single drop spilled.
#
After the meal, Jae leaned against the wall and listened to Shido and Yoshino talk.
Under Kotori’s instructions, Shido asked Yoshino several questions.
Why she had not fought back. What Yoshinon meant to Yoshino.
Those two were the biggest questions, and the answers to both were shocking.
“Those people... probably don’t like... being hurt or scared either...”
The reason she had not fought back.
Just as she disliked and feared being hurt herself, the people hurting her must feel the same, so she did not resist.
“Yoshinon... is... a hero...”
Whenever she was in pain, her mind would grow chaotic and dizzy, and if things went badly she would surely attack the AST. For Yoshino, Yoshinon was her “ideal self” and a bulwark that kept her from going out of control.
[...Hmm.]
Listening quietly, Kotori let out a low murmur.
She had understood that Yoshino and Yoshinon were different personalities, but she had never imagined that personality had been created for such a reason.
And now that she knew Hermit’s nature was not simply that she hated fighting, but that she was extremely considerate of others, Kotori did not feel all that comfortable.
But in the end, a Spirit was still a Spirit. As Jae had said, Spirits were living disasters and dangers, so she could not exactly condemn the AST for moving to subjugate them.
For that reason, Kotori swallowed her bitterness in silence.
“I see.”
As soon as Yoshino finished speaking, Jae opened his mouth.
Shido and Yoshino both turned their eyes toward him.
“You said you were a coward.”
Yoshino had called herself a coward. She had described herself as timid and weak, someone who only ever ran away.
At those words, Jae recalled the past.
It was a distant past he could barely remember. The first time he had stepped into Jae’s world for reasons he did not understand. What had he been like then? How many times had he broken under pain and death he could not endure, and killed himself over and over as his mind shattered?
Everyone whose eyes met his became hostile. To take his life, they swung fists and kicks at the unarmed, brandished swords, drew bows, and fired sorcery.
That was not all. Great halberds cut through his body, and the cold of a blade driven into his stomach and the warmth of blood were things almost impossible to endure.
The heat of the inferno that burned him. The cold of the frost that froze his whole body. The agony of lightning scorching even his downy hairs was also a pain beyond words.
After going through such things, perhaps he had once clung to the foolish hope that if he killed himself, he could escape.
In the end, that was not possible, so he barely held on by relying on bonfires and Estus, enduring with the coldly given warmth, and at last he had not been broken.
He had managed to struggle on by recalling the ordinary life he had once taken for granted and fighting to return to it.
If not for those things, he would have broken long ago.
When Jae had first faced killing intent, what had he been like?
Of course he had not been able to move. He had not been able to run, nor to fight back.
The blatant hostility, killing intent, and violence he felt for the first time were things he simply could not resist.
In that sense, what about Yoshino?
Even if she called herself a coward for only ever running away, that was not really the right word for her in Jae’s eyes.
Running away was a means of survival, and sometimes it was necessary.
Now that he had heard her reason for not fighting back, he could not think of her as a coward.
Then how did Jae judge Yoshino?
“You are by no means a coward. To flee from hostility and killing intent directed at you is only natural, and the heart that does not strike back is surely kindness.”
And also.
Jae continued, adding this as well.
“Kindness is like the composure that comes from the strong. I say again: you are not a coward.”
Her character may be timid, but her heart was never timid.
That was Jae’s assessment of Yoshino.
“......”
At Jae’s unexpected words, everyone fell silent.
The silence settled heavily. Shido looked stunned, while Yoshino watched Jae with an expression that was difficult to read.
[...No, wait. Hyun. You could speak like that?]
Kotori was the one who broke the silence.
Until now, Hyun had never spoken at such length.
Even when scolding someone for doing wrong, all he ever said day after day was that he would consider it, or that he was sorry.
So hearing him speak so much at once was enough to shock her.
When Kotori’s startled voice came through the communication device, Jae asked in a low voice,
“This should have been helpful.”
The reason Jae had spoken his thoughts aloud.
It was for Shido’s safety.
He had done it because Yoshino might end up belittling herself and going out of control.
Hearing that, Kotori gave a dry laugh and said,
[Nice support.]
Just then, Shido also backed up Jae’s words and said he would become the hero in Yoshinon’s place.
For Jae, that was the best support he could possibly give.
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