"So, what exactly are you thinking?" asked Canion. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Well, I'm thinking, the wild boar charge just now is still very imposing, no wonder some Orientals call the charge of the troops a pig burst. Martin replied.

"Pig protrusion...... This is what the enemy's troops are called. It felt so insulting. Lyukrixia said. After all, a creature like a pig, lazy, would never be reminiscent of bravery.

"No, no, when they say pig protrusion, they mean wild boars. They have a lot of respect for wild boars and think they are completely different from domestic pigs. They would even name their children 'Wild Boar in the Woods'. Martin said.

"It's funny, but don't they have a metaphor other than a wild boar?" asked Lyukrixia.

"Well, it seems that they are islanders, and they haven't seen other animals that charge very imposingly. Martin replied.

"But that's not what you just thought. Canion's sober point out that he was not so confused by Martin's foreign culture that he gave up asking about Martin.

"Well, that's not what I was thinking. Martin admitted, "Here's what I'm thinking. ”

"A single ferocious boar left the people of that village helpless. Well, I knew that if the people of that village were not afraid of casualties, they could kill that ferocious boar. But we also knew that it would be easy for us to kill that ferocious boar. ”

"Yes, yes, but what about it?" said Lyukrixia.

"It's a village where there is little resistance, where the strong can do whatever they want, and where they can do evil with impunity. What can this village do to protect itself? If nothing else, even a mighty barbarian who is drunk and mad in it cannot be stopped. What if an evil priest needed a sacrifice, or an evil mage needed trial materials, and they came here? Aren't they like lambs defenseless?" Martin said.

"But there are us. Canian replied briefly.

"Yes, you paladins are defenders of justice, protectors of good. But all you can do is avenge the innocent people after the fact, can you still foresee in advance that someone is going to do evil, so you can stop them? "The power to restrain atrocities is so small compared to the vast world." ”

"So, what are you trying to express?" Canian asked.

Instead of answering him, Martin pulled out a potato and squirted it from between his fingers with a gentle pinch. Then he began to chant the incantation again, and then cast an ice storm.

Looking at the falling hailstones, Martin said, "You see, this is power, if I wanted to, I could easily destroy that village, and I don't have much chance of being punished for it." I didn't destroy it only because it didn't do me any good. But in any case, being able to do evil with impunity is in itself a temptation. We all know how children pour water on the nest, a phenomenon that can be committed with impunity. ”

“......”

“......”

"We all have strength far beyond ordinary people, so don't you feel that you are different from them? Why don't we use our own strength to take advantage of ourselves? The survival of the fittest, generation after generation. Why were the nobles able to live a comfortable life, wasn't it because they stole bread from the peasants? You have seen the miserable life of the serfs, and you must have understood the luxurious life of the nobles. A few people will make a noise and say that everything is not right. Martin continued, "Of course, for you, you are pious and faithful people. You have your church, and you are aligned with its interests. So you are chivalrous, because the church needs that, and you are saving good people and promoting the reputation of the church. Of course, I know that there are indeed many powerful people in this world who are willing to die for the sake of good people, but how many of them are pure like that? Most of the strong people are either a villain and use their own strength to earn benefits for themselves. Either join a certain system, become a member of that system, and make a profit. For example, being a knight for a nobleman. However, is there a big difference between the behavior of the masters, that is, the peasants who have suppressed and resisted taxes for their own interests, and the direct use of their own strength to plunder?"

"When I talk about this, I don't mean to talk about how their lives are like. Rather, I was thinking about my own path. Before I left the forest, I had not thought about the question of where to go in the future, but just now, that defenseless village made me confused about the future path. Martin concluded his statement.

"......" Liukrisia was speechless. Canion, on the other hand, immediately said, "Ridiculous!"

"You must know that I am not a person who is good at words, but as a holy warrior, you cannot be competent with a certain amount of strength, and listening to the teachings of virtuous people is also a practice that a holy warrior must undertake. I happen to have heard some words from others that can easily solve your doubts. ”

"I admit you're rightful about the fragility of that little village. But your subsequent statements ignore too much. ”

"What do you say, 'To be able to do evil without impunity is in itself a temptation.'" This is naturally appropriate if it is placed on an evil person. When I say evil, I don't mean people who have already committed crimes, but people who have evil thoughts in their hearts, but are honest because they fear punishment. For them, that is indeed a great temptation. But what about a good man? I ask you, when you captured both of us, were you able to do evil with impunity? But did you do that?"

Perhaps out of excitement, Canian said it directly. Liukrisia, who was next to her, couldn't help but blush and lowered her head, and Martin also looked embarrassed.

"That's right, you didn't. Why didn't you do that? Didn't you get great happiness by doing that? But you didn't do that! Because you have compassion, you don't want to base your happiness on the suffering of others. Compassion is the source of kindness. I saw this, and I told you what we were going through to get your help. You say flooded ants, I admit I did it when I was a kid. But the reason why I did that when I was a kid was because the instinct of a child with an immature worldview made me do it. On the one hand, I did it because I could do it without punishment. On the other hand, I did it because ants were so humble, and I didn't mean power, I didn't mean something else. Let's put it this way, no one thinks there's anything wrong with roasting ants alive, but what about roasting a puppy alive? And what about roasting a big living person alive? We will feel discomfort, not just because it is our own kind, but because it is not a beast that survives only by instinct, but an intelligent being, and we can feel his joy and sorrow, and when he suffers for no reason, we should be uncomfortable. If I don't stop you now, I allow you to go to that village and wreak havoc, look at the villagers who are begging and pleading, hear their voices of pain, and feel their grief-stricken feelings. Can you really do it?"

Martin shook his head, then said, "You're right, I can't do it." It seems that when I said that, I didn't think carefully about how much pain the consequences of such an action would cause to others, and what effect that pain would have on my behavior. ”

"Well then, we solved the first problem. Then I'll tell you about the nobility. I admit that the aristocracy that cruelly treated the peasants did exist, and that the Church did not punish them. But I think you're not a child, and you should know that we holy warriors can't be evil. We think about the consequences of what we do. In fact, we all know a famous tragic example of an evil lord. There was once an evil lord who was so cruel that he gouged out the eyes of the priest who had tried to counsel him to do good. So a team of paladins went on a crusade against him. Then the serfs celebrated with joy and scattered flowers on the holy warriors, who removed the mountain that weighed on them. Then the paladins left, and they couldn't stay there forever. When one of them returned there, he was astonished to see the ruins. The whole village was burned and dead people hung from the trees. The only living person he found was an old man who was wooden, and he learned from the old man's mouth. The villagers were certainly freed from the oppression of the lords. But at the same time, he lost the protection of his lord. So they were raided by the orcs. No matter how much the lord squeezes, he is also restrained, and he will not dry up and fish. But the orcs are different, and you know their methods...... In this way, the good deeds of the holy warriors were exchanged for such tragic consequences. What does this mean? We need wicked people! There are people who are wicked, but their actions make the world better. Some people are vicious, but their actions protect the good. Although they are in their own self-interest, they are helpful to us. At least we know that we need order anyway, and we can't do without them now. Of course, this will not be the case in the future. When the good are strong, we don't need the wicked anymore. ”

"That's true," Martin nodded, "I've heard our predecessors say that the progress of society comes from the greed of human nature. ”

"So let's get to the last point. You've had face-to-face contact with Trace. You must have heard of her good deeds, and you must know her strength. Have you not wondered, then, what would happen if she used her power for her own benefit in the ordinary sense of the word? But she didn't. Someone once asked her a similar question, but she smiled and replied, 'I've always used my power to my advantage.' ’”

I don't know what she said, but I know what she meant, and she said that she had heard a theory during her travels: rational egoism. This theory generally believes that people are self-interested, but it opposes self-interest at the expense of others, and advocates that self-interest should be "reasonable" and not harm others. I still remember her saying, "What I'm doing is really for my own benefit, but it's not about being able to eat good food or anything like that." Rather, it is a kind of happiness in a broad sense. I do good deeds that bring me great joy. It is true that I may die in the battle against evil, but that only deepens my happiness, and the more dangerous it is, the greater the satisfaction I get that I have contributed greatly to good. "In addition to this, she said something similar, but I don't remember it and can't repeat it to you. ”

Martin had a wonderful smile on his face as Canion's words were said. This made Liukrisia curious, and asked Martin what was going on.

"Well, because I know that the trip that Triste spoke of was actually the one between us. And that kind of theory was exactly what my master's master told her. It is not by chance that that theory was born among us. The altruistic behavior we observe in animals also provides evidence for this view. Martin replied.

"Then why did you throw out that narrow mind?" asked Canion.

"I don't know, maybe it was only after I got out of the woods that I realized how different I was from ordinary people in terms of strength. The huge difference stunned me and made me cranky. Martin replied honestly.

"Maybe it was the oak tree above us when we were resting. I feel that there is an evil spirit there, probably a place where ancient people practiced demon law. Canian said.

Then they stopped talking, picked up their speed, and sped off into the distance. Neither Canian nor Lyuklixia asked Martin what he planned to do in the future.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――Two weeks ago, when I was borrowing a book from the library, I was hesitant to finish itAfter "Eastern Front", whether to revisit it with "Cat City", or to borrow "What to Do". As a result, I'm glad I made the choice. It's a great novel, and there's something that fits into this chapter.

I'm probably going to apologize to the reader for this chapter of the novel, which seems a little too blunt and tells something I don't know about myself. But it's necessary for my novel. Of course, I'll try to incorporate that into the plot in the future.

Among the things I've elaborated on in this chapter, there are actually some things that have already been mentioned in the "Demon Warrior". There are also some things he said directly on the forum. The story of the evil lord being slain was one of the inspirations I was inspired by the anime at the end of Metal Slug 1, but then I realized that it was probably related to a plot from someone else's novel, and I forgot which one it was.

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