"Since you don't want to say it, I won't force you."
"Oh..."
I didn’t expect this guy to be easy to talk to.
"I'm sorry for saying something rude to you before!"
Qianzhihe stood up and bowed to me:
"I was too excited at the time and made guesses without asking the reason. I'm really sorry!"
"Ah, don't worry, I've forgotten about that."
How about suddenly apologizing to me...
"..."
"Besides, I heard from my mother that you were the one who sent Al back to the nursing home, right? You also visited Grandpa Rube. It was a big help!"
"Easy to do."
I scratched my hair, inevitably feeling a little embarrassed:
"There's no need to go out of your way to say thank you."
"No... you may not know, but Grandpa Rube is a very important person to me, and I have always admired him."
"Yeah..."
I remember:
"He seems to be your senior."
"Well! Yes!"
Qian Zhihe nodded with excitement. It must be a joy for her that Old Rub can be brought out of his memory.
At this moment, I happened to be in the mood to chat, so I told Qian Zhihe about the story of Old Rub when he was young. Although I don’t like to recall, the past of Old Rub can be recounted without thinking about it.
And the listener is a beautiful girl, so I am naturally happy to listen.
I spoke intermittently. To my own ears, the content was not interesting. It was just an objective narration of the past. But Qianzhihe listened attentively, as if he wanted to imprint every word in his heart.
at.
"Grandpa Rube actually has such rich experiences..."
After I finished speaking, she sighed:
"Sure enough, I made the right decision to come to you!"
"Excellent~~"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Okay~~ Are you okay? If not, I'm going to sleep. I'm so sleepy."
I yawned.
"No...then let me start talking, Mr. Gu Lao."
Ah...Eh? So now is the time to officially enter the topic?
"I——"
Thousand Paper Cranes took a step closer to me:
"I want to join the war."
"..."
I subconsciously reached out to touch the water glass on the bedside table, and slowly brought the glass to my mouth while trying to make my brain understand Qian Zhihe's words.
"I want to join the war."
"I heard it."
After replying, I realized that there was no water in the cup, so I put it back where it was.
"...What's wrong with you?"
"What?"
"You don't look good. Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"That's not true, I'm just a little surprised."
I have to admit, this guy is pretty good at giving me a mental shock when I'm relaxing.
Besides...has the word "war" appeared more frequently recently?
And this time, the initiator of the "war" was a small town person.
Unlike his daughter-in-law, Barrick, and the others, Qianzhihe grew up far away from the war.
——But she was the one who said she wanted to participate in the war?
I took a deep breath to clear my mind of the distracting thoughts about my daughter-in-law and Barrick, and then looked at Qianzhihe - she also met my gaze without fear.
"Huh...tell me, what's the reason?"
As if prepared, Qian Zhihe spoke without any hesitation...
......
"Well..."
Qianzhihe spoke for nearly twenty minutes at a stretch, and I used "um" and "oh" from time to time to show that I was listening.
My head felt dizzy, and I couldn't help but press my temples.
"Do you think...going to war is a way to achieve change?"
"Yes."
"As for the method, it shouldn't be just this one, right?"
"But I think this is the most efficient."
"...How much do you know about war?"
"I am confident in my theoretical knowledge. Although I have no practical experience, I have been exercising my relevant abilities."
"Hey - he is indeed the youngest infantry captain in the history of this town."
Let me first praise in the tone of an elder.
"Where are the kids?"
According to Qian Zhihe, besides her, there are many young people in the infantry team who also have ambitions to join the battlefield.
"I believe in their strength."
"Is this..."
My consciousness is still hazy, and to be honest, I don't quite understand how determined the girl in front of me is.
"I don't have a problem with you wanting to join the war. That's your freedom. But why do you want to tell me about it?"
"I would like to ask you to help me convince the people in the town to support participating in the war."
"...Huh?"
"You are the oldest person in the town, and everyone respects you... Moreover, you are immortal, and to a certain extent, you also represent the 'eternity' of the town. Only if you come forward can you have a chance.
Get maximum support."
I couldn't help showing a "so troublesome" expression and waited silently for her to continue.
"I love the town of Vigo. Because of this, any shortcomings in the town will be particularly dazzling in my eyes... If I propose to join the war, I will undoubtedly not get everyone's support."
"You are quite determined."
"After all, I live in a small town... Having little contact with the outside world for a long time will definitely develop a stubborn character. Everyone supports 'eternity' extremely, after all, the environment I live in is full of 'eternity'...
...But things are always changing. If you don't actively seek changes, you will sooner or later lead to misfortune... Please forgive me for my arrogant speculation."
Qian Zhihe clenched his hands on his knees:
"Most people in the town have only a vague impression of war, but war occurs all the time in every corner of the empire. War is an existing fact. Only by accepting the fact can we successfully take the first step towards change.
.My thoughts are indeed very radical, but they will definitely break 'eternity'!"
"Alas..."
I sighed.
I couldn't fully accept what this guy said for a while, but I at least understood one thing - the girl in front of me had clearly noticed the "eternity" of the town, which I didn't expect.
It's a pity that I can't agree with this guy's point of view... Well, maybe she went out of her way to express her thoughts precisely because she knew that I would think this way.
In short, since the other party's preparations have been so detailed, I can't continue to pretend to be confused.
"Do you think you are one of the rare sober people?"
"I can't say for sure. But the town needs more sober people, and there must be sober people."
"...Are you a fool? Joining the war? People will die."
I tried to sound serious:
"Are you ready to face death?"
"Personally, it's probably fine."
The other person answered me as if he was talking about the weather:
"I have saved enough money to keep the sanatorium running smoothly for fifty years so that my mother won't have to worry about it - she is my only relative and the only elder who supports me in the war."
"Hey, money for fifty years of operation? I heard that you had to do several jobs every day... It turned out to be for this..."
"Yes, and I never miss training."
Qian Zhihe said slightly proudly.
Well...it's a good thing she can persevere.
"I admire your perseverance...what about the others?"
I won't give up.
"They have the same will as mine, and I trust them unconditionally."
"Is it worth it? Are you willing to die for that illusory 'change'?"
"...We have been dying all our lives, just in different ways. We die for the 'change' we look forward to. There is nothing to regret."
Oh, what a hero - actually I thought so when I first met her.
If you want to convince heroine, what method should you use...
Come on! My brain must be running fast! Mr. Lonely, go forward four!
"Do you have anything else to ask?"
"..."
"I can see that you won't be willing to help me, but it's enough to convey my thoughts to you. I won't bother you much."
Seeing Qianzhihe saying goodbye to me, I stopped her:
"Please wait a moment."
"Hmm."
"I just remembered a story——"
I retracted my aggressive attitude and said softly:
"Mind listening? You'd be interested."
Qian Zhihe was stunned for a moment, then gave me a smile:
"I like to hear your stories."
"Thank you~~"
The atmosphere quickly became harmonious with our cooperation.
I organized my thoughts and stared at my folded hands:
"A long time ago, there were five young men of similar age. At their high-spirited age, they were full of curiosity about everything. They were eager to explore everything and tried to master all knowledge as soon as possible, because in their eyes, with knowledge, they would
No longer a naive child."
"..."
"However, their fate was unpredictable. When they were almost ten years old, one of the teenagers was diagnosed with a terminal illness. After fighting the disease for several months, he passed away... The death of their friend made the teenagers extremely sad.
Grief, they also noticed that they knew nothing about death."
"..."
"The teenagers began to think about: What does death symbolize? They listed the ways of death that they could think of, including death from illness, punishment from heaven, suicide, death in battle and death from aging... At the same time, they made a decision
Vow: One day, I will find out how these different deaths will make people feel, so that they can understand the mood when a friend passes away."
"..."
Qianzhihe's mouth moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.
"Since then, when they came of age, a boy... no, it should be a young man... he said goodbye to this world in a fire. The fire happened in a warehouse, and inside the warehouse was
People say that the newly cut wood that day is a punishment from the god of the forest."
"..."
"One of the three remaining young men couldn't bear the successive misfortunes of his companions. He drank to relieve his sorrows all day long, and became increasingly decadent. Finally one day, he lost his mind and committed suicide."
"..."
"At this point, there are only two people left. For the convenience of description, let's call them A and B...A discovered that there are still two ways of death that they have discussed in the past that have not been explored, and that is war.
He died of death and old age. So, he went to discuss with B and finally decided that they would go to the battlefield together, and those who survived would go to a place far away from the war and grow old quietly."
"..."
"Twenty years later, a weather-beaten middle-aged man returned to his hometown, a calm and stable town, carrying several medals. The people in the town warmly welcomed him and invited him to serve as a guard corps
Sir..."
"You..."
Qian Zhihe wants to speak but stops.
"His life in the small town was wonderful, and the haze of the past was dispelled bit by bit, but he never let go of the obsession in his heart."
"That, that, what you said..."
The girl next to me made a trembling voice, and for the first time I saw the wavering look of Qianzhihe.
"Yes, the boy who survived in the end is Lao Rubu."