Huge Holy 49 (Patreon)

49 - If you don't work, you can't live!

RAW

I thought meeting with Heinz today would also be a no-go, but for some reason I was the only one who got permission to go.
It's a total mystery.
I take the gift on behalf of Christoph and the others and head to his hospital room with a few bottles of special high potion that I myself have recently been able to produce as well as some fire-element plant seeds that I have found in the C-rank dungeon.
There was no answer even when I knocked, so I had no choice but to say “Excuse me” through the door and enter the room.

Heinz had an extraordinarily lethargic atmosphere.
Not doing anything, having more free time than what he knows what to do with, he just lies on his bed and looks at the ceiling.
I start speaking to the very person who would become useless if left alone.

“I am but a commoner, but please forgive me for speaking to you like this. Here is a gift from Crezio-sama and a small amount of things I have prepared that may be useful.”

“...Yeah.”

That said, Christoph and the others are the ones who can tell more about the story than I.
For the time being, I have to apologize for the dungeon matter.
After all, it's for my safety.
This guy is in a different position to Randy, he's in a position to inherit the court rank, so no matter what they say, I bow my head.

“I know this is abrupt, but I sincerely apologize for my inappropriate remarks to you in the C-rank dungeon last time, even if it was an emergency, it’s not befitting toward your status.”

“...Did that happen?”

Finally, he seems to turn his head towards me, but I can't see him because I'm bowing my head.
Was he a tolerant noble, or did he think that he wouldn’t mind if it’s only a little?
Still, I say

“Even if you were tolerant, common sense dictates that one wouldn’t forgive me for that.”

“...I see.”

Then he started to ask.

“Hey, if it’s you, you could have done the investigation of that place alone, right?. Why did you retreat?”

“...Because that’s the rules.”

“What the hell? Prioritizing your own safety? You too?”

“I don't mind if you think I'm trying to protect myself. Certainly, as you said, it would be easy to investigate that dungeon solo. In A Empire, where I used to live, it was common sense to take ten or twenty investigation of that kind of dungeon.”

“Ha? No... that's strange isn’t it...”

“In A Empire, we had a quota set for us. It was an amount of quota that can never be met, if we don’t do more than one dungeon investigation a day.”

“...”

“However, even though there is no quota in W Country, there is a rule that a party of four or more must be formed when attempting a quest. I was only allowed to go into the dungeon alone in order to rescue Hankstein-sama.”

“...I don't get it. Is that why you said you were going to retreat?.”

“Yes. Above all, I made my decision after seeing Hankstein-sama’s condition. As they say, [When in Rome, do as the Romans do]. Now that I am a member of the W Country guild, I have to show by my attitude that I am an adventurer who will follow the rules of the guild.”

“‘When in Rome’... what does that mean?”

Perhaps there was no similar metaphor in this world, so I added, “It means to follow the local way of doing things.”
I raised my head to see Heinz’s reaction.
He is looking up at the ceiling while letting out a long sigh.
I... may be acting too pushy, but I tell him.

“I have heard from Crezio-sama that Count Hankstein… Your father seems to be worried, not angry.”

“Can’t be.”

Either he doesn't trust me, or he doesn't trust Christoph and the others.
Heinz laughed scornfully.
I continue to speak.

“Hankstein-sama, you are now at a branching point.”

“Branch...?”

“Do you want to cultivate your experience as an adventurer and aim for a successful career of a harsh life as a fire-element farmer? Or will you return to a peaceful life as the son of a noble?”

“My old man had high expectations of me! There’s now way he would――”

“However, you are the heir to the House of Hankstein. And I've never heard of anyone being adopted in your house either.”

“...Th, there's no way they'd allow that to happen now after all this time.”

“But――this is about your own future. Please imagine it. Which way do you want your future to go? Even if you can't imagine it, please remember that right now you can choose either path.”

“...”

――――

(T/N: Count (伯爵, hakushaku): previously translated as ‘Viscount’, either from google translate or deepl, I think ‘count is more accurate, and more popular translation. Other translations include ‘Earl’ which should be more accurate than Viscount, but I can’t tell.)

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