The Man Who Remained — His Second Life Began with a Humble Bow of Apology. - Chapter 77: Each Of The Three Is Driven By Their Own Selfish Desires.

Each Of The Three Is Driven By Their Own Selfish Desires.

“Unyou-san, may I ask you something this time?”

Trying to dispel the heavy atmosphere left behind by Ellie’s explanation of humanity’s terrifying nature, Unyou, who had been staring at the menu to order some more sweets, raised his face quietly at Ellie’s words.

“Ah, sure. I don’t mind… What is it?”

“It’s more of a confirmation than a question… Unyou-san, you do know what Gyokuran-sama is struggling with right now, don’t you?”

At those words, Unyou said nothing.
He simply showed an awkward expression, accompanied by a wry, evasive smile.
But that very reaction was proof enough that he knew the answer.

Yes—Unyou had realised that this village of Hourai had no future ahead of it, that it was suffering from severe financial difficulties.

Almost none of the other villagers noticed. Because all rights and responsibilities of city management rested solely upon Gyokuran’s shoulders, and she handled nearly everything alone.
Thus, the fact that Unyou realised it was nothing more than a sheer coincidence.

“Ellie, what’s going on here?”

Cross tilted his head and asked.

“Unyou-san is actually quite highly paid, you know. As the Captain of the Gate Guards here, his position outranks even generals in the army.”

“Whoa, that’s impressive.”

“It’s a high-ranking post, so naturally the salary is considerable… but Unyou-san has been returning all of it.”

“…Huh?”

“Yes. When I looked at the account books and saw his name, I was shocked. For the past few years, he has been returning the entire amount, without using a single coin. That’s why I thought—he must have realised what’s going on.”

As Ellie explained, she and Cross turned their eyes to Unyou to gauge his reaction.

Unyou let out a small sigh.

“I told them to just keep it in my account… Our lord is just so infuriatingly honest, I swear…”

“So that means… as expected…”

At Cross’s words, Unyou nodded.

“Yeah. I know things are bad, and I’ve spoken to the village chief about it a few times… I doubt my salary alone can make any real difference… but it’s better than nothing.”

Saying so, Unyou gave a strained smile.

“Then what do you do for daily expenses?”

“Mostly tabs, handouts, or getting others to treat me. And when I’m really strapped, I go outside and make some quick money. Hunting beasts… or idiots.”

He said this with an exaggeratedly proud look on his face.

“Seriously… You’re basically living like a barbarian despite being practically at the top of the military hierarchy…”

“I don’t mind quitting as Gate Captain anytime, you know. I mean, look at me. I don’t exactly suit lofty positions, do I?”

To that, both Cross and Ellie nodded without hesitation. Even now, both of them often forgot Unyou held such a high position, given his casual demeanour.

He was, for better or worse, a man whose down-to-earth habits were ingrained, a free-spirited drifter who could never fully carry himself with authority.
To Cross, that’s exactly how Unyou looked. And Unyou himself believed so too.

“Well, I ended up in this role for various reasons, so I thought I might as well do it properly… but because of that, now I can’t quit.”

“You can’t quit?”

“If I did, the funds allocated for my successor’s salary would have to be paid out. And in times like this, when we’re already barely scraping by…”

“Ah… I see.”

Cross now understood what Unyou meant.

Unyou truly wished to quit being Gate Captain.
He didn’t care about status or titles; what mattered to him was living freely.
But for the sake of his lord’s struggles, and for the village, he could not bring himself to leave. To Unyou, titles meant nothing—he only stayed for the sake of Hourai.

He was a free-spirited wanderer, yes, but still good-natured enough to endure for the sake of others.

“Besides, as you can see, this is just who I am. I’ve caused Gyokuran-sama far more trouble than any simple apology can cover. This is just my way of repaying her kindness for saving me. It’s only natural.”

“What kind of trouble did you cause?”

“…Hmm. Family stuff. It’s not like I’m hiding it, but… it’s complicated. I was born into a pretty decent household, you see.”

He spoke, clearly finding it hard to put into words.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s not that I’m hiding it, really. It’s just… talking about my family and that damned old man is a pain in the ass. It’s easier for me if you don’t ask.”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Anyway, it’s far more important that you’re delving into Hourai’s crisis. …Honestly, what are you planning to do? As the royal envoy… are you going to shut us down?”

Unyou asked, concern colouring his voice. Cross shook his head.

“No, I’m moving now, investigating everything, precisely so it doesn’t come to that.”

“…Is there… is there really a way to fix this?”

Hearing that, Cross turned his gaze towards Ellie.

“…To be perfectly honest… it will be extremely difficult. However, my Cross-sama… has absolutely no intention of giving up.”

Ellie replied with a wry smile, but in her voice was an unmistakable tone of pride.

“…Haha. Why are you two trying to save this village anyway? You’re representatives of the royal capital.”

“Huh? That’s obvious…”

As he spoke, Cross fell silent.
Why was he trying to save Hourai in the first place? He thought back to the night before, and the answer came to him.

An answer so painfully simple, so selfish, and so absurdly honest.

“Because a beautiful woman was looking troubled with such a sad face. As a man, this is the kind of moment where you’ve got to look cool, right?”

At those words, Unyou was left speechless.

The sage, the former companion of a Hero, the slayer of the Demon King, the royal envoy—what on earth was he saying?

After a moment of stunned silence, Unyou realised Cross was thinking on the exact same simple, vulgar wavelength as him, and laughter spilled from his lips.

“Pfft… hah… hahaha… ahahahahahaha! You’re damn right! Of course you’d want to help a pretty lady and earn some points for yourself!”

“Right? Just imagine, after it’s all over, she leans in close with a drink in hand and goes, ‘Thank you so much… I truly respect you from the bottom of my heart.’ I’d be on cloud nine, my ego through the roof!”

“A beautiful woman, good booze, and delicious food… that’s heaven right there. Pure bliss.”

“Exactly! After all this is done, I’ll have to ask Gyokuran for that.”

“You’re probably the only one who can treat the village chief like that… but I like it. Go for it.”

With that, the two men burst into hearty laughter.

“…Men… are you really all that simple?”

Ellie murmured softly. She had thought Cross was unique in this regard, but seeing Unyou agree so wholeheartedly, her image of men began to crumble.

“Hah? We all carry different burdens, put on different fronts, but deep down, yeah, most men are this simple.”

At Unyou’s words, Ellie could only force a strained smile.

“So Unyou. That’s why, if you’ve got any ideas that’ll let me get showered in affection from Gyokuran, I need them. Got anything?”

Cross spoke, sounding almost drunk with how cheerful he was.

“Hah? If I had any, don’t you think me or the chief would have done it already? Don’t waste your hope on us. Frankly, we’ve already tried every idea we could think of. And since none of them worked, I’d rather ask you—if you come up with anything, any possibility at all, tell me immediately. Let me help however I can. This is our village.”

“…Yeah. Makes sense. Especially since Gyokuran seems so competent… hmm, what to do… For now, I guess I’ll investigate the village more thoroughly. So, tell me—is there anywhere interesting around here? There might be some hidden clues.”

“Interesting places, huh… Ah, well, there is something. Suzaku Gate has been unusually noisy since yesterday. Seems something rare happened there. They’re a rowdy bunch anyway, but this time it feels different. Whether it’s something good or bad, a huge commotion or just some petty incident, I don’t know… but something is definitely happening.”

“Oh? …By the way, unrelated, but does the food over there taste good?”

“In my opinion, yeah it’s tasty, but don’t expect anything like what you’ve eaten so far. It’s down-to-earth street fare, unrefined, and lacks tradition. But it’s definitely good. Compared to here, there’s more spicy stuff and fewer sweets.”

Unyou replied, sipping his tea.

“Ellie, did you hear that? Different from here, and delicious, apparently.”

“Yes, so it seems.”

Ellie replied, and she and Cross exchanged a look, nodding in silent agreement.

Thus, their next destination was decided.