Cornflower Witch

Chapter 98 The Real Jero

"Why are you here?" Mick asked the two women as he sat on a rock. Komia was bandaging Mick with a bandage.

"What do you mean 'how did we get here'? If it weren't for Karen's arrow, you'd still be racing against the ogres right now," Komia retorted.

“Okay, it’s my fault, but you guys didn’t turn back after finding the spring, which is different from the original plan.” Of the five, Karen and Komia had planned to turn back after finding the spring.

“Isn’t this to find you all? It’s safer for us to be together.” Komia finished bandaging herself and stood back up.

"Phew, that's it. Your external injuries aren't serious," she commented simply.

The three then exchanged information, and Mick, following the direction Komia and the others had come from, retrieved the spring water.

"That completes our first objective, and we've also accomplished one of our second objectives." Komia glanced at the dead ogre not far away.

"Let's say this one belongs to Karen, she deserves the most credit, Mick, you don't have any objections, right?"

“I have no objection.” Mick shook his head. If Karen hadn’t intervened, he probably would have been chased to death by that ogre.

"What should we do with the rest of the time? Should we just go back, or try to find Tia and Ray?" Komia asked the two of them.

"I'm fine with anything." Karen thought either way was fine.

“I…” Mick wanted the two of them to join him in avenging the team members, but considering the danger involved, he kept quiet.

“I want to go find Brother Jero first; he’s hiding in a cave about two miles away,” Mick said.

“Now that we have a clear direction, let’s go, or it will get dark soon.” Komia patted her skirt and then patted the 'dough' beside her with one hand.

After the three made their decision, they set off. With their companions joining them, they felt much more at ease and could take turns keeping watch, thus conserving their energy.

In the evening, they found Gerald again. This time, Gerald had regained consciousness. He stood on the battlefield with a face full of shame, trying to dig out the bodies of his teammates from the ground. Unfortunately, those people had already been eaten by cannibals, and there was no trace of their remains.

night.

"Sorry, Mick," the man said dejectedly by the campfire.

"It's not your fault, Brother Jero, the ogres were just too strong." He had almost died at the hands of the ogres himself.

"It's not that, it's that I'm too weak," Jero replied softly, staring blankly at the campfire.

"Are you curious why I use 'sunflower' to numb myself?" he said slowly, recounting the pain and weaknesses he had accumulated over the years.

"I'm not nearly as strong and determined as you think. I want to escape from the adventurer's profession all the time. It's just that everyone depends on me. If I leave, the adventure team will collapse."

“Big brother…” Mick thought of himself in the past, relying on Jero just like his teammates.

"I'm terrified, terrified of dying," Jero murmured.

“You all think that people who have been through a lot of battles become brave, but I never think so.”

"I just think that the more life-and-death experiences you have, the more timid you become."

“Many people have died. Some of them were my seniors, some were my former teammates, and some were strangers I only met once.”

"The longer I'm an adventurer, the more I realize how fragile life is, how easy it is to die, and how utterly meaningless it is to die."

“An experienced snake catcher was bitten by a venomous snake during a single moment of carelessness and died on the road before he could take the antidote. He had actually been doing this job for decades.”

"His name was soon forgotten, and when it was mentioned, it was ridiculed as his last carelessness."

"Before he died, he was the best snake catcher in several nearby villages and the pride of his family."

“After he died, his wife remarried within a year, and his children became dirty and neglected, completely different from their previous clean and healthy selves.”

"I have also led several young teammates and companions. They joined the adventure team, but they didn't last long. Some of them died in a mission before they even earned enough money for equipment."

“Death is too common, life is too fragile…” Jero kept repeating this sentence, his eyes glazed over.

“Before each mission, I would hide in my room and use the numbing hallucinations brought on by the ‘sunflower’ to comfort myself, so that I could get some relaxation and comfort.”

“Big brother…” Mick gently patted the other’s back to comfort him.

“I have always maintained a strong and resolute image in front of you, because that way you will trust me and listen to me.”

“No one cares about or respects the words of a coward. I’m afraid of death in adventures, but I also crave your adoration and the revelry in bars. It’s a wonderful thing…” His voice carried a hint of greed and obsession.

"The girls in the bar all fawned over me; they would sit on my lap with just a glance from me."

“Mick, you know how proud I was? I was always the center of attention, everyone waited for my orders. If I told everyone to leave today, we'd move out today, and no one would say no.” ...

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mick,” Jero said, then lowered his head.

"I'm not a good older brother, just an ordinary person with limited abilities who's afraid of dying." His voice was unusually low.

By the fire, Karen silently added firewood without saying a word, while Komia curiously shifted her gaze back and forth between Jero and Mick, and the snow-white tigress lay beside her, its two front paws resting on its nose, its eyes fixed on the golden-brown pieces of meat roasting over the fire.

After listening to Jero's story, Mick also fell silent. He felt guilty for not caring about his older brother before, and he also felt a sense of collapse of his beliefs.

Previously, he had always aspired to become a powerful adventurer, not only because the profession was respected and could help many people solve problems, but also because it offered substantial rewards far exceeding those of ordinary jobs.

In his mind, Gerald was the best role model. Gerald had pulled him out of the village inn where he grew up and made him a real man. Gerald had also sent him to study under Maester Hyde, completely changing his destiny.

“No, that’s not how it is,” Mick shook his head in rebuttal.

“Indeed, Brother Jero is not as brave and determined as I used to imagine, but I still respect you.”

"If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would still be working odd jobs at that hotel, living a lowly life like my mother, one that is not respected by anyone," he murmured, recalling the past.

"I have never regretted coming out with you and joining the adventure team."

“At first, I suffered a lot of injuries, but that was because I wasn’t mature or strong enough. If I were as experienced and strong as you, I wouldn’t have suffered like this.”

“I have always admired you, and I feel at ease when I walk behind you.”

"Although you said you were cowardly and afraid of death, your caution and thorough preparation saved the lives of many teammates and solved many problems."

"You were just unlucky this time," he reassured Jeroen, also comforting his own shattered ideals.

“No, that’s not how it is…” Jero closed his eyes in pain.

"say no more."

“You don’t understand, you don’t understand how terrible death is, that feeling, that scene…” Jero was once again caught in a huge emotional upheaval.

This blow completely shattered his defenses and will, leaving him incredibly vulnerable.

“Watching your comrades fall one by one, dying with their eyes wide open, and being powerless to stop it, seeing the enemy getting closer and closer, that fear, that panic, that suffocating feeling, you would never understand, Mick…” Jero repeatedly denied Mick’s ideals.

"You don't want to be an adventurer anymore, yes, don't do this job like me."

“You are a student of Hyde and have met Viscount Schefeng. After graduation, you will find a job in Jiaoshi City as a stable guard. Although the income will be lower, you can live a fairly comfortable life.”

"I've always wanted to be a guard, but I can't give up my extravagant lifestyle."

"This time I won't hesitate. I never want to do missions again, nor take any risks. I just want to be an ordinary guard who is ridiculed, and live a quiet life from now on."

“Big brother…” Mick patted the other’s back lightly and then stopped talking.

He already knew the other person's feelings and stopped trying to comfort or dissuade them.

The firewood crackled and burned quietly as the four men sat around the fire in silence until the fat from the roasting meat dripped and splattered onto the embers, producing wisps of smoke and a sizzling sound, breaking the silence.

"Ugh."

The white wolf stood up, wanting to lick the roasted meat, but Komia pressed it down.

"Wait, this isn't for you." Komia stood up, took the piece of roast meat, and handed it to Jero across from her.

"Have something to eat. Get some rest today, and come back with us tomorrow."

"Thank you." A dry sound came from Jero's throat. He took the roast meat and slowly chewed and swallowed. Tears streamed down his face as he ate, perhaps because he was thinking of many people and things from the past.

"Here, this is for you." Komia took down another piece and handed it to Mick.

Mick silently accepted the barbecue, biting into it listlessly, reflecting on his experiences over the past few years and beginning to re-examine his short life.

Should he continue to be an adventurer in the future, or should he follow his brother Gerald's advice and stay in Scorched Rock as a peaceful and unremarkable guard?

'Only when you truly understand yourself can you begin your life.' — An ancient maxim of the Candleburg School.

The words that Hyde once taught them are now truly revealing their charm and profound meaning.

(End of this chapter)