The Isekai Protagonist's Common Failing

"Why don't you two come to our village and rest for a while? It'll also give us a chance to properly thank you."

After learning that Yoru Machi and the others were the adventurers who had slain the Poisonous Demon Dragon, the old village chief and villagers immediately changed their previous attitude and became extremely welcoming toward them.

"The Poisonous Demon Dragon was taken down by Yoru Machi alone. It had nothing to do with me—I was just passing through."

Seeing that they wanted to thank them for killing the Poisonous Demon Dragon, Shimada Yousuke displayed considerable professional integrity. Thinking they were about to give out the quest reward, he promptly stated that he had done nothing.

"Forget about going into your village. I'm afraid you might try to set us up. Since you know yourselves that you falsely reported the quest's difficulty, I won't waste any more words on it. As for the reward for this quest, you need to make up another fifty percent for me. Otherwise, I won't just report this matter to the Adventurer's Guild—I'll also inform your local lord."

The old village chief did not hesitate at all in response to Yoru Machi's demand. He immediately took another small pouch of gold coins from behind him and handed it to Yoru Machi.

He had previously chosen to misreport the commission's difficulty and hold back some of the funds because he believed no adventurer would be able to defeat the Poisonous Demon Dragon. The money he withheld had been intended to fund the relocation of the entire village.

But now, the Poisonous Demon Dragon's corpse lay right before him. With its death, the environmental problems caused by its influence would naturally be resolved, so there was no longer any need for the village to relocate.

After taking the pouch of gold coins, Yoru Machi confirmed that the amount was correct and was about to leave. At that moment, however, the old village chief suddenly stepped in front of him.

"Is there something else?"

Under normal circumstances, after adventurers defeated a powerful monster, nearby villages would hold a celebratory feast. And the adventurers who had played the leading role normally would not refuse such an invitation.

After all, they could eat and drink for free while being showered with praise. Many people greatly enjoyed that sort of feeling.

What the old village chief could not understand was why Yoru Machi was so different from ordinary adventurers, not following the expected script at all.

He had even hinted quite subtly that there were many young and beautiful girls in their village who greatly admired handsome, powerful adventurers, yet Yoru Machi had remained completely unmoved.

"To be honest, there is one more matter we would like to trouble you with, mighty adventurer. Although you have eliminated the Poisonous Demon Dragon, restoring the water source it polluted will not happen overnight. The polluted water cannot be used for drinking or irrigation, and our village is now close to drought, so..."

"So you want me to provide after-sales service and deal with the polluted water too?"

Before the old village chief could finish, Yoru Machi had already guessed what he wanted to say. "Unfortunately, setting aside the fact that I don't know any water-purification magic, even if I had a way to help you, that would count as a separate commission. The quest I accepted from the Adventurer's Guild was to slay the poisonous magical beast polluting the surrounding environment. That was all. Anything else is outside the scope of my work."

If he had not overheard what the old village chief and the others said earlier, Yoru Machi might have considered finding a way to help the village solve its water problem after earning such a large sum of money. But now, he had no desire to meddle in their affairs.

They treated adventurers' lives as worthless as grass. Why should he pity people like that?

Seeing that Yoru Machi was determined to leave, the old village chief let out a long sigh. He knew that their earlier actions had offended Yoru Machi.

Honestly, the fact that Yoru Machi had not reported what they did was already more than generous. Asking him to continue helping them really was pushing their luck.

"Yousuke, aren't you leaving? Don't tell me you actually plan to stay and help them solve their water problem?"

Yoru Machi was preparing to leave, but when he saw Shimada Yousuke still standing where he was, he could not help but pause in surprise.

"Yoru Machi, I think we should help them. Without water, this village will fall apart. Besides, there are quite a few women and children in this village. Many of them probably don't even know what the village chief did."

Hearing Shimada Yousuke's words, Yoru Machi knew that his heart had softened. This was also a common failing of ordinary isekai protagonists. Put nicely, it was called being "kindhearted." Put bluntly, it was being a damn bleeding heart!

Yoru Machi was not some utterly wicked person either. From what he had observed just now, although the villagers were indeed affected by the water problem, it was not yet enough to disrupt their normal lives. At most, their farmland would probably wither away.

The Poisonous Demon Dragon that had affected the environment was dead. In a few more days, the polluted water would naturally be diluted bit by bit until it became harmless. Letting them endure that period could also serve as punishment for falsely reporting the quest difficulty and treating adventurers as expendable.

But Shimada Yousuke now said that he understood what it felt like to have no water to drink, to barely survive on rainwater alone. That was why he wanted to help these villagers.

"If this is your decision, then I'll take my leave first. I hope your kindness will be repaid. Yousuke, let me give you one final piece of advice. This is another world, not a game. Everyone here has their own thoughts and personality. They won't treat every player equally the way NPCs do, and just because you do something does not mean you will definitely be rewarded for it. Of course, I have always admired people willing to lend a hand to the weak, and I agree with doing so. But not everyone is worth helping. That is all I have to say. I hope this will teach you a proper lesson."

After leaving those words behind, Yoru Machi turned and left. In his view, Shimada Yousuke was still far too naive.

But he could not really be blamed for that. After all, he was only a seventeen-year-old boy from modern society who had never endured much of society's harshness.

Unlike him, Yoru Machi had wandered Rukongai for decades. Its brutal business environment had taught him many things. Sometimes, excessive kindness and softness were not necessarily good things.

Some people were worth saving, like the Elf Maiden Cui from before. But even if you offered help to others, they might not appreciate it. There would even be those who kicked you while you were down.

After all he had experienced, Yoru Machi believed he had a good eye for judging people. That old village chief had been arrogant before becoming respectful. Before meeting Yoru Machi and the others, he had regarded adventurers as worthless as grass.

But after learning that Yoru Machi and the others had killed the Poisonous Demon Dragon—and when he had something to ask of them—he put on an entirely different face. Yoru Machi had seen plenty of such two-faced people in Rukongai. They simply were not worth helping.