Ambition That Could Not Be Diminished, Kumogakure Standing Upon the Cliff!

"Sorry, Lord Arata, I..."

With her personal affairs resolved smoothly, the tension in Guren's heart eased somewhat, but she was also filled with guilt.

If he had arrived even a little later, then the few subordinates who had come with her would most likely have...

"I was a failure. I hardly ever noticed whether the sun was shining, because I had no time.

"My parents couldn't support me, and my education wasn't very high. Alone in the city, I searched for a future.

"I looked for many jobs, but none would hire me. Maybe nobody liked someone who wasn't good at talking, didn't enjoy socializing, and hadn't shown enough ability.

"I spent three whole days eating only two loaves of bread. Hunger kept me awake at night. Fortunately, I had paid a month's rent in advance, so I could keep living in that dark basement instead of going outside to endure the bitterly cold winter winds.

"Finally, I found a job. I worked night watch at a hospital, guarding the morgue.

"The hospital was even colder at night than I had imagined. The corridor wall lamps were unlit, and everything was dim. I could only rely on the faint light spilling from the rooms to see where I stepped.

"The place smelled awful. From time to time, dead people were delivered stuffed into body bags, and we worked together to carry them into the morgue.

"It wasn't a good job, but at least I could afford bread. I could also use the idle hours at night to study. After all, no one wanted to come to the morgue unless a corpse needed to be delivered or taken away for cremation. Of course, I still didn't have enough money to buy books, and I couldn't see any hope of saving up.