Old Walker's Heart

"I am."

Old Walker turned around. Sitting before him was a handsome young man who looked nothing like a man. He had never seen him before, though the blonde girl beside him looked somewhat familiar...

"Who are you?"

"I'm Rhode Aland, leader of the Starlight Mercenary Group."

"Starlight?"

Old Walker furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. Then, as if remembering something, he nodded in sudden realization.

"Oh... you're the one who took over the Moon Bow..."

As he spoke, Old Walker raised his glass and gestured toward the blonde girl beside Rhode.

"I remember now. You're that Spirit Master girl. Oh, I hope you're not too upset. Mercenaries are like that—always busy, caught in the wind and rain. You never know when someone's going to die..."

"Mr. Walker, we came here to ask you for help with something."

"Oh?"

Though somewhat annoyed that Rhode had interrupted him, Old Walker managed to open his eyes a little and turn toward the young man.

"What is it?"

"I want you to join my mercenary group."

Rhode said it very directly, without the slightest hesitation. But after a moment of surprise, Old Walker suddenly burst out laughing.

"...Pfft, hahahahahaha."

He seemed to have heard a joke and kept pounding the table, spilling the wine in his glass. Lize stared at the old man's sudden outburst in surprise and confusion. Rhode, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm. He even had time to signal the bartender and order two glasses of fruit wine.

Only after the bartender had gone to fetch them did the old man finally manage to calm down. He panted several times like a broken bellows, then leaned back in his chair.

"I heard you right, kid? You want me to join your mercenary group?"

"Is there a problem?"

Rhode raised an eyebrow.

"Of course there is."

Only then did the old man's expression turn serious. He sat up straight and looked at the young man before him challengingly.

"Do you think I'm some senile old fool? Let me ask you something: how many people are in your mercenary group right now?"

"Two."

Rhode answered quickly, without a trace of hesitation.

"Exactly."

The old man spread his hands.

"Two people? A mercenary group? What are you going to do, take jobs? Complete them? Spring's end is almost here, and Starlight still has zero points. Not to mention, you've already failed once. No one's going to come knocking to offer you a commission, and the tasks posted by the Mercenary Association... To be honest, kid, you aren't capable of completing them."

As he spoke, the old man waved both hands.

"Don't think that just because I'm old, I'm too senile to know what's going on. I've been here for decades. I know everything that happens here, every single day. So I'm sorry, but I'm not getting aboard your sinking ship."

Old Walker's words were so blunt that the girl beside him immediately couldn't sit still. She looked anxious and tried to say something, but couldn't get a word out. Rhode, by contrast, remained as calm as ever. He even had time to pick up his glass and take a taste of the light, sweet fruit wine before speaking.

"Mr. Walker, what are you afraid of?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I just want to know what, exactly, you have to be afraid of."

Rhode's tone was as calm as ever, but his voice held a trace of open mockery.

"I admit, our situation is bad. We might even be forcibly disbanded during the year-end recess. But..."

Rhode held up one finger.

"Even if we're disbanded, that won't happen for another year, will it? So what if we fail? Either we die, or we're disbanded and can only live like ordinary mercenaries. What does that have to do with you? Look at yourself. Even if we're disbanded, you'll just come back here and carry on with your life as it is now, won't you? Or are you afraid of dying?"

"Don't think you can provoke me with a little trick like that, kid."

The old man's expression darkened further.

"I've seen every kind of person over the years. I'm not afraid of death, but I don't like being deceived. You have no future. Of course I wouldn't choose a path that has no future."

"That's a pretty good excuse."

Rhode clapped, as if in praise, though his expression didn't change at all.

"That's what you told yourself when you abandoned Light Wind, too, isn't it?"

"Bang!!!"

At Rhode's words, the old man's expression changed. He slammed his glass onto the table, startling Lize.

"They abandoned me! You little brat, you don't know anything! Don't you dare spout nonsense here! Get out!"

"Everyone knows how to make themselves out to be the victim."

But Rhode didn't waver at the old man's fury.

"But what right do you have to complain? To feel wronged? They gave you a chance back then. They gave you time. And what did you do? Look at yourself now. You're like a wounded jackal, cowering in panic. You're huddled in your little den, too afraid to move. You're scared. You've lost your confidence, so you don't dare face it. Am I wrong?"

"Whoosh!"

A cold dagger pressed tightly against Rhode's throat in an instant.

"Shut up, kid."

The old man's face was dark, like that of a ferocious wolf.

"You're not qualified to say that to me."

"That's what I should be saying to you."

Rhode paid no heed to the old man's threat. In fact, he knew all about the old man's background. In the game, he was one of the rare high-value NPCs in Deepstone City during the early stages. His stats were quite good, though that didn't mean he was particularly smart. In fact, in his personal quest, "Rediscovering Past Glory," many players considered his behavior the very definition of stupidity. In that quest, the mercenary group he once belonged to came under attack by magical beasts. When the old man received word, he decided to go help them, and of course the player had to go along. But what infuriated many players was that a journey of only a few dozen minutes turned into an agonizing ordeal because of the old man. He kept stopping by the roadside, worrying aloud over whether he really should go back, whether his old comrades even wanted to see him. This fifty- or sixty-year-old man fussed like a woman, leaving players so frustrated they wanted to go up and strangle him.

And the price of all that indecision was that by the time he arrived, all his former comrades had become snacks in the magical beasts' bellies. Only then did the old man finally reflect on his mistake. His inner power burst forth, and he perished alongside the beasts, making for a classic heroic tale of a prodigal's return.

Unfortunately, the players hadn't appreciated the story at all. After being delayed on the road for three or four hours by the old man's hesitation and then getting surrounded by a horde of magical beasts, they were in no mood to hold back their anger. They showed no respect for their elders; their review of the old man consisted of two words and a prominently raised middle finger.

Rhode had been one of them.

That quest had also taught him exactly what had happened to Old Walker. His comrades had given him plenty of patience and time, but the blow had shaken the old man's confidence so badly that he'd withdrawn into his shell like a turtle and rejected his comrades' goodwill outright. He'd never admitted his own mistakes, instead blaming everything on others. Though he eventually came to his senses, that sort of thing might raise the drama in a novel, but nobody wanted to see it happen in real life. What good was remorse? He still died in the end. The people he wanted to save died, he died, and he wasted all that time for nothing. What did he get out of it?

Now, Rhode was saying these things partly to provoke him. The old man was so cowardly that unless you pushed him to the limit, he'd never get moving. But Rhode also wanted a little revenge. That quest had put him through hell back in the game. Insults hadn't gotten any reaction there, so it felt good to let off some steam now that he was facing the man in person.

"At least I dare to face things, instead of hiding in a corner like a coward and drinking away my troubles."

With that, Rhode stood up and tossed a few silver coins onto the table.

"I'll give you a day to think it over. If you come around, you can find me at the Sairiel Haunted House. If I don't see you tomorrow, then I never want to see you again."

With that, Rhode turned and left. Lize, still shocked and bewildered by what had just happened, hurried to her feet and followed him out.

After the two had left, Old Walker dropped back into his chair. His jaw clenched, and his hands trembled with anger. But a moment later, he let out a long sigh, buried his head in his arms, and fell silent.