The Rising of Tanaka in Another World

「You’re right…. There’s no point in staying here anymore, after all. It might be a good idea for us to cross the mountain together.」

The mountain had finally moved–, and Tanaka was rolling around in his mind, letting the joy take over him.

「… The rest is for him to decide.」

That last unsettling word brought the man, Tanaka, back to reality. Reminded of a political group that had once moved a mountain and ended up waning as it was, Tanaka became even more insecure.

And then, as if prearranged beforehand, a person stepped onto the scene – hero Kamui.

「No matter what I say anymore than this, it will be useless anyway, so let’s just part here. The rest is for you to think about and decide for yourself. I hope that the next time we meet, we won’t have to cross swords.」

Based on Mikoto’s words, realizing that the two of them were not so close, Tanaka was relieved for the time being.

「I can’t change my mind so easily. I’m shouldering the wishes of numerous people. Even Kalt….」

Kamui hung his head down, unable to continue his words. None of the vigor he displayed during his fight against Mikoto could be seen there.

Even in the fight against All Biter, he only managed to fight fiercely due to boost from his anger and hatred, but now that this target of hatred had disappeared, he couldn’t maintain his strong front. The only thing that remained in his heart was the emptiness of losing his dearest companion.

Even so, the reason why he couldn’t honestly nod his head to Mikoto’s words was perhaps his remaining slight of pride as a hero. Just as he said, there were things he had to shoulder. No matter how worn out he was, he couldn’t easily deny the path he had walked on up until now.

And then, it was unknown whether he was reading the air or not. Tanaka sneakily called out to Curryman in a whisper.

「Did something happen? The mood is somehow getting serious, though. I’m not good at this kind of thing, you see.」

「He lost one of his companions. She seemed to be a priest of Purinism, so her personality was a bit that, but…Well, even with that, she was still quite the beauty, so it was a shame.」

「Say… What….?」

Tanaka regretted his kindness as he ended up entertaining sympathy, no matter how miniscule it was, when he saw the seemingly out of luck handsome man and thought ‘I do think that every handsome man ought to just explode, but well, as long as they don’t get cocky, it’s not impossible to slightly tolerate it’. Who did you think you were, Tanaka?

「Brat, what are you misunderstanding about?」

Kamui reacted with a jump to the suddenly echoing voice. It was because these were words from the existence he wanted to face the least at the moment. And then, someone he couldn’t afford to avoid with his status as a hero.

「… What do you mean? Is there something I’m misunderstanding about?」

Someone who easily dealt with the monster he couldn’t even stand against. Kamui answered while carefully minding his words.

Tanaka and Kamui faced each other.

「People’s wishes aren’t a tool to create an excuse.」

「…..」

At these words, and then the pressure he felt, Kamui couldn’t say anything back.

「To not get yourself trapped there, you have to move forward following your own will. Shouldering people’s wishes is no different than becoming someone’s puppet, after all.」

「… No one will be able to tell if we’re doing something on our own will or not. If all we get to do is the same in the end, isn’t that just self-satisfaction?」

「No, you’re mistaken. There is no such thing as the same person in this world. There are as many thoughts as there are people in this world, and they are all different. Even if you’re shouldering only a single person, it is impossible to act exactly just as they wish. Shouldering the feeling of others is more about whether there is meaning and value in it than whether betraying or not betraying it.」

The pressure from Tanaka intensified. Kamui couldn’t help but get overwhelmed.

That was inevitable, as what Tanaka-san was shouldering was the sorrows of various unrewarded men. That included salaryman fathers who worked hard for their families, even while their daughters were in their rebellious phase. For the sake of the fathers who despite being unable to reach the image of the rich, handsome, dandy father their daughters wished for, they still worked while shedding sweats every day to support their families, he couldn’t afford to back down no matter what.

「There’s something you ought to do before worrying about what to do from now on. You need to think about it again. What is it that you really have to shoulder–. And then, how you are going to act on it. As long as you don’t have a clear answer to those question, you aren’t allowed to move forward.」

The man flickered his cloak and turned around. Finally being released from the crushing pressure, Kamui was somewhat relieved. However, as if taking advantage of that opening, one sentence pierced into Kamui.

「–I heard that you lost someone important.」

「!」

「You have to shoulder her feelings. And then, you aren’t allowed to discard these feelings ever, no matter what. If you decided not to shoulder them, then at that moment….」

The man walked away. Kamui could do nothing but stare at that back.

These last words were in a way more devastating than the intense pressure he had been under until then.

As someone who stood on the side of the demon, it could be said that his relationship with Purisnism was at extreme hostility. These words that seemed as though they sympathized with Kaltovich, who was a priest of it. However, if what he had just said was true, then there seemed to be two meanings of it.

He was telling him. Love had nothing to do with friend or foe. He told him to shoulder her feelings and go. And then he asked him to choose. Whether to accept her wishes or to betray them. Whichever path he decided to tread on, he had to carry her feelings with him and move forward.

With a complicated feeling, Kamui continued to see off the back of the departing man.

◇ ◇ ◇

「That was harsh. I guess that’s because he’s your favorite disciple, huh.」

「Huh? What are you talking about?」

Tanaka was unfazed by Curryman’s teasing.

Had you noticed it? Of all things, Tanaka didn’t remember the face of the hero at all. However, that was no wonder. Tanaka had only seen Kamui once, before they were summoned to the other world. Moreover, as he saw him from behind, it wasn’t like he had properly seen his face or anything. As memorizing the face of a handsome man was already nigh impossible to begin with, expecting him to remember it under such unfavorable conditions was no different than expecting a miracle to occur. Therefore, it seemed that Tanaka-san was unanimously found not guilty.

Even so, despite everything, to be able to care for even a handsome man, Tanaka-san was truly a man among men. Speaking of the expression of such Tanaka-san right now was….

「Kukuku, I’ve driven a wedge into that handsome man. With this, that handsome man will be weighed with the passed away beauty. I won’t hand over Hero-chan to you! I won’t!」

What truly beautiful weather today as well. As if blessing Tanaka and the others on their attempt to cross over the steep mountain pass.