Volume 3 Chapter 27 Being Pushy Is A Problem, But Not Understanding Why Pushiness Is Disliked Is An Even Bigger Problem
"Hey, Robert. Before I socked you last time, pretty sure you said you wouldn't lay a finger on me."
"I never said anything like that!"
Robert stood at the gate.
He was way too panicked──his whole presence just made his old arrogance stick out even more.
"But listen up. You beat Terra Disas and grabbed the jewel, right? However, that's mine to collect! No, that's not all. I hear the hero's sword has dragon power in it. That sword's going under Order of the Sealed Dragon control too! Hand both over. Now!"
"I told you before, just being in the Order of the Sealed Dragon doesn't mean you get to run the place."
"Shut up! You're a nobody──just some monster, not even human! You don't get to talk back to me!"
Robert's eyes were wild.
He shouted, but Horace just looked tired of it all.
"Hey, Robert."
"What? Doesn't matter what you say, I'm still taking it! Dragon stuff belongs to the Order of the Sealed Dragon!"
"When people talk, it gives them a chance to work things out. Ever wonder why?"
"Stay out of human business, monster! Stop yapping and hand it over!"
"...If you refuse to talk, both sides just crash into each other, each stuck on their own extreme. What do you think happens then?"
Horace turned up the pressure──just a bit.
It wasn't flashy or intense, just a chill wave, almost colorless.
Even so, it hit hard.
"Guh, ah, ugh..."
"Still don't get it? Fighting breaks out. War starts. I'm fine with how the Order of the Sealed Dragon works, so if you storm in here and shout, I'm not going to rat you out to the top. But you really should think before you act."
Maybe Horace got tired of the whole power play──he let go of the pressure.
"So, if I wanted to, I could walk up and say 'Hey, Robert lost 5 strong fighters and 6 weapons. He's way too cocky──go deal with him.' You know?"
"N-no! I won't allow it! Never!"
"Never needed your permission anyway."
Horace felt Silvio's face flicker through his mind──annoyingly familiar.
"Man, is it just me, or do all god-backed groups end up aiming their twisted anger at someone unlucky? Guess that's just humans. Arrogant, petty... Everybody does it now and then."
"Shut it! Enough talk! You're a monster! You're not even human! Don't you dare defy me!"
"Oh, so you think I'll just listen because I'm a monster? Then why didn't you tell Terra Disas: 'Just do what I say, let me seal you nice and quiet.'"
"Don't you mock me!"
"I'm just using your own logic. Isn't that fair?"
Horace let out a long, tired sigh.
"Hey, do you remember what I told you before?"
"Remember what?!"
"Back then, I gave you pain without leaving a mark. Next time──you're getting a real punch."
Horace pressed his left palm to his right fist.
Crack, crack.
His knuckles popped in slow warning.
Robert's face lost all color──pure terror.
"Hiii──y-you really are a monster. If words don't work, you hit people! Someone like you doesn't deserve the power of a dragon!"
"So, is that your last wish as 'current Robert'?"
"Huh? What? Last wish?!"
"Yeah."
Horace raised his fist, ready to swing.
The heavy pressure he usually shot from his eyes now burned in the fist, cold and direct.
"I can push all my intimidation into a punch if I mess around a bit. Normally, it just moves the air and pins someone down. But this? Hits straight into the body."
Horace stared at Robert──his eyes flat, dead tired, soaked in disgust.
"Hits the mind hard. Messes with you. Could screw up your personality for good. So I'm asking: you sure that's what you want your 'last words' to be?"
"No! Stop! Don't!"
"Too late!"
Horace's punch smashed into Robert's face.
"GAAAAAHHHHHH!"
He spun around, then fell to the ground and tumbled.
He twitched and convulsed, his facial structure clearly distorted.
"...Not as satisfying as I thought. The head didn't break apart like I expected. Weird how some parts are tougher than they need to be. Absolutely ridiculous..."
Before turning his back on Robert, Horace muttered to himself.
"Your arguments, they have a lot of truth to them. Certainly, the Order of the Sealed Dragon excels at handling dragon power. The fact that I'm a monster, and the issues with what I possess, those are true too. But the idea that you can force your reasoning on me just because you're 'stronger'? That's the problem."
Horace turned his back and started walking back to the mansion.
"...You, weaker than me, have no right to lecture me. How can you not understand that?"
During Horace's nearly ten years in the capital, there were many who 'only complained' and many who made trivial complaints.
Honestly, he always thought to himself, 'Don't they feel ashamed for not being able to solve such simple matters on their own?'
That's why Horace came to this country, looking down on the people of the capital, and he never wants to work for the government.
He should sincerely apologize to his superiors.
If he could do that, Robert might not be demoted either.
Lost things won't return, but you need to make peace with that.
Creating something, nurturing it, is never free.
But Robert doesn't understand that.
Moreover, since he has no experience in sincerely apologizing, he doesn't know how to show sincerity.
And furthermore, the thought of showing sincerity to an outsider doesn't even cross his mind.
"I actually have an item in my Item Box that could blow away your blunder this time... What a foolish guy."
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