The Righteous Player(s)

Soon after Grinznuha left.

There was fine snow in the sky.

As Melvin's territory was directly melted by Annan... the small barrier that protected this deep mountain has also collapsed.

If it was in the past, it means that this land has lost its protection. The mountains leveled by Annan will eventually be frozen and covered by this cursed snow. The wild animals that originally lived here will also be frozen to death and reincarnated as frost beasts.

But now, since the old grandmother has woken up...

The small thermal barriers built in various residential areas finally lost their meaning at this moment.

Annan picked up the "hand of hope" on the ground.

It has lost that bright brilliance.

The golden hand with a dazzling rainbow light before, now it looks like a rusty, dim brass arm. It didn't look like a sacred bone at all, but rather a worn-out metal glove picked up from the trash.

After leaving Grinznuha, the "Hand of Hope" has completely lost its temperature.

Even when the snowflake fell on it, it didn't melt.

Just as Annan watched the falling snow.

The old grandmother's voice also sounded behind Annan: "Gryanznuha has actually known for a long time that he has been defeated."

"I just don't want to admit it yet, right."

Annan said, turning around to look at the old grandmother, and said softly: "Because he is not reconciled."

"Not reconciled...what can I do."

The old grandmother sighed faintly: "Fortunately, he finally calmed down."

"...Is this calm?"

"For him, it is calm. After all, he is also a former savior, has a passion for blood, and has been blessed by the gods... What he has on hand can affect you, and it is not just [Hands of Hope]."

The old grandmother's gaze turned to the golden hand in Annan's hand: "So I have been here.

"I am very worried whether he will completely lose his mind."

This sounds a lot like protecting Annan.

But Annan just smiled: "You are protecting him."

"Is such that."

The old grandmother nodded slowly: "He is also my child after all. He doesn't know, but I do know... The heart of justice is the king of sacred bones. You who hold the heart of justice, even the gods can punish you. —Not to mention Grinznuha, who lacked talent since he was a child."

"You know he lacks talents, so why do you lead him down this road?"

Annan asked unceremoniously: "Save the world... such a heavy burden, if you don't see hope, you will drive a person crazy."

"That's why we chose him."

The old grandmother replied: "Gryanznuha is not the smartest nor the strongest... He is far from'excellent'. Even in the winter of the past, he can only be ranked above the middle. s level.

"But the plan is not to confront the worm head-on... If we can't get a new crane, then the worm is completely impossible to fight. Because only the crane can kill the worm.

"From the very beginning, we were not looking for the'best brave', but the least attached to the world but the most hopeful... mortals with ambition and perseverance.

"What we want is an escapeist who will never look back even if the world is destroyed behind us; what we want is an unintentional person who can cut off all old connections and has no nostalgia for the old world; what we want is A selfish person who does not have the slightest love for this world and will never rebuild the old world civilization from another world.

"It's not that the hero has fallen into a villain. It's that we are looking for such a villain from the very beginning-because not in all cases, heroes can represent the most hope."

The old grandmother whispered: "Sometimes, people don't want the hero to come. Because the hero will make them ignite unnecessary expectations...In the end, they will be disappointed.

"If there was never hope—if he never believed in hope, he wouldn't be so tired of the darkness."

"That's because the hero is not strong enough."

Annan replied without hesitation: "That is because the strength is not united enough; that is because the world is not good enough, and there is still room for optimization."

The corners of the old grandmother's mouth rose slightly.

She smiled and reached out to hug Annan.

Keeping the child sitting on her arm, she supported Annan's body with one hand so that he could hug her neck. The other hand gently stroked Annan's long hair.

"It's also very difficult, Annan."

The old grandmother narrated softly: "From ancient times to the present, in this world, there are far more incomplete things than perfect things... And these regrets, these tragedies are all because humans can't reach it.

"What Grinznuha said, ‘lack of talent’. That’s how it is.

"Only a hero in a fairy tale will always be invincible-always invincible. Because every time a hero defeats an enemy, he will come to a new world...he will meet new and stronger Enemies that are more difficult to defeat.

"One day, the hero will stop because of failure. Fairy tales are not always false, it may just end earlier."

The old grandmother hugged Annan like a grandmother holding her grandson.

She patted Annan on the back, and whispered: "Like in a story, the heroic knight rescued the princess, but no one mentioned who the princess married afterwards; and in the story of the hero defeating the devil, there is no Tell about what the brave man did and faced after returning home.

"If the fairy tale continues to be extended backwards, we can only get tragedy. The name of that tragedy is'life'.

"Can you really become a hero who will never fail? Even if anyone calls you to hear it, you can still face and resolve all injustices in the world... But what is fair to some people is still unfair to others.

"Are you going to be the adjudicator, Annan? Are you going to use your'fairness' to overwrite the world?"

"will not."

Facing the old grandmother's question, Annan shook his head: "If I say something'I will not fail', it must be the frivolous language of young people who have never seen failure.

"Alfonso and his successors have taught me this truth. The true courage does not lie in being fearless... but in being able to face your own fears."

As he said, he looked at the golden prosthetic hand that gradually lit up in his hand.

Annan's voice gradually became softer: "I think, [Hope] that's probably the case.

"It's not about never failing and winning forever, but about always being able to reinvigorate again-to rise again after failure."

no doubt.

"Perseverance is for hope.

"—That's the heart of Sisyphus."

Annan gave his answer softly.

In the next moment, the hand of hope blooms again in Annan's hands—

"very good."

The old grandmother nodded in satisfaction.

She put Annan down, took a look at the surrounding wasteland, and said: "Remember to clean up here before going back. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com"

"clean?"

"Just use your elemental power to make this land grow plants again."

The old grandmother said in a tone of urging the child to do housework: "Don't you find it ugly to be so bare? And without the curing of the plants, it is a kind of damage to the land... You may not see it now, but it will take long enough. Time, it may become deserted.

"This is the common sense that you should have when you get to the place of coloring: when your battle rewrites the surrounding landscape, you should find a way to change it back, or at least repair it. Because this world is owned by us, and naturally belongs to it. Your copy.

"It's like don't make your home too messy... and don't let other people clean up the aftermath for you. It's not decent enough. When you clean it up, I'll go back and help you put the hands of hope in person.

"Then, after you announce the start of spring in public-I will end the winter of winter."

(End of this chapter)