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CHAPTER 227: THE RESOLVE

CHAPTER 227: THE RESOLVE

「…… Aun-san, I have a request to make for you.」

Curulario had been silent up until then, but suddenly he spoke up.

He looked like he had made up his mind about something…… and what was that thing about a request?

「A request? Okay, what is it? I am going to listen to you, no matter what it might be.」

「Please! Would you do me the honor of becoming my Master!?」

He said something completely outrageous completely out of the blue and without any context leading to it whatsoever.

Besides, there was nothing I could possibly gain from accepting this request. I was sure that everyone in here, including Curulario himself, was thinking the same thing as I did. It would be easy for me to refuse, but there was something in Curulario’s eyes that…… Oh well, I might as well ask him for his reason for asking me that in the first place.

「I…… I want to become stronger! I know that it is rude for me to suddenly ask for something like this from you, but……!」

「…… Why exactly do you want to become stronger?」

「Until now, I have been worrying about so many people every day, and I have been protected by them as well. Even yesterday…… I couldn’t even properly run away if it was not for your help and saving me, Aun-san! But that’s no good! I can’t explain it very well, but……」

Giving Heil a slight wink, he was also visibly annoyed by this sudden request as we all were, that it was clear that he was thinking something alongside the lines of: “Oh no, I messed up,” even without saying it out loud. As for Ciel…… Ah, he looked like he was not thinking about anything particular at the current moment.

In any case, Curulario was on friendly terms with “Tekirana”, but he was not affiliated with it. That’s why Heil has not interfered yet in the situation, and why he would probably not do that at all.

That meant that I could decide how to solve this problem on my own.

「Hmm, I see. By the way, how determined are you to go through with this, judging that you have already spoken up, Curulario?」

「D-Determined……?」

「Even if you want to study under me to grow stronger, in the end you are the only one who will have to work hard in order to make it happen. Besides, we don’t have time to be so leisurely with anyone here. I will be completely honest with you and tell you this: we cannot allow ourselves to waste our time. If you are only half-hearted about going through with it, then you should probably stop right here and right now.」

「H-Half-hearted?! As if! I’m serious here! That means I am more than willing to undergo any kind of harsh and painful training that you might come up with!!」

「I just want to know just how serious you are about doing this. Everyone here knows that you can’t become strong just playing it safe, you know? And no matter how many times you encounter danger on your path, there is no guarantee that you will gain the strength you so desire from it.」

「I know! I am well aware of the risk!」

「You should also know that I am not all that great at teaching. Is that okay with you?」

「It doesn’t matter! I really admire your strength, Aun-san!」

I could already see that he was just not going to give up, at least until I would give in and accept his request. His determination was properly conveyed from his words and expression. Contrary to his appearance, he had a pretty stubborn personality.

But from what I have seen of Curulario so far, there was one major concern that I had. That is, his habit of “running away.”

The existence of the Labyrinth Escape Stones makes the Wislo Dungeon a much safer place than other dungeons out there, for better or worse. Of course, it was best to do things safely if you could help it. But if you seek extraordinary power, you will need to exceed your limits many times over. You could even say that how you think and act when you are in a pinch that almost kills you will determine whether you can overcome the walls that you will surely encounter on your journey.

This was true for us who could return to the Dungeon with our own Skills, but Ciel and Heil also stuck to their own will and rejected the temptation to use the Labyrinth Escape Stones in situations where they could not back down, which was probably why they were able to acquire such strength and courage at such a young age.

In comparison, Curulario said that “His tail breaks off when he is nervous or agitated” but I think that this is probably an unconscious act to hedge himself against risk, creating an opening where he could use the Labyrinth Escape Stone to escape with minimal amount of risks involved. Of course, that was not necessarily a bad thing in and out of itself, but if you were to act with escape as your number one priority when it comes to danger, that’s the limit of your growth right there. In fact, I could already tell from the level I saw with my Appraisal Eye that Curulario has only gone to Beginner level dungeon to ensure the maximum safety margin of his escapades.

Now then…… What should I do about that?

「Aun-sama, I have a proposal to make.」

As I was thinking about what to do, Cinque took a step forward and spoke up.

「Hm? What’s this? What’s your proposal?」

「Yes, that’s right. What do you say to that: we should test that ‘resolve’ that he is talking about before agreeing or declining.」

「…… A test of resolve, huh?」

「Exactly. If that’s the case, I think we can prove Curulario’s resolve to Aun-sama without spending too much time and effort on it.」

This seemed to be quite kind, but it was actually quite harsh in its execution.

Cinque was most probably just making up an excuse to get Curulario to give up naturally, and did not have that much expectations for him in the first place. But it was not so bad of an idea.

I can understand the desire to become stronger. When I became a Zombie, I had such a strong desire for power that all of my thoughts were dominated by the desire for strength. Even now that I had something important to me by my side, that desire had not faded at all.

That is why, even though I understood Curulario’s characteristics, I cannot possibly ignore this absurd request from him. If that was the case, I should set a clear wall in the form of a test and prove his will and potential to overcome it, no matter what the outcome might be, just so that he could feel better about himself.

「Okay! We are going to adopt Cinque’s idea right away. Curulario, please come to the Intermediate level dungeon, the “Wolf Tower” with us tomorrow morning. There, we will conduct a test to see your resolve and ability. Please prepare yourself as if you were going to conquer the dungeon for a few days. I will tell you the content of the test and the Pass/Fail criteria once we get there.」

「I-I understand! Thank you for giving me that chance!」

Hearing my response, Curulario’s face showed feelings of both relief and expectation.

Looking at his slightly elated expression, I just thought: “Tomorrow is going to be the worst day in Curulario’s life,” and only Kinu could accurately read my thoughts.