NOVEL NEXT Chapter 79
<79 - Strange Entrance>
The Warrior embodies justice.
Those who have become warriors.
They must not indulge in evil deeds.
That’s common sense, even a rookie warrior party knows this.
Yet, they were even more tormented.
“Alpha, can we take down that Troll?”
Alpha flexed her arms, which were as thick as the Destroyer’s waist, confidently declaring.
“Three seconds is enough.”
“Oh.”
“If my waist folds, I’ll be dead.”
Zing!
Such a cocky dude with absolutely no usefulness.
The Destroyer cursed internally.
“Destroyer, can you trick the Troll and either go back the way you came or release some mercenaries to fight together?”
“That’s impossible. Just look at that Troll’s eyes shining like baubles. If I try a trick, he’ll throw that rock he’s holding and smash the carriage.”
Actually, the Destroyer, who was mocking him internally, wasn’t much use either.
After all, Trolls are medium-sized Monsters.
Even a hundred armed soldiers poking it with a three-meter-long weapon would take three days and nights just to barely take it down, assuming a Knight or shield-bearer is tanking up front.
If there’s no tanking, those hundred spearmen would just be a buffet for the Troll.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to hit and run.”
“Is that really okay?!”
The Destroyer was honestly startled by Ni’alatotep’s cool response.
“Isn’t there something about losing the qualification of a warrior for unjust actions?”
“Justice is relative. If by pulling off some reckless bravado you cause the coachman who could save you all to die, isn’t that the most unjust end?”
Ni’alatotep was a realistic warrior.
“Let’s hit five of them and move on.”
“Are you serious?”
“Words are fearful beasts. If we drive the carriage over the cliff pretending to save five, the fear will make it impossible to run at full speed. Then we’ll betray the Troll’s terms.”
The Destroyer thought it was quite a sharp analysis.
As a warrior, it was a bit questionable, though.
“If we push too hard to save a few people, and all of us in the carriage end up dead, ultimately everyone here will die. Those who can be saved should live.”
Thanks to that, the comrades who could keep their lives shut their mouths and followed the warrior’s decision.
About the terrible sensation of the carriage trampling over people, let’s just say it’s something they did not want to remember.
The Troll kept its promise and sent them safely on their way.
After passing the crossroads.
Ni’alatotep chuckled and said.
“We might have just met the smartest Troll in the world.”
“Just a Troll that asks ridiculous quizzes!”
“Oh my. Destroyer, haven’t you realized? The real reason that Troll is actually smart.”
At that time, the Destroyer didn’t grasp it.
He only thought Ni’alatotep was an annoying being.
He wouldn’t realize what he had come to understand until many adventures later, retracing his steps back to the start of his past journey.
“Surely this was the village?”
When he stopped by the Trading Village in search of a memory of the coachman, and unexpectedly met the coachman who also experienced the smartest Troll in the world.
The Destroyer awkwardly greeted the coachman.
“I don’t see your comrades.”
“Well, that’s just how it is.”
“This is a kind of fate too, would you accompany me until the road is done?”
“Wow, you’re quite bold.”
The Destroyer sat next to the coachman.
Traveling aimlessly along the road.
He exchanged three questions with the coachman and finally understood.
What the past Ni’alatotep had realized.
“Alright, it’s time for our Oknodie student to step up. Assume you’ve become the veteran warrior Destroyer and throw three questions at the coachman.”
“You sure love asking questions, eh, Destroyer!”
“Or else it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Did you actually ask three questions every time?”
“Did I? If you keep bothering me too much, I’ll count that as a question too.”
As usual, the tales of the Destroyer’s adventures changed every time.
This time, another interesting story came out.
‘Is the motive the trolley dilemma?’
A pretty famous ethical thought experiment in modern times.
In a choice where gain and loss are clearly divided, if you can change the sacrifice of more people to result in fewer through your choice, can you choose to sacrifice fewer people of your will or let more people suffer?
‘A Troll doing an ethical experiment on humans, that’s one weird Troll!’
Yet when talking about [The Unyielding Sheep] in the first lecture, there were hints within the story, just like this time in [The Troll's Dilemma] too.
The three questions were merely a process to reflect and gain certainty, the hints had already been picked up.
“Does the coachman’s carriage happen to have spare wheels?”
“Good observation. Then you can discover the spare wheels loaded in the back of the carriage.”
That confirmed it.
The coachman wants to hide the fact he went through the Troll’s dilemma.
Even to the extent of preparing spare wheels.
“Second question. Were there people who went through the shortcut before the carriage this time too?”
“The coachman would say yes.”
“Final question. Have the territory soldiers or Adventurer’s Guild ever tried to hunt the Troll?”
“The coachman is quite sure there won’t be any such attempts according to what he knows.”
“Alright then, I think I might have figured it out.”
“Then give it a shot.”
It’s not a particularly tough question.
If the dialogue is a hint regarding morality, then the answer would also be related to that.
“The Troll’s ethical experiment ended up making humans ‘accomplices’.”
“Brave coachmen, who were willing to risk their lives to save their kin, ended up all dead while trying to hit one of the ones on the cliff while thinking they were saving five.”
“Conversely, the selfish coachmen trying to trample a wider road to save themselves could have coldly taken down many to survive and escape.”
The Destroyer nodded for more.
“Actually, the Troll’s dilemma isn’t about the fork in the road itself. The cliff road is the ‘trap’ and the main road is the ‘answer’.”
“The real dilemma lies behind that.”
“Choose to inform the territory soldiers or guild about having hit five people in cooperation with the Troll’s ethical experiment and be branded a killer, or act as if this bizarre thought never happened, keeping your mouth shut to prioritize your safety.”
“Choosing the former eliminates the nearby risks but poses danger to oneself, while choosing the latter leaves the community at risk but keeps oneself safe.”
Will you risk becoming the enemy of human society?
Or will you risk the existence of an enemy among humans?
The Troll induces hilariously intellectual dilemmas.
And those who pass through this dilemma.
Are all the coachmen who struck down the five on the main road.
Those who made decisions prioritizing selfishness over altruism towards their kin are far more likely to take care of their own safety rather than making self-sacrificial judgments.
The survivors become accomplices and keep quiet about the risks existing on the path they took.
In fact, they might even actively conceal and distort information about the dead.
Because it would be troublesome if their crimes were exposed!
“Didn’t the former hero Ni’alatotep realize that fact right from the start of his adventure?”
“Correct. By the way, I’m curious. How did you figure that out so quickly?”
“Because Ni’alatotep’s concept of justice has a different selfish viewpoint from universal justice!”
Being a player, I can tell.
Whenever any story ever involves death, the following tale cannot be observed.
So weak players sometimes make those morally wrong or unjust choices knowingly.
Back in the days before I knew about rerolling, I did all sorts of things with low-tier characters, hence I know it well.
The weak must sometimes be cowardly and selfish to survive.
Ni’alatotep was a Warrior but had realized that truth and made cool decisions.
Like a ‘player’ enjoying the game.
What a peculiar NPC, isn’t he?
“If only you had been born 15 years earlier and had become Ni’alatotep’s companion, you guys would have clicked perfectly.”
“Eww. I don’t want to.”
“Wouldn’t it be a glory to join the warrior party?”
“That’s just because I’m weak. I’m strong, you know?”
Flex!
As he flexed like he was building muscles, the professor said with a cute face, “Yeah, you’re strong.”
“Hmm? Why are you suddenly blushing? It’s creepy.”
“I’m not creepy! It’s just that when I say I’m strong nowadays, everyone calls me an Orc, but it’s the first time someone’s taken it so calmly like you, Professor.”
“Ha.”
The Destroyer clicked his tongue and said.
“Tsundere disciple, how troublesome.”
“What are you saying for real!”
Just like that, his grateful feelings completely vanished!