Chapter 79: My Decision

“Do you know him?” Joseph asked when he noticed our reactions.

I was still stunned by the revelation, but Sarah answered, “Yes. He’s a friend—and a former member of our party.”

She looked disheartened as she finished her sentence. She must have remembered the last time we heard from him: a letter saying he would leave on his own and that we shouldn’t follow him.

I had been a little upset with the way he handled it back then. But now, I couldn’t bring myself to feel angry about it. In the end, I believed I had benefited the most from how things turned out. Sarah, however, was different.

She still saw Leo as a close friend. She still felt hurt remembering how he left without a word—only a letter—as if all those years of friendship meant nothing.

I could tell those feelings were still simmering inside her. It was too soon for her to simply forget.

I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was that really the same Leo I knew? My old friend would never have refused to help people in need. He carried a kind of divine protection within him—a certain divinity that was truly effective against ghosts. Even if he was still weak, he would have tried to remain in this town for a while to help. That was the kind of man he was.

Was it because he didn’t have the Goddess’s blessing this time? Even so, it was hard to believe. That wasn’t something he would do. I remembered that in the original story, Leo had passed through here with Sarah and Rick. They faced the ghosts and freed this town. And to think that, because of a change in the timeline, that same hero had refused to help…

“How can you be friends with someone like him?” a voice suddenly broke the silence at the table. It didn’t come from any of us adults—but from the only child in the room.

“Carl!” his mother tried to stop him, but she couldn’t.

“That man…” Carl began, clearly about to say something rude, but—

“That’s enough, Carl! You don’t speak to our guests like that,” his father said firmly. “Apologize.”

Startled by his father’s reaction, the boy quickly muttered, “I’m sorry.”

“Now go to your room,” Joseph ordered his son.

The boy, who couldn’t have been more than ten years old, looked frustrated and angry, but he didn’t defy his father. He stormed out of the tavern, indignant.

“I apologize for my son’s behavior. Things haven’t been easy—neither in the town nor at home,” the mayor said apologetically.

“No, don’t worry about it,” I told him. I did find the kid’s behavior irritating and rude, but I still remembered that, back in my old world, I hadn’t exactly been an easy child either. I could let it slide this time. “About the mission… I’d like to discuss it with my team first.”

I knew it was an emotional decision. I had nothing to do with what would happen to this town. I couldn’t afford to fix every consequence of the butterfly effect I had caused.

But seeing the city like this—and doing absolutely nothing—would keep me up at night. I might not be entirely to blame for what was happening to this town, but I was partially responsible for it. I’m probably an idiot—and I’ll probably regret this later—but I want to at least try to help them.

“What do you think about this situation?” I asked the three of them at the table. “I’d like to at least try to do something to help them, but if you don’t want to, I won’t move forward with it.”

Diane was the first to speak. “Well, we do have our priorities in another city. But I think we should at least check whether it’s something we can handle on our own. If it’s not, then we shouldn’t proceed.”

Just as I had expected a colder, more pragmatic answer from Diane, the second response didn’t surprise me either.

“I want to help them!” Alicia said in a determined voice. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of such a cute girl speaking with that kind of resolve.

Now there was only one person left to give her answer.

“You don’t even need to ask me,” Sarah said with a bored expression. Then she smiled at me and added, “You can count me in.”

“Well then, that’s our answer. I can’t promise we’ll solve the problem, but I can promise we’ll try,” I told Joseph. Excited murmurs rose from the back of the tavern.

“That’s wonderful. Thank you—truly. About the payment…”

“We’ll accept the amount you offered the guilds. However, I’m afraid we’ll need some supplies for the mission.”

“I can arrange that, but unfortunately I can’t provide potions,” he said apologetically.

“We’ll figure something out,” I replied, remembering Erina and Justine, who were still near the outskirts of town. I stepped closer to Joseph and lowered my voice so the curious ears around us wouldn’t overhear. “I have two other party members, but their clothes were stolen. I’d appreciate some help with clothing as well.”

“Ugh—! Of course. I’ll see what we can do about that,” he said, slightly embarrassed. He clearly hadn’t expected something so bizarre, but he handled it discreetly, keeping the matter between us. “And don’t worry about lodging or meals. Consider them on the house.”

With that, I had solved the problem of Erina and Justine’s clothes. Now they could enter the city properly. The real challenge would come when the two of them introduced themselves to the group. I’d have to act as mediator to make sure they didn’t start fighting. I should probably bring Sarah and Diane to speak with them as calmly as possible.

“Then tomorrow morning we’ll begin with our work. Well…” I stood up from my chair, intending to get the clothes and set my plan in motion, but I was suddenly stopped by someone wrapping her arms around mine.

The red-haired girl at my side looked up at me with a loving smile in her eyes. She clearly had other plans for tonight.

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