It Seems My Job Aptitude Didn't Come with Human Rights

As the village chief

「Lars, you're awake?」

An echoing voice from beyond the totem pole caught my attention, and when I looked up, I saw a guardian statue standing beside it.

At first, I thought it was a dreamlike fusion of Eastern and Western elements, but it was Abel, looking down at me with a stern face, observing me.

「Oh, I'm awake,」

I replied.

Abel nodded lightly and turned his back on me.

「Follow me.」

「What?」

Being suddenly summoned made my small heart jump. Was this one of those calls to "lend me your face for a moment?」

Where you get told to jump, and if you hear a jingling sound, it means you're carrying coins?

With such silly thoughts, I followed Abel outside as instructed. Somehow, Mikel and the others were snickering. Wondering what was going on, I stepped outside to find the entire village of beastmen gathered. Upon seeing me, they cheered.

「Ooh!」

「Lars, you're awake!」

「Are you okay?」

Among the voices celebrating my safety, there were also those of concern. The common thread was that they were all fans of Lars, the beautiful boy. Welcome everyone, both fanboys and fangirls. A handshake costs one silver coin. The source of this content ɪs Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

「Everyone is grateful to Lars for driving away the dragon, and they were worried when you collapsed.」

「... Thank you.」

「You're an odd one. We're the ones expressing gratitude,」

Abel laughed as he mentioned this, which somehow made me feel like crying.

I see. Until now, I haven't really felt needed. No, it wasn't me; it was Lars Lien Fallentail, the boy inside me. Perhaps the heart of Lars awoke upon being thanked and worried about by so many for the first time in his life.

If that's the case, then the tears streaming down my cheeks were inevitable.

「... Master Lars,」

Irinya whispered as she gently embraced my trembling shoulders. She had been by my side since I was very young, and she probably understood Lars' feelings better than I did. I wanted to call her big sis.

Some might think I'm a strange kid crying just because people thanked or worried about me. However, none of the beastmen villagers laughed; they merely waited patiently for me to calm down.

「... No, it's quite embarrassing,」

I said once I regained my composure, trying to mask my embarrassment with those words. Abel didn't laugh either but instead slightly shook his head and spoke.

「No problem. If there's something you want to say to everyone, you can do it now. Such opportunities are rare. Speak your mind, Lars.」

Though not angry, Abel presented me with a rather daunting opportunity. Why did I have to voice my opinions on the village's direction in a situation like this? If I say something wrong, Lars could face backlash.

Despite my worries, looking at the expressions of everyone watching me, I felt reassured.

That's right. I wasn't going to say anything harmful to the village. In the long run, it would surely lead to positive outcomes for the village. With newfound confidence, I realized, 「Lars, you're a genius.」

Maintaining my composed mindset through self-suggestion, I voiced my opinion to everyone once more.

「... I mentioned before that I believe this village needs to become stronger. At that time, I thought we needed metal weapons, but now I want to discuss things more constructively.」

「Oh, was it about how to venture outside the village?」

Abel recalled.

「Yeah.」

Abel confirmed, and some people in the gathering nodded in agreement. Oh, they remembered.

I had worried they might forget, dismissing it as a child's talk, but they listened intently.

「So, is there another topic you're bringing up?」

Abel asked.

「Yeah. After observing everyone's hunting and various activities, I thought it would be better to acquire necessary skills and practice tactics...」

I said.

「... Skills, huh? But those aren't things you can get just because you want them,」

Abel stated, and an awkward atmosphere settled in. I wondered why and then refuted Abel's words.

「Maybe there's not enough research on job aptitude? There should be ways for a warrior or an archer to acquire skills. How do you all obtain skills?」

「Well, by continuing to hunt, sometimes, fortuitously, we acquire them,」

Abel admitted.

「That's purely accidental,」

I pointed out, causing Abel to fall silent. The others exchanged glances, the crowd buzzing with whispers.

To be honest, half of what I said was a lie. Even in the Harvey Kingdom, the method for acquiring skills wasn't clear. They likely had some training methods in place, but even those weren't precise.

Irinya, although not reading my mind, seemed slightly uneasy. Forgive me, it's a necessary lie.

-------------= Author's Notes -------------=

If you found yourself curious about 'what happens next,' it would make me happy if you could press the ☆ button at the bottom of the page!

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