Ryu had been part of the raid – a raid where the other adventurers had tacitly agreed to leave him behind. They were going to kill him.

Though Ryu was initially furious at being abandoned and nearly killed, he couldn't shake off the word "emergency" Yorme had used. Thinking rationally, he remembered that "selective survival" had existed even on his former Earth.

Triage. In emergency medical situations, medical professionals had to choose who to treat first. When it was impossible to save everyone, it was unavoidable.

Furthermore, under emergency circumstances, even if someone killed another to survive, the survivor wouldn't be charged with murder according to Earth's legal interpretation. (The Ship of Theseus)

However, tricking someone into a situation with the intention of leaving them behind was a different matter.

Triage was about prioritizing treatment, not using someone as a resource to be killed on the spot.

Even if someone had made the decision to sacrifice another to survive, the commander should have taken responsibility for their actions afterward.

To not take responsibility, to completely disregard the sacrifices made, and to arrogantly claim they did the right thing, devoid of any remorse, was wrong on a human level.

Ryu turned to Goji, "Besides me, how many others have you used as pawns?"

Goji remained silent. When Ryu made a fist in the air, Goji panicked and answered, "Th-three, no, four, no, three!"

"Which is it?"

"Four!"

"Only four? Shouldn't it be more?" Ryu clenched his fist again.

"H-five, five, maybe around five!"

"Hmph, five, huh... Seems like I can't let you live after all."

"N-no! I don't want to die! Please forgive me! I'll reflect..."

In the end, Ryu decided not to kill Goji.

Death was not annihilation.

There was an afterlife, reincarnation.

Ryu had experienced this personally.

There was a next world. Realizing this made death less of a heavy punishment.

Killing someone easily was just making it easy for them. If you truly hated someone, it wouldn't be satisfying to make their death easy.

Ryu decided to let Goji live, but with conditions.

He laid down three rules.

First, Goji had to find the families of the adventurers he had abandoned and killed. He had to sincerely apologize to them. If there were no families, he had to build a grave for them.

Second, he could never again kill anyone to survive.

Third, from now on, he would protect and guide new adventurers as their senior.

"If a new adventurer's life is in danger, you will sacrifice your life to protect them. Can you swear that?"

"Yes... I-I can..."

"If you break your promise, you will face another 'punishment,' this time a hundred times worse than this one!"

"H-h-h- I swear!"

...

...

...

...

Two hours later, Ryugin returned to the guild.

Goji entered a little later, his face pale and his steps unsteady.

Layla approached Ryu.

"Are you alright?"

"No problem at all."

Goji stumbled towards the tavern, heading to Sanji and Yoji, who were waiting for him.

"Hey, Goji, what happened?"

Goji remained silent, his face pale and his expression fearful. He avoided looking at Ryu.

Yoji stood up and approached Ryu.

"You bastard, what did you do to Goji?"

"...It's a story."

"You!"

Yoji lunged at Ryu.

"Hmph, I should thank you both, shouldn't I?"

Yoji and Sanji understood that "thank" didn't have its literal meaning.

They hadn't been kind to Ryu. They'd been cruel, even assaulting him together with Goji.

They were among the adventurers who had abandoned Ryu during the raid.

Ryu intended to "thank" them, just as he did Goji.

Ryu grabbed Yoji's wrist as he was trying to grab his collar. He tightened his grip.

"Ow, ow, ow, it hurts! Let go!"

Ryu's grip wasn't strong enough to break Yoji's wrist, but it was close. Yoji couldn't move due to the pain.

"Yoji, what's going on?!"

Sanji rushed over.

"I'd like to have a proper 'chat' with you two in a private place, but I'm busy today. How about another time?"

Ryu glared at Goji. Goji rushed over, panicking, and stopped them.

"Sanji, Yoji, leave it!"

Goji pulled Sanji and Yoji away, dragging them with him.

Of course, Ryu made sure Sanji and Yoji "reflected" just as thoroughly as Goji.

Goji's party, "Afternoon Breeze," kept their promise to Ryu. They set out on a journey to apologize to the families of the adventurers they had killed as pawns. (The adventurers used as pawns were all from other towns, so they were chosen from outside the city.)

When they visited the families and explained that they had abandoned them, some were furious, but others accepted it. They had known the risks involved in becoming adventurers.

Sanji and Yoji stayed with the families who had lost their breadwinners to help them. They moved to another town together, which led to the dissolution of the party.

Goji stayed in a town close to a dungeon after helping a new adventurer. He became a mentor to the new adventurers there. He kept his promise to Ryu and continued to care for them.

Unexpectedly, Goji discovered a talent for being a mentor. He raised many new adventurers to become skilled professionals.

Fifteen years later, Goji died protecting new adventurers in a dungeon.

He became a legend, known as the S-Class mentor Goji, passed down by the adventurers he had trained...

But that's a story for another time.