An Apology I Had No Right to Make

A comment section that has gone silent is noisier than you'd expect.

Even though no one has typed a single character, I feel as though I can hear more than a hundred thousand people holding their breath on the other side of the screen.

"...I'll explain why."

I set down my teacup and straightened my back.

"Many of you have probably seen the reports. My name has apparently been put forward as a candidate for commander of the 〈Abyss〉 clearing operation. The fact that my name has been put forward does seem to be true. I haven't received a formal offer yet. I haven't decided whether to accept it, and I haven't decided whether to decline it, either. —I can't decide."

【Teacher...】

【That's only natural】

【If anything, it'd be strange to decide immediately】

"I've spent twenty years working behind the scenes. Mistakes made behind the scenes can usually be fixed. If I teach something wrong, I can correct it the next day. If I get the materials wrong, I can reprint them. ...But command is different. A mistake in my judgment would directly cost people their lives this time. And those lives would be, of all people, the five people in the world I least want to see die."

I took a breath. I think it was the slowest I'd spoken in all forty-four lessons...