A Monster and a True Monster (6)

It took us several days after leaving Krausula to reach the foot of the majestic spirit tree towering in the center of the great forest.

We had come all this way merely to spar because Win's position in the allied army was so important.

He had not said much about it himself, but judging from what I heard in Krausula, he was apparently becoming a central figure in the allied army.

He had rescued the daughter of the Tiger clan after humans captured her, brought weapons to the beastfolk and stemmed their decline, discovered the hidden nation of dwarves, and even persuaded the elves who had done nothing but hide in the forest to become allies.

In other words, there was no doubt that Win was the one who had shaped the allied army as it now existed.

Even if he did not say so himself, everyone around him saw him that way, and his position must naturally have weighed heavily on him.

So much so that he could not easily allow himself to be seen losing, even in a simple spar.

I thought he had chosen a terribly suffocating way to live.

He could have lived in so many other ways without choosing such a difficult path.

But I would not interfere now with the way Win had chosen to live as an adult...