I replied to her. "Sorry, granny. I'm not backing off. Not after hearing your emotional tale."
Her motherly anger surged instantly. "You... you aren't still serious! Did you not hear a single word I said? He is too dangerous for you! Even S-rank adventurers failed against him!"
I shifted. The playfulness fell off my face and what replaced it was something I didn't plan. Something deeper. A resolve that came from a place I couldn't fully explain.
"I heard every word. Which is exactly why I can't go back."
I stood up from my chair.
"You want me to walk away? Pretend I didn't hear about a man trapped in a cage of misery for god knows how many years?"
I looked at her directly.
"Look, granny. I don't care what life teaches other people. I'm the kind of guy who walks straight through whatever is thrown at him. Unbothered. I'll even entertain myself along the way, laugh if I feel like it. But sometimes there is this feeling of empathy that doesn't let me enjoy the view."
