"Master Amory, can you hand me your spare pipe?"
As Eren inquired of Amory, he subtly infused his voice with his soul sense. The latter said some curse words under his breath before giving Eren what he wanted. The old man then cursed himself for being so easily swayed by his supposed enemy.
The butcher filled Amory's spare pipe with his herbs with the snap of his fingers before lighting the apparatus with his fire-element mana. He inhaled a big dose in one go and turned the herbs into black ash instantly before speaking in a deeper voice.
"Sometimes those with virtuous intentions do us more harm than so-called "evil" people ever could. If you try to give someone an ax to make their woodcutting easy and end up splitting their toe in two by accident, can you expect that person to reward you for your so-called help?
Your intentions don't matter if the outcome is shitty for everyone involved, including you. Having flowers of virtue blooming in your heart is not enough. Thinking of everyone's well-being is not enough.
The land of Anfang is not as kind as you might have been made to believe, Master Jiana. Kindness is a luxury here. Not everyone can afford it.
You need effective mechanisms to make anything positive happen for the organization you are leading. Mechanisms that prevent you from looking at people individually without hampering their individuality. It's not something everyone can pull off."
Eren said before releasing a dense cloud of white smoke through his mouth in one go. He then gave Amory his pipe back and looked at Jiana carefully. She looked like she had an epiphany when he said those things to her. She stopped shaking and tears ran down her cheeks. However, there was no sign of helplessness on her face.
Eren walked up to Nina and placed his arm across her shoulders. Leaning on Aunt Nina as he stood, the butcher continued.
"You are not fit to lead a guild in any capacity, Madam Goldy Wings. The legacy your parents passed on to you did nothing to make you grow as a leader because it was handed down to you on a silver platter. You did not earn the right to lead your guild. To be honest, Master Amory was a much better choice than you.
Anyway, I am not criticizing your parents' choice or your actions that led to this day. I am only stating the circumstances that caused the events to turn out like this."
Eren was suddenly reminded of an almost forgotten memory. He was not sure if he could ever call it fond. But he started finding something positive in it while looking at Jiana's condition.
"I remember what my father said to me when I was small. He had said, "I'm being kind to you by not being kind to you." I didn't get the meaning behind that sentence until now. I thought he was just being a hardass about everything when it came to me.
Just your average father who is too busy to look after his kid, right? But looking at you, I realize what my old man was trying to say to me.
Kindness at the wrong time, at the wrong place, towards the wrong people would only release more pain into the world. If not through those around you, then through the very person who showed kindness in the first place.
I have always known this fact ever since I started walking on this path for real. But it took me this long to re-realize who had instilled it in me. Guess I'm still growing– still learning."
Nina was taken aback by what Eren had said out loud about his father. This was the first time he had talked about him in a long time. Being an ex-member of his party, she could imagine Elijah saying something like that to his kid.
'Like father, like son.'
It also took this very moment for Nina to realize that Eren had turned out to be much like his father even without his influence guiding him on his path. Elijah Idril was a ruthless man when it came to dealing with his enemies. Yet his kindness would often reflect in the harsh decisions he would willingly take.
It was just that Eren was a much more extreme version of his father. He had doubled down on his father's ruthlessness and there was practically no kindness to show for it.
For a brief moment, Nina felt like Elijah had come to visit her as she felt Eren's presence around her. He had treated her like his little sister. He had done everything to make sure she survived "that" tragedy. And he started turning even more recluse after the incident. In the end, he left Eren in her care before commencing his solo journey.
Nina was snapped back to reality from her memories when Eren spoke his next words.
"I am sorry for being so blunt with my words, Madam Goldy Wings. But I am not sorry for what I have said to you. You already knew what I said. You just needed me to show you the mirror.
I am not saying that one can only prove their mettle by being a successful leader in some phase of their life. We are not cut from the same cloth, after all."
Jiana looked up and met Eren's eyes when he said that. She looked like she was trying to say something to him but was still struggling to come up with words. The butcher smiled before continuing.
"It's completely fine if some of us are not leader material. It's okay to be a solo hustler. Frankly speaking, I am not a particularly effective leader either. But I am aware of myself and I can hire capable leaders to do my job for me.
This is why I said one's ranking status has nothing to do with leadership qualities. You can be a Sage and still live a lonely life because you failed to bring everyone on board with your plans. Or you can be a Novice ranker and have the capacity to run an organization that has both covert and overt faces to it.
Know thyself, Master Jiana. Tell me, do you believe yourself to be a capable leader or administrator? Or do we talk business for real?"
