"..."
Dionnardo smiled silently.
At least.
She was beautiful.
He then walked to the top of the podium and faced the young Adventurers.
Let the white-haired girl at the very end of his vision range Dionnardo started his speech with introduction.
"Good morning, everyone. As you may know, I was the Guildmaster figure of Harad's Adventurer guild. Name's Dionnardo."
He glanced from the left to the right of the linings of the young Adventurers.
Their total number reached about 30. That's a lot of people for this remote town.
"Main Topic of my speech was 'How to indentify passion, pride, arrogance and vigilance, then separate them."
The youths expressions shifted as their heard what Dionnardo is said.
Because they came with expectation to hear how to defeat monster or see the power of the Guildmaster. Anyway, something near these field.
Dionnardo chuckled as he read their thinking way.
"You may thought. 'What the point in identifying them and separate them?'."
He raise his finger.
"Firstly, let talk about passion. The one that pushed most of you to become an Adventurer."
"You're wanted to become a great Adventurer like Jardis the Aerialarrow that succeed in be accepted by the Elves and learn their secret bow technique?" Dionnardo glanced at a bunch of youths in his left, asked that, then looked another bunch, to next bunch, "You're desired to be popular like the current rising star, Blonde Blade? Or... Are you dreamed to become a great Hero like Hero Theo that sacrificed himself on Great war 100 years—"
But can't finished his words.
Because.
"HEY, stop, stop, stop. Don't talking about such boring things. Change topic, old man!"
A certain white-haired interfered while gestured with her hand with 'hush, hush!'.
"..."
Dionnardo kept his mouth shut for a while, looking up to the blue sky.
The weather is wonderful, at least.
"Ehem," Started with that, he continue, "Anyway. You may found yourself with a burning passion. Desired to be epic. That itself doesn't wrong. It is not bad."
His expression turned serious.
"But if not controlled, you may did action called self-overestimated."
Dionnardo returned his smile after see some of the youths gulped.
They seems like a promising youths. Good, good, at least.
His mood returned, so he's being kind.
"Perhaps some of you already get the point of what I said before. But since there's some that didn't, let's uncover the said of self-overestimated."
He once more glanced at the youths' face before continued.
"Self-overestimated. Overestimating yourself. The meaning was as the words implied. Thought you greater than what you truly capable of, thought that you could while you can't, thought that, you are better... While you're worse."
Dionnardo chuckled.
"See? Fatal, isn't? Self-overestimated, in short, was a way to kill yourself faster."
Clap, clap, clap, clap...
One after another, the youths began to clapping their hands as they ingest the point of Dionnardo's saying.
The atmosphere is heated up.
Dionnardo only continued his speech after the youths claps stopped.
"While Self-underestimated was also not good, that's better than its counter self because the ones with Self-underestimated character tends to avoid the danger and last longer than their peers."
"But overly underestimating yourself might also caused you to be lose a lot of opportunitiy, or even, lose what's important to you. Because the reality was always unexpected. There's would be times when you should pushed yourself hard. Pushed yourself to overcome your limits! At these times, running away was a loser choice. Because you would regret it."
A good pace for a speech, at least!
Dionnardo started to getting excited.
To the next topic, at least!
Dionnardo grinned and about to started to the next topic, Pride, but interrupted by the white-haired girl.
"... You think so?" She asked.
"Overcome your limits, to not losing your importances?"
At some point, she stopped snacking at anything she eating at, and listening to his speech with an surprisingly serious face.
What's wrong? Dionnardo confused as he see her expression.
She's no more looked like a rude girl. Rather, she's like a someone lost in the ruins of past.
Dionnardo frowned slightly.
But after sighed and thought 'At least, my speech is successful' as he put a smile then nodded at her.
"Yes. When the time come, that was the case. If you can't beer the regret you might had after you ran, or if you attached to that importance so much that you can't imagine life without it. When these times come, the winner would face the danger, while the loser would ran and crying at their room."
The girl's face lose its light.
Like a clouded sky, her expression can't be read anymore, shrouded by barrier of unknowns and mysteries.
"Why are you so sure about that?" She asked, looking right at his eyes.
Dionnardo felt a pang assault his head as he met these ocean blue eyes. The eyes that at first glance looked so pure now felt not so pure anymore.
Dionnardo sighed when he realized what she might bear of her life until now.
He can't help but be honest here.
"Because... I am the loser."
He chuckled bitterly.
"When you become the loser, you might regret it so much that you desired death. But by become the loser, I can understand what I wrong and did bad. That's why I was so sure that when the times come, you should pushed yourself, no matter what."
Silent engulfed the training field once more.
No one, even the white-haired girl, could raise their voice.
Prrftt...
At that moment, a young girl among the lining suddenly turned red.
Everyone looked at her.
She... Farted.
She immediately cover her face with her hands and squated down.
After a moment of silent.
"I see..."
Riana said that, looked back at Dionnardo.
"Thanks."
She put a thin smile and gave Dionnardo the paper bag in her hands, where her snacks she snacking off, stored.
"Nice speech."
She then hopped off the podium and walked away of the training field.
No one can read her mind by seeing her calm demeanor.
Her appearance tells that she was a pure being. So beautiful to the level of blinding.
But her contradictive actions, seemingly for no reason, tells different.
Maybe she was not so pure.
No, maybe she's actually a woman with past?
Or no, she was more beautiful inside.
But no.
She was an enigma.
At least, that extent was certain.