Scarlet Lotus Fairy: ?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Hahaha, oh my god! Anzen, your sudden mention of grilled kidney skewers really got me!
Machete Girl: I honestly don't think that's something Anzen would say. That peculiar style of dry humor! It doesn't match your usual persona at all, Anzen!
This is an Actor: What's my usual persona? A stern, old-fashioned teacher?
Doujin Artist: No, let me try to translate what Kotonoha meant. She thinks you're not that kind of funny guy, but rather more aloof and cold.
This is an Actor: The aloof persona doesn't sell these days. Being a bit goofy makes you more relatable.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: Being relatable isn't about being close to hell, friend. Your last answer was already sprinting towards the gates of hell. Nobody, not even a dog, would eat Deadpool's kidneys if they were grilled, right?
Amegakure Village's Angel: Maybe if they were starving? But would eating them cause death?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Pffft, Konan, why are you answering so seriously! Are you guys trying to make me laugh myself to death?
Foul-Mouthed Mask Guy: Fuck, man, I don't find any of this funny at all! You're insulting me, absolutely insulting me! My kidneys are clear and bright, rosy white! How could they possibly be something even a dog wouldn't eat?
Machete Girl: Rosy white? Are you serious?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Hahaha! Rosy white kidneys, damn! Are those even kidneys anymore? What has that transformed into, some kind of weird organ?
This is an Actor: It's no wonder you earned the nickname "quick draw."
Gerard shook his head and sighed. Kidneys without red blood cells obviously couldn't have their original function or activity. What kind of bad deeds had Tenten committed to result in this?
At that moment, even he felt sympathy and pity for Deadpool. He thought the kid was finished, completely beyond saving.
Hum.
The air behind Gerard vibrated, and a tunnel-like circular void slowly opened. Ola, dressed in a black suit, stepped out of the void and knelt on one knee. "Greetings, my great master."
"A few minutes later than I expected." Gerard didn't seem surprised by its arrival, not even turning around. "How is it? How does it feel to be a leader?"
When he heard his master mention this, Ola's expression became very awkward. Lowering its head, it said softly, "I'm sorry, my master. Ola overestimated its abilities."
Gerard didn't respond immediately but remained silent for a long time. "There are two ancient sayings from the East, and I hope you will study them carefully. One is 'Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself,' and the other is 'Empathize with others.'"
Ola lowered its head and began to ponder what its master had said.
Although it had read many books and was quite knowledgeable, all its knowledge was pure theory detached from practice. Therefore, it couldn't immediately grasp the deeper meaning of the two sentences Gerard had spoken.
"You expect every house-elf to rebel against their masters, thus sparking a war between house-elves and wizards," Gerard said calmly, not rushing. "But you yourself have come here to pledge allegiance to me. Don't you find that ironic?"
"Master, Ola, Ola would never rebel against a great master!" Ola trembled all over and shouted, "And you, master, are completely different from those dirty, incompetent wizards. Master, you..."
"How am I different?" Before Ola could finish, Gerard interrupted, "Do I have two noses, or four eyes?"
Uh.
Ola was thoroughly choked and stammered, not knowing what to say.
"In your eyes, I, your master, am special." Gerard finally turned around, saying indifferently, "But in the eyes of some house-elves, aren't their masters special too? The Lola you rescued was indeed subjected to cruel abuse and pain, but that doesn't mean every house-elf has the same experience. Generalizing is not advisable."
"So, is this the reason for my failure?" Ola was silent for a long time, seeming to have finally understood.
"Just one of them."
Gerard stood up and said gently, "Furthermore, you never cared about the demands of your own people, only blindly forcing them. As a leader, you couldn't reach a unified goal with your people. This is the most critical factor in your failure."
Ola pursed its lips and lowered its head again.
"On the surface, you call them your kin, but deep down, you just see them as tools." Gerard watched Ola with calm eyes and then spoke, "What's the difference between your behavior and that of those house-elf owners?"
"I'm sorry, master!" Ola said emotionally, tapping its head on the ground, losing its former elegance. "Ola knows it was wrong, Ola was completely wrong. Please punish me..."
"Don't call me master anymore. That is your punishment."
Gerard said indifferently, ignoring the thunderstruck expression on Ola's face. "Go back. Your kin are about to suffer. Dumbledore has already intervened. As their leader, you must be responsible for your kin."
Hum.
Before he finished speaking, a black rift was torn open in the air again, appearing before Ola.
After sending off its dazed house-elf, Gerard opened the group chat again and sent the information about his conversation with Ola into the group.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: How pathetic, Ola must be so dejected right now.
Amegakure Village's Angel: Honey, aren't you being a little too harsh? It didn't want to be like this, it just meant well but did something wrong.
This is an Actor: That wasn't meaning well, it was just loyalty. And that loyalty was directed towards me, not towards its oppressed kin.
Amegakure Village's Angel: I understand, this has escalated into serious selfishness.
Doujin Artist: Just like Deadpool back then.
Foul-Mouthed Mask Guy: Hey, damn it! Didn't we agree not to bring this up again? Why are you scratching old wounds? It hurts, it hurts so much!
Machete Girl: I actually think Anzen's way of handling it isn't too harsh. He probably wanted Ola to shed its enslaved mindset, right?
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: But I feel like that's difficult, especially since it's been like this for four hundred years.
Curly-haired Guy: I'm more curious why that old geezer Dumbledore got involved. Logically speaking... does this kind of thing really require his appearance?
---
Read 30 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---