I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"Look over there," she said, pointing out the window. "That's where we're going after we land."

"...Why not just go right away?" I suddenly thought of this question. "That would save time."

"So do you think all this time is wasted?"

She frowned and seemed a little unhappy about what I said.

"...That's not the case."

"That's fine," she said, looking at the camera in my hand. "Speaking of which, it's rare to see a view from such a high place, so I might as well record it."

"...good."

Following her suggestion, the camera turned on again. Perhaps because the space was so small, even though I was high above the ground, I didn't feel any sense of danger... So, human senses are truly strange.

"What are you going to do with all this footage? Actually editing it... well, I've never heard of you doing anything like that. I don't think you'd be able to settle down and do something like that."

"...What image do you have of me in your mind... No, who allowed you to judge me like that?" She punched my side in dissatisfaction. "I just knew you would see me like that, so I wanted to try to change something."

"...Isn't this good?" I didn't look at her, quietly recording the gradually sinking scene. "We won't think there's anything wrong."

"Thank you for saying that. But the truth is not what you think... I already have my own plans, so I probably won't listen to anything you say. So don't waste your breath on me."

"...Then I won't say anything."

Now, we are getting closer and closer to the ground.

............

"Only things that are recorded will be remembered, and only things that are remembered have value," the man said slowly. "And value is given by people. There used to be a few temples here, and at least back then, people still went there to burn incense and pray. Regardless of whether it was because of the gods, at least the value of the temples back then was given by people."

"......"

He seemed to vaguely know what the guy was going to say.

"And it's humans who strip them of their value. When they demolish them, no one even considers whether they've prayed there before, or whether they've been blessed by the gods enshrined there."

He suddenly noticed that the celestial body, previously radiating heat in the sky, had now dimmed its brilliance, gradually sinking into the horizon, leaving only a trace of light. In the afterglow, the structure of the creature's face became remarkably clear. It looked devoid of a smile, and rather serious.

"It's the same with this thing... When it was needed, it silently bore the pain and did its best to provide a safe environment. But now that people have settled down, it's lost its purpose... No one wants it anymore, and some even want to tear it down. The reasons they give are that it blocks their house expansion and that it doesn't look very nice, or other trivial reasons."

In fact, several parts of this city wall have been demolished. The reason why it has not been demolished is probably because the nearby villages have regulations or something.

"...Wouldn't it be better if it was taken down? It's useless anyway."

He said nonchalantly.

"So you think so too... Things without value can be destroyed," the man muttered. "But I want to give it new value... Even if it exists, it's definitely useless, but I still want it to survive. And not just this... but other things too. There are many things like this wall here."

The guy said something that he didn't quite understand and put the notebook in his pocket.

"Okay, after all that talk... I still can't avoid getting scolded for coming home late. Even though I have a lot on my mind, my parents just want me to study hard. They don't want to hear the thoughts that come with studying, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't understand."

The guy gave a helpless smile.

"So? Just tell me? Do you think I can understand?"

Although it was a series of rhetorical questions, he still hoped to get a positive answer from that guy.

"I certainly don't think you can understand."

This answer really caught him off guard.

"you..."

There's a feeling of wanting to be angry but not being able to.

"But you're the only one who's willing to listen to me. So I'm glad to know you... and it doesn't matter if you don't understand now, you might understand it later."

"...ha..."

"It's time to tell you what I want to do." After hearing what the guy said, he suddenly remembered the doubts he had always had.

"Yeah, what on earth are you doing running around like this?"

"...make a map. More precisely, a map that offers beautiful views and makes people fall in love with this place."

Want to speculate ideas

He had no idea what preparations were needed to do what the guy was talking about. Or rather, he had no idea what such a thing even was. A map? What kind of map? You could buy something like that, right? Why would he need to make one specifically?

For him, there were a hundred reasons to give up on this idea.

"Wait, why do you think that?"

To him, the thought was strange enough.

"The reasons behind an idea are always complicated, and I can't explain them all in one breath... Even if I could take the time to explain them to you, there's only so much you can understand." The guy thought for a moment and couldn't help but laugh. "So, if you ask, I'll just give you some simple reasons."

As the guy said this, he walked towards his home.

"...Are you saying I'm weak in comprehension?"

He felt a little annoyed. He didn't know how many times he'd been provoked like this. But he still followed without showing any emotion. After all, the way home was the same.

"Not really. It's just that everyone has different perspectives. The best way to avoid being misunderstood is to not share any of your thoughts with them. Having said that, I don't actually expect others to understand me..."

I don't know what that guy is talking about.

"Whatever you want."

He didn't want to waste time discussing this guy's decision or mentality. It was time to move on to the topic that interested him. He thought so.

"You just said you wanted to make a map, right?"

He confirmed.

"That's right."

Concise answer.

"So what are you going to do? I have limited knowledge, so it's probably useless for me to follow you, right?"

In fact, he didn't think so.

"No, it's still useful."

Still a concise answer.

"Hmm..."

Should he be happy? He didn't know what to think anymore.

"You have quite a collection of books at home. Even if you don't have anything in your head, the knowledge is stored in the books. You can just find it when you want to read it."

He didn't know if he was still joking. Even if he was, he felt that this was a bit too much. No, it was extremely too much.

"Since you're asking for help, shouldn't you be a little more polite? Your words are really irritating."

"I thought you were used to it." A hint of surprise crossed that guy's face. "Don't you always put on an unhappy expression? I thought you did it on purpose... So, you're just holding it in... As expected... You're really different from what I imagined."

"What are you talking about?"

As he spoke, he punched the guy on the back. The impact on his chest made a thud. Was he using too much force? He couldn't help but pull his hand back.

"...Ah, I never realized you were upset... Is it too late to apologize now?"

The guy said he didn't care.

"It's alright, I'm a generous man. It was just a few words." He waved his hand and exhaled. "By the way, making a map is troublesome, right? If you need my help, it's best to ask sooner rather than later."

"...I really need your help."

A subtle pause. Why a pause?

"What does that require?"

"...I'm not sure yet. If books count, I'll go over to your house sometime and take a look. I might even go to the library if necessary."

This answer bothered him. This kind of statement usually indicated a heavy workload... However, he didn't really have much to do besides studying, so he didn't mind it.

"Then it's settled."

It's so tiring to communicate with this guy. He thought so more than once.

"...Thank you so much."

Why is there another pause?

"I'm just curious about what you can do, so I'm doing this with you. No need to be so hypocritical."

Is it the truth? He doesn't know.

"But I don't think you need permission to thank others." This time, his face didn't smile. "So I want to emphasize this again."

"Thanks."

"..."

This guy is such a weirdo.

"It's not too late to talk about it when you're done."

But he's not a bad guy, he thought, quickening his pace.

Chapter 10: Thoughts I Want to Speculate

"I've made a lot of progress. The footage is much more stable than the first time I filmed it."

"While I'm happy to receive your compliment, maybe I can't ask you to watch the road?"

At this moment, Lingcan was holding a camera and previewing the footage I had just filmed. However, he didn't sit down anywhere, but watched it directly on the street. Although it was unlikely that someone would bump into him with me watching over him, I couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't miss a step and fall.

"It's okay, I've finished reading it."

She said as she closed the machine and handed it to me along with the backpack.

"Finally out! I have to admit, there are so many people here." Wiping the sweat from her head, she stretched her body and looked to the side. Perhaps it was the sunlight that made her eyes sparkle.

"That's the direction, right?"

"What..."

Faced with this unexpected question, I was a little at a loss for a moment.

"Oh, yes, there's no point asking you." She took out the map again and checked it with her phone.

"Come to think of it, I've always had a question." Looking at the map in her hand, the thoughts that had been in my mind finally came back to me.

"Hmm? What?"

"This map is very old, right? And it's handmade. How was it made?" I touched my chin. "It looks very similar to the maps we have today, doesn't it?"

"..."

When she heard my question, she looked at me blankly. But it wasn't a look of "Yeah, why?", it was a look of "Are you stupid?"

"...What's wrong?"

I really don't understand why she looks at me like this, and I think this issue is indeed worthy of attention.

"Hmm... Let's put it this way. How were houses built decades before we were born?"

"...Um...according to the techniques passed down from generation to generation?"

"That's right. But there's a more concise way to put it: 'imitation.'" She said, starting to walk towards where we parked the car. "Even if this map appeared earlier, it was only 20 or 30 years ago. Instead of wondering how it came about, we should think about how the first world map came about."

"Oh, yes..." I noticed it after she reminded me, "Then... do you know how the first map in the world was created?" I suddenly became very curious.

"I don't know, and that's not what I want to say."

"...Well."

"Some things are unprecedented, but that doesn't mean there won't be successors, right? Making something is simple. You just need to follow the methods that our predecessors have figured out."

"...Too."

So, the map in her hand was probably drawn based on a real map. However, since there's a ready-made map, why not just mark it on it... Well, that's not what I'm thinking about.

"Okay, put away your thoughts." She seemed to have confirmed the direction and put the things in her hands away. "If nothing goes wrong, this will be the last stop for today."

"Oh haha."