I'm Quitting Heroing (2022) s01e05 Episode Script

If You Want to Quit, Talk It Out First

1
Live, live on, with all your might
Follow the light to the future
Betrayed and left behind in this lonely world
Fearing a tomorrow I've lost sight of
I search for the place I belong
My heart screams out, "I want to be needed"
I want to puzzle out these entwined identities, but can I trust them?
Live, live on, with all your might
Follow the light to the future
Even if you lose everything
Stay connected to hope
I don't know why I'm here
But that's all right with me right now
I have to overcome and press on
So I can smile with you again
If You Want to Quit, Talk It Out First
So, what's up, man?
C'mon, tell me. You can tell your cool older bro about it.
Don't hold it in. Talk it out, yeah?
My age.
Huh? What about it?
Come to think of it, Shutina mentioned
that his birthday was not too long ago.
What are you, sixteen? Seventeen?
Bet there aren't many people your age in the Army.
You sad about it, then?
Want us to throw you a big birthday party?
I want you to stop acting like you're older than me.
We're around the same age, aren't we?
That's seriously the first thing you have to say?!
Sheesh, and I thought getting here was a pain…
What?!
I'm going on a journey.
Please don't come looking for me.
I have failed to properly train my troops
and will be taking my life to make amends.
The hell is this crap?
I-I mean, my word, what is this?!
Mernes and Edvard…
"Don't come looking for me"?
"Taking my life to make amends?" Don't BS me!
Why does every single one of
you have the weirdest issues?!
Where are they?
Edvard is at the training grounds,
but we've no idea where Mernes is!
I'll go after General Mernes.
Thank you. I'll go seek out Edvard.
Shutina, Lily.
Yes, ma'am!
Echidna?!
Your Highness!
You can barely walk! Please, let us go instead!
Fret not, I'll sober up right now!
Let us go!
I'll reveal who I am once all of this is taken care of.
Good, there's still a faint trace of magic…
I thought Mernes and Edvard were managing just fine,
but it sounds like they were
struggling with things deep down…
Still, this is going overboard!
Do they only see things in black and white? Sheesh!
He's close!
Hey!
Hey! Hold up!
It's me, Leo!
What was up with that letter?
You're 'going on a journey'?
You could've come up with something way better.
It's the truth. I just wanted to go on a little trip.
Great Generals can't just up
and vanish to 'go on a little trip'!
If we lose even one of you now,
we'll have to rebuild the army from scratch.
So what's the deal? You want to quit,
or is something else bothering you?
I don't care what it is, just spit it out!
If Mernes tries to escape by running off,
I might not be able to catch him.
And if he was serious about hiding from me,
I probably wouldn't be able to find him.
I can't let him get away from me
before I find out why he wants to leave.
If you've really decided to leave,
then I'm not going to stop you.
Are you listening?!
There's nothing wrong with wanting to quit.
Hell, wanting to quit is a good sign
that you should quit.
If you've got a good reason, I'll go back to
the castle and tell them I couldn't find you.
But…
But what?
Look, when you want to quit a job,
you want to make sure you're not going to regret it.
Sure, you want to have your next job lined up,
get your replacement trained,
and maybe punch your shithead boss in the face,
but making sure you don't regret it is number one.
Other people might not want you to go,
but if you want to go, that's all that matters.
But if you've even the slightest doubt about it,
then you should stop and take a breath.
So, what's on your mind, Mernes?
You don't really want to leave the army, do you?
Right.
It's just you and me here, so tell me.
I won't laugh, I swear.
Right.
I know I'm right. C'mon.
This is gonna take a while…
Interviews.
Huh?
In three days, I'll have to conduct interviews by myself.
To do that, I need to be energetic
and imposing. Able to talk.
I'll be interviewing agents and spies.
All people who have to be good at talking.
And you're not a big talker.
But weren't you a guild master before?
I let other people handle all the talking.
Same with the Demon Army, too.
All right, all right. And I sent all those other
people packing to the Demon World.
I thought I could learn something if
I took a trip and visited lots of villages.
But now that you're here, I don't need to.
No more trip.
Huh?
Leo, teach me how to hold conversations.
Turn me into a master communicator
in the next three days.
Uh, what?
Communication skills
One of the most important skills to have
when you're working with a team, that's for sure.
And you weren't sure how to train yourself
to be a good communicator, so here you are…
Wait, have you asked anyone for help yet?
I'm asking now, aren't I?
I mean someone else!
I didn't know what to say.
And everyone's so busy with their own work.
I didn't want to bother them.
So you leave that cryptic letter instead?!
Is your brain broken or something?!
Whatever.
Fine. Three days, right?
That was the extent of our conversation.
For the time being, Mernes should
not leave on any surprise journeys.
I see. Good work.
Thank you.
We're in your debt, Lord Onyx.
Good job, L-
I see now. I didn't know Mernes was so troubled…
Would you like to elaborate, Your Highness?
Oh, my apologies. The fact that Mernes
is troubled is extremely worrying.
And yet despite that, he still tried
his best to help the army rebuild…
Indeed.
Mernes is such a weirdo!
You likely don't know this yet,
but my Generals are also my consultants.
I listen to their thoughts, and Mernes' thoughts
on humanity often clashed with mine.
I didn't know that.
I've lost. Kill me.
If you don't, then someday, I'll exterminate humanity.
I did realize he was a little off
before I came to the Demon Army.
How did things fare with General Edvard?
Ah, yes. We rushed to the training grounds…
That fool truly WAS trying to take his life
He should've known regular blades
couldn't pierce his draconic scales!
Who knows what would've happened
if he'd tried poison instead…
His stalwart dedication to warrior ideals saved his life.
The reason he wrote in his letter was
his failure to train his troops, yes?
He kept proclaiming he was 'a worthless general',
but we haven't heard the full story yet.
Julietta is keeping an eye on him.
His beloved daughter is his only weakness.
With her there, I have no worries.
When he settles down, I hope
he'll open up about his reasons
Understood. When I've resolved Mernes' situation,
I'll come assist you there.
Thank you, Onyx.
Sorry about the wait!
Here's the dwarven mushroom sautees for table 8!
Thanks!
Thanks.
Thank you so much for waiting, guys!
Thanks.
Thanks again! The food quality improvement
was your doing too, yes?
Now we're busier than ever!
I'll teach 'em some more recipes later.
The head cook's got a few tricks left up his sleeve!
Can't wait to taste it!
And now you've brought us little Mernie,
and she's so cute!
Though with how quiet she is,
I'd say the cat's got her tongue, too!
See? You're cute.
There's something wrong a--
Here, one Goblin Salad for table 10!
Thanks! Can you take it out, Mernie?
Sure.
I've got a Goblin Salad for you. Here you go!
Here you go.
Leo.
Yeah?
I asked you to turn me into
a master communicator, right?
You sure did.
This is wrong.
You want better people skills, yeah?
What's wrong about this?
Why are we working in the mess hall?
And why am I dressed like this?
You gotta see things from
your underlings' point of view.
Think they could sit back and enjoy
their meals when their waiter is their General?
You needed a disguise!
Where's your disguise? You look just like the Hero.
These guys won't remember what I looked like.
But they know what YOU look like.
Everyone'd recognize you.
Why didn't I get the same uniform, then?
Because this was the only one in your size!
You're the dainty sort, anyway, so you look good in that!
When do I get lessons on communication?
We've been over this! Service positions teach
you all the basics of communication!
Order up for Table 34, grilled rabbit!
Thanks! C'mon, let's go!
Okay.
Mernie! You're gonna scare off our customers
with that look! C'mon, big smile!
That's even scarier. Come now, you're not an assassin!
Facial expression is part of being a good server.
Why bother teaching me all the basics?
I don't have the talent for communication.
Just keep that in mind, all right?
Don't get all smug on me.
And communication isn't about talent.
I was terrible at it back in the day.
I was constantly embarrassing myself.
Yeah, right.
It's true.
You have no idea how many people I've talked to,
or how many times I've failed.
But that's just what communication is:
practice and experience.
And the mess hall's the best place in the castle
for you to get that experience.
Whatever.
Ow!
You should start by not responding
with 'whatever' all the time.
Order up for Table 2, twelve noodle soups!
Remember this, Mernie.
Conversation is a group effort.
They throw you some words, you catch them,
then throw some back. That's the key.
That's vague. Be more specific.
You want them to know you're listening to them.
Imagine yourself in their shoes and hear them out.
For example, if you were eating
these noodles with someone…
Delicious!
Y-yes, they are!
Yummy!
There are an infinite number of replies
to the statement "this is delicious".
You could agree.
Indeed, indeed!
You could emphatically disagree.
I'm not a fan of them, either
You could say you'd rather have steak instead.
I wanna eat meat, too!
The right way to answer is to piece
together how the other person feels.
What are they trying to say?
What emotion are they expressing?
And whether it's a work conversation
or friendly chitchat, empathy is key.
See it from their point of view,
figure out what they want to talk about.
Empathy is the first thing they tell you to get rid
of when you join the Assassin's Guild.
Thanks, Assassin's Guild…
Aren't there any secret communication
techniques you could teach me?
Secret techniques? Let's see…
I suppose it's not reasonable to expect
an assassin trained from birth to have empathy.
Sure. Secret technique number one:
Shut up and listen. That's all.
Yeah, right.
Ow! The hell was that for?
What kind of conversation would that be, anyway?
I'm being serious here.
You know how the saying goes,
a good communicator is a good listener!
I already stay quiet all the time.
Because you just want the conversation to be over!
Like I said before, conversation is a group activity.
Listening intently to what the other person
is saying is how you have a good conversation.
That's what I did the first time
I tried to have a human conversation.
A human conversation…?
It'll make sense soon enough.
Once people know you're a good listener,
they'll start coming to you,
asking to vent or to get some advice.
Really?
Really. It feels good to get stuff off their chest.
Complaints about work, relationships,
anything on their mind.
You're gonna be interviewing people, right?
Then you should focus on listening instead of talking.
It'll all work out, I promise.
See their point of view and listen
Hey, waitress! Can I order?!
Yes, coming.
Apologies for the wait.
You sure took your damn time!
We've been callin' for ya this whole time!
We're the Howlers of the Moonlit Night!
You don't wanna get on our shit list!
Oh, the new mercenaries.
Edvard is supposed to make sure they stay in line,
but yeah, he's not doing that right now.
Whoa, whoa, our slowpoke waitress is a hell of a cutie!
What would you like to order?
Beer, and meat! On the double, now!
I'll need more information that that.
We have a variety of ales and meats.
Aww, they have a variety of ales and meats!
We have a vawiety of ales and meats! A vawiety!
What a cutie!
Might I suggest the meat-stuffed red pepper?
It paires quite nicely with ale
I'm more hungry for a pretty woman.
What you doin' tonight, sweetheart?
I'll show you a good time.
That is not a service we provide here in the mess hall.
Don't be like that! I've made succubi cry
out in pleasure before, y'know!
What are you standing around and doing nothing for?!
If you won't do something, then I will!
She's fine. Don't worry.
Huh?
Touch me again and I break your arm.
You broke it, you broke it, you already broke it!
I haven't broken it yet. If I bend it
a little more, though, I will.
Ow, ow, ow!
You bitch!
The hell did you do to the boss?!
Wow!
Are you done? I can take you all if you want to go.
Are you done?
We're done!
We're so sorry!
Wait, is that General Mernes?
No, what would he be doing down here?
Did you see that just now?
I can't believe it, she's as tough as General Mernes!
Might want to teach him how to disguise himself better.
I'm tired.
Good job today. Not bad for your first day of work.
You kicked ass, and not just those werewolves'.
All I did was hurt them.
That's how you deal with chumps like that.
But you also gave them a suggestion
for what to order, right?
Did I do an alright job?
Yeah, that was great. You did way better than I expected.
Huh.
I shouldn't be surprised.
Just like Lily's leadership skills, he had the basics down,
but never had the opportunity to hone his skills.
Nothing more than that.
So, now what?
We'll wrap up what we learned today.
Get changed and meet me in my room.
Cool, sit over there.
What're we doing?
Practice makes perfect, so I'm going
to do a practice interview with you.
So I'm going to interview you?
Yep. You learned a bunch today,
so your skills are already on the up and up.
Pretend this is a real interview and
start by asking me anything you want.
Anything?
Yeah, anything. Just use what I taught you.
Okay, what's he gonna ask?
Something about my infiltration or spy skills,
or maybe the reason I want to join up with the army?
See it from their point of view,
figure out what they want to talk about.
Once people know you're a good listener,
they'll start coming to you,
asking to vent or to get some advice.
You'll answer whatever question I ask?
Yeah, and honestly, too.
Wait, what was that look for?
That's the kind of look an assassin gives you
when he's found your weakness.
Oh, boy. I have a bad feeling about this.
I'm going to regret saying that, aren't I?
Then I want to know your reason for joining us.
Guess I shouldn't have worried.
So…
Yeah?
You said you wanted to join us
to bring ruin to humanity.
But that's a lie, right?
Our hearts are always so frail and fragile
But we still face forward and continue down our long road
If we don't know something now, we can go learn about it
We might not know what's at the end of our long, continuing journey
Don't try to do everything yourself, lean on us sometimes
Sharing your weaknesses is strength in itself
There's still a long way to go,
so make sure you won't regret anything
Dash on! The reason's simple
Let loose! Make your dreams reality
The future you're heading towards is one you shape yourself
It's okay to be scared of change, you can go little by little
I want to protect the things I cherish
(I'm so glad we found each other)
So I hope you hear how thankful I am for you
Next Time:
The Hero
Shares
His Tale
of Burden
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