CH 20

After defeating the goblin unit, the party proceeded on an endless road.

Then, a tragedy occurred on the way.

McLean the monk died.

Mentally exhausted and worn down by the grueling road trip, he finally ran out of strength and collapsed.

He was a pillar of the party as a healer, but with his death, the party’s strength and morale plummeted even further.

[…What are we going to do now? My recovery magic is not powerful enough. And more importantly, attacking and healing at the same time would be too difficult for me.] (Angelica)

[That’s the first thing you have to say? McLean just died. Aren’t you going to mourn the loss of our comrade?] (Reid)

[Listen, Reid-san. We’ve been walking for days now with no food or water. And there are no towns or villages anywhere in sight. …We’ll all be dead before we even reach the Demon King’s castle! What are we going to do if the enemy attacks us again!?] (Angelica)

[I get it already! I’m trying to think of something!] (Reid)

[Then think of it fast! You’re the Hero, aren’t you!?] (Angelica)

Angelica the anxious sorceress and Reid the Hero were arguing without being able to hide their irritation.

Their argument was further aggravated by the absence of the monk McLean, who would have admonished them for it.

[Wait, guys! You need to calm down! I get that our situation is driving you crazy, but you have to cool off!] (Hydra)

[What do you mean, “cool off”!? Then do something about it! How are we supposed to get out of this mess!? Damn it!] (Angelica)

Angelica, who had a violent temper, was in a state of mind where she could no longer trust anyone and was unwilling to listen to anyone’s opinion.

And Hydra, the female martial artist, was so frustrated with Angelica that she wanted to kill her, but she desperately tried to repress that urge.

Then, she had a passing thought and voiced it out loud.

[What if… What if that boy soldier Seto had been here? I wonder what he would do at a time like this. He’s probably been fighting on the battlefield all his life, so maybe he would know how to act in a situation like—…] (Hydra)

Or so she muttered.

However, Reid then went and grabbed her, as if what she just said had gotten on his nerves.

[Are you going to criticize my decision too? Even though you despised Seto as much as we did!?] (Reid)

[W-Wait! I’m just saying that—] (Hydra)

[You are, aren’t you? I misjudged you, Hydra. Don’t you always talk about “Honor” when preaching to people? Well right now, you’re being the opposite of honorable!] (Reid)

[W-What the hell are you saying…!? I simply wanted to do something about this crisis… and then I quickly remembered Seto, that’s all. Although he’s brutal, he’s still a warrior who has survived in the harshest environment. So I thought he might have some wisdom to share… And then…] (Hydra)

[And then? …”And then” what? Did you think you could come up with something by thinking of Seto while forgetting about me, the Hero!?] (Reid)

Reid’s eyes were bloodshot, and the expression on his face was gaunt and grim, as if he was a whole different person than before he began his journey.

His mind was not at peace either.

The reality that the journey to defeat the Demon King was a kind of cruel battlefield was hitting him hard.

Overcoming hardships together with his teammates, defeating powerful foes.

Such were the legendary tales that were passed down from generation to generation. 

However, reality was nothing like the legends.

Reid’s flaw was that he put too much faith in dreams and lores.

And the repercussions of that faith were considerable.

[Reid… I’m begging you, calm down…] (Hydra)

[I’m perfectly calm!] (Hydra)

He threatened Hydra by raising his voice in anger like he never did before.

The force of his voice frightened her.

Her body trembled, and she broke into tears.

It was then that Angelica snickered and addressed Hydra coldly.

[Say, Hydra. If you’re going to run your mouth like that, then… why don’t you just go look for Seto?] (Angelica)

[Wha… What did you say…?] (Hydra)

[Your martial art is impressive. But you see, it’s just not powerful enough to take on monsters. Do you get my point? To put it bluntly… The way you are now, you’re nothing but a burden.] (Angelica)

Hydra froze at that shocking statement.

All this time, she had been putting her martial art into practice for the sake of her party and the world.

It was the fruit of all the training she had been doing since an early age.

But now, Hydra found herself in a situation similar to what happened with Seto.

And even Reid agreed with Angelica’s statement.

[…She’s right. You may have great aspirations, but no real power.] (Reid)

[Hey, wait! Hold on a sec! I’ve been putting in a lot of eff—!] (Hydra)

[You’re not even trained in using magic, so how do you intend to fight from now on? The Demon King’s executives are much stronger than this, you know? …You’re merely stronger than the average human. So when it comes to fighting monsters…] (Reid)

[I said wait!] (Hydra)

Hydra had run out of patience with this situation.

Her father, whom she had left in the countryside, was waiting for her return.

Praying that the martial art he had taught her would prove useful in bringing peace to the world.

And so, she dreaded the thought of being expelled from the party after coming this far.

Everything she accomplished would then be all for nothing.

Betraying the expectations of both the country and her father like this would truly be an act of dishonor.

[Please, I’m begging you… Don’t banish me from our party. I’ll do anything, I’ll obey your every command. Just please… Don’t forsake me.] (Hydra)

Hydra showed a timid attitude.

At this point, she did not care about her pride anymore.

She would be whatever they wanted her to be until they defeated the Demon King.

And right after she had made that decision, Angelica walked up to Hydra, who was bowing her head, and with an eerie smile, she stepped on her foot and said the following.

[Oh, is that so? Then here’s my order. …Go find Seto, and bring him back to us.] (Angelica)

[Huh? But… It’s been several days since we drove him out. There’s no way he would still be where we left him, so how could I—] (Hydra)

[Who said you could talk back!? You said you would obey our every command, right? Then go find that battle maniac right now!! If that brat is with us, we won’t have to worry about any monsters. We’ll have a much easier time fighting them.] (Angelica)

[A… Alright… I just… have to find him, right?] (Hydra)

[That’s right, go fetch him. And once you’re back, we’ll happily work you into the ground. AHAHAHAHA!] (Angelica)

Thus, it was decided that Hydra would act separately and look for Seto.

However, this was, in effect, a pseudo-banishment.

Hydra left the other two and turned back the way they came.

And without any food and water, she could die at any moment.

Dark, cold sadness gradually filled her heart as her nerves frayed from the fear of death.

[Hmmm~! Now it’s just the two of us, but it might actually feel a lot more comfortable than if we were a crowd.] (Angelica)

[You may be right, Angelica. …Whew, I’m starting to cool off a little. Let’s take a short break before we resume our progress. We’ll also have to think about how we’ll coordinate our attacks in case another battle breaks out.] (Reid)

[I agree. Perhaps the two of us will make the best party. Although, I wish McLean was still with us.] (Angelica)

[Nothing we could’ve done about that. He was quite the weakling himself, after all.] (Reid)

There was a hint of insanity in what he said.

He claimed to be calm, but his eyes were unfocused, and Angelica had been smirking for the past while.

The Hero’s party was now basically devoid of leadership.

Also, forcing Hydra to go her separate way would lead to the worst case scenario…