CH 138

The other members never knew exactly how effective my support magic was. That was probably because they had been with me from the start. Whenever an expedition without me failed to achieve much, they would blame their condition. Not once did they admit that my absence was behind the lack of performance.

However, the latecomer Tragula was different. He had appeared a little surprised back then. Surprised that the support mage he had underestimated was more capable than expected. Then he was surprised again that my treatment in the corps was poor nonetheless. But acknowledging my abilities aside, what mattered to him wasn’t the growth of the corps. It was his own comfort, which was why he chose the path of removing me and becoming an elite member of Fabian Corps. Thinking of which, Fabian wasn’t the only one who had recognized my competence… There was Tragula, too. Although, well, my experience with both left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. I must have been blind back then as I felt Fabian was the only person who understood and respected me. Looking back, those thoughts were ridiculous. I felt sick in the stomach when recalling the first playthrough. It was stained with betrayal and backstabbing.

Mayer, who had been lost in thoughts of his own, suddenly asked, “…Do you think I can do it?”

I was confused at the missing subject in his question, but I was soon able to figure out what he was concerned about. Most likely, he worried about using mana for the first time, and in front of other people at that. Of course, I admitted that I was being hasty. My original plan was to proceed steadily, but there wouldn’t be a better opportunity than this one. After all, a dragon was a strong enough opponent that even Mayer wouldn’t be able to slay in one strike. Other fellspawn he could kill in an instant, regardless if he used physical strength or mana. Without a significant difference in damage, it would be hard to confirm whether the elemental conversion worked. Plus, I wanted to see for myself whether Mayer’s mana was definitely worth using before the performance report meeting. Only then could I decide my attitude toward Fabian when I met him there.

Honestly, I felt sorry for Mayer. The plan I was setting in motion was out of my selfishness. Feeling guilty, I consoled Mayer in the kindest voice I could manage. “Of course. Trust yourself, Captain. Or if that’s hard, you can trust me. You’ve never gone wrong listening to me, have you?”

“That is true.” He nodded.

I thought he would have something to say about my claim, but he nodded so readily, I became speechless for a moment. After a second of thought, Mayer asked quietly, “By the way… If you are to cast support magic on me, would it not be better for us to be in the same squad?”

So… he wanted me to send out Tragula so he could take his place? It was so obvious what the man was scheming. I didn’t want to peck at someone who gave me all those precious gifts, but that was a separate matter from this. I quashed his hopes with a snort. “I can cast support spells even from another team.”

“But it will be hard to cast magic on me during the confusion of battle.”

“Even if I were blinded by the smoke from Fabian’s fire magic, I’d make sure to cast spells on you. Don’t worry.”