Volume 1 - CH 9

Chapter 9 – Changes in The Surrounding

The one who began to say that Eto wasn’t useful for the party first was the Master Magician Mirei.

“It seems we can’t expect a good effect from Eto-san’s support magic. Why don’t we reconsider whether he is a needed person for the hero’s party?”

“My support magic indeed doesn’t have that much power like Mirei-sama’s magic. However, the knights and magicians who participated in the subjugation could definitely feel the effect. Besides, the effect of my support magic is still increasing even now, so I think it will eventually be useful for everyone.”

“How long do you intend to make us wait for that? It’s almost time for us to embark on a journey to subjugate the monsters, right? If we still have to wait even after embarking on the journey, isn’t it more efficient to add the knights and magicians, who can be an immediate fighting force to the party?”

“…”

“Mirei-san, I think Eto-kun is also doing his best. Besides, we are comrades chosen by Goddess-sama. Hence, can you somehow take the long view?”

Ronaldo then persuaded Mirei.

“If Ronaldo-sama says so…”

Naturally, Mirei decided to follow Ronaldo’s words, but she still gave Eto a sharp look.

Actually, Eto knew why Mirei’s attitude toward him changed. From the start, Mirei’s goal is to become the leader of the magic corps, or in other words, the top magician in the kingdom. That is why, since she heard that the current leader of magic corps, Puke, evaluated Eto’s support magic highly, Mirei seemed to see Eto as her rival.

If Eto had been able to freely use advanced magic to contribute to the party, Mirei might not have been so openly against him. Regrettably, the members of Hero’s party, who had little experience in subjugating monsters, couldn’t understand the effectiveness of Eto’s support magic.

As a result, two months after they started their journey, Eto was banned from using his support magic.

Since then, the sight of Mirei, who persistently criticizes Eto, has become a daily thing and the Hero didn’t even try to stop it. From the start, Ronaldo always emphasized on each of their own individual strengths, and he didn’t seem to be interested in strengthening his companions with support magic. Adding to that, a total of about thirty people consisting of the escorting knights and mages, liaisons to the royal castle and church, pharmacists, cooks, and coachmen who accompanied the hero party on their journey also started to look down on Eto, following Mirei’s and Ronaldo’s footsteps.

Normally, things such as not getting a room in the inn or not getting served meals shouldn’t have happened to Eto. Subjugation rewards should have already been given to each member of the party by the kingdom and the church. That is why the situation where Eto wasn’t given any rewards was very abnormal.

Of course, Eto has repeatedly urged the people accompanying the party to give him his share of rewards. He also had already said to the liaisons to the royal castle and the church that there is no way he could continue his journey if the situation where he wasn’t even given any food continued. However, all they did was just said that they would do something about that after reporting it to their superior.

Even so, Eto continued to urge them to change his current situation, but he stopped expecting anything from them after hearing the words of the liaison who was supposed to be managing the rewards.

“If you don’t have any food, why don’t you just hunt monsters and exchange them for money? Since Eto-sama hasn’t participated in the battle with your party, I’m sure you still have some spare energy, right?”

A female bureaucrat, who is in charge of liaison with the royal castle, said so, while looking down at Eto.

At first, the surrounding people indeed seemed surprised by her remarks, but they gradually began to agree.

“Aa, that’s a good idea.”

Then, a man, who was her superior, agreed to her remarks.

“Yes, that’s right. We also cannot request something that we don’t see any need for to the capital, after all. Thus, if Eto-sama could solve the problem himself, there is nothing better than that.”1

The liaison of the church immediately added.

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Meanwhile, the knights and magicians who were watching the situation said nothing and just glared at Eto. At that moment, there is only one thing in Eto’s mind, ‘This is useless’. Eto gave up, as he found that those people had no intention to listen to his requests.

Since then, Eto no longer complained about any of his distress to them. He just carried out his job as ordered by Ronaldo, then he accepted some requests such as defeating monsters or collecting herbs to cover his own food expenses while the other party members rested comfortably at the inn.

As a matter of fact, Lana persistently asked him why the treatment that Eto received changed, but without being able to say that he was being looked down by the surrounding, each time Eto only said something to deceive her. After that, Lana gradually stopped asking, making Eto relieved.