Chapter 8

By noon that day, a disciple from the blacksmith's shop came with the message, "The item pouch is ready, come and get it." Given the nature of the item, it was probably something the disciple couldn't be trusted with.

For some reason, it felt like people were whispering and avoiding him as he walked through the town...? Despite this, he couldn't just not go and pick it up.

He also decided to stop by the Adventurer's Guild to see if they had any requests for a party of four. He needed to swap the contents of the pouch, but since they had just reached S-rank, he wanted to see what kind of requests were available.

When he mentioned this, the tense atmosphere eased a bit. Since they had already kicked Gaius out, they had no choice but to move forward, even if someone was angry or disappointed with them.

"Mr. Smith, I got your message, so I came to pick it up..."

"Ah, welcome. It's ready."

Today, he was greeted more calmly. After all, a customer is a customer, and he had paid. The blacksmith had also listened to his requests.

However, the Crescent Claw had forgotten that they had said something they shouldn't have in the shop. Being called a rip-off and brushed off as nothing was not something a top-notch, trusted shop would easily forgive.

All they needed were the red dragon's hide and fangs, but the blacksmith had properly taken the other parts and the griffin materials. The Crescent Claw had not checked this, and they had even called the blacksmith a rip-off, which made the blacksmith sigh inwardly.

He had intended to return the materials if asked, but they didn't seem to be planning to ask. Still, he had no intention of making something with materials obtained through deception, so the remaining materials would likely be stored away.

"Here you go, a high-quality item pouch with maximum capacity. It was a rush job, so it's not the best, but it's more durable and lighter than most. Take it."

"Thank you... and for all the information you provided."

Gurgan's sincere gratitude made the blacksmith's face strange. He seemed to be thinking about what to do. He knew the Crescent Claw was ignorant and probably couldn't manage materials, but it was frustrating to be called a rip-off and then have to return the materials.

In the end, the blacksmith was a good-natured person and couldn't ignore Gaius's request to "take care of it."

"Ah, right. Later, I'll keep the leftover materials from making your pouch and the griffin materials. If you leave the hide out, it will mold, so I'll process it for you. If you have any issues with your equipment, come back. I'll fix it for you, as I have the materials."

"! Really? Thank you so much...!"

"...I'm sorry for calling you a rip-off..."

Hanna still had her reservations about Gurgan, but she bowed her head in apology, showing her gratitude for the blacksmith's consideration.

As the Crescent Claw left with the pouch on their waist, the blacksmith leaned on the counter and muttered to himself.

"Gaius... he's a good guy, but... he's surrounded by people, and he's also one of them..."

After all, Gaius was only 19, and to the blacksmith, who was in his mid-30s, he was still a young kid.

He couldn't understand why the Crescent Claw didn't appreciate Gaius, given his relatively straightforward nature, but since they had fired him, there was no going back.

However, it seemed the Crescent Claw was starting to realize how much they had been "lacking" without Gaius. He hoped Gaius would also realize what he had been "lacking" in.

The blacksmith then retreated to the back to start another job.

The Crescent Claw headed straight to the Adventurer's Guild. They planned to look at the requests and take on something they could handle as a party of four.

However, as soon as they entered the guild, the adventurers inside looked at them and started whispering.

They hadn't caused any trouble in the guild, and even familiar adventurers were avoiding their gaze.

Unfortunately, as the party that had kicked out Gaius, they had gained quite a bit of disfavor. Gaius had left willingly, and they had all agreed to kick him out. Party member changes were not uncommon.

They couldn't understand what was so bad. So, they went to the counter, where the guild staff greeted them with a business-like smile.

"Um, we want to take on an S-rank request."

"Currently, there are no requests available for the Crescent Claw at any rank. To take on a request, you need to complete a training program. Are you willing to do the training?"

"Training?!"

"What is this?"

"What kind of training are you talking about now...?"

Gurgan was surprised, and Ben and Lilith tilted their heads in confusion. They had never been told this before.

They had already completed the beginner's training when they registered as a party of four, but the staff insisted they needed to do it again.

The Crescent Claw exchanged troubled looks, not knowing what to do.

◇◇◇

While having tea with Mira after dinner, he listened to her words. Schkull was still lounging around, not particularly interested in the human conversation, and Gaius was leaning against him, listening.

"When I was lost in the dungeon, I felt a great sense of gratitude to the Crescent Claw for helping me. I thought I would join them once I became strong enough to be useful. However, I had some doubts about how the Crescent Claw treated Gaius..."

"A year ago... when everyone had just become advanced classes. Was something off?"

"Yes. Normally, I think the whole party would set up camp together... but didn't Gaius do everything from setting up the tent to preparing the fire, cooking, and taking care of the riding beasts all by himself?"

"Ah... now that you mention it, I started doing everything on my own at some point. But it felt strange to ask for help with our own tasks... I guess I got used to it. I wasn't contributing much in combat, though."

"Even if you weren't a powerhouse, your support was perfect. You disrupted enemy spellcasting and provided the best coordination for rear support. I really couldn't understand why you were fired..."

"Maybe it's because they were all so capable? I felt out of place because of that."

"Really? Are you serious...?"

"Is it that weird?"

Mira was feeling the gaps in Gaius, or rather, the oddities in his behavior. However, she couldn't quite grasp the essence of it, so she decided to avoid mentioning it for now.

"Well, I think it's better to ask the current members of the Crescent Claw... Anyway, until I rejoined my party after leaving the dungeon, Gaius was the only one who took care of me, protected me, and treated me with respect. The others... it seemed like they were so used to Gaius being there that they didn't do things for themselves."

"From what you've told me, it seems that way..."

Gaius was starting to regret not forcing them to do more. In the orphanage, if you didn't do what you were told, you didn't get food. You had to take care of yourself, and no one would help you. He had to do everything from cleaning to odd jobs to earn his keep.

He was a foundling, though he didn't remember it. The orphanage was full of children who had lost their homes to monsters, or who had been sold to pay off debts.

So, he had learned to do more, steal skills, and be greedy for knowledge. He had learned to negotiate and sometimes lose on purpose. When he first came to the capital, he sought the same environment.

However, the people in the capital were different. Kindness was returned, and doing too much for others could invade their space.

After learning this, he became an adventurer and joined the Crescent Claw when they were recruiting a supporter.

He thought he had learned. He thought he had learned, but... over time, Gaius had given up on asking for help. He had asked a few times, "Do you want to help?" or "Do you need me to do this?" But the camp setup and fire duties had gradually become Gaius's responsibility. Asking had become the norm, and Gaius had given up and reverted to his old ways, which pained him as he listened to Mira.

He had been able to treat other new adventurers, lost people like Mira, and people who had helped him in the city with the lessons he had learned.

Maybe he wasn't suited for a family-like group. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Mira called his name.

"Ah, sorry. So, leaving the party aside, why me and the party?"

"There's a dungeon I want to tackle. It's a B-rank dungeon, but there's a rumor that the boss is a special individual... and there's a magic sword in that dungeon that can use both magic and sword skills. B-rank adventurers are too scared to go, and the A-rank party I was in didn't see the benefit for anyone but me, so I left. If I can show that I'm useful again, I can join another party. As a magic swordsman, I can handle the front line alone. I have an A-rank license. With Gaius's support, I think we can tackle it together!"

"Ah... I'm more of a rear support, though."

"I understand."

"Still, tackling a dungeon with just two people... Hmm... Do you really have a plan for how to do it?"

Mira looked at Gaius as if he were a troubled person.

Gaius didn't know enough. He didn't know what he could do, what he had demonstrated to Mira a year ago, and how unique those skills were. The Crescent Claw also didn't know enough. If Mira had been in the party, she would never have considered letting Gaius go.

"I'm confident. With Gaius, I know we can definitely do it."