Chapter 10

This is from Laila's perspective.

"Haah! Why did I end up in such a place!"

After retreating from the Hydra, I, Laila, finally returned to a place where I could relax, and I spat out these words with a face contorted in anger. This is not the shared house of the Lightning Sword party, but just an inn. That's why the angry voices from the next room must have carried over, and the sound of something falling in the next room echoed.

"Ah..."

At that sound, I instinctively covered my mouth. It seems I had become so emotional that I forgot the walls of this inn were quite thin. Realizing I had been emotional, I tried to calm down a bit.

"Oh, come on. There's no way my anger could just disappear like this..."

However, my attempt to calm down was unsuccessful. Just thinking about the attitudes of Margulus and Saberion of the Lightning Sword party made me want to scream.

After we safely returned to the guild, Margulus and the others didn't apologize at all. Instead, they started calling Armia, who had desperately tried to help Margulus, useless. From what I saw of the battle, Armia had a lot of talent, but she was still a child. Despite her age, she had performed quite well.

...But Margulus and the others blamed her for being a hindrance in the end.

Even though the Hydra's poison hadn't completely left her system and she was clearly not feeling well.

I couldn't stand it anymore and lashed out at Margulus and Saberion, including the fact that they had left me to take care of Armia while they fled. ...But Margulus and the others continued to insist it was all Armia's fault and refused to admit any wrongdoing.

In the end, they ended the matter with a condescending attitude, saying they would allow Armia to tell her side of the story, and then told me to use *Heal* to recover from today's fatigue.

Indeed, *Heal* has the effect of restoring fatigue and enhancing healing abilities.

"But there's no way I can fully recover from fatigue in just one night!!"

...But it seemed Margulus and the others were asking for something more than just *Heal*. Thinking about that ridiculous request made me yell again.

"Kyaa! ...Ouch!"

"..."

...But then, from the next room, I heard a dull thud and a girl's scream, as if she had been startled by my voice and bumped into something. I regained my composure. It seems I had yelled again. ...I really did something bad to the girl in the next room. It sounded like she was rolling around on the floor in agony, maybe she had hit her toe on a dresser...

Listening to those sounds, I sighed deeply.

"Haah... Why did I end up in such a party..."

Actually, I, Laila, am a recent adventurer who came to this labyrinth city, Maatat. I used to be in a top-tier party in the capital, but I fled after almost being attacked by the leader. So when I told the receptionist, Amest, about this and was told I could join a top-tier party, I was overjoyed. I thought it was a rare miracle.

...But what did I find when I joined?

Margulus and Saberion, who lacked both personality and skill. Armia was the only one who had the potential to become a top-tier adventurer, but Margulus and Saberion lacked both character and skill. Moreover, when I complained about this to Amest, I was told that once you officially join a party in this city, it's very difficult to leave, and my request to leave the party was firmly denied. It seems Amest was also of the same ilk as Margulus and the others.

"Haa, I really wonder if it's true that I can't leave..."

Thinking about that, I let out a mix of anger and frustration. This city is really a far cry from the capital, with adventurers who are much worse and even the receptionists are corrupt. I'm seriously considering running away from this city.

"Really, what should I do..."

...But now, I was really struggling with whether to leave this party or not.

"...Uu, uu..."

The reason for this was the presence of a girl who was groaning in her sleep next to me, Armia. I had decided that I couldn't leave this girl with Margulus and the others, so I brought her to my inn under the pretext of treating her.

I just couldn't leave this girl alone.

"...What kind of dream are you having?"

While wiping the sweat from Armia's forehead, I couldn't help but wonder, as she groaned in such pain. It seems Armia wasn't in danger of losing her life, but she had a fever from fatigue and exhaustion. The sweat was so bad that I needed to make sure she didn't get cold, so I thought I should wipe her body soon. With that in mind, I moved to get a new wet cloth.

"...I'm sorry..."

But then, Armia's sudden apology made me stop in my tracks. Her face looked as if she was regretting something.

—I did something unforgivable... I did such a terrible thing to Raust...

I remembered the words Armia had muttered just before losing consciousness. Until she lost consciousness, she had been regretting her actions towards a person named Raust and repeatedly apologizing.

"Raust, that's the healer who stole the Lightning Sword's assets and fled, right..."

I had heard this from Margulus, but I had no bad impression of the healer named Raust. Knowing Margulus's character now, I couldn't believe a word he said. I didn't think he was a bad person, but for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about the healer named Raust.

Adding to Armia's repeated apologies, Margulus and the others demanding an unreasonable healing spell as if it were normal, it seemed the reason was with the healer named Raust.

"...Who is he really?"

The words I muttered were lost in the air, unheard by anyone... Unfortunately, Laila still can't leave Margulus's party. I still have a lot I want to write about Margulus's party, so from the next chapter, I will return to Raust's perspective, but I still plan to write about Margulus and the others. As for Laila, I have a lot of plans to give her some redemption, so please look forward to it...