Chapter 27

"......This time, it's a bit less, isn't it?"

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

A few days after our failed attempt to slay the Hydra, one day, Armia and I were talking in the middle of a grassland. Around us were a large number of goblin magic stones and materials, as well as plants that could be sold in the grassland. These were the spoils of our hunt in the grassland this time.

...But when I saw the large amount of loot, I almost sighed.

"......No matter how hard we work, it doesn't match the rewards of the lower floors."

The reason was that even though we had slain a large number of goblins, the rewards were not good. Armia and I had come quite far into the grassland and, whenever we found a group of goblins, Armia would burn them with her magic to earn money. Using this method, we had gathered a large amount of goblin materials, but selling this much goblin material wouldn't bring in that much money. Honestly, at that price, considering the effort to dismantle the goblin materials, it was not worth it at all.

"Are they still holed up?"

"S-Sorry..."

...However, the reason we were hunting in such an unprofitable place was that we lacked two front-line fighters. Yes, Margus and Sabelia were currently holed up in the Lightning Sword's shared house, not contributing to any quests at all.

The reason Margus and Sabelia had holed up was due to an incident that happened two days after we retreated from the Hydra. On that day, despite Armia not being in top condition, Margus and Sabelia had taken us to the lower floors of the dungeon, insisting that they could handle it. They had pointed at us, calling us incompetent, and boasted that they would show us how it's done before charging at the lower floor monsters.

...A few minutes later, Margus and Sabelia were no match for the lower floor monsters and were crying for help.

In the end, we managed to defeat the monsters with Armia's magic, but I had never regretted joining the Lightning Sword as much as I did when I saw their pitiful state...

Furthermore, they complained that we were too slow in helping them. When I muttered that I might leave, they shouted that it was a violation of the rules, that I was a coward, and threatened to sue, acting as if they were the victims.

...And even after we saved them, the next day they lied about having non-existent injuries and refused to explore the dungeon, holed up in the house. At that point, I was beyond being exasperated; I was amazed. As adventurers, they were only second-rate, but their acting skills when pretending to be victims or faking injuries were truly convincing. I thought Margus and his group should become fraudsters.

...How many times had I ignored the receptionist and Margus's words and thought about leaving the Lightning Sword?

"Ha..."

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but sigh. However, I still couldn't leave the Lightning Sword.

First, I couldn't find a party to join. I had tried my best to find a party to join instead of the Lightning Sword, but there were none available.

...Most of the adventurer parties in the dungeon city were too rough.

Every party welcomed me, but I could see their base desires for me in their eyes. I could easily imagine what would happen if I joined such a party. I didn't think it was worth it.

Moreover, there was another person whose existence made me hesitate about leaving the Lightning Sword.

"I'm sorry, Laila..."

"Don't worry. It's not your fault."

Seeing Armia apologize with a guilty look at my sigh, I felt even more strongly that I couldn't leave the Lightning Sword. In fact, the one who was suffering the most in our current goblin-hunting life was not me. While goblin hunting earned less than the lower floors, we were destroying multiple groups of goblins a day, so we were making a decent amount, comparable to a second-rate adventurer working in the middle floors. I was receiving half of the rewards, so my life was relatively comfortable.

...But Armia was different.

Armia was dividing her earnings equally with Margus and Sabelia. No, since Margus and Sabelia did nothing but waste money, Armia's share was definitely less than a third. Despite this, when I tried to discuss the rewards or Margus's attitude with her, Armia insisted that everything was fine and refused to change her stance.

...As if it was a punishment for the Lightning Sword's former healer, Laust, being expelled.

In fact, I had heard everything about the talented healer Laust from Armia. What he had accomplished and why he was expelled. When I heard this, I was speechless for a moment. The treatment Laust received in the Lightning Sword was truly terrible. And I couldn't forgive Armia for being part of that treatment.

However, Armia was too young to say that she couldn't repent.

Moreover, I had never seen Armia with Laust, but I believed she had changed. Among the receptionist and Margus's baseless accusations of rule violations to keep me in the Lightning Sword, Armia was the only one who supported me. Not only that, when I was thinking about leaving the Lightning Sword, Armia introduced me to her acquaintances and helped me find a new party, even though it might have been to her disadvantage.

Because of the time I spent with Armia, I wanted to pull her away from the Lightning Sword.

"I'll definitely persuade them to go to the middle floors tomorrow!"

On the way back to the guild, Armia bowed repeatedly and said this to me, strengthening my resolve. Armia said she would persuade Margus and Sabelia to go to the middle floors, but I was certain they wouldn't go to the middle floors.

Margus and Sabelia were not strong enough to go to the lower floors, but they were not weak. They probably had the strength to handle the middle floors. However, I was certain they wouldn't go to the middle floors because they were clinging to their past as top adventurers. They felt that if they focused on the middle floors, they would no longer be top adventurers.

...They had given up the reason they became top adventurers but were pathetically clinging to the status of being top adventurers.

But even in this state, Armia refused to leave the Lightning Sword, despite being the most affected by Margus's and Sabelia's attachment to the past.

"If only there was some kind of trigger..."

And with that, I muttered these words. As it was, Armia wouldn't leave the Lightning Sword. That's why I was looking for something to change the situation.

"You're late!"

"Really, come back sooner next time."

"Eh? Leader?"

...And that something came sooner than I expected.

When we returned to the guild, Margus and Sabelia were waiting for us. Armia was surprised by their attitude, while I felt anger.

"What do you think you're doing...?"

After all, Margus and Sabelia, who had been slacking off, suddenly appeared with a high-handed attitude. It was impossible not to feel frustrated.

"Eh?"

But the moment I noticed a man standing next to Margus and Sabelia, I was speechless. In response to my silence, Margus smiled proudly and said:

"We've hired a new, capable warrior. We're going to the lower floors now!"

From that moment, the situation changed dramatically...

I'm sorry for the late update! I had written it once, but I wasn't satisfied, so I rewrote it, which took longer...