Chapter 7

"Huh? Rauスト hasn't come back yet?"

Malgus, the leader of the Lightning Sword, heard about Rauスト's absence the day after he left the party. It was at the moment when they were about to set out for a rematch against the Hydra.

...In truth, Rauスト had been expelled, but Malgus had no memory of the events from the previous night. Seeing Malgus's state, Sabelia spoke with a look of exasperation.

"No, that's not it. Look, didn't we expel him yesterday?"

"Oh, right, I said I was going to expel Rauスト? I was drinking, so my memory's a bit fuzzy around that part..."

Only then did Malgus finally recall the events of the previous night, but his attitude was incredibly nonchalant.

"It was just an extension of my usual venting. It's only natural that I wouldn't remember someone like him."

"Still, to kick someone out of the party over such a petty fit is pretty stupid. He had a chance to join a top-notch party like the Lightning Sword."

"Yeah. Maybe the defective healer is defective in more ways than one?"

"You got that right!"

...However, no one in the room was there to reprimand Malgus for his attitude. Even if the female mage Armia, who was not present, had been there, she likely wouldn't have reprimanded Malgus. To them, Rauスト's expulsion the previous night was a trivial matter.

For Malgus and Sabelia, Rauスト was just someone who had unexpectedly proven useful and didn't complain no matter how much they mistreated him, which was why they let him join the party.

...After all, they had only let Rauスト join the party to extort money from him. Malgus and Sabelia, now renowned as a top-tier party, were once just mediocre adventurers stuck in the upper levels of the dungeon. Disgusted by the low earnings despite risking their lives, they started a scam, recruiting stray adventurers to the party and extorting money from them.

The income wasn't substantial, but the two became addicted to the thrill of deceiving these strays and repeated the scam multiple times. It was an illegal method, but since their targets were just strays, no one ever reprimanded them. Rauスト was originally just one of their scam targets.

That's why, in the end, they decided to let Rauスト join the party because he had very little money to extort and unexpectedly proved useful. To Malgus and Sabelia, Rauスト was just a target to be exploited.

This was evident from their usual attitude towards Rauスト. Despite the party's growth since Rauスト joined, Malgus and Sabelia believed it was all due to their own abilities.

"Well, this is a good opportunity to bring in a new healer. Someone better than him."

"Right. That's why I sent Armia to scout for a new, capable healer."

"I see, that's why Armia wasn't here. Anyway, with a proper healer replacing that defective guy, taking down a Hydra will be a breeze. I'm feeling good today too."

So, when Malgus and Sabelia heard that Rauスト had left the party, they weren't at all worried about their party. They firmly believed they were a top-tier, excellent party and never doubted it.

"Alright! This time we'll kill the Hydra!"

...That's why, when Malgus announced this, he walked out without any sense of crisis.

◇◆◇

A few minutes later, Malgus and Sabelia arrived at the Adventurer's Guild and waited in a room, chatting until Armia returned with the new healer.

"Didn't Armaスト seem a bit off today?"

"Oh, the receptionist. I heard she angered an adventurer who brought in materials from the lower levels."

"Wow, that's tough. The adventurer probably insulted her and she snapped back, causing him to lash out. We, the Lightning Sword, should show our prowess and boost the reputation of the guild staff."

"Right. We need to defeat the Hydra first, though. It should be easy without that hindrance!"

As they were chatting, the sound of multiple footsteps approached, and the door to the room where Malgus and Sabelia were waiting was knocked.

"Finally here."

Malgus muttered and opened the door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Thank you for coming today."

The next moment, Armia, dressed in her usual gear, and a woman in a white robe appeared from the open door. The woman in the white robe had her mouth covered by a cloth, but even the exposed part of her face showed her refined features, causing Malgus to unconsciously smile.

"...Huh?"

However, he was speechless when he saw the woman's full attire.

"Are you sure that equipment is okay?"

Because the woman was dressed in rear-guard gear, not suitable for close combat.

"At least if you can land a hit on the Hydra's tail, you can deal significant damage. You should at least wear some beast leather armor..."

"...Huh? I'm not going to the front line."

"...What?"

But the next moment, Malgus was speechless at the woman's words. He had assumed the new healer would naturally take a front-line position.

"Leader! Normal healers don't take the front line!"

"!"

...But the next moment, Malgus remembered that healers don't typically take the front line when Armia whispered in his ear. Having worked with Rauスト for years, Malgus had mistakenly believed healers should take the front line. Of course, he couldn't ask a normal healer to do that.

"Right, sorry. The previous healer took our belongings and ran away last night... I'm still a bit confused."

"Well, that's... understandable."

So, Malgus quickly blamed Rauスト and tried to cover up the situation. Normally, even if he was confused, no one would assign a healer to the front line, but the healer woman, perhaps sympathizing with the story of a comrade running away, didn't pursue it further. Malgus felt a moment of relief.

...But that relief quickly turned into worry about whether they could manage with one less front-liner. After all, with one less front-liner, it would be even harder to hold back the enemy.

"...No, it should be fine. Rauスト mostly just ran around without attacking, so he was pretty useless. Sure, his rare attacks were powerful, but they were rare..."

But Malgus quickly convinced himself that his worry was just a concern. He smiled and extended his hand to the healer woman.

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes, it's an honor to join the famous Lightning Sword."

The next moment, Malgus smiled, perhaps flattered by the woman's words.

"Let's go then. We can introduce ourselves on the way."

"Y-Yes."

And Malgus and the others set out from the Adventurer's Guild, full of confidence.

...But they didn't realize that they were making a huge mistake.

After all, the large gap left by Rauスト's departure couldn't be filled by just adding one healer. Yet, without realizing this, Malgus and the others headed towards the Hydra...