Chapter 7

This party is the worst.

I, Rize Maitland, was certain of this on my first day of joining the party.

As a noblewoman, I didn’t need to become an adventurer for financial reasons.

However, the skill I was born with was the "Four Great Elements." It’s a skill that is said to manifest in only one out of ten thousand people, and to put it mildly, it’s a huge win.

I wanted to use this skill to protect people. That’s why I vowed to become strong.

My parents said, "Nobles don’t need to protect commoners. Commoners should die for the nobles," but that’s wrong. A leader who is weak is no leader at all.

To prove my parents wrong, I vowed to become an adventurer. And I wanted to join a top-tier party to build my strength.

...And yet, Cruel Blade was a complete disappointment.

"Oh, Lord Dan is so cool~!"

"Open your mouth! Ahn!"

What disappointed me the most was the party leader, Dan. He’s now giggling as he feeds one of the female party members.

This isn’t something new. Dan and the other party members are always acting lovey-dovey. There’s no sense of seriousness at all.

The monsters we fight are all weak, and to be honest, it’s more of a hobby. There’s no real drive to become stronger.

I had heard that Cruel Blade was an S-rank party. The quests we took on were supposed to be of a certain difficulty.

Why is such a party S-rank? The answer was clear.

Dan’s real name is Dan Ortese. In other words, he’s the son of the lord.

I had seen him a few times through family connections. He left me with the impression of an unpleasant blonde man, and that hasn’t changed.

It seems Dan is using his family connections to unfairly raise the party’s rank.

Moreover, his level is apparently greatly exaggerated. When I heard about it, he was said to be level 40, but in reality, he’s probably around level 12.

He surrounds himself with yes-women and unfairly raises the party’s rank. The reason is probably that he’s planning to marry a princess.

By spreading his reputation as an adventurer and becoming known as a hero, his name will be considered when the princess is looking for a suitor.

Ultimately, he’s aiming to gain power.

To be honest, it’s disgusting. It makes my skin crawl.

I became an adventurer to become strong, but my parents only allowed me to join a party if it was Cruel Blade.

Now that I think about it, it makes sense. They probably wanted to make me part of Dan’s harem to get on good terms with the lord.

I hate nobles. I can’t believe humans can be so ugly.

"Hey, Rize."

While I was eating dinner alone, Dan spoke to me.

"Come over here. You’ll get used to it soon."

"I refuse. If I stay with you, I’ll end up at the same level as you."

"Hey, watch your mouth. I’m the party leader. I decide your treatment."

Moreover, Dan knows that my family is of lower status. It’s probably a threat that if I resist, my family will suffer.

"Come on. The tent is over there. The other girls are ready, so you should hurry up and—"

"Don’t touch me!"

I slapped Dan’s hand when he tried to touch my shoulder. He glared at me fiercely.

"Don’t get cocky!"

In an instant, Dan’s powerful slap hit my cheek, and I fell to the ground.

"Do you think you’re cute? Do you think you’ll be treated well? There’s no way, you amateur!"

Dan’s furious kick. I felt the pain but struggled to stand up and glared back at him.

"Since you don’t understand, let me teach you. To me, you’re just a tool. A tool has no right to refuse. You just need to listen to what I say and keep quiet!"

Dan’s scream echoed through the forest. The yes-women behind him glared at me and then moved closer to Dan.

"Hey, Lord Dan? It’s not good to ruin a fun night, is it? Why don’t we leave that girl and enjoy ourselves together?"

"I can’t wait, Lord Dan~!"

"Damn, fine. Rize, you go patrol around the tent. Don’t ruin my mood."

Dan left me with that and went into the tent.

This is the worst. I feel so bad. Why do I have to go through this?

I glared at the tent, trembling with anger, and vowed that I would never be at the mercy of such a person.