• Chapter 9 : We quickly suffered a setback…

At the same time, the Hero’s party that had expelled the boy soldier Seto was being attacked by monsters.

Just as they were about to hit the sack, knowing that they had to wake up early the next day, the Hero and his friends found themselves in great trouble.

[Damn it! There are too many of them!] (Member A)

[Don’t panic! We must split up and destroy the enemy!] (Hero)

They were currently a party of four.

McLean the monk and Angelica the sorceress were in charge of supporting the rear and counter-attacking.

They lacked experience in actual combat, but they were still highly skilled spellcasters.

[Kh…! I don’t have enough time to cast my spells! Somebody draw the enemy away! At this rate, I won’t be able to use magic!] (Angelica)

[That won’t be possible, Angelica! I already have my hands full here!] (Member A/Hydra)

The one who shouted was a member of the vanguard named Hydra, a female martial artist who became a master of the continental martial art at a young age, and specialized herself in high-speed, successive sword blows.

Her speed rivaled that of the Hero, but her firepower was not as great.

Despite her tremendous barrage of blows, the monsters’ durability was giving this girl a hard time.

As for the Hero, Reid, he was also unable to unleash his full power due to the monsters’ numerical advantage.

No matter how many times he sliced and diced them, he was starting to be overwhelmed by the momentum of the enemies who were crossing over the corpses.

[E-EEEEK! O-O Lord…!] (McLean)

McLean was also being chased around by monsters, unable to deploy his spells.

Their party was completely outnumbered.

[Re… Retreat! We have to retreat!] (Hero/Reid)

[Wha-!? But…!!] (Angelica)

[They’ll wipe us out if we don’t! Someone hold them off to buy us some time!] (Reid)

[There are too many of them for that!] (Hydra)

While they were arguing, the monsters drew closer and closer.

As if to say that now was the perfect opportunity, they gathered their strength, and directed their raging fighting spirit and bloodlust at the party.

The latter fled full speed ahead, leaving most of their belongings behind.

The place where they escaped while running from the monsters on their tail was deep inside an obscure valley illuminated by the moonlight.

There was no greenery around them, only rocky surfaces as far as the eye could see.

There were also animal bones lying here and there, and the howling of predators could be heard in the distance.

The four of them were drowning in darkness and gloominess.

[*Pant*… *Pant*… Dammit! I can’t believe we ended up in a place like this!] (Reid)

Reid the Hero clicked his tongue.

All of them slumped down from exhaustion.

All the hard work they had put into getting so far had gone to waste.

Most of their belongings were left behind.

And the monsters were probably laying waste to them at the moment.

All the Hero’s party had now was only the bare minimum in terms of equipment.

Their fatigue and feeling of hopelessness made Angelica the sorceress panic.

[My God… What the hell…!? What just happened!!? We finally managed to get this far, and now we have to start all over again!? I can’t take it anymore!] (Angelica)

[Angelica, calm down!] (Hydra)

[Stay calm, Angelica… You may be right, but we mustn’t lose our composure.] (McLean)

McLean and Hydra tried to call her down, but her curses echoed throughout the valley.

[If you people had done your job properly and kept the enemy at bay, none of this would’ve happened! You heard me, this is all your fault! Because you all messed up, not only was I humiliated, but I even lost my precious luggage!] (Angelica)

[Angelica, will you shut up for a second…?] (Reid)

Being the daughter of an aristocrat, Angelica was really prideful, and once she blew a fuse, it took a long time for her to cool down.

Not to mention, lashing out now of all times was an extremely bad idea.

Everyone in the party was mentally shaken.

If she kept cursing at them in such a situation, then…

[Did you just… tell me to shut up!? This is all your responsibility, Reid-san. That’s right! It’s all because you failed as our leader!] (Angelica)

[I’m begging you, just calm down! This is no time to be arguing!] (Reid)

[How do you expect me to calm down after that!?] (Angelica)

Angelica’s verbal abuse persisted without a stop, and she even bared her fangs at Reid.

[Quit blaming it on Reid!] (Hydra)

[Say what? You’re just a commoner with nothing to show for herself but her martial art, so know your place. You’re responsible as well, you know? How do you expect to make the rest of this journey with those shoddy skills of yours?] (Angelica)

[…Damn you. I don’t care if you criticize me. But if you’re going to insult the fruits of my father’s labor that is the martial art he spent his entire life creating, then even if we’re teammates, I’ll show you no mercy!] (Hydra)

Seeing Hydra on the verge of drawing her sword, McLean frantically stopped her, and stood between the two women.

Both of them were in such a state of agitation that instead of a squabble, it could have degenerated into an actual fight to the death.

This was how much the two women had been on edge.

[Stop it, both of you! …We should consider ourselves fortunate to be alive. Let’s simply focus on surviving.] (McLean)

While they were still in a foul mood, McLean’s words helped dispel their killing intent.

But then, Angelica asked Reid a question.

[Tell me, Reid-san. Why exactly did you have to pick a time like this to expel that plebeian Seto?] (Angelica)

[S… Seto…?] (Reid)

[Yes. Our party’s firepower was dramatically reduced because you kicked him out. That battle earlier would have definitely played out differently if that boy soldier had been there. At the very least, even if we hadn’t managed to break through the enemy, we would’ve had an easier time retreating. And we wouldn’t be this exhausted!] (Angelica)

[That guy was no good. His power wasn’t made to save humanity. It was only good for spreading carnage—…] (Reid)

[Does this look like the time to be saying something so irresponsibly naive!? Did it never cross your mind that a power like his would’ve proven useful in a violent battle!?] (Angelica)

[Oh shut up already! You voted him out of the party, too!] (Reid)

[If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have agreed to it!] (Angelica)

Now, the argument between Reid the Hero and Angelica the sorceress was getting heated up.

They were practically penniless, with barely any food and water.

They were in an utterly critical situation, like a squadron cut off from the world with no hope of being rescued.

[Everybody, please calm down! Arguing will not change anything! …First, we must cross this valley, and find a settlement. Then we can recover our strengths and resume our quest.] (McLean)

Angelica remained silent at McLean’s words, but glared sharply at Reid as she broodingly turned her back on him.

As for Hydra, she hung her head down as if to say her spirit had given up.

First, they were going to rest.

Then, they would search for a settlement. Just as they had made up their minds on that, Angelica spoke up again.

[…So who’s going to stand guard while we rest? Thanks to a certain someone, that plebeian is gone, remember?] (Angelica)

[…! …All right, I’ll do it. You guys go rest.] (Reid)

The Hero’s party were brought into a state of extreme weariness.

But someone had to keep watch, otherwise they may be attacked again.

Given the atmosphere, even if he suggested they take turns to keep watch, the others would undoubtedly refuse.

So he decided to stay awake and do it.

Normally, he would have left this sort of task to Seto.

He would keep watch for only two hours, and then let Seto take over for the rest of the night.

On one occasion, he even had him stand guard without sleeping at all.

[…SHIT!! Why the hell is this happening!? I… I didn’t do anything wrong…!] (Reid)

While everyone was asleep, the Hero’s mental health declined as he cursed from the darkness of the ghastly valley.