The Matter of My Party Members Being Aware of My Desire to Be Banished - Chapter 13

The three of them are being subjected to an intense stare from the Guild Master, who seems determined not to let them go until they talk.

“…”

“…”

“…”

After several seconds of silence, the three of them look at each other… and lean in to talk quietly.

“Uh, who’s going to speak?”

“I don’t mind going in any order~”

“But since everyone has the same opinion, should I sum it up?”

“”Go ahead.””

“Fufu.”

Having reached a consensus, the three of them straighten their backs and face the Guild Master.

“As the representative, allow me, the leader, to speak.”

“I assumed you’d say something, Shion. …Haa, go ahead.”

The Guild Master, who had put up with the farce, switched back to a serious look and stared at Shion.

Meanwhile, Shion began to speak with her usual refreshing smile.

“We’re fine with defeating monsters and becoming benefactors, but we don’t want to become heroes.”

“What’s with that overly serious, show-off statement you’d say during an interview? Is that your most honest opinion…?”

The Guild Master narrowed her eyes.

“Fufu. Well, there’s someone we’d rather conquer than the Demon King.”

“…Is that Rokuto you’re talking about?”

“You know, Guild Master. The reason why we refuse to become the Hero Party.”

Shion grinned, but the Guild Master’s face was grim.

Rather, she seemed somewhat exasperated.

“You guys… are you still in that friendly stage? Haven’t you developed at all?”

“Guild Master, shouldn’t you say ‘progressed’ instead of ‘developed’? Not because ‘developed’ makes me think of breasts.”

“Guild Master, that topic is taboo. Rokuto still thinks Shion is a man, you know~”

“And Rokuto doesn’t seem to notice our feelings at all.”

“Right~ Rokuto has a strangely low self-esteem, you know~”

The three of them nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, the Guild Master sighed shallowly.

“I don’t plan to interfere with your love lives… But I will comment on your abilities. Let me say this: your party has a well-balanced composition. Shion, the magic swordsman. Marn, the mage. Honoka, the dual-wielder. And Rokuto, the porter. With this lineup, defeating the Demon King is realistic.”

The Guild Master’s recognition of their abilities was limited to a select few parties.

Aware of how valuable this statement was, Shion smiled a little.

“We’re honored by your praise. But the offer was only to be a candidate for the Hero Party… That means there is already a Hero Party, right? So there’s no need for us to rush to give you an answer.”

“If you guys keep stalling, it’ll just get swept under the rug and forgotten.”

“Fufu, you caught us.”

Shion smiled at the Guild Master.

“Seriously… Is it that terrible to become a Hero Party?… Are you refusing to become a Hero Party because you don’t want to put Rokuto in danger? It’s true that when it comes to defeating the Demon King, even you guys would have a hard time protecting the porter Rokuto during the battle…”

The Guild Master showed a hint of sympathy…

“No, we’ll protect Rokuto so he won’t get a single scratch.”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely protect Rokuto…”

“That’s right. We’re confident that we can protect Rokuto-san~”

The three of them firmly stated their intentions.

“Damn, you guys are a pain! Just become the Hero Party already! Defeat the Demon King!!”

The Guild Master retorted with all her might.

“Now, now, calm down, Guild Master. We are thinking about it, after all.”

“You… To think you’d say you’re thinking about it after all that’s happened…”

“We really are thinking about it, so please listen. We have deep, deep reasons.”

“Then go ahead and say it.”

“We… are worried about what comes after.”

“What do you mean, ‘what comes after?'”

The Guild Master furrowed her brow.

“Yes, what comes after. If we defeat the Demon King, we’ll become famous as the Hero Party. Then, we’ll be exposed to the eyes of even more people. More people than now… more people who will mock Rokuto for being just a porter. People who would say we’re not a good match.”

“W-what’s the big deal? It’s only natural to laugh when there’s only one plain baggage carrier among them. Pfft… I can still laugh about it now.”

“Is Rokuto the porter getting bothered again?”

“Well, if you say they’re not a good match, then I guess they’re not…”

“But why is he so fixated on this guy? There are plenty of other people he could be bothering.”

“An adventurer is worthless if he can’t fight! You’re just a porter! You’re worthless!”

Since Shion had actually met and dealt with such people, her words carried weight.

“Indeed, we can’t prevent such complaints and verbal abuse, and it’s inevitable that living beings judge first impressions based on appearance or some information… But it’s troublesome. So it’s better as it is now. Rather, it’s better as it is. We think our current adventure style suits us.”

With that, Shion stood up vigorously.

As for Honoka and Marn, they remained seated, waiting for the Guild Master’s next words.

The Guild Master nodded once, then looked up at Shion.

“…I see. You guys care a lot about each other, don’t you? Or is it unrequited love?”

“It will eventually become mutual, so don’t worry. Ah, we’d like to ask the Guild Master to give the representative speech at our wedding.”

“Hmph, you’re so noisy.”

It seemed like the conversation would end there.

But… the Guild Master opened her mouth again.

“Hey, Shion. It’s not just the Demon King that’s causing chaos in the world, is it? The Demon King’s minions… the Demon King’s executives, right?”

“…What are you trying to say, Guild Master?”

Shion’s refreshing smile disappeared.

“Fufu. You said it earlier, didn’t you? You’re fine with being benefactors by defeating monsters, but you don’t want to become heroes… That must be part of your true feelings. It’s connected to the story from earlier.”

The Guild Master continued.

“The Demon King’s executives are also worthy targets for subjugation. However, defeating them is only part of the journey to defeat the Demon King… The ultimate goal of subjugation is the Demon King. In other words, if you don’t defeat the Demon King, you’re not going to make much of a difference. It’s the party that defeats the Demon King that will be the most noticeable hero party.”

Listening to the Guild Master’s words, Shion fell silent.

“And if you defeat the Demon King’s executives, you’ll receive a huge reward. You’ll need money for many things in the future, right? Even for the wedding you mentioned earlier?”

“In other words, if we become the hero party and just defeat the Demon King’s executives, it would be a good deal for us? Even if we find reasons to quit the Demon King’s subjugation journey in the middle, there will always be other Hero Party candidates.”

“Fufu, you understand, right? As expected from Shion.”

“………”

Shion fell silent again…

“…Haa. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

An uncharacteristically worried tone came from Shion, who had been speaking calmly until then.

“Wow, Shion lost the argument, didn’t she, Marn?”

“It’s surprising… That’s why she’s the Guild Master.”

The astonishment on Honoka and Marn’s faces shows how unusual this situation is.

“…Fine, I understand. But let us take this matter back for now. I want to hear Rokuto’s opinion as well.”

“Fufu. Do that. You can take your time to think about it while we’re subjugating the Demon King’s executives.”

“Haa, I never thought this would happen… Let’s go, everyone. It’s probably faster to pick up Rokuto anyway.”

“Alright, bye Guild Master~”

“Excuse us.”

The three of them leave the room.

After a while, the Guild Master sits deep in her chair and looks up at the sky.

“Rokuto… You’d better realize a lot of things sooner than later. And if you ever say that you want to leave the party… I wonder what will become of them.”

The Guild Master smiled bitterly.

◇◇

Meanwhile, at that time, Rokuto was…

“Rokuto-san’s ‘Storage’ skill is so convenient~. It’s amazing~”

“R-really?”

“Yes~. Rokuto-san is a strong and incredible person~”

“Is that so~?”

Rokuto was being flattered and fawned upon by the somewhat flirtatious receptionist.

The party members who would witness this and become displeased were only 30 seconds away…