Chapter 13
—Raust—
When I was invited to a party, I was delighted .
I was told that the party was for newbies, so they didn’t have a problem with my lack of skill when I was invited .
For me, to be able to join a party was enough .
When I joined their party, even though just a temporary one, they were very kind to me .
They didn’t mind at all having me who was ridiculed by the adventurers in the guild, and I thanked them for having me in their party .
…… However, that festive time was over in no time .
The party I entered at that time was a newbie’s party .
——— But, without hesitation, they accepted a quest intended for an intermediate level party .
I was surprised, and also, worried .
I thought they were too confident after having a healer in their party .
I tried to tell them the danger of the quest, the fearsome monsters that would come out and attack us that my healing magic wouldn’t be able to help .
However, they looked to be full of themselves and said it would be fine .
…… I tried to stop them somehow, but, full of confidence, they didn’t listen to me .
And then, as soon as we entered the labyrinth for collection quest, we were surrounded by monsters known as Hobgoblin .
I blamed myself for not anticipating this situation and for not trying to stop them harder .
After all, the labyrinth was a hunting ground for intermediate level adventurers and above .
No matter how hard we tried, new adventurers wouldn’t be able to win .
And so, I moved to try to make the withdrawing formation, but when I tried to convey my intention…
「………Huh?」
… I was suddenly pushed from behind by someone which made me fell to the hobgoblins .
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what happened .
There was no monster behind me .
Yet I was pushed from behind; even though there was only one answer, I didn’t want to admit it .
「Alright, let’s go gather what we need while this guy become our decoy!」
「Yes! This guy is really stupid . 」
「Yeah, seriously, to be fooled so easily!」
「Gh!」
… But I was forced to understand the situation by the words that came from behind me .
I was betrayed and pushed by my comrades .
No, that was wrong .
They never recognized me as comrades from the start .
I just brought to this place so they could use me .
I was about to crumble down when I knew the truth .
However, I still shouted to solve the other party members’ misunderstanding .
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「Don’t go! Goblins have a tendency to attack the weak, but hobgoblins are different!」
That was accurate information from the guild’s library .
Despite being a higher species of goblins, hobgoblins had an entirely different tendency .
「Hahh-! Look at him begging for his own life!」
「So shameful!」
「Let’s go quick! Oy defect bastard, do your job as a decoy properly alright!」
However, the other party members didn’t listen to my words .
They tried to slip through the hobgoblins without noticing the hobgoblins were watching them .
Maybe their heads were filled with the thought of the rewards already, but their faces were full of smiles .
… And then they were easily killed .
◆ ◆ ◇
After the other party members died, somehow I was able to escape from the labyrinth, and through some series of event, I learned the truth .
That party, they were never a bad party .
They were adventurers that were already accepted by some people in the city, after the death of one of their comrade, they fell into financial difficulty and changed greatly .
Then, they received a piece of advice which told them to use me as a decoy so they could finish a collection quest with a decent reward, which ended up with their quick dead .
The adventurer that gave them that advice was someone who had been using violence on me many times .
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That adventurer seemed to be speaking in a high spirit when drunk, giving that advice while thinking that it would kill me, that was what I heard from other adventurers .
…… I was overwhelmed by the truth .
It was my first party, I was joyful and hopeful, that was why when it was gone, the despair hit me much harder .
After hearing the story about the man that crushed that party, I didn’t remember how I acted .
I just knew I mourned for them and ran away from the guild…
「Here…is……」
… By the time I noticed, I was at the meadow which was the hunting ground for beginner adventurers .
However, this was not a place I recognized even though I often came to this hunting ground solo .
Apparently, I had run quite some distance away .
In order to reduce the handicap for not having a skill, I trained my physical strength every day, so I wasn’t too tired .
But, it was obviously dangerous to stay here .
Certainly, the meadow was a hunting ground for beginner, there were no strong monsters show up in this place .
However, that was only at the front, near the back, the magic became stronger and the monsters that came out would be more powerful and numerous .
If you went beyond the meadow, it was said even a hydra that was stronger than monsters from labyrinth’s depth would come out .
Of course, it wasn’t that dangerous here .
However, there was still a risk of dying for someone who was still below the lower-layer adventurers like me .
…… Still, even after knowing that, I didn’t want to leave .
My heart was filled to the brim by regret, I didn’t have the capacity to think about other things .
I knew this place was dangerous, however, somewhere in my mind told me that it was all just a dream .
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Perhaps at that time, my head had stopped thinking due to the strong shock .
「Kyaaaaaaaaa!」
「Hah-!」
——— My mind returned when I heard sudden scream echoed from the distance .
「Gob-lin…?」
At that time, I finally realized there was a gathering of goblins in the distance .
There was a girl in the middle of that flock, apparently, the goblins were attacking a noble’s carriage .
For a moment I wondered why a noble’s carriage was in such a place, and who was the little girl inside .
However, I had no time to look for an answer to that question .
Now the goblins were distracted by the carriage and still didn’t notice my presence yet .
Before I got found out, this was the only time I could escape .
Right, that was how I judged the situation .
「———Kh!」
But then, I started to run in the direction of the carriage……