Chapter 26
—Laila—
「… It’s not much this time . 」
「Well, it can’t be helped . 」
A few days after failing the hydra subjugation, I and Armia were talking in the meadow .
As we talked, around us was a large number of magic stones, material from goblins, and plants that can be sold from the meadow .
It was the spoils I and Armia hunted and collected in this meadow .
…… Seeing the huge mass of loot we got, I leaked out a sigh .
「… Even when we try our best, it doesn’t reach the reward from lower-layer . 」
The reason was because, no matter how many goblins we killed, the reward per goblin was plain bad .
I and Armia came deep into the meadow to earn money by hunting group of goblins using Armia’s large scale magic .
Using that way, we have gained many goblin materials, however, selling these wouldn’t give that much income .
Honestly, at that price, considering the process of dismantling the goblins and so forth, it wasn’t worth it .
「Wait, are they still holed-up?」
「I-I’m sorry…」
…Even so, we still used this bad place as hunting ground because we were missing our two vanguards .
That’s right, Margulus and Sarveria were both holed-up in the Sword of Lightning’s joint residence and hadn’t been participate in the quest since then .
The reason for that was because of what happened two days after the failed hydra subjugation quest .
On that day, despite the fact that Armia still wasn’t fully recovered, Margulus and Sarveria took me and Armia to the lower-layer of the labyrinth to hunt, saying that we would be fine .
And then, after calling us incompetent, that the hydra subjugation quest failed because of us, he jumped straight to the lower-layer monsters while saying that he would show us an example .
… A few minutes later, unable to handle the opponents, they came to us, crying and screaming for help .
In the end, we survived without any problem because Armia’s magic killed all those monsters, however, if I would be honest, never did I feel so much regret from entering this party until I saw Margulus and Sarveria’s appearance……
In addition, after Armia helped them, they complained that Armia was too slow to help .
In regard to me who was spontaneously trying to escape, they yelled about how they were going to make a complain, that I was a coward, that I was violating the terms from the receptionist lady, anything that made them as a victim instead .
…… And then after saying all that to me, the next day, they lied saying their wounds still hurting and refused to go to the labyrinth and holed-up in the joint residence since then .
If they went that far, they already surpassed my surprise to the point of admiration .
As an adventurer, they were about at the level of second-rate adventurers, however, when they played the victim or hurting from nonexistent wounds, their acting was very convincing .
I thought it would be good if Margulus and Sarveria became a scammer instead .
……… Seriously, how many times have I thought about leaving Sword of Lightning, ignoring the words of Margulus, Sarveria, and the receptionist lady?
「Sigh…」
Or so I thought as I let out a sigh .
However, I still couldn’t leave Sword of Lightning .
First of all, I couldn’t find another party I could enter .
I was looking for a party I could enter after I left Sword of Lightning, using my connection as best as I could, but alas, I couldn’t find any .
…… Most adventurer parties in this labyrinth city were lowbred .
No matter which party, they would welcome me to enter, but their vile desires were apparent on their face .
If I entered that kind of party, there was no need to imagine what would happen afterward .
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Still, even if I find a good one, I don’t think I can just enter their party like that .
The other reason was I couldn’t leave the last member of Sword of Lightning like this .
「Sorry, Lailsan…」
「Don’t worry . It’s not your fault . 」
Armia responding to my sigh with an apology, seeing her apologetic appearance, my belief that I couldn’t leave Sword of Lightning yet strengthened .
As a matter of fact, the one that struggled the most with this goblin hunting life was not me .
While the earning gotten from goblin hunting was lower than usual earning of hunting in the lower-layer, with how we destroyed several flocks in a day, our earning was equivalent to the average second-rate adventurer active in the middle-layer of the labyrinth .
And since I received half of the earning, in reality, I got more than enough money for myself .
… But Armia was different .
Armia divided her income into three equal parts for Margulus and Sarveria .
No, since Margulus and Sarveria were doing nothing and only wasting money, it was safe to assume that Armia’s share was lower than a third .
However, even though I was worried about Armia, when I tried to talk to Margulus and Sarveria about their behavior, Armia said that it was fine if it stayed as it was .
…… She said it was a punishment for Sword of Lightning for driving the former healer, Raust, away .
I had heard everything about that ingenious healer from Armia .
Like what kind of thing he did, or how he was banished .
When I heard that, I was at loss for word for a while .
Sword of lightning had treated Raust so badly .
And Armia, who had also done the same, couldn’t forgive herself .
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But Armia was too young to say that she couldn’t repent .
Besides, I had never seen how Armia was when she was together with Raust, but I still thought that she had changed .
When the receptionist lady, Margulus, and Sarveria were yelling at me about violating the terms without any basis whatsoever, only Armia helped me out .
That was not all .
When I thought I would escape from Sword of Lightning, Armia introduced me to her acquaintance party and giving me support so it would be easier for me to escape .
Despite the fact that it would put herself in a bind .
Precisely because of that, I wanted to leave Sword of Lightning together with Armia .
「Tomorrow for sure, I will persuade them to hunt in the middle-layer!」
On the way back to the guild, Armia strongly insisted that to me several times .
Armia said that she would convince Margulus and Sarveria to hunt in the middle-layer, but I was confident to say that they would never do so .
Margulus and Sarveria were not strong enough to go to the lower-layer, but they were by no means weak .
They probably had enough ability to go to the middle-layer .
But, they were still clinging to the past and never wanted to go to the middle-layer while saying that they were a first-class party .
They were afraid that If their center of activity was in the middle-layer, they wouldn’t be regarded as a first-class party anymore .
…… They were still clinging to the name of first-class party even though they let go the reason they became one in the first place .
However, even in that state, Armia would never leave Sword of Lightning .
Even though the one who received the most damage from Margulus and Sarveria’s attachment was Armia who had the best ability among them .
「If only there is an impetus…」
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I muttered that as I thought about the current situation .
Armia would never leave Sword of Lightning as it was .
That was why I was looking for a chance to change the situation .
「Ohh, aren’t you late!」
「Really, why don’t you guys come back earlier!」
「Hmm? Leader?」
…… And that chance came earlier than I thought .
When we returned to the guild, Margulus and Sarveria were standing by waiting for us .
Armia was surprised from the two’s behavior, I, on the other hand, was angry .
「What are both of you trying to do…」
After all, Margulus and Sarveria who had been lazy until now suddenly appeared and taking a high-handed attitude .
I couldn’t help but felt frustrated .
「Huh?」
However, the moment I noticed the man standing next to Margulus, I lost my words .
With how I suddenly fell silent, Margulus opened his mouth with a boasting smile .
「I hired a new capable warrior . We’re going to the lower-layer now!」
From that moment, the situation started to move at breakneck speed……