I knew you were here.

With those words, I, Aamir, smiled.
Since the loss of the party's communal house, the leaders had been frequenting the guild's tavern, so I had assumed that's why they were here.
And I chuckle at the fact that that prediction came true.

'......... oh well,'

...... But my smile froze the moment I noticed the dark expression on the faces of the leaders and Miss Sabelia.
It's true that since being expelled from the first-class party, the leaders have always worn a gloomy air.
But the leaders were clearly different from what they were used to.

''It's about Mr. Lausto, isn't it?''

Huh!

...... I muttered the name that would be the cause of this to the leaders who looked like that.
At that moment, an unconcealed turmoil on the faces of the leaders and Serveria-san tells me that it was a figurehead.
Perhaps the leaders are beginning to feel unresolved about the fact that Mr. Lausto is out of the picture after all this time.
It's not a good idea for the person who unilaterally kicked Raoust out to think about it.

...... But still, it might not be a good idea for the leaders to have such a regret.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with them.

The adventurers present here are looking in awe at their brother who is leaving this place.
Even though a few hours ago, they were mocking their brother.

''...... If only I'd had that guy in my party back then.

"f*ck!

...... And then there were those humans who remembered that they had been asked to include Ms. Lausto in their party before and had regrets.
In such a situation, the leaders who had once included Ms. Lausto in their party could not help but think that if Ms. Lausto was in the party.
The leaders can't get that thought out of their minds, even though they know ...... they deserve it.

''But Mr. Laust won't be coming back to the Sword of Lightning anymore.

......, but it didn't make any sense to me to think about such a maybe now.
Mr. Laust has a reliable party member on hand.
Wherever he was invited to join the party, Mr. Laust wouldn't be joining any party.

'Let's not get attached to Mr. Laust.

So that's what I tell my leaders.
That I should give up now.
At that moment, the leader and Surberia-san's faces were clearly distorted.
The leaders probably didn't really think that Raoust-san would enter the Sword of Lightning after all this time.

They just couldn't give up even though they knew it was impossible.

So at my word, the leaders give up on Mr. Lausto's existence.
...... But that was not synonymous with the disappearance of complexity within the leaders.

It's ...... a lot of room, Aamir. Do you think you are being justified because you didn't mess with Raust more than some of us?

The next thing I know, the leader is throwing those words at me, as if to relieve my exasperation.
And then I realized that I had now turned the tables on myself.

'How could you possibly think that?

But the leader's words did not make me angry.
What I turned to the leader was a smile with an emotion of regret that I couldn't hide.

''Ha!''

The leader gulps, as if that smile was an unexpected reaction.

Seeing that reaction, I realize that the leader has made a big mistake.
Indeed, I may have had a better attitude towards Mr. Lausto compared to the Leader and Mr. Surberia.

...... but that wasn't something to be proud of at all.



◇◆◇



I joined the Sword of Lightning a year ago, when the Sword of Lightning was already a prestigious party.
At that time, I was a 14-year-old rookie wizard, and I was flattered to be invited to a prestigious party.
I was aware that I was better than the others, but I never expected to be invited to a prestigious party.

...... So I began to lean more and more on the leader and Mr. Surberia, who was the heart of the party.

It was also the reason why I began to abuse Ms. Lausto.
It's not that I was mocking Mr. Roust from the beginning.
The leaders, who were fascinated by him, had told me that this was important for training him, so I abused him.
I did as I was told, without questioning my actions at all.



......... But the day after banishing Mr. Lausto from the party, I had to realize my stupidity the day after I challenged Lila and her pre-mutation hydra.



It was then that I finally understood my stupidity and how active Ms. Lausto had been in the game.
...... Or, more accurately, I realized that I hadn't even bothered to look at Mr. Laust's activities while I knew that he was active.

The moment I realized that, I felt terrible disgust at my actions.
I had been in the rear guard and had had time to look around, and sometimes I felt that Mr. Lausto was a good adventurer.
But I was blindly trusting the words of our leaders, and I tried to chalk that feeling up to my imagination.

It was only during my battle with the Hydra that I realized that Mr. Lausto was actually a brilliant man.

After the realization of my actions, I felt terrible regret.
The attitudes of our leader and Miss Sabelia towards Mr. Lausto.
The malice that was contained in it will never be forgiven.

Even at ......, my assumptions were many times uglier than the actions of such leaders.

And in that act I hurt Mr. Lausto.
I guess that's something I can't take back now.

That's why, on that day when Lila-san listened to me, I decided to make no more mistakes.

There is no going back to the past of hurting Mr. Lausto.
If that was the case, I decided to make it all over again.
With that decision in mind, I decided to start over with the leader.
He opens his mouth to Miss Sabelia.

'Follow me, please.'