'I can't do it anymore. I'm not strong enough.

He appealed to his friends in the Ghosts of Sorrow, his childhood friends, in a sorrowful voice.

'I can't keep up with ...... you guys. You know that this party's capture of the Treasure Hall is being delayed because of ...... me.''

Each member of a treasure hunter's party has a role to play.

Attackers who fight off demons. Swordsmen and wizards.
Supporters, who disarm gimmicks and search for enemies. Thief or alchemist.
Healers heal the wounded and protect the party. A paladin, a guardian knight.

Not having any of these skills, I was a complete liability.
I tried. But if a person without talent and a person with talent put in the same effort, it's obvious that the latter will become stronger.

And my childhood friends - Luke and the others - were incredibly hard workers. With only twenty-four hours in a human day, there's no way I could ever catch up to them.

Parties usually consisted of five or six people. If I hadn't been there - if I had been replaced by one or two more people who fit the party's level, Luke and the others would have been further ahead.

Hearing my words, Luke Sykor nodded with a somber expression.

'Oh ...... you're right Cry, we're not strong enough.'

'......?'

'I'm sorry, Cry. If we were stronger, you wouldn't have had to worry about us like that. ......'

The other fellow sitting next to her. Lise Smart agreed with him.

'No, they're not--'

They're strong. They're already too strong. They're strong enough to keep raising the level of the treasure halls they're attacking, even with me slowing them down.
It would have been much easier if the five of us had attacked without me.

My persuasion was brushed aside like a willow, and Luke said with a distant look.

'This isn't the way it's supposed to be. ...... Haha ...... It's a pipe dream to be the best hunter if you're stuck here. Thank you, you've woken me up. I'm going to become the apprentice of a guy called the Sword Saint to retrain myself from the basics. ......'

Luke went to become the apprentice of a famous sword saint in the imperial capital, as if he was going for a walk. The other members of the group also came up with their own ideas on how to increase their power.

As I listened to them, I thought. They're no good. They think they can solve everything by getting stronger. No matter how strong you guys get, I'll still be weak.

And then I had an idea.

Let's start a clan. We can't do that now. You'll die. And even if I don't die, I'll be dead.
Let's start a clan. Build a clan with other promising parties. To bring powerful new members into the Ghosts of Sorrows.

A new wind was needed. To take a new step.

Thus, I founded the First Step and successfully escaped from the search for the Treasure House because of its management.

That was three years ago.



§ § § §



There is a substance called mana material.

I don't know the details of the principle, but it is said that it is the fundamental power of this world, a substance that is invisible to the eye but exists everywhere. You can imagine it like an invisible fog.

Originally, it pervades the world, but sometimes it concentrates in one place due to the influence of the earth's veins or other factors.
At that time, the power that is supposed to be invisible forms an extremely limited other world in this world based on the information extracted from the memory of the world's roots.

This is the Treasure House. This is the reason why the job of treasure hunter has existed since ancient times.

Treasure halls come in many forms. For example, there are towers, castles, forests, deserts, underground labyrinths, and even ships, the sky, and waterfalls. The otherworld itself is formed by randomly extracting information from all the information that exists in the East and West.

The hunter's goal is to find the reason why the treasure house is called the treasure house: special items called treasure items that appear together with a high probability when the world is revealed.

For example, a canteen of water that never stops flowing.
For example, a ring that protects you only once.
For example, a cloak that allows you to fly.

Items with special powers that cannot be reproduced by modern civilization often appear in the Treasure Hall. Depending on the power they possess, some items can be sold for enough money to live off of for the rest of your life.

Of course, there are risks.

There are demons, powerful life forms that prefer to live in places where mana and materials are dense, and phantoms, living illusions that manifest in the same way that treasure halls manifest.
Sometimes there are traps, and the terrain itself is often a hurdle. You can even lose your life in a dispute between hunters.

However, even in the face of such threats to their lives, hunters continue to search for the treasure house.

Wealth, honor, and "power" can be obtained by taking in the high concentration of mana material in the air. The Temple of Treasures was too tempting to give up.

The Imperial City of Zebrudia is the perfect place for such treasure hunters.

Convenience of transportation. The level of development of the city. Strength of the country. Safety.
Above all, the location of the city, with its many veins that hold mana and material, and the surrounding treasure halls of various levels of difficulty, has made the Imperial City a sacred place for treasure hunters.

The countless treasures gathered and the materials obtained from the many demons that inhabit the treasure halls attract merchants, and the goods gathered attract more hunters. The more famous hunters that gather, the more secure the city will be.
It was this cycle that gave the Zebrudia Empire the greatest national power among the powers.

When we, from a remote town, decided to become treasure hunters, we took many carriages, and even if we were a bit reckless, we aimed for the Imperial Capital because we thought that this environment would train us and give us a shortcut to glory.
In fact, we became too refined, but we still believe that our decision was not a mistake.

The Imperial Capital ......, the Empire of Zebuldia, was developed by hunters.
Imperial law protects treasure hunters, and in many ways it is easier to live in, both in terms of taxes and the facilities it possesses.

The headquarters of the clan "First Step" stands in the center of the Imperial Capital, on one of the best-located main streets.
The headquarters of the clan is also known as the clan house, but that of the First Step is a five-story tower built with the dues collected from the members.

The top floor. While I was dozing in the Clan Master's office, which was flooded with light, Eva, the Deputy Clan Master, rushed in as if to break down the door.

When she saw that I was awakened, she sighed deeply.

'Mr. Kry, you've been snatched up.

'Oh, ......, really?

The clan's deputy master, Eva Renfe, and the other staff members hired to run the clan are not hunters.

They are different from the monsters, with slender limbs that are genuinely underdeveloped. Their amethyst eyes shine through their slim red-rimmed glasses, and their brown hair is neatly trimmed. He is not a coarse hunter, he looks like he can do the job.



There are about a dozen staff members in the Footprints, but without them, it would not have been possible.
They were the people behind the Footprints that I gathered from all over the place to retire. Secretly, it is also worth mentioning that they would not die even if they were hit.

He put the newspaper on the desk with a sullen expression on his face.

What was presented to him was the newspaper of Zebuldia Days, which boasted the largest market share in the Empire.

The picture on the front page was of the store they had used yesterday to recruit members. However, the sign above the entrance had fallen down, there was a big hole in the wall, and everywhere was on fire. Through the large hole, I could see hunters brawling.

The title of the paper was "Major Clan, 'Son of the Holy Spirit' Recruits Members, Brawl Breaks Out.

I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but I feel like I'm going to puke.

I yawn loudly and listen as I read the paper. The first thing you need to check is .......

'Have there been any civilian casualties?

'Fortunately, it looks like there haven't been any.

'Then it's safe. It would be bad if there were any civilian casualties.

I'm glad I evacuated the tavern owner beforehand. The only people there were hunters.

A good hunter can kill a man with a snap of his fingers. Our clan's motto is don't harm the people.
We can fix a broken building, but we can't fix a dead one.

I read through the book. Fortunately, there is no mention of Strange Grief.
Our members do a lot of stupid things, so we are indebted to Zebrudia Days. They've allowed us to be flexible to a certain extent.

But those monsters... They don't understand the concept of addition and subtraction. Don't destroy a building with a mere finger of a lowly treasure.

Ava, who doesn't know the details, shines her glasses and stares at me with steely eyes.

'I heard that Kry-san poured oil on the fire, right?

'No, I didn't mean to pour ...... oil on the fire, but even if I hadn't, it would have been terrible, wouldn't it?

In the end, the recruitment of members ended in a hazy state.

I don't know the result, because I ran away when the tables were flying, but I heard that it got very heated.
The Gilbert boy was hunted down by Tino early on. That's what happens to brainiacs.

They all have the potential to burn, and when they are set on fire, they spread quickly.

Ah ...... I want to move somewhere far away already .......

'Did Ark say anything?

'...... I met him in the lounge a while ago, and he was looking at the newspaper and laughing. It didn't seem to bother him.

He's really open-minded, that guy. I guess that's what it means to be a hero.
I'm really glad that his party, the Ark Brave, is the number two in the footprint. To be honest, it was quite a relief.

I threw the newspaper away, threw my legs on the table, and began to carefully wipe the rings I always wear, one by one, Eva said while holding my forehead. The silver chain that I had carelessly scattered around made a high-pitched clinking sound.

'What about the reimbursement for the collapsed tavern?

'Keep the invoice on the arc. Make sure they calculate the opportunity loss and make it up. That's what I promised when I rented that place.

'We've received a complaint from the search committee.

'Handle it as you see fit.

I'm used to complaints. In the beginning, I almost threw up every time I received a complaint, but since the members were members, they came all year round. I can't afford to throw up every time.

I could not afford to keep my hands in the air, so Eva added a quick note to me.

'Don't bother, just come over here and explain it to me,' she said.

'Oh, I'm going to ...... call or .................. puke.'

My stomach churned.

The Imperial City is a city of treasure hunters. The biggest organization that controls them, the Explorers Society, has a lot of power. The First Step also nominally belongs to it, and cannot veto a call.

I'm sure you're used to it," Eva says, her face contorted as she reveals her true feelings.

'You must be used to it by now. How many times have you been called?

'No matter how many times I get called out, I just can't get used to it. Gark-san, the head of the Imperial City Branch, he's really scary. He's definitely killed a few people.''

'That's not true again. ......'

Mr. Gark, who is in charge of the Imperial City's search council, is a former hunter.
He is an ex-monster who became an employee of the Search Association when he retired. He has been retired for a while, but his power is still strong, and he can come between hunters who fight without hesitation.

In addition, he's been a big help to me since I first came to the capital, so I can't think of anything else. It was a dead end.



Once I accidentally ignored him, I got into trouble. It's now at the top of my list of people I can't go against.
More than anything, the vice president is a good person who keeps Mr. Gark in check, so it's practically easier to go to the Exploration Association where the vice president is.

I'd like someone to go to ...... on my behalf, but Eva, who handles practically all clan operations, is a civilian, and I can't bear to throw her in with the hunters.

'I think I'll have Ark go instead.

'Cry-san, aren't you relying on Ark-san too much?

Because there's no one else who can do it. A strong person is not necessarily a good personality.
I twisted my head desperately for a while, but in the end I couldn't come up with a good idea.

'............ I don't really want to go, but I'll go. I don't really want to go out. I don't have a bodyguard. My disguise gear broke the other day.

If all the members of Strange Grief were here, some of them would come with me as guards, but they're on their way to conquer the high-level treasure hall, and I don't know when they'll be back.

'Don't worry. It's the Imperial Capital, you know.

'You can say that because you've never been attacked in the city. Well, I've crushed them all, so there haven't been any recently.'

I put the best of the rings I'd been polishing on my index finger. I put the other rings in a bag, gathered up the chain, tied it to my belt, and stood up.

I'm going to show you my brilliant Kneeling skills.