When I reach the door with a tag hanging down that says 4th Infirmary, the man who led me in urges me to avoid the side and enter.
I bow my head slightly and thank the man who led me in, and inwardly I panicked as I opened the door and shouted my name.

'Aina!　Solte!　Renge!
What ... shut up ...
Quietly in the room, my lord.
Yes.

Oh, what?
He's lying in bed, bandaged up, but he seems fine.

'Well ... the wounds and stuff ...'
I'll be fine. That's just the kind of damage you get when you go on a quest like this.
'Is that...?　Did you take the potion?

If it doesn't leave a scar, I'll ask Hayato to get some elixir from him.
Or I'll have you go gather the ingredients....

'Yeah, I drank it well, so don't worry about it.
Won't it leave you with any lasting effects?
I'll be fine. The pain is still there, but I'm totally fine.
Are you sure?　Are you pushing yourself?
'I'm skeptical. Do you want me to jump up right now?
'No no no. All right.....



Thank God...............................

Huh, I take a breath and sit down in my chair, distracted.

'What?'　Were you worried?
Of course....
Yeah, right. Thanks, but I'll be fine. But I'll be fine.
Huh. Oh, take your pills out.

I'm pretty sure there was a panacea (inferior).
It's more effective than a recovery potion, and I'm sure we'll be fine with it.

''Uh ... um ... no, I don't need the potion anymore.''
Mm. Just trying to remember the pain of the day.
No, but you'd better get it right...?
I know that. I just want to keep it that way for a little while longer.



''Well, I'll leave it there, and you can use it when you feel like using it.
Yeah, I'll do that.
Really, he's a worrier...

After Sorte muttered, there was a bit of silence.

''I'm ... sorry. I lost.''

I didn't like this air, and when I was about to open my mouth, Sorte was the first to speak.

''Uh ... don't worry about it. That was cool.
Yeah but you've put a lot of money on the line for me...
I told you before the game.　He said there's no need to get worked up about it.
'No, I still want to apologize. I'm sorry...

When all three of them bowed their heads in acknowledgement, we couldn't stand it.

It's just a matter of time. The three of us are usually indebted to you for collecting materials. So you really don't need to worry about it. You'll be able to get a lot of materials again, won't you?

I want him to wake up somehow, and I try to force him to talk about cheerfulness.

'That's true too. You need to work on us more than you usually do!
So, Sorte!
'Oh no. I'm tired. Hey, we're going to bed. You can go watch the game.
'No, but...'
I can't sleep with you in there, can I? I'm tired.
Okay, okay....

Solte's swordsmanship forced me to leave, and White didn't move.

'Lord, you can go ahead,'
'No, um. Uh ... okay.

I leave the room and walk a little bit and put my back to the wall.
I'm not here to eavesdrop.
I'm just waiting for White.

"...what?　Are you here for a laugh?
No.
Then what is it...
I thought you might want to ask White something?
....!
Did you see that?

The voice is low, but because of the quietness of the surroundings, if you are conscious, you can hear the conversation inside firmly.

"........you know what he meant, right?
Quality of battle?
'Yes!　I got a little bit of a vibe from those guys, but it sounded like you!　I thought you meant 'higher-class', but that's not how you put it, is it?
No.

Silo nonchalantly answered the questions.
Aina and the others seemed to be a little less cheerful in the air than I was, and their voices seemed to be lower in tone.

'What's that?　What's the difference?
...White doesn't know much about the world. So what I'm about to tell you is only my personal opinion. Do you still want to listen to it?
'Okay. Tell me!
'Okay well first of all, I don't have too much experience in anti-personnel combat.
''It's........ I realized that after this fight, as expected.
Right. Well, I understand.
Hmm. I'll take care of this one.
Oh, well thank you.
"Hm.
I suppose that means there's still a first?
Secondly, the downside of being an adventurer.
Are you saying I can't be an adventurer?

Renge's voice has changed to a slightly irritated tone.

''Why are adventurers ranked in the first place?''
It is to be managed at the appropriate level and without strain.
Yeah. They've just given you enemies for your level. It's just a matter of making sure you don't die.
''Are you trying to tell me that we didn't have a lot of fighting against higher-ranked opponents?''
Are you saying that we've only been hunting small fry?
''We've all encountered unexpectedly powerful enemies during quests, or at least taken out large, powerful demons during emergency calls.
Hmmm ... not quite. To put it bluntly, it's lukewarm.

Dang!　I hear a tap on the desk.

'You're telling me. You're trying to tell me that we've been fighting a lukewarm battle!
A soldier is driven to battle, even in the most reckless of circumstances. You can't run away even if you know you're going to die. At their core, they already have a different feeling for battle.
Even adventurers come across enemies they can't escape by chance!
You met?　Really, you almost died?
What about...what about White?　Are you saying that White is a soldier's experience too?
No.
So....
But I've almost died. Many times. White grew up in the Forest of the Elduk since he was a little boy.
What?　Are you kidding me...?
It's true. I was dying every day.

I don't know what the Elduke Forest is, but it's definitely a dangerous place.
The more desperate White is, the more desperate he is.......how could he do that when he's still so small......

'It was kill, eat, take, and use, eat or be eaten every day. I thought that was routine.
Eat me and you'll....
You can't live in there if you don't eat your demons.
What happened to the fire...?
There's no fire. Just eat the meat.
It's...

That's spectacular....
It's not as if I had any idea that such a thing existed in White's past.

''So, essentially, I have different feelings about fighting with the three of you.
So what do you want me to do?
'I don't know. I said it first, but that's just what White thought. Whether it's right or not is another matter.
Aren't you throwing it all away?
'Not really. It's not like White gets to decide what the three of us are going to do.
'That's true, but...'
'And ... I'm sure the Lord will accept the three of you now. It's the three of us that have problems.
".........
I'll be there. You should see White's game, if you can. Maybe?

White opened the door and came out, closing the door in front of me.

'Did you notice me there?'
Hmmm. But I knew it.
Don't you think that's a bit harsh?
I'm sure the three of you won't be able to step up to the plate until you say so.
Well....

I'm aware that the three of them are doing me a favor, and I know that I'm daring to put up a wall.
If you ask me if I don't fall for the 'crime slave' part, I do, but I'm not the one who cares about such small things.
If they say they like you, I'll accept it, and if they ask me to hold you, I'll gladly do so.
But the three of them are more concerned about the current situation than I am.

I'm sure the position of being a criminal slave is what's holding them back.
Maybe if I tried to touch them, they would accept it.
But that would include even a few percent of guilt.
It's because I know that that's what I'm not going to touch them.
It would spread the hurt even more and cause me to worry about it.

But the three of us will get over it.
I don't know how, but I'm confident that we'll be okay.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made it difficult for White.
It's fine. More importantly, haha.... The three of us will be held before White is.
You don't get to say that after you've blown yourself up.
'It's no use, Wendy, you can't deal with the Lord on your own...'
"...Well, White-san?　What does that mean...
Seventeen times...
Okay, let's get to the stall, White!　It's more of a stall than a final!
Hmm..... Eat a lot. I'm a little tired....
Good night. You want to hold him?
Um... please.

　　　　-Red Front SIDE-

Huh... it's like you can see through everything...
It was strange to see him so strong, but I understood it.
You're not supposed to be.

I didn't think White had a past like that.
He is always sticky to the Lord, selfish, doing whatever he wants, and all he does is eat.
And yet, White is much stronger than we are.
Isn't that right?
There's a good reason he's that strong.

I never thought being weak would be so frustrating........
Yeah..... Haha.
What's the matter, Renge?
Looking back, I don't think I've ever lost that clearly before.
'Well I guess so. I don't think I've ever been torn to shreds like this before.

I guess White was right.
We thought we had fought hard among ourselves, but there were higher ups, and from their point of view, our fight was probably lukewarm.

The Elduk Forest is a dead forest that even A-ranked adventurers rarely enter.
White has literally struggled to survive there.
Perhaps there was never a day of restfulness due to the threats piled on top of the threats.
I think that's why I'm attracted to something warm about the Lord.

''Huh........''
He's in a rare mood, isn't he?
'Not really. Solte has been sighing a lot lately for his lord.
What...!　It's not...but....

Well, there's not much to sigh about these days, except for thinking of the Lord.
Yes, I have.
I don't blame you. I love you!
So.

I'll never do anything to get rid of a party, okay?
Right. Well, White's right, it's unbalanced.
'Oh..... Then what do we do?　Can we get anyone else in?
I know it's annoying to have to keep telling you.
So you want me to stay strong?
Wow. That's quite a thorny path you're on.

These three are the reason we are strong.
That's why it has to be the three of us.

Hey, I have an idea for one thing...
Odd. Me too.
Right. Well, I think it's probably the same.

If we can come up with a common denominator, that's the only place I can think of.
So we'll have to be sad for a little while, but we have to do our best.

But first we have to heal our wounds and watch White's game.
You see what they say about you, don't you?
I suppose since White even bothered to tell you, you'd better see it.
'No!　It's for laughs when White loses unceremoniously!

You're d*mn right!
Since you've dared so much, let's see how far you can go.