The Thracian Empire is the largest hegemonic power on the continent. However, the rapid growth of the empire's population has resulted in a severe shortage of resources and land.

　That's when the Empire's countless underground ruins attracted attention. They are a treasure trove of treasures and resources, and a dream place to settle for the overpopulated subjects of the Empire.

　However, the ruins are also home to formidable human enemies.
　They are the inhabitants of the ruins, known as demons, and ordinary humans cannot stand a chance against them.

　Therefore, a party of adventurers was dispatched to capture the underground ruins.
　The powerful adventurer party succeeded in capturing the underground ruins one after another by annihilating the demon tribe, and were enthusiastically welcomed as heroes by the people.

　Among them, one of the strongest adventurer groups in the Empire was the Knights of St. Sophia.

　The knights were formed by Saint Sophia, the Holy Knight Creon, and me, or in other words, the magic swordsman Solon.

　Saint Sophia is the leader of the Knights. She is the trump card of the party and a symbol of the unity of the members of the group. She graduated from a magic school with a skip and was also the top of her class. She's a beautiful girl genius who can use her healing powers and super-sized offensive magic.

　As a young holy knight, Creon is proficient with the holy sword and has a substandard attack power.

　And I'm the deputy leader of the group, Solon, a magical swordsman. I've been using it while switching between sword and magic, and I've done everything from offense, defense, recovery, and support.

　The Order was originally a small adventurer's party that we, who were classmates in magic school, created upon graduating from magic school.

　However, in just a few years, our party succeeded in capturing the most difficult underground ruins one after another. The imperial government granted us permission to join the knighthood, and we became the target of adventurers' admiration.

　The leadership of the Order has also increased to thirteen. Each of them is also the owner of the strongest class of skills in the Empire.

　Nowadays, it is even said that becoming a member of the Order is one of the highest honors for adventurers.

　That's why everyone in every town knows my name, the deputy commander, and everyone knows my name.

　But--''

I'm sorry, but you're banned. Solon.

...Heh?

　A tall young man tapped me on the shoulder as I was confused. It's Holy Knight Creon.
　This is the Knights' headquarters in a port city in the east of the Empire.
　When I'm called into that conference room, somehow the ten leaders of the knightly order are all present and waiting behind him.
　Except for Saint Sophia, all of the honored leaders of the Knights of Saint Sophia had gathered there.

　I looked at them all at once and then asked Creon, "Does this mean I'm fired?

'Does this mean I'm fired?'

'That's what I'm saying. I'm dismissing the deputy commander and revoking his status as a member of the group. Should I tell you why?

Oh, you're going to tell me. That's very kind of you, Holy Knight.

　Creon didn't respond to my flippant remark, but kept his eyes down.
　Instead, my fellow female sage Arte advanced. She was a beautiful black-haired, black-eyed girl with a reputation in the imperial capital for being picturesque alongside Saint Sophia.
　She was our junior at the Imperial School of Magic and a brilliant genius who graduated from the school at the top of her class.
　That Arte's words were quite harsh.

''You know, the reason for the expulsion is of course because Solon-senpai is useless, right?''

'Useless?　I always fought with swords and attacked with magic, and protected my allies with shields to heal my people, didn't I?

That's a no-no.

　Arte said as he spat out.

''Indeed, you're a magic swordsman, so your sword skills aren't bad. Your skill with attack magic is also so-so. I can take enemy attacks with my shield to a point, and I can use a bit of recovery magic as well.

That's what I was supposed to do, you know?

　My strength was that I could balance all the skills that Saint Sophia and Holy Knight Creon couldn't handle.
　Both saints and holy knights have overwhelmingly high abilities, but their skills are biased due to their specialization.

　That's why, when there were only three companions, me, Sophia, and Creon, the party wouldn't have been possible if I, as a magic swordsman, wasn't an all-around type.

'But with the current membership and level of the Order, all of your skills are halfway decent. It means you're dexterous and poor.

I've been working hard to improve my skillset, too.

You can't make that kind of effort. I'm not going to be able to get it right. It's a good thing that I'm a wise man and can use much more powerful magic than you. The best choice for a shield is someone with a higher level of defense. If you're going to fight with a sword, Creon-senpai, the holy sword user, is much more skilled. The recovery should be done by that substandard Saint Lady.

　I tried to argue with him I couldn't find the words to argue.
　I looked in the mirror in the corner of the room and saw me there with a drawn-out smile on my face.
　Arte sighed.

''Even in the ruins the other day, when we were fighting a high-ranking demon tribe, senpai couldn't do anything about it. He was all he could do to protect himself. You weren't able to contribute even the slightest bit to the battle, were you?

Well, I guess that's true, isn't it?

'You've done nothing for me. You're a degraded version of one of us. There are plenty of better alternatives out there. It's just a nuisance to have a half-baked person like you in your group, and you're the deputy leader.

　When Arte assured them, the other executives nodded.
　On behalf of them, Creon announced with a blank expression.

''Your banishment is a decision made by the entire cadre.

'I was an executive too, wasn't I?　I guess that means you're ignoring my opinion.

You're not an executive after today. I don't need you to be a liability.

　Unbeknownst to me, everything had been decided.
　I was no longer one of them, they said.
　None of the officers seemed to be on my side.