I need to talk to you for a second, okay?


　When a brave man tapped me on the shoulder in the corridor of the inn.

　I already had some idea of what to expect.


...... ah. It's good.


　I responded, and we both headed downstairs to the bar.


　Callan......


What can I get for you?

　The barkeep asks.


'I'll do the shochu with water.'

I'll just have a gin and tonic.


　After ordering that, the brave man fell silent.

　I light a cigarette and wait patiently for him to open his mouth.


"......

"ugh. ......


　Then, when the glasses were placed on the counter table.

　Finally, the brave man spoke up and said


...... something. It's like we've finally come this far.


Yes.

　I reply in a mumbled voice.


It's a good thing that you're able to do that. I'm going to be able to say specifically ...... that I'm going to be actively looking to defeat the Demon King class as well.

That's good. We all have the power to do that now.

...... Yeah. By the way, I'm thinking of reviewing the 'party structure' ....... Let's see, that ....... From now on, anyone who can't keep up with the Demon King level quests will be a drag on everyone, and it won't be good for him either, I'm sure. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

So ......


　I know.

　I know, so don't look like you're on the edge of your seat.


"I'm sorry, but I'm putting you out of the party.


　The brave man wrinkled his brow and pronounced.



　◇



Let's party up together. Let's go on a little adventure and get to the top!

　Six years ago.

　It was Cross who asked me out like that.


　'What do you want to do after graduation?' at the College of Magic. I think it was that time.

　It's not a bad thing to say, but I was doing well in my magical examinations, and I was in a "position to choose" when it came to finding a job.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.


I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it. It's not a matter of how well you serve the best royalty, but there are countless people like that out there. It's not much of a stretch to get ahead. ...... Well, that could be a steady stream of income, right? But I wouldn't want to live my life on a rail like that.

　I let out a 'chuckle' out of the corner of my mouth as Cross started trying to convince me to be such a kid.

'Mmm, what the hell ......'

　And Cross, who seemed to be in a bad mood.

'No, not really.'

　Well ...... laughed, but I was thinking much the same way as Cross at the time.


　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're doing, but it's also a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　Probably the most important thing to do is to go to the office and pretend to be working in order to get your monthly salary.

　I don't want to do that.

　I wanted to be in a position where I was free to use my skills for my own benefit.

　I didn't want to be stuck in a mundane job that anyone else could do.

　I wanted to do a job that only I could do, and I wanted to be recognized for it.

　And I want to be more glamorous, more famous, more visible to the masses ......

　And that's how I felt about it.


　But on the other hand, I also had a sense of self-consciousness that made me feel ashamed of my cheap self-consciousness as a young man.

　Because 'I don't want to live my life on rails' is too dreamy and too goofy, right?

　There are many times when I felt a terrible itch down my spine because of that part of Cross's personality where he naturally bared his "self" without shame, but at the same time, I'm sure I envied him for being able to be honest like that.


"Okay,

What?

Let's do it. Let's have an adventure. Just you and me.


　I replied and Cross laughed and said, "You know, you're that kind of guy. He laughed and squared his shoulders with me, saying, "You're that kind of guy.

　I felt like a teleprompter and muttered something like "Oh dear" with a sigh.



　More.

　Not to mention the teacher at the magic school and all my other friends said "don't do it! And then he stopped.

　He stopped her.

　The adventurer's story is full of glamorous legends, but only a handful of adventurers make it in the real world.

　If you have a hundred adventuring parties, only one or two of them will last for the next five years.

　It is like gambling with your life.


　But even though gambling was gambling, I had 'odds'.

　The chance of success is Cross's talent.


　Well, Cross was rather a dropout if you look at his grades at the magic college, but this guy had a genius that no one knew about.

　It was the job title of a 【Brave Man】.

　A brave man.

　An ultra-rare attribute that only one person in a hundred years would have.

　If you have that 【Brave】 in your party, that alone is enough to put you on par with legendary adventurers ...... It's such a super-duper job title.


　However, this is something that no one else ...... even Cross himself knew about.

　I was the only one who knew about it.


　Well.

　I'm not going to be the only one who knows about it.

　The reason is because my "skill major" at the college of magic was "nurture" and I had mastered (without telling my seminar advisor) the highest level of nurture magic, "Goddess' eyes".


　With this 【Goddess Eye】, I was able to

1 "Who is suitable for what profession?

2. "What skills and magic will he gain in the future?

　But it is easy to understand at a glance.


　In short, I knew that Cross could become a brave man.

　That's why I bet on the "adventure" of forming a party with this guy and having an adventure.



　That's why I bet on this adventure of forming a party with this guy.

　In fact, when we started adventuring together, it was very difficult.

　Cross was completely weak before his heroic nature blossomed, and I was often amazed at how he decided to become an adventurer.

　It was all I could do to kill slimes and other things with the basic magic I learned in my general education course.

　That wasn't enough to make a living, so the two of us got part-time jobs.


　However, there was another spell in my specialized skill of 【Nurturing】, called 【Blessed Kanade】.

　This 【Blessed Kanade】 is a super-high magic that doubles the experience gained as long as the surgeon belongs to the party.

　So Cross, who was totally weak at first, gradually became able to fight.

　It's a good thing that you have a good amount of experience in this area, because it's easy to recruit new friends.

　I used the Goddess's eyes to assess the position and skills that could be acquired, and added the third and fourth companions.


　This was how our adventure was slowly getting on track.


　◇


　Callan......

　Liquor and ice in a tipping glass.


It's been six years.

　Cross, who has now become a true 【Brave Man】, murmured that.

''It didn't take long.''

Yeah. I was obsessed. We.

　Yes.

　As I got carried away and continued my adventures, my party became stronger and stronger.

　In contrast, my importance in the party was decreasing rapidly.

　Until the party's formation was solidified, the [Goddess's Eye] was very useful.

　Until it reached a certain level, the 【Blessing Play】 was also appreciated.

　But now, it's a skill that is not necessary for an advanced party that is trying to take on a 'Demon King Class' quest.


　This is because this party has talents in both the vanguard and the rear guard, so there is no need to add any more friends to the party.

　Also, once everyone reaches this level, it's not a simple number, it's more of a 'how to hone and refine your own skills' area, so there's almost no point in doubling your experience.


　And as for my own combat ability, I could easily handle attack and recovery magic outside my area of expertise, so none of them ever went above the intermediate level.

　So I knew myself that I couldn't keep up with the more advanced adventures with each passing day.

　Instead, the only reason I haven't been kicked out of the party so far is because of my former contribution to the party, people are paying attention to me, I guess. ......


　With that in mind, I quietly accepted Cross's dismissal sentence.


I'm not going to be able to get it right. The equipment and items will be packed up and returned to the party by the end of the day.

That's fine. You can take your 'mochi' with you.

Are you sure? Tiana's guy will tell you, 'The items you equip are only the property of the whole party.

Haha, it's all right. He knows exactly how much you've contributed to this party. Besides, you're going to be on your own again, aren't you? It's going to be too hard to start from scratch without any equipment.

Hmm... ...... bad.

　I've decided to take an honest-to-goodness pity on that point.


　Well.

　I noticed that both the brave man and I had emptied our glasses.


We're heading to the Zahalveldt on tomorrow evening's boat.

　Zahalbert.

　It's a land that is the 'City of Flowers' for adventurers, where the headquarters of the Adventurer's Guild is located.

...... I see.

So your 'farewell party' will be tomorrow at noon.

The farewell meeting: ...... You're still a kid.

Mmm, that's nice. I'm sure you'll have a chance to meet with Tiana after the farewell party. I don't know about the equipment item sharing and all that, unless she's there.

Yeah, all right. I'm going to go to bed now.

I see. You know what, Eigha? Thanks for that .......

What?

...... sort of.

　Cross mumbles and looks away.

　I'm a little unsure of how to respond, but


Hmm. Yeah, I'll see you at .......


　And then he sat down.