Volume 1 – Intermission

Sword of Lightning I

「FUuuuuuuuuuuuu!」

After a scream, the hydra fell to the ground.
Margulus and Sarveria could only be stunned at the sight.
Even against the supposedly dying hydra, Margulus and Sarveria could only feel fear.

…And yet, that monster that still instilled fears to others even when it was dying was defeated by only two people.

「Ra-Raust …」

Looking at that figure, Margulus muttered with hoarse voice…

◆ ◆ ◇

Margulus and Sarveria never had any intention to come to this place.
If they knew that mutated hydra was on its course to the labyrinth city, they would do whatever they could to escape from this city.
Margulus, Sarveria and the other adventurers who happened to be in the adventurer guild were forced to come to this place by the guild’s staffs because That was why, with how the hydra was already defeated by the time they arrived, Margulus and Sarveria should felt really lucky.

…However, they couldn’t afford to notice their good fortune.

Their focus wasn’t pointed to the hydra anymore.
it was currently directed to the healer who defeated the hydra, Raust.
The healer, which until now had been made fun of as a defect.

…But now, the people in this place understood that recognition was a mistake.

The adventurers here, including Margulus and Sarveria, aware of how horrifying of an existence that mutated hydra was.
It was because they were taught directly by the instinctive fear they felt from the hydra and how it felt standing in front of that kind of existence.

And yet, Raust defeated such monster with only two people.

It was an achievement that couldn’t be imitated even by the leading first-class adventurers that spread their name even until the capital city.
A mutated super-high difficulty monster was just that much of a big deal.

It was unknown how much damage that monster could cause, a disaster beyond natural disasters.
That was people’s recognition of the mutated super-high difficulty monsters.

And Raust who defeated it with only two people would most likely be revered as a hero.

「………Gh!」

…Understanding that, Margulus finally understood what kind of existence he kicked from his party.
Even now, Margulus still thought that Raust was a useful person.

But his value was more than that.

Margulus finally understood that.
How much power did Raust have.
Also, the fame of Sword of Lightning, that was all because Raust was there.

Margulus and Sarveria now realized they were being conceited as they misunderstood Raust’s hard work as their own.

「I am……」

And now, what came out from Margulus mouth was words filled by regret.

The future of Raust who defeated the mutated hydra was bright.
Raust will be revered as a hero and might even become the new world-class adventurer.
In other words, his glory was set.

…On the other hand, how about us?

Thinking so, Margulus bit his lip.
Currently, Sword of Lightning was a subject of ridicule in the Labyrinth city.

Once, they had the ability to put their party among the other first-class parties, but after losing to a peculiar hydra, as if rolling downhill, they lost their status.
That was how others saw Sword of Lightning now.

…And compared to Raust’s glorious future, theirs was too shabby.

「Why………」

Margulus muttered the question as they were ruined while the person kicked from the party whose they once thought to be useless rose up in rank.
Even though he knew the reason.
This present condition was karma for kicking out the person who supported the party, even so, Margulus didn’t want to see the reality.

………That was because in his mind, if they hadn’t kicked Raust out of the party then they would be revered as a hero too.

「……Ah,」

However, there was no way reality would change with only imagination.
Margulus reminded of this when he saw the figure of Raust leaving this place at a fast pace without turning his head to anyone gathered here.
Margulus couldn’t know if Raust actually had this idea.
However, the figure of Raust who paid him no attention for Margulus was as if he told him he was nothing but rock on the roadside.

「……!」

…And Margulus was not in a position to refute this.

Especially when trying to refute it would be akin to admitting that it couldn’t be refuted.
When he realized that, he felt like the repercussions of the mistake they committed being thrust in front of his eyes, Margulus was reminded again of his complex.

……It was at that time.

「Leader, Sarveria-san, I finally found you……」

「Huh? Armia?」

Surprised by the sudden voice calling out to them, what greeted their sight was Armia who they had not seen until now.