Seeds of Farewell (2)
When the girls returned to Belpaste after our conversation, their expressions were far from good.
...Can't blame them.
After all, they'd just learned that the person they'd known as "Allen" wasn't actually him.
Still, before we parted ways, there was one last thing I had to do. I spoke to them.
"This is Ophelia, the one who handled the funds for us."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, members of the Hero's Party. I am Ophelia, guildmaster of Aurum Aquila."
She wasn't hiding her identity this time. Well, with the deal already done, there was no real reason to keep it secret.
"Aurum Aquila?"
"Why would the head of such a massive merchant guild be in a place like this...?"
Letisia looked back and forth between Ophelia and me with surprised eyes, then seemed to understand.
"So that's why you said we could trust her with it."
I nodded in reply and added a brief explanation.
"Show this, and you'll be able to withdraw money at any Aurum Aquila branch. Normally a contract would be required, but the guildmaster made a special exception."
"You saved my life. This much is only natural."
I handed the token to Erinn. She stared at my outstretched hand for a moment, then gave a small nod and took it.
"I'll put it to good use."
"Yeah."
I'd passed on what needed to be passed on. Now it was truly time to leave.
Ophelia gave Erinn a few more explanations, then bid farewell first and went inside. I watched her go for a moment before turning back.
There I found faces full of things they wanted to say. It was almost exactly the reaction I'd expected, which surprised me a little.
Every single one of them looked unhappy about how things had turned out. Erinn and Freya especially seemed deeply apologetic.
So they really had considered me a proper party member after all.
I was satisfied in my own way. At least this was far better than being unfairly driven out.
Better than ending up like one of those exile novels, right?
I had no desire to live under the stress of being kicked out for some absurd reason. Revenge was one of those things that wore a person down terribly, after all.
"You all heard the story from Erinn, right?"
At my question, the party members nodded one by one. All of them. The fact that none of them claimed not to understand suggested Erinn had explained things well.
"First of all... I'm sorry for deceiving you."
I'd pretended to be Allen while living by their side, and they'd treated me warmly thinking I was him. Their feelings must have been complicated.
When I started with an apology, the party members all seemed to flinch in surprise. Then they shook their heads one after another.
"Deceive us...?"
"...I don't think of it that way."
"That was unavoidable."
Surprisingly, it was Freya—the one who had suspected my identity the most—who spoke.
"Anyone in that situation... would have had to pretend to be that person."
"...Thanks for understanding."
"I'm the one who should apologize. You knew far too much information you shouldn't have, so I suspected you might be connected to the Demon King's army..."
Freya bowed her head.
"It was a hasty judgment. I'm sorry."
"I think the situation warranted it."
It wasn't as if I hadn't done anything suspicious myself. Given the circumstances, you could call it mutual fault.
"...I already finished most of the conversation with Erinn. You all know about it too, right?"
When I asked, Letisia spoke up.
"Are you really planning to leave the party...?"
"There's no other choice."
I said.
"Just having me stay in the party would be uncomfortable right now. For me, and for all of you."
"......"
Letisia looked like she had a lot she wanted to say, but she didn't voice any of it and closed her mouth instead.
I was a little curious what she'd wanted to say, but since she clearly didn't want to speak, there was no need to press her.
I turned to Letisia.
"Thanks for teaching me magic all this time. I think it'll keep being useful going forward."
"...I didn't even get to teach you that much. Only twice..."
"Even so, thanks to you I got a sense of how I should fight."
If not for Letisia's lessons, I might never have realized my mana had such a peculiar nature... and without being able to use it properly, my life might already have ended when I met Ogdor.
"I think it'll help a lot from here on out."
"..."
So I expressed my gratitude to her. Letisia lowered her head slightly and spoke briefly.
"...Don't get hurt. Take care of yourself."
"Thanks for worrying about me."
After exchanging farewells with Letisia, Freya approached and spoke.
"I don't have anything to offer you the way Letisia did, but..."
Freya clasped her hands neatly together and spoke softly.
"I pray that the path ahead of you will be filled with light."
She was saying she'd pray for me. Even if it brought no practical benefit, it warmed my heart immensely. Especially since the one saying it was a real Saintess.
"Having the Saintess pray for me is reassuring."
"..."
Freya smiled lightly at my joke. Then her eyes met Ser-Aria's.
"You, cut back on the drinking."
"Puhaha! I always drink in moderation!"
...Do you, though?
After exchanging farewells with the party members, it came to Clara's turn. That was when she spoke.
"...I can't just send you off alone."
"Huh?"
Clara's golden eyes looked at me. Then, with an expression as if she'd made up her mind, she opened her mouth.
"...I'll go with you."
Clara's answer was something none of us had expected. Not me, and not any of the other party members.
"...Clara?"
Letisia spoke in a flustered voice.
"What are you talking about? If Clara leaves the party too..."
"...Albrecht will probably manage fine on his own, but still, it's too dangerous for him to be alone yet."
"I'm not alone. I have Caesius."
I said that, but Clara shook her head.
"Caesius is weak too."
"..."
Who would say something like that to a dragon? But it was true that Caesius was still a weak dragon. By dragon standards, that is.
She was so young by dragon standards... compared to Clara, who displayed monstrous skill, she was definitely lacking.
"...And like Aria said, if we dragged him into this, we have to take responsibility."
Clara said.
"...I'm the one with the least role in the party. Even if I leave, it shouldn't be a big problem."
Having said that, Clara looked at Erinn.
"...I want to go with Albrecht."
"......"
Erinn seemed to be deliberating. And it wasn't just her. The idea of following me meant leaving the party—in other words, Clara's departure left the other party members considerably shaken.
This is...
Not good.
Clara's feelings made me happy, but this would only create cracks in the party.
The whole reason I was leaving the party was to prevent it from becoming unstable. If this happened, it would all be for nothing. I couldn't just leave it like that.
So just as I was about to try persuading Clara again—
"...Alright."
"...?"
"Do that, Clara."
Permission fell from Erinn's lips. Ser-Aria, Letisia, and Freya all widened their eyes and stared at Erinn.
"When I first brought you into the party, I told you. If you followed me, I'd show you the world you wanted to see."
This was a story I didn't know. Probably something Erinn had told Clara when gathering the party members.
"If the world you want to see lies down that path, I have no right to stop you, and no intention of doing so."
From the conversation, and considering Erinn and Clara's personalities, I could roughly guess. She'd probably been trying to show Clara—who'd been an orphan living alone and pessimistic—her true worth.
That pessimistic side still remained, so it must have been even worse before she joined the party.
"Because that was the promise I made with you."
Erinn said.
"Do as you wish, Clara."
"......"
Clara nodded. Then she bid farewell to Ser-Aria, Letisia, and Freya in turn.
"...Take care, Aria. Be careful about drinking during battles."
"..."
"...Letisia, thank you for always looking after me."
"W-wait, Clara. Leaving like this is too sudden a decision."
Letisia tried to stop Clara, but she seemed to have already hardened her resolve. So she didn't bother answering, and Letisia looked at Erinn with a helpless expression.
But Erinn made no move to hold Clara back with any words.
"...Freya."
Then she approached Freya, who had always taken the best care of her, and lightly pulled her into a hug.
"...Stay healthy always."
"...Clara."
Freya made a slightly tearful face as she hugged Clara back. Watching Clara say her goodbyes to the party members, I couldn't understand her choice.
Why?
Why make a choice like that?
Clara was withdrawn, not good with words, and lacked confidence... but that didn't mean she was oblivious.
If she left the party to come with me, it was obvious what kind of atmosphere the remaining girls would fall into. Even if that choice was for my sake, it was hard to understand.
Was there a reason for Clara to go this far for me? Especially right after learning I wasn't "Allen"?
I roughly understood what she meant by responsibility. But abandoning a party she'd grown attached to for that alone... giving up a path that might lead to success as part of the Hero's Party seemed like too great a loss.
Clara isn't an unjust person, but...
Whether she was that just was another question.
While I was fretting over this, Clara finished her farewells with everyone. Erinn spoke to her.
"...Will you be alright?"
She'd given permission earlier, but now her words were a little different. It wasn't strange, though. Even I could sense the worry for Clara contained in those words.
She was asking whether it was okay for Clara—who was afraid of men—to travel with me.
Clara replied.
"...Albrecht is fine."
"......Alright."
...Why was I "fine"?
I didn't quite understand that point, but it didn't feel bad. At least she considered me safe, right?
"You can come back anytime. There'll always be a place for you."
"...Yeah."
Clara nodded. Then Erinn looked at me and said.
"...Since you said you'd be adventuring anyway, you don't mind Clara accompanying you, right?"
"Me...?"
There was no reason to mind. What worried me was the party side of things.
"You don't have to worry about the party."
Erinn said.
"There won't be anything that would trouble even you."
"..."
Hearing that, I paused for a moment. It sounded as if this wasn't something an outsider to the party should be worrying about.
She's right, but...
Somehow a sense of regret lingered. Whether Erinn misread my expression a little, she added an explanation.
"From the start, we know why we gathered as the Hero's Party and what each other's goals are, so we can understand even if someone leaves like this."
"...Goals?"
Come to think of it, aside from Erinn who had permitted Clara's departure, the other party members had been surprised but seemed to accept the farewell surprisingly quickly.
The promise between Clara and Erinn must have been one of those goals as well.
So they each have their own reasons for taking on the common goal of defeating the Demon King.
Erinn raised her hand slightly and put on a somewhat awkward, mischievous smile.
"You've all worked so hard until now, everyone~♡"
As party leader, Erinn bid farewell to us as we left.
"Take care of yourselves."