Banished from the Party
I stared up at the gargoyle before me with eyes full of despair.
It had been the strongest attack I could create—every opportunity, every quest monopolized for this one blow.
Yet the bastard still wasn't dead.
No—if those damned bitches behind me had just done the bare minimum of their jobs, we could have killed it.
Blood spraying from the wound in its gut, the creature spreads its massive wings.
"Kyaaaaah!"
Letting out a grotesque cry, it tries to flee.
Ah, no.
My body is already a wreck.
I shouted.
"Catch it! We have to kill it now!"
But from behind came only curses directed at me.
"Be quiet! Can't you see Leo got hurt because of you?"
The Saintess, Esther, shouts.
Ignoring my thoroughly battered self, she was currently treating the man called Leo.
His wounds, which compared to mine were little more than scratches.
Yeah, those two are better ignored for my own peace of mind.
But the problem was that the rest of them showed no intention of moving either.
"Attack already!"
I cried out desperately.
Answering that was our party's mage, Veronica Eltwin.
"Why should I? Gargoyles have skin that magic doesn't work well on anyway."
"There's a wound on its belly! Hit there!"
"No. Using a lot of mana gives me a headache. There's no need for me to sacrifice that much, is there?"
Tossing her red hair back, she speaks arrogantly.
I nearly grabbed the back of my neck and collapsed.
As my blood pressure rose, it felt like more blood was flowing from my wounds.
I turned my head again.
The thief, Aine, was useless right now anyway.
I shifted my gaze to the party's archer and only elf, Elin Nidia.
But she coldly says to me.
"Truly, human greed is ugly. To deliberately provoke a gargoyle here, of all things."
After snapping at me like that, she heads toward Leo.
Having just gone on about humans this and that, she frets over Leo—who's the same human—asking if he's okay.
It was a sight that really made me want to curse.
"You dog-shit bitch, shoot that thing!"
"W-what did you just say?! How dare a human… an elf…"
Ignoring whatever she was blathering about, I looked up at the sky.
Still letting out that terrible cry, the gargoyle had already flown far away into the distant sky.
I hung my head in despair.
In the end, I failed.
There wasn't a place on my body that didn't hurt.
Then a voice comes from behind me.
Not comfort or encouragement, but a voice rebuking me.
"Louis Wallenstein, what do you think you've accomplished by raising your voice? Look at Leo right now."
Saying that was the party's female knight, Felice Ansberg.
Her blonde hair fluttering, she points to our party's last member, Leo Epsilt.
Leo Epsilt.
Heir of Duke Epsilt.
One of the next Hero candidates.
And finally, the protagonist of this game.
Felice says to me.
"Because you got greedy and attacked a gargoyle that wasn't even a subjugation target, he got injured."
What?
That idiot got hurt because he's weak to begin with.
Hero this, hero that—relying only on his innate talent without even training properly.
Thanks to that, in terms of mana, holy power, strength and such, he's far stronger than me.
But because the girls handle all the actual combat, his real fighting skill is pathetic.
While they deal with the monsters, all he does is slowly summon that absurd mana of his and just crush things with it.
No effort required there—only the amount of innate mana matters.
Because of that, he couldn't dodge or block the gargoyle's attacks that were too fast to even see.
And they're blaming me for this?
No—are they seriously saying that I, who was basically tanking the gargoyle's attacks alone, should have protected that bastard too?
But amazingly, they really seemed to think that way.
The mage Veronica shouts.
"If you'd blocked the attacks properly in the first place, Leo wouldn't have gotten hurt, right? You should have taken the hits instead! I almost got caught up in it too!"
"Wow, fuck…"
I lamented.
Felice opened her mouth again.
"If you discovered a gargoyle, you should have retreated and requested support. Whether it was to change your reputation or for the bounty, I don't know, but because of you we all nearly fell into danger."
"Obviously for the money. Their family's broke, right?"
Veronica sneers from the side.
"This is why humans…"
Elin badmouthing humans again.
Though in reality the only target of her insults was me alone.
The Saintess acts as if she doesn't care about this side at all, stuck right next to the Hero.
Only the thief Aine was keeping silent.
"Apologize."
Representing everyone, Felice Ansberg said to me.
And at those words, my anger rose to the top of my head.
Who do you think I was trying to catch that gargoyle for in the first place.
This was all for your salvation!
"No."
"Fine, first to Leo… what?"
"Are you a fucking idiot? Did you get shot in the head? If we go request support, the gargoyle will obviously run away."
Felice, who had a blank expression for a moment, then hardens her face.
"So what if it does? We're still Academy cadets. The assignment content was investigating an unknown nest anyway, and there's no reason to go out of our way to subjugate a gargoyle…"
Haa…
I let out a sigh.
Having to explain even this basic stuff—this bitch's head is full of muscle after all.
"We stirred up a gargoyle nest, didn't we. After making such a mess, if we just disappear from there?"
I shouted in frustration.
"It'll obviously take other gargoyles and raid the nearby village, won't it?"
Gargoyles—monsters even called little dragons by adventurers.
Messing with their nest is no small matter.
One gargoyle is tricky but at least can be taken care of.
But the scary part about them is that when they take action, they always move in groups.
Just like a flock of crows.
But from behind, Veronica says.
"So what? Better that some lowly humans take some damage than me or Leo getting hurt."
The elf archer Elin adds.
"Better for Leo to be safe than a few lowly humans dying."
I looked toward the Saintess.
Wondering if a human called Saintess would say something like that, but she was still stuck to Leo muttering things like 'Are you okay? Sob…'
At least Felice was making a face like she was considering my words.
Stupid bitch.
"Then, what's the closest territory from here? It's your Ansberg Territory, isn't it."
That's right.
The reason I deliberately chose this assignment, and deliberately tried to catch a gargoyle that wasn't even part of the assignment content.
It was because a flock of enraged gargoyles attacking Felice's territory was the content of her story.
And in the end, I failed.
Not my fault, but because of that fucking Leo bastard and our party members.
Even after hearing Felice, whom I was trying to save through all this hellish effort, telling me to apologize.
The anger that had risen to my head now just left me empty.
I wanted to throw everything away.
"D-don't make excuses. What you said is all just speculation…"
"Yeah, think whatever you want."
I said to the stammering Felice.
"Fuck, who do you think I went through this for."
Whether she heard my muttering or not.
Felice snaps at me.
"Don't make me laugh! You did it out of your own greed…"
"Stop, Felice. Don't bother getting mad at a traitor like that."
A man's voice that was disgusting even to hear comes.
Felice, who had been raging at me, shuts her mouth at his words.
"Wait a moment, Leo. Still…"
The Saintess clings to his side saying that, but.
He slowly approaches me.
"Louis Wallenstein, if I'd known things would turn out like this, I should have told you in advance."
"What the fuck are you talking about, you son of a bitch."
As I immediately drop a curse, his eyebrows twitch.
Can't tolerate cursing at the noble young master of a duke's house, is that it?
But he doesn't bother saying anything to me, instead sending a glance to the Saintess beside him.
Cowardly bastard, still remembers getting wrecked last time, huh.
Of course right after the loss he scurried off like a rat, saying this and that.
Anyway, receiving Leo's glance, the Saintess Esther Kalt steps between me and him.
What the hell is she planning.
And what did he mean by what he just said.
While I was wondering, Esther opened her mouth.
"Louis Wallenstein, I'll formally notify you. You are expelled from our party."
"…What?"
What did she just say?
"Expelled? You guys expelling me?"
I can't quite understand.
But they all nod as one.
At such an absurd statement, it took quite a while even to comprehend it.
And finally, I burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Ahahahaha!"
When a person gets too angry, laughter comes out.
Even I learned that fact for the first time today.
The party members stare at me like I'm a madman.
After laughing for a long while.
Just as suddenly as it started, I stopped laughing in an instant.
With colder eyes than ever before, I looked around.
Some of the party members flinch.
I opened my mouth.