Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: 12. The Shrewd Fool (1)
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"Hurt?"
Sylvia's words turned the atmosphere hostile.
It wasn't intentional, but she couldn't help letting her pathetic feelings show.
It wasn't aimed solely at Aria.
What it meant was, what the hell were the other two doing while a comrade got injured?
Kaily and Beatrice scowled too, and the three of them traded glares.
Aria spoke calmly.
"It's my mistake."
It was a forlorn admission.
It wasn't a serious injury.
Just a graze mark, but there was no excuse for it.
For the 1st Hero Party to get hurt in an A-rank dungeon was exactly that kind of thing.
Beatrice sneered from the side.
"Right, whose fault could it be if not yours? If you'd just kept your head straight from the start, none of this would have happened. Where the hell do you keep your wits? You trying to turn into one of those two frail heroines, all clingy and dramatic?"
She was talking to Aria, but it was Kaily and Sylvia who bristled.
But they only bristled.
They had no comeback.
"Come on, seriously? Is this why we kicked Ian out? Huh? Weren't we supposed to all get better together?"
Sylvia replied.
"We didn't know it'd turn out like this."
"Yeah, we didn't. But so what? You think moping like this changes anything? We need to find another way."
"We need Ian..."
"Sylvia, enough! Are you kidding? We all kicked him out because we didn't need him anymore. What are you even saying now?"
"We need him now. You know it, Beatrice. We've gotten weaker."
Sylvia stared at Aria as she spoke.
At first, she'd thought it pathetic, but who was to say she wouldn't end up the same someday?
The other two were no different.
"Why do you think it's all Ian's fault? There could be other reasons. Sure, I get that Ian's great. But us ending up like this isn't just because of him. Who else could have made it this far without us?"
"......"
Sylvia had no answer.
That was what everyone had acknowledged when they kicked Ian out.
Setting aside the emotional rift, the 1st Hero Party had grown strong enough not to need him.
That's why they'd rationally booted him.
Sylvia was only now realizing it had been hubris.
"Fine, I admit Ian might have a solution. That's why you two went to him. But you came back empty-handed. He didn't seem willing to talk, right? How long are you going to cling to him?"
Beatrice kept unloading, as if she had a lot to say.
"Ian said it himself. Mental state affects the body. If you'd just gotten your heads straight, today wouldn't have happened."
"So, did getting your head straight make you any better?"
Kaily cut in.
"What?"
"You didn't seem that different from us. You felt a snag in your mana flow, right?"
"True. But I'm not wasting time like you three."
"Ah, so that's why you broke formation? If you'd just held your support position for Aria back then, she wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"Forgot what Ian said? Be strong enough alone, and stronger together. Why's her injury my fault?"
"You're all talk today too."
Kaily tsked mockingly, and Beatrice ground her teeth, glaring at her.
"Always sniping without offering any real solutions. Same old."
"And you, Kaily? Got some genius plan?"
"Who knows?"
"Then why pick a fight?"
"At least I'm not sniping like you."
Sylvia let out a hollow laugh at their bickering.
It was as repulsive as it was ridiculous and childish.
Arguing in the spot where they'd driven Ian out, and even their "solution" came from his teachings.
'What a mess...'
It was an irreparable mess now.
No Ian to mediate the party's friction and conflicts.
Even if he came back—which he wouldn't—they couldn't go back to how things were.
They'd gone too far.
"Sniping? You think that's all I'm doing?"
"Oh, now I'm dying to hear your grand purpose."
"You're the one sniping! You won't speak straight, so I have to! And Kaily, you think you're in a position to blame me?"
"Hm?"
"If you'd read the battlefield right, you could've supported Aria."
"What nonsense. I'm the vanguard in this setup. I break paths up front or mark and disrupt the enemy's front line. Vanguards naturally have limited vision. It's only right for the backliners to cover each other. Forgot what Ian said?"
Her last line flipped Beatrice's earlier words right back at her.
Beatrice ground her molars and glared straight at Kaily.
Kaily smirked back.
"Now that's a worthwhile look."
Kaily's hand went to her sword, and Beatrice reached for her bow.
Sylvia scanned the surroundings as the two teetered on the brink.
Forget their evenly matched skills.
If they fought here, the whole area would be obliterated.
The campsite held not just the 1st Party but cooking teams, scouts, guards—plenty of others supporting them.
They'd all die in the crossfire.
The weaklings trembled, unable to flee or intervene, caught Sylvia's eye.
'If I do a good deed, Ian might praise me...'
Decision made, Sylvia raised thick ice walls around the four of them.
Layer upon layer of ice surged up, forming a dome around them.
"Are you both sane?"
At the same time, Aria cast protective barriers over the four like cloaks.
She felt conflicted.
To get hurt in a mere A-rank dungeon—it really drove home how much her utility had dropped.
So, no matter how bad things got, she didn't want this group to fall apart.
"I'll be more careful next time. So, no fighting among ourselves."
"Hmph..."
Kaily and Beatrice withdrew their hands from their weapons.
They were heated, but not seriously out for blood.
Though without Sylvia and Aria, who knows.
They sheathed their killing intent but still eyed each other with disdain. Sylvia sighed softly.
'No center... that's why we're crumbling...'
The thought made her laugh emptily.
Center.
The word Kaily had used when they ousted Ian.
The 'us' at this party's center decided on the exile.
Aria withdrew her barriers and spoke up abruptly.
"Isn't there some way to convince Ian?"
All three sets of eyes turned to her.
"Isn't that why you came back? No way?"
"It was then, but... what if we go and threaten him with force?"
It was what Sylvia had stopped, but now it came to her mind.
Sylvia, slow on the uptake despite hearing it, finally spoke.
"What... did you just say...?"
A chill gathered around Sylvia.
The grass nearby froze, shattered, and scattered on the ground.
The encircling ice walls bent, slowly extending sharp points toward Aria.
"Aria... You love Ian, don't you? How could you say that...?"
Kaily and Beatrice looked back and forth between them in shock at Sylvia's words.
They didn't know everything between Sylvia and Ian, but they knew she loved him.
And how clingy that love was.
But Aria loving Ian? First they'd heard of it.
Aria didn't panic at the sudden revelation.
She just smiled leisurely.
"Yes. I love him so much, I'd even keep him by force."
No point hiding it now that Sylvia knew.
She was just deflecting to keep Sylvia from probing deeper.
"......"
Sylvia shut her mouth.
Because she'd once felt the same as Aria now.
And hearing someone else say they loved Ian was utterly unpleasant.
Even if she knew it already— hearing it straight was different.
The bending ice walls halted abruptly and crumbled.
"You... love Ian? You?"
As the ice crashed loudly, Beatrice asked.
"Is that a problem?"
"Not a problem, but..."
She glanced at Sylvia.
Fortunately, Sylvia seemed lost in other thoughts.
'How long has Sylvia known? Was her freakout because of this too...?'
Beatrice sighed deeply, looking from Aria to Kaily and back.
This group was too precarious.
'What to do with these girls? Maybe form my own faction? Hard to find superhumans like them elsewhere... That Henry guy from before... what was his name? The one who pitched some business to me...'
Beatrice pushed aside the unresolved thought.
For now, consider Aria's "threat" idea.
Even setting aside if it'd make him talk...
"Do we really need to go that far?"
"Don't we?"
"We're not even sure he has a solution. And we don't know where he is."
"Finding him shouldn't be hard, right?"
"That's not the point... It just feels unnecessary. Let's wait for Penny first."
"She and I couldn't do it—what makes you think Penny can?"
"She'd better. That's her job. She'll bring some solution, unless she's got nothing."
"And if she has nothing?"
"Huh?"
"If she comes back empty-handed, then what?"
"......"
An awkward silence.
Especially Beatrice, who'd backed Penny from the start— she had no ready answer.
Kaily, who'd stayed quiet, chuckled.
"Then she pays the price."
What price?
Penny had egged them on, but they'd all been thinking of ditching Ian anyway.
Sylvia was dumbfounded.
No clear answer in the end.
Just going in circles.
Kaily left in disgust.
Beatrice glared at her, then retreated to her tent.
Sylvia, frustrated, swept back her bangs and looked up at the sky.
'Will Penny at least bring some answer?'
Probably not.
Then what?
Go see Ian again?
Could she even meet him?
Would he see her?
'...I miss Ian.'
Imagining his face to fill the void, she suddenly felt off.
'Why am I even here?'
A journey to kill the Demon King.
Without Ian, what meaning did it have?
But without killing the Demon King, how to lift Ian's curse?
'Why am I bothering with this...'
She had a goal, but it felt hard to grasp its worth.
Seeing Ian might help.
The thought of missing him expanded.
Ian surely wouldn't meet her, or if he did, wouldn't be happy.
She dreaded that reaction.
But what if she just watched from afar, without meeting? Sylvia alone?
Maybe that much was okay?
'He's probably in Superbia...?'
Sylvia pondered quietly.
Leaving the 1st Party entirely was still too hard a choice.
Not lingering affection.
'They're still essential firepower to kill the Demon King...'
Rust their skills had, but irreplaceable still.
'Maybe I can sneak a quick glimpse...'
She'd given up on praise for today's events.
He wouldn't listen, wouldn't meet her anyway.
But hope bloomed for a secret distant watch.
*
The villagers escorted Ian's group back to the village and treated them lavishly.
Not luxurious by village standards, but sincere enough no one complained.
They praised and thanked Vivian and Helena without overdoing it.
All knew their bounds.
Ian's group finished dinner and returned.
An amusing reversal: Ian ended up hosting to match the two's diets.
Feeding just them feasts felt off.
For their sense of accomplishment, Ian didn't mind.
Clearing two dungeons in a day, earning thanks, swapping stories—yet Vivian's heart raced on.
'It feels... like I can do it.'
Since the coordinate-targeted Fireball, same vibe.
Flame Strike and Ice Bloom, spells she'd never managed.
Now, success seemed just a few tries away.
Battle thrill, achievement, elation—all mixed.
Vivian secretly asked Kati.
"Kati, um... I'm gonna train alone late tonight. Don't tell Ian? Oh, or Mercy or Helena..."
Not that anyone mustn't see.
But she wanted to do it solo.
'Succeed secretly and show Ian— he'll be shocked! Hehe.'
A playful whim too.
Plus, Helena had grown huge after solo grinding to exhaustion.
Maybe she could too.
"Master says rest is part of training."
"I know. I know, but... I want to achieve something alone. I won't overdo it to worry Ian, might even wrap up quick..."
Kati thought briefly.
Impossible to dissuade determined Vivian.
She wasn't Ian's proxy—no right to interfere.
"Understood."
"Hehe, thanks."
Late night.
Vivian hadn't returned when expected.
'Master.'
[What's up, kitty?]
'......'
Kati paused, then continued.
'Vivian tonight...'
No right to interfere, but duty to report.
*
Ian watched Vivian practice alone from afar.
He knew her mindset, so hadn't approached yet.
'She wanted to do it herself.'
Everything so far under his watch.
Even with help, solo achievement matters sometimes.
'Must've gained a lot clearing dungeons back-to-back.'
True growth: applying training in real combat.
Vivian and Helena had leaped hugely this time.
Not even tired after two dungeons.
'With artifacts and holy relics, rest a few days, then accelerate growth.'
As he organized thoughts, a massive ice flower bloomed far off.
Ice Bloom.
Quieter than Flame Strike.
Vivian considering the late hour.
Regardless, the ice flower blooming center-field, glowing softly, was flashy by size alone.
'First success and it's this spectacular.'
Magic of ice petals unfolding.
Trap by slip, slice and shred by edges.
Sylvia could combine and morph for true floral beauty, but Vivian wasn't there yet.
Success at last—Vivian hopped in place, squealing joyfully.
"Kyaaah-!"
Ian stepped to fetch her.
'...What the hell are those guys?'
Some men in the shadows, whispering while eyeing Vivian.
Far, but Ian heard.
'Whoa, she's so damn sexy...'
'Out alone this late doing that? Begging to get kidnapped.'
'Fuck, look at those tits bounce when she jumps. Can't hold back.'
The group leered sinisterly, approaching Vivian.
Ian grasped the situation, swept back his bangs, and scowled.
"......"
Ian clamped his mouth shut and strode toward Vivian.