Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: 13. Division (3)
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"You're going to die here."
Just before Kaily's sword could move.
"W-Wait a second!"
Aria grabbed Kaily's arm.
"...What is it?"
"Just this once... please let it slide this one time. I can't end things like this yet...."
Aria's eyes trembled violently.
She had an instinctual feeling that if they split up now, when her own value had plummeted, she would never be able to come back.
It wasn't about Penny.
She couldn't let this party end like this.
"Why the hell should I..."
Kaily didn't know her inner thoughts and had no desire to care.
But the next words forced her to stop what she was about to do.
"I'm begging you."
"...What did you say?"
Aria bowed deeply before Kaily.
Kaily was so shocked she couldn't close her mouth.
The 1st Hero Party treated each other as equals, with a subtle competitive spirit where sometimes she wondered if she wasn't a bit stronger.
Among them, no one begged or bowed to another—it was unimaginable.
"Even if it's just for my sake... I'm begging you."
Kaily stared blankly at the crown of Aria's head as she bowed.
She knew Aria had been unstable lately, but she hadn't realized it was this bad.
"...Hoo."
Kaily's gaze shifted to Penny.
Penny alone could just be killed and forgotten, but Aria was different.
"...I can't understand this. Does this Penny really have to stay alive?"
"Still, I think we need someone to fill in for Ian, even if just temporarily.... We can get rid of her later."
Beatrice chimed in.
"Yeah, she doesn't have to stay alive forever, but there's no need to kill her right now either. She might be useful until our skills improve. And if we're disbanding anyway, it's better to have someone handle the cleanup."
They spoke as if deciding the slaughter date for livestock.
Penny didn't dare interject.
"Haa...."
For Kaily, who revered her golden rule of power, Aria was someone worthy of respect.
Beatrice was annoying, but the same applied to her.
Excluding Ian, Kaily had never broken her own code.
"...This is the one and only time. Next time."
Kaily swung her sword toward Penny.
The omnidirectional sword aura tore everything apart except the exact spot where Penny stood.
"No mercy."
"......"
Kaily returned her summoned sword to mana.
As she sat back down, she added,
"But to vent my frustration, I'll take an arm."
...Thud.
Long after the swing, Penny's left arm fell off.
Red blood poured from the severed stump.
"I'll leave your right arm since you need it to write."
"...Ah."
Penny stared blankly at her fallen arm.
It didn't feel real.
The arm on the ground seemed like someone else's.
Only belatedly did the burning pain erupt from the stump.
"Gaaahk-!"
"Tch. What a racket."
Kaily crossed her legs and decided to wait, as Aria had asked.
Sylvia had no particular thoughts about Penny writhing on the ground.
She was surprised at first to realize the 1st Hero Party was effectively done, but it passed quickly.
She just thought she'd go see Ian once they started operating separately.
Beatrice looked down at the pathetic Penny rolling around with disdain.
The last shred of trust she had was now completely gone.
She had gone along with Aria's plea, but she had no desire to keep this lineup.
She just planned to hold out until she secured her new position.
She had asked Henry Somerset to ghostwrite a letter, so a reply should come soon.
Unlike the others, Aria watched Penny with trembling eyes.
Seeing her unable to fulfill her role properly with her arm severed reminded Aria of herself right now.
Aria of the 1st Hero Party, injured in a mere A-rank dungeon.
Would she one day be abandoned by her comrades like this?
That fear gripped her.
Aria wanted to stay in her current position longer.
"Ngh...."
Aria quietly began healing her.
She didn't pity Penny anew.
She just hoped the healing would erase her own wounds too.
Even though they had already healed, that spot ached now and then.
"Hic.... Haaah...."
Penny shed tears of pain, obsessively thinking of Ian.
She was grateful it was her suffering this, not Ian.
She couldn't even think that this wouldn't have happened if it were Ian.
Her rationality was paralyzed by the first true terror of death she'd ever tasted.
'If I crumble like this, it'll be one way to ruin Ian too.... Yeah....'
Kaily spat as she watched her rationalize it to herself.
"How long are you going to whine? Or do you think crying like a baby will solve everything?"
"......"
"Aria. We spared her for now, but do you really think she's useful? Even if we postpone disbanding, I could kill this bitch right now."
"But.... Still, to coordinate future activities..."
"How do you plan to do that with someone who can't even speak?"
Beatrice rummaged through the dazed Penny's bosom as she lay there.
It was a paper densely filled with writing.
"...What's written on it?"
Aria cautiously took it and read.
"It looks like the future schedule."
Kaily arrogantly placed her foot on Penny's back and said,
"We spared you because of her, so you read it."
"Yes...."
Aria summarized and read the contents on the paper.
"From now on, we'll disperse widely across the continent. To get stronger individually... that's the goal. It says first to check preferred regions for each person."
Aria looked around, and Sylvia slyly raised her hand.
"...Central south."
Where Superbia was.
In other words, close to Ian.
No one pinpointed her intent, so everyone nodded.
"No opinions?"
"In that case, assigned regions are set."
Beatrice, southeast area.
Aria, near the northern front.
Kaily, eastern region.
Rejoin after 2 weeks of solo activity.
Kaily nodded at the plan.
"Exactly 2 weeks. This isn't my whim. You all seem to agree anyway."
Beatrice and Aria nodded slightly.
Sylvia didn't bother reacting.
Kaily stepped over the trembling Penny and examined the eastern region map.
One region name felt familiar.
'Fiorelle County...'
The place where that tournament would be held, where she had been invited as an inspector or VIP.
No reason to stop by unless something special came up, so east was fine.
"Do a proper job with what we've assigned this time."
Kaily glared at the fallen Penny and left the tent.
The members, having confirmed their activity areas, each left a word.
"Big disappointment. Honestly, didn't expect this level.... Whatever. Just assign me someone who writes well. I'll handle dungeons on my own, so don't touch my schedule."
Beatrice.
"...Not sure how long we'll keep you alive, but please at least function minimally until then."
Aria.
"I don't need anything else. Just stock up on lavender herbs for direction."
Sylvia.
She requested the herbs Ian used to prepare for her.
"...Are you even listening properly?"
"Yes, I am listening...."
Penny murmured in reply.
It wasn't the attitude of someone listening.
"Haa.... Not enough time for my error notebook, and now I have to deal with this crap...."
Sylvia reluctantly jotted down each member's requests on the back of the paper.
As she wrote, a hollow laugh escaped her unwittingly.
Remembering how she once believed Penny and hated Ian made her sick.
One more thing for the error notebook.
"Here. Do well now that we're sparing you."
"......"
With that, Sylvia left too.
Left alone, Penny's body went as cold and rigid as her severed left arm.
She had brushed death's door just from Kaily choking her neck.
And witnessing them casually discuss her life instilled a transcendental terror.
Only then did she realize how arrogant she'd been.
She believed she could control the 1st Hero Party and thought she was doing so.
Far from it.
Just as Ian's exile required their consent.
She was merely alive because they saw her as a replacement part for Ian.
Still, she had to do it.
It was the glorious position substituting for Ian, so she had to succeed no matter what.
At the same time, she was convinced she absolutely couldn't.
Putting reins on them was impossible.
Contradictory thoughts clashed.
Inevitably, Ian came to mind.
Without the system he set up, they wouldn't have become heroes.
Without the 1st Hero Party, they would have died pathetically in that dungeon.
She hoped for Ian's salvation, indirect as it was, that had saved her.
'Please.... Please help me....'
Left alone, Penny couldn't stand for a long while.
'I was wrong.... I won't overstep again, please....'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "......"
Holy Emperor Johanes, having sent a letter to the Emperor, sat deep in thought.
Lydia, the paladin who had observed the public trial at MacDullin Abbey.
The divine unified nation plan, once scrapped, had come up again from her mouth, with Bertolt Schultz mentioned as a key figure.
The one who first crushed that plan was Apostle Ian, and at the time, the Holy Emperor had been at its center too.
Thus, he couldn't punish those involved back then.
He would have had to include himself.
But now was different.
The problem was Bertolt had vanished.
Since hearing his name from Lydia and tracking him, his whereabouts remained unknown.
'Fiorelle...'
While pursuing Bertolt's trail, they captured evidence of close ties to 'Lorenzo di Fiorelle.'
'What are they thinking, holding a tournament like this...'
No time for deep contemplation.
Acting decisively now would keep him in the imperial family's good graces.
"Captain."
The captain of the Holy Emperor's direct paladin order, Razri, who had been waiting beside him, replied.
"Yes."
"We're heading straight to Fiorelle County."
"Understood."
The Holy Emperor set off for Fiorelle County with Razri in tow.