Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Qualifications of a Hero (1)
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"Does this make any sense? How... how could something like this happen!"
Mabel trembled violently, her fists clenched tight.
The adventurers who had applied after seeing the recruitment notice posted once Kalt was expelled.
Dual Swordsman Trex.
Heavy Armor Warrior Roderick.
Martial Artist Dingyo.
The Fastest Hero Mabel Party had tested each of the three by forming temporary parties one at a time.
And the results were plain as day on Mabel's face right now.
Dual Swordsman Trex had boasted that when it came to speed, no one could match him.
But he couldn't keep up with the speed of Mabel, who was called the Fastest Hero.
"Wait, isn't this too fast?!"
"What? What's so fast about this?"
They were only verifying his skills, so she hadn't even gone at half the speed Kalt used to match—yet he was already whining.
Mabel was dumbfounded. They'd only encountered monsters three times, and Trex was already panting for breath.
"You need to handle at least double this speed."
"D-Double?! Without a Blessing, how is that even possible?!"
"Just use Body Strengthening. Kalt did it."
"I-I can't!"
Dual Swordsman Trex gave up on joining the Mabel Party that very day.
Next up was Heavy Armor Warrior Roderick.
Given his specialty, Mabel hadn't expected him to match her pace perfectly.
She figured as long as he could protect Ianna and Marti from any monsters she might let slip past while filling in for Kalt, that would be enough.
But.
"How many are you letting through?! This is way too many!"
"Hold on just a sec! I'll take these guys out and come back."
"A sec?! Urk! Hey! Stop just standing there and cast some magic already!"
"Got it."
Slash! Ianna's spell sliced through the monsters pressing Roderick.
"Can't you use bigger magic? Don't just pick them off one by one!"
"...Do we really need big magic for these worthless monsters?"
"What? Worthless?! Does that even make sense?!"
Somehow they cleared all the monsters, but afterward, Mabel complained to Roderick.
"What was that? You couldn't even block that much."
"If you didn't charge so far ahead, it wouldn't have been an issue! Why do you keep rushing forward like that?!"
"Because it ends faster that way."
"Faster? You should prioritize safety even if it takes a little longer."
"Shut up. Taking down monsters quick is the best way."
"Argh! How do you expect to get anywhere like this?!"
Heavy Armor Warrior Roderick stormed off in anger, leaving the Mabel Party.
Finally, Martial Artist Dingyo.
"Looking forward to working with you, Lady Mabel."
"Uh, sure."
Having already dealt with the attitudes of the previous two, Mabel held back as much as possible. She didn't push her speed too hard and didn't charge ahead, steadily taking down monsters.
The monsters themselves were slow, so the subjugation went smoothly enough.
But.
"Haa, haa, haa."
'What's really going on here? Why... why is this happening now, all of a sudden?'
The longer they spent facing live monsters, the more Mabel's heart raced, cold sweat dripped down her back, and an inexplicable anxiety gnawed at her.
But she wasn't the only one with issues.
"Ianna! Wipe them out in one go!"
"..."
Whiiiiiing!
"Wind Storm's fine and all, but can't you do something bigger?"
Normally, she'd unleash a high-powered spell and clear them in one shot, but Ianna stuck to mid-level magic that didn't exceed moderate power.
"This is plenty. We need to see more of Dingyo's skills anyway."
"Haha, I'll do my best!"
Since Mabel was holding back, Dingyo had no trouble keeping up in battle.
However, as a martial artist who struck monsters directly and took the most hits, he ended up relying on Marti often.
"Thanks again this time, Lady Marti."
"Y-Yes..."
They were scratches more than anything—serious, but not major wounds.
Still, they were injuries that couldn't be ignored, and Dingyo received Marti's healing blessings multiple times.
And each time, Marti's complexion grew worse.
"Hm? Are you alright, Lady Marti? Your face looks pale."
"I'm... I'm fine, so please just go take care of your business."
"...? Understood."
After finishing the monster extermination request and slipping away from Dingyo, the Mabel Party checked each other's faces and instantly sensed what was wrong.
And.
"Dingyo, sorry. I can't add you to the party."
"I see. It seems my skills didn't meet your standards, Lady Mabel. I'll train harder from now on. Understood."
Of the three, Dingyo parted ways with the Mabel Party the most smoothly.
That night.
The Mabel Party gathered in one room, faces grim.
"Ianna, Marti, you're feeling it too... right? This is what I think it is, isn't it?"
"...Don't tell me you too, Mabel?"
"Y-You two as well...?"
The dark expressions and sidelong glances forced Mabel to confront reality.
And the reality staring back at her was utterly horrifying.
"Does this make any sense? How... how could something like this happen!"
Unbelievable. It had actually happened.
"Why?! Why are our problems coming back now?! We were sure everything was... fixed!"
They finally realized it.
The problems they'd been convinced were solved.
The very issues that had once branded them the Sloppy Party were resurfacing, engulfing them once more.
"How bad is it...? It can't be as bad as the beginning, right?"
The frustration and despair weren't just Mabel's—Ianna and Marti felt it too.
But fortunately.
"It's... not that bad."
"Me neither."
Their issues weren't as severe as the worst times before they'd improved.
But that was cold comfort.
They judged their own conditions harshly.
Better than the start, sure—but leaving things like this meant they could never perform at their usual peak.
Hunting high-rank monsters like before, or even taking long-term requests? Impossible.
If they picked requests to match their current regressed states, people would definitely notice something was off.
"How bad exactly...?"
Marti spoke first in response to Mabel's question.
"If I see blood... up close eight times or more in a row, I can't pray properly."
Marti was a nun with hemophobia.
Normally, unless it was a tiny prick from a needle, seeing blood from wounds would make her dizzy—sometimes even pass out.
"I can manage up to mid-level magic. But advanced spells? I lose focus just like before."
Ianna had an issue where her concentration dropped when forming high-difficulty spells.
She knew the theory inside out and had plenty of mana, but manifesting them was impossible.
When she first met Kalt and Mabel, she couldn't even cast mid-level spells.
And finally, Mabel spoke.
"I can't face live monsters for more than ten minutes..."
The Fastest Hero, Mabel.
She had a fatal flaw for a hero.
Monster phobia.
It was the problem that had given Kalt the biggest headaches early on.
Mabel had grown up in a peaceful village where plagues came but monster attacks never did—only discovered after she set out adventuring.
Ianna and Marti had joined at Kalt's urging, seeing her potential amid the troubles.
And Mabel had tagged along at the request of the neighbor aunt and uncle who'd taken her in.
Compared to the start, their problems had definitely improved vastly.
But right now, that wasn't good enough.
They'd tasted glory already.
They still remembered the joy of overcoming those issues.
For the problems to relapse now?
To them, the situation was more despairing than anything.
And at the same time, something they had to resolve urgently.
Edgy with anxiety and despair, Mabel raised her voice at Ianna.
"Ianna, think of something! You're the smart one! Figure out why this is happening!"
"Quiet down! I'm thinking too!"
"Why... why would we face a trial like this...? Oh, gods."
Not just Ianna—Mabel and Marti racked their brains desperately, trying to deduce why they'd fallen into this state.
But no matter how much time passed, no clear cause emerged.
Anxiety swelled, unease ate at their hearts, and despair conjured up their worst fears.
Mabel shook her head, desperately shoving the nightmare scenario from her mind as she bit her thumbnail.
'No, no, no, no! If this keeps up, it'll be just like before! I won't let it go back to that! Not getting scolded by Kalt again... Wai—Kalt?'
"Kalt."
"Huh?"
"Kalt...?"
It was a vague hunch.
A baseless deduction.
But by sheer coincidence.
"Kalt knows something!"
It was the answer closest to the truth.
"What do you mean, Kalt knows?"
"Mabel, explain in detail."
"Th-Think about it! This all started after Kalt left! I don't know what trick he pulled, but K-Kalt must've done something to us when he left!"
"Done something to us?"
"Mabel, even so, that's..."
Ianna and Marti couldn't believe Mabel's claim.
After all, right after declaring his expulsion, Kalt had left the room—and they'd never crossed paths since.
They'd immediately posted the recruitment notice and taken a monster extermination request, leaving no window for Kalt to pull any tricks.
But to Mabel, none of that mattered.
If there was even a sliver of possibility, she wanted to grasp it.
And even if not, she refused to accept their situation so easily.
"Then what is it?! You don't know either, Ianna! Marti doesn't either! That leaves Kalt! We have no choice but to go find him!"
They knew Mabel was throwing a tantrum.
But the anxiety, unease, and despair of their problems relapsing made them empathize rather than scold her.
"...Yeah. It's probably nothing, but we have to check."
"I agree too. Though facing Kalt after kicking him out kindly... doesn't sit well."
The Mabel Party's course was set.