Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Cause of the Lazy Party (1)
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The Indomitable Hero Nellis Party, back from their request, had dinner at the inn.
It should have been a cheerful dinner filled with chatter about the day's events.
But thanks to Kalt's arrival, it turned into a dinner of shame for Nellis.
Finally, the companion she'd been waiting for had appeared.
She'd wanted their first meeting to be impressive.
After all, she was a Hero.
You always wanted to show off a little for a new party member at the first meeting.
But she'd ruined it.
All because of this navel clock.
And what made Nellis even more embarrassed was that the new hopeful was a handsome guy.
'Why did my stomach have to growl right then! Ugh, so embarrassing!'
As a Hero, she wanted to make a good impression, but as a woman, it was just as mortifying.
After the meal.
Nellis gazed at Kalt, thinking this was their true first meeting.
"You're Kalt, right? Nice to meet you. I'm the Indomitable Hero Nellis. The two next to me are the mage Scarlet and the nun Aria."
"Hello, Kalt."
"Hi."
Aria bowed politely with a smile at Nellis's introduction, while Scarlet gave a casual greeting.
"Hello, Nellis, Scarlet, Aria. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Kalt."
As he greeted them, Kalt quickly scanned the Nellis Party.
The Indomitable Hero Nellis had black bobbed hair with blue tones on the inner side.
She had lively round eyes with deep blue irises.
The mage Scarlet had blonde twintails.
She had sharp eyes with fiery red irises.
The nun Aria had long silver hair tied in a ponytail cascading down.
She had gentle eyes with light purple irises.
'Looks-wise, all three pass.'
With greetings done, Nellis jumped straight to the basics.
"Why do you want to join our party, Kalt?"
"I was looking for a party myself. Plus, I fit the conditions you're after."
Kalt lightly drew the sword at his waist.
"As you can see, I can handle the vanguard role. I can do some scouting too. My specialties are cooking and mental counseling."
"Cooking?"
"Mental counseling?"
The Nellis Party felt a sense of unfamiliarity at Kalt's introduction.
To them, cooking meant eating at restaurants or inns.
Meals during requests were just chewing on jerky or hard bread.
The idea of cooking their own meals never crossed their minds.
And even when he listed mental counseling as a specialty, they couldn't quite grasp it.
'If you don't know, just ask.'
"Wow, you can cook! But do we need that? Ah! I don't mean we don't need it! Requests are better finished quickly, right? A meal or two, we can just chew jerky. We can eat properly when we get back."
Solid response.
Kalt mentally marked a check next to her on his scorecard for her reaction.
Not outright rejecting cooking as unnecessary, but gauging the situation first—that earned points.
Few adventurers or Hero parties actually cooked like Kalt, and Nellis's view was the mainstream among them.
"Of course, you're right. But not all requests end in a day, right? Monster subjugations far away that take days to reach, or overnighting in dungeons for long hauls—if you're always eating just jerky or bread, it gets boring, nutrition's limited, and you can't perform at full strength."
It had been the same when camping in the dungeon to level up with the Mabel Party.
The party's performance differed starkly between days of just jerky and bread versus Kalt's home-cooked meals.
"Of course, I won't force cooking every time. I'm just saying I can do it."
The Nellis Party nodded at Kalt's gentle explanation.
"So what do you mean by being able to do mental counseling?"
Aria, the party's nun, asked about Kalt's remaining specialty.
"It's not as grand as it sounds—it's just listening to worries. Hear them out, offer advice or counsel, stabilize their mental state, and resolve psychological issues."
"Oh, like a priest hearing confessions?"
"Something like that."
'Time to dangle the bait?'
"Even Heroes or adventurers are just people in the end. Everyone has worries, and sometimes those cause problems that make you rack your brain. I've done mental counseling for party members to fix psychological issues. For example..."
Kalt added more explanation while closely observing the Nellis Party.
"Your body won't listen when facing monsters."
"...!"
One.
"Mental strain keeps you from casting magic properly."
"...!"
Two.
"Issues arise when channeling divine power."
"...!"
Three.
"I've resolved stuff like that."
"Really? You've actually fixed problems like that?"
"Yes."
The ungrateful trio who'd benefited most were probably relapsing by now.
"By observing the root of their worries and taking appropriate measures. Ah, if any of you have worries, feel free to tell me. Worries vary wildly person to person, but I'll do my best to help."
"Ahaha, haha, thanks for the offer~."
Awkward laugh from Nellis.
Skeptical glance from Scarlet.
Aria fidgeting and sneaking peeks.
Seeing their reactions, Kalt was convinced.
The Nellis Party had mental issues, just like the Mabel Party once did.
They were the party that needed Kalt most and perfectly matched what he wanted.
He could also tell they were seriously struggling with their psychological problems.
Otherwise, they wouldn't react so obviously.
Still, they wouldn't spill their issues to Kalt right away.
Exposing your flaws was delicate and uncomfortable.
Kalt could force it out with his power, but he saw no need.
From their reactions, it wouldn't take long anyway.
Once in the same party, he'd know their problems immediately.
"Nellis, will you take me into your party?"
"Ah! I-Into the party? What do Scarlet and Aria think? Should we let Kalt join us?"
Nellis wanted to recruit Kalt on the spot.
Just in case, extra manpower for her issues, and faint hope his counseling might solve her worries.
"I'm fine with it. More vanguards mean more party stability."
The nun Aria approved Kalt's recruitment with a gentle smile.
Kalt, Nellis, and Aria's eyes turned to Scarlet, who hadn't spoken.
Scarlet rested her chin on her hand and spoke.
"Taking him right away is too hasty. We need to check his skills first... see if he meshes with us."
No matter how much they needed a vanguard, they couldn't confirm if Kalt's words were true.
Setting aside whether his cooking and counseling specialties were real.
They had to verify if he could properly fill the vanguard role they needed.
Scarlet's attitude actually appealed to Kalt.
'Good, she thinks things through.'
He didn't want a party full of idiots blindly following the mood.
"Scarlet, you're right. Accepting just on words is rash. How about this: we do a request together tomorrow. Ah, if you're tired and need rest tomorrow, the day after works too."
"I'm not tired at all! A night's sleep and I'm good as new!"
"I'm okay too."
"...Tomorrow's fine."
Unanimous decision: Kalt and the Nellis Party would tackle a request together tomorrow.
"Hey, you idiot."
Smack!
"Ow! Why'd you hit me!"
After setting the schedule with Kalt, the Nellis Party headed up to the second floor where their rooms were.
As Nellis was about to enter her room, Scarlet dragged Aria inside with her and smacked Nellis's forearm with her palm.
"Even so, you can't just accept anyone who bows! He might look down on us."
Nellis rubbed her smacked arm.
"Look down on us? What're you talking about? Kalt seemed nice."
"Hey, you gotta be most careful with people who smile like that. Who knows what schemes they have."
"That again? Scarlet suspects everyone."
"Scarlet, aren't you being too guarded?"
"Hmph!"
Scarlet crossed her arms, refusing to budge.
"How few trustworthy people are there in this world? You can't even fully trust parents or siblings."
"Sigh, there she goes again..."
"Scarlet, you need to trust people more. You trust us, right?"
"You two... because you're comrades. We've suffered together, so I trust you!"
Nellis and Aria looked warmly at Scarlet as she turned her head away.
"Anyway, tomorrow we'll check Kalt's skills. He might be insanely skilled. And who knows... maybe he can even solve our issues."
"If he were that amazing, he wouldn't join our party. You know our reputation sucks. Lazy party with no ambition. Haa, who wants to be stuck like this? Plus, from what he said, he had a party but's alone now. Doesn't that guy have issues too?"
"Scarlet, don't jump to conclusions. Leaving a party isn't always for bad reasons, right? Let's watch tomorrow first."
"Yeah, I'll watch him closely."
'If he's toying with us, I won't let him get away with it!'