“In that case, isn’t it about time for you to hang up your boots?”
It was a condescending question. Alan was definitely looking down on Sol for having a talent that was practically useless in direct battle. Now that he and Mark had clearly stated their intentions to fire him, Alan had given up all the effort he had previously been making to mask his feelings. And yet, at the same time, there was a hint of compassion in his words and in Mark’s gaze, something that conveyed that they still cared enough about Sol enough to not want him dead. It wasn’t very pronounced, but he got the message. Then again, maybe it was just him wanting it to be there.
“I understand... That’s how you see things,” Sol murmured.
Their overconfidence in their own strength and feelings of superiority over Sol were, in large part, his own fault for not being forthright about Player. Sol was fully aware of that. And now that he knew a part of them still cared about him as a childhood friend, he couldn’t be angry. Instead, all he felt was resignation. There was even a little bit of laughter bubbling up. Not derisive laughter at the fact that they didn’t understand how Player worked, but relieved laughter, because Sol had realized that he, too, had reached the limit of what he could achieve with this party.
The others now considered Sol an unreliable member. What was more, Mark and Alan knew what reality was after accumulating experience over the past two years and were therefore beginning to seek success in ways they considered more realistic. Under the circumstances, if their weak friend started going on and on about his unrealistic childish dreams, it was natural for them to get irritated.
Mark and Alan were thinking that once Black Tiger became Rank A, they would get called to fights where Sol could hold the rest of the party back so much that it put all their lives at stake. This was why they were kicking him out. And as it happened, Sol was thinking the same thing about them, which was why he didn’t get mad. He knew that Black Tiger did not have what it took to help him realize his dream.
Fully divulging the effects of Player could perhaps clear up their current misunderstanding, but no matter how much experience they built up fighting together as a Rank A party, they could never become strong enough to challenge what they would find in the dungeons. They were all going to reach their limits sooner or later, and doing so inside a dungeon or a monster’s territory would mean the death of any or all of them.
Sol had really wanted to realize his dream with his friends, but he now understood that to continue involving them would be cruel, far more so than the way they were getting drunk on their power and looking down on him. The moment that Sol realized they still cared for him underneath their scorn, he had decided to come to terms with the fact that his dream of conquering all of the world’s dungeons with Black Tiger was simply impossible.
“Are you serious?”
Mark, who didn’t know what had just gone through Sol’s head, found his seemingly apathetic offhand comment extremely aggravating. He was actually a little worried about Sol, but that emotion was only a tiny undertone to all the contempt he felt toward someone he thought lacked the strength to keep up with them. The blend of love and hate was a prime trigger for extreme actions, especially when inflamed by alcohol.
Just as Mark was about to explode, however, Reen spoke up in an ice-cold voice. “Excuse me, leader and vice leader, I was not consulted at all about Sol’s firing. Was that just me?”
The fact that she addressed them with their titles rather than their names was a dead giveaway to Julia that she was absolutely furious. And angry Reen was a terrifying sight.
Julia quickly added, “Same here. They never asked me.”
“We didn’t see the need.” Alan, who wasn’t getting the memo, shrugged like this was no big deal. “You two are always picking up the slack for him, so we thought you understood even better how much of a burden he is.”
“What, you don’t agree?” Mark asked.
Normally, Reen came across as a quiet and well-mannered girl and always went with the leader and vice leader’s decisions. That was why they didn’t have the faintest clue how angry she was just then, unaware that they were practically pouring oil onto the fire. It was a herculean effort on Julia’s part to not look up in exasperation.
The girls had never discussed Sol’s abilities in depth because they had caught on to the fact that he was trying to hide them, but they had known quite early on. It was a complete surprise to Julia that the two guys had been oblivious this whole time.
Why are boys always so...
“Of course we don’t agree. In fact, we think you’re out of your mind. We...” Trying her hardest to stay calm, Reen instinctively tried to clear up the misunderstanding but then hesitated. No matter how much she had figured out, it wasn’t her place to share Sol’s secret.
However, Alan misinterpreted that hesitation and assumed that the rest of Reen’s protest would be along the lines of “but we’ve been friends forever” or “but friends stick up for each other.”
“Being an adventurer isn’t all roses and rainbows,” he said. “Sweet childhood promises aren’t enough to keep us going. You’re a tank. I thought you’d be the last person I needed to explain that to.”
“Sol can’t keep up with us anymore,” Mark added. “He can’t handle our fights. We have no choice but to leave him behind. Or do you want him to die, Reen?”
There was no way Reen hadn’t noticed something that even Julia had. She had probably known from the very start that the “talents” that had brought them so far were Sol’s handiwork. Of course, the two girls had been able to confirm what had started out as mere conjecture because their roles in the party allowed them to spend a lot of time in close proximity to Sol during fights. They had often personally seen him pulling off what they knew to be categorically impossible based on their understanding of the skills in their repertoire. In contrast, Mark and Alan had always been up front, absorbed in dealing damage in their own way, so maybe it made sense that they had never figured it out.
Even so, this is just...
Upon hearing Mark and Alan throwing not oil but gunpowder onto the fire, Julia finally could not help looking up in exasperation. This was the moment that she knew for sure it was Black Tiger’s last day.
“You—”
Just as Reen was about to explode like no one in the party had ever seen before, Sol raised a resigned hand and said, “Okay. I’m out of Black Tiger as of today.”
Now that things had gone so far, Sol realized he had no choice but to accept the decision. Party members had to entrust each other with their lives when fighting while in combat. The moment a crack appeared in that trust, they would never be able to fight to their fullest again. That tiny difference leading to death was part and parcel of being an adventurer, which was all the more true at Rank A.
“Then I’m out too,” Reen said promptly.
“If that’s the case, I’m sorry, but so am I,” Julia added.