All right. As soon as I reached that conclusion, I used my storage magic to conjure a staff that was as tall as me.
“Huh?! Hey, what just...?!”
“Anyway, here I go.”
I ignored Yui’s shock and cast buffs on all four of them, five spells in total. The maximum number of buffs I could cast on multiple people at once was six, but since that consumed a lot of MP, I had decided to hold back. I was sure I’d fail this exam anyway, so there was no point in wasting my MP.
There was something all this taught me too.
I sighed. “I’ve really got a long way to go.”
I really was still inexperienced. I had pretty much remained stagnant since joining the Hero’s Party. While I had kept up with my training, I hadn’t actually made any progress.
At this rate, I’d only be holding the others back no matter what party I joined. I really needed to train more...
As those thoughts flashed through my mind, Yui approached. “Um, Lloyd? Where’d you get that staff from? It looked like it just appeared out of thin air.” Her eyes were wide.
“I mean, I just used storage magic...” There wasn’t anything shocking about that, right? But anyway, I wanted them to just let me go free already. “So, how is it? I cast some buffs on you guys.”
“Huh? Already?! But you didn’t even recite an enchantment! My body does feel a bit lighter, though, now that you mention it.” Yui pondered for a moment as she moved around. She was probably trying to confirm she was actually enchanted with my buffs.
“Ah! Wait just a second!” With that, Yui drew the sword at her waist, then swung it at a nearby tree. She severed it cleanly in half. “Huh?! No way...”
Yup, that was all my buffs could do.
“I mean, this is...” she muttered while staring at her blade.
“I cast five buffs on all of you: strength up, magic up, MP consumption down, defense up, and status effect resistance up. I tried to use buffs of different types so you’d be able to distinguish them.”
I thought casting the same buffs multiple times would just make it harder to judge my skills, but...this was bad. I didn’t get the reaction I was expecting. My buff magic must have been so terrible compared to Crumb’s that they were speechless. Someone like me really wasn’t worthy of joining this party. I felt sorry for Yui, but it didn’t seem like there was any way I could help her.
“Well, you saw my skills. I won’t be this party’s white mage, Yui. I’m just not good enough. Sorry for getting your hopes up...”
I didn’t need to hear the results of this exam. I already knew what they would be, so I stored away my staff and turned back toward town.
“Ah! Wait a sec!” Yui firmly grabbed hold of my shoulder. She must have been really angry at me for disappointing her.
“I really do feel sorry, but I think this is partly on you for getting your hopes up without—”
“Hey, Lloyd? Wanna join our party?”
“Huhm?”
It took me a moment to grasp the meaning of her words.
Huh? I feel like she just invited me to join her party, but...
No, that was impossible. There was no way someone like me would be invited into an S-rank party.
That’s right. I must have been hearing things. I must have just been tired.
“Actually, it’d be great if you joined us permanently.”
I take that back. Apparently, I hadn’t been hearing things. But why? I had a hard time believing that the buff magic I had shown them was worthy of such treatment. I guess they were good with just any white mage. But in that case, it would be best for both Yui and me to turn down her offer.
“Yui, someone like me would only hold you guys back. Even if you want me to join, that doesn’t mean that’s what your other party members want too.”
“There’s no way you’d be holding us back with your skills! Anybody would agree if they witnessed what we just did!”
I glanced at Daggers and the others.
“Hey, could you cast those buffs on us again?” As they approached, Daggers requested that I cast my buffs again.
“I mean, I don’t mind, but...” I had no reason to refuse, so I conjured my staff and cast my spells once again. They were the same five as before: strength up, magic up, MP consumption down, defense up, and status effect resistance up. “I’m done.”
“Oh, thanks. Let’s see, then...” Daggers moved away and began to swing around his giant shield while jumping about. Nearby, Cross and Silica were firing test shots.
After a moment, they came back to where we stood. “So? Whaddya think?” asked Yui.
“You’re right. He should join us.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“I do too.”
All of them gave the same response; they were all in favor of me joining their party. Unlike Yui, who didn’t seem to think too deeply about things, I had been expecting the others to be against the idea.
“Hey... Lloyd, was it? What’s a white mage like you doing in a place like this?” asked Daggers, tilting his head curiously.
“Well, actually...” There wasn’t much point in hiding it, so I explained what had led me here. “Until this morning, I was a member of the Hero’s party.”
“Th-Th-The Hero’s Party?! You mean one of the parties led by a Hero?! There’s only four of them in the whole world!” Cross’s eyes shot open. I felt like he was kind of overreacting, but the Hero’s party was famous, and being a member was an honor. Even if you wanted to join, doing so wasn’t easy. Allen hadn’t been as famous as the other Heroes when I had joined, and there just happened to not be any great supporters among the other applicants. But given Allen’s feats now, I could understand that reaction.
But that was all in the past. I was no longer a member of the Hero’s party, but a white mage out of a job and practically homeless—not to mention broke.
“I was kicked out of the party this morning for being too weak...”
“Wait a second. That was too weak? Seriously?” said Cross.
“I’ve never met a white mage as skilled as you before, Lloyd,” muttered Silica.
“I’m pretty sure there are plenty of white mages who are way more skilled than I am.” My support magic wasn’t even as good as Master Merlin’s, and her class focused on offensive magic. If even someone like her was better than me, then there had to be plenty of white mages whose support magic was better than mine all across the continent. “And you already have a white mage, right? Maybe you need me just this one time, but there’s no reason to accept me as an official member.” There was no need for multiple supporters to be in one party, though there might be need for a separate healer. “One supporter should be enough.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but...” Yui’s expression fell. What was it? Had I said something wrong? After another look, I realized that Daggers and the others were wearing similar expressions.
“Did I say something wrong? If that’s the case, I’m s—”
Yui shook her head. “Nope. You’re right. There’s no need for more than one supporter in a single party, but... Well, you see...”
What Yui told me was this: Apparently, they invited me to join their party so that their current white mage, Crumb, could leave. She had always been a bit easily fatigued and sickly, but now those spells were frequent, so Yui and the others wanted her to be able to focus on caring for her little sister. However, Crumb knew that leaving could cause some trouble for the others, so she had no intention of doing so. Thus, they had been searching for a white mage who could take her place so she could leave the party without any lingering regrets, which was when they met me.
“I see. So that’s it.”
“Yup. I’m really sorry for dragging you into all this.” Yui bowed her head. Apparently, my fears that they had been searching for just any white mage had been unfounded. But still...
“This is a tough one.” If possible, I wanted to help them. And eventually—sooner rather than later actually, given my funds—I’d have to find new work anyway. I couldn’t just wander around looking for the perfect job forever. My time was limited, and given that, it was probably best to go where I was needed, no matter the reason. However...
“If you’re okay with me, I’d love to join your party, but...” I muttered. I had some doubts. In fact, that’s all I had. Were they really okay with me? No matter how I spun it, I couldn’t think the answer to that was yes.
“Huh?! Really?! For real?!” Yui, on the other hand, looked overjoyed.
“If you’re fine with having me, that is.”
“Woo-hoo! I can’t believe someone as great as Lloyd is gonna join our party!” She grasped my hands. “I look forward to working with you, Lloyd!”
“Yeah, me too.”
Thus, I was going to join Yui’s party and accompany them on their quest. For now, I still wasn’t an official member, and I had resolved to first see how we worked with each other in combat during this quest before making that decision.
“Anyway, the sun is already setting, so I think it’s about time we head home. We need to give Lloyd a proper welcome, after all,” said Silica.
“No, you don’t need to—”
Yui glared at me. “Don’t say that, Lloyd! Of course we need to throw you a welcome party!”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah, and we’ve gotta hold our strategy meeting too! Anyway, a welcome party is totally necessary, got that?!”
“R-Right.”
In just a short amount of time, I had already learned that Yui wasn’t the type who really listened to others. I got the feeling she wasn’t going to take no for an answer...and I was practically certain of it.
Having realized I lacked the right to refuse, I gave up on turning down their offer and followed after them toward our destination.