“Sieg. Consider today your last day in the party. You’re out.”
We had just completed a mission that nobody else in the guild ever had before, without a single scratch on us to boot, and were in the middle of celebrating a job well done at the pub. We were the Crimson Fangs, a party that had made quite the name for itself, and our leader, Nacht, was the one who had just broken the news to me.
“May I ask why...?”
“Our party, the Crimson Fangs, specializes in firepower. There’s not a monster in this world that can stand up to my swordsmanship, Haruna’s magic, and Irene’s archery skills. Our party has the highest attack power in the city, hands down. Except for you, Sieg.”
He snorted, an unabashed, derisive sneer appearing on his face.
“You’re supposed to be a swordsman, right? Then what’s with your lack of firepower? While all the rest of us are fighting, you’re just standing there like an idiot. That just makes you a sitting duck for the monsters. Then, when the attacks start coming, you barely even fight back. And you call yourself a Crimson Fang? We don’t need some limp dick in our party who’s all defense and no attack.”
As he declared this, Nacht brushed back his black hair.
Apparently, he had some long-standing issues with me, and they were all bursting out under the influence of alcohol. He went on to glare at the other companions seated at our table, raising his voice.
“Hey! You two need to give him a piece of your mind too!”
“Huh?”
“You’re fed up with Sieg being incompetent too, aren’t you? Then you might as well tell him right here in person, yeah? Tell him. Now!”
Our companions shrank back under the pressure of his hawklike stare. However, after a while, Haruna, our mage, finally seemed to give into his goading and spoke up. “Yeah. Sieg’s got a big frame, but it feels kind of like it’s just for show. I do think he should put some more effort into attacking.”
“She’s right. You’re nothing but a mannequin out there,” Nacht said, nodding in satisfaction. Shifting his gaze to Irene, our archer, he commanded, “All right. Your turn to tell him off, Irene.”
“Hm, yeah, I guess I agree too. There’s no real point in having all that strength if you don’t use it, after all. I kind of wish he’d do some actual fighting, maybe.”
“Ha ha ha! Sieg fights so little, you’d think someone chopped his nuts off! He just stands in one spot and stares off into space!”
As Nacht laughed pompously, I calmly rebutted, “I do more than just stand there staring off into space, and I still have my nuts, thank you. I’m just performing my designated role in the party.”
“Oh, come on, you just let yourself get whaled on by monsters. I don’t call that a role. Even a scarecrow can do that, can’t they?” Nacht’s expression as he told me off was one of pure glee, as if he were getting drunk off his own verbal abuse.
Haruna and Irene remained huddled in their seats awkwardly, but after a glare from Nacht, they began laughing weakly in acquiescence.
It wasn’t like this in the beginning.
Back when we had first formed our party, our shortcomings had complemented each other, and we had functioned well as a team. Unfortunately, as our group gained fame through the completion of numerous missions, Nacht had started getting the wrong idea about things. Fueled by public perception that the Crimson Fangs were a party that excelled in firepower, he had started to focus solely on our attack power. Even worse, his personality had morphed completely, into the kind of guy who looked down on others and degraded them.
“Sieg, there’s no room in the Crimson Fangs for a stationary scarecrow. You’re not a good fit for us anymore.”
It wouldn’t have mattered what I said at that point; they probably wouldn’t have even listened. Once you were labeled as useless, it was no easy task to turn that perception around. In this moment, they were only going to see what they wanted to see.
“All right. Well, thanks for everything.”
I gave in and accepted my unceremonious proclamation of dismissal.
“Bye, now. Man, it sure is gonna feel nice to have one less person to pay for at the inn from now on.”
“Right...”
I left the pub, back turned to my party members as they tossed their farewells at me in a way that made it nearly impossible to believe we had actually been together for a decent amount of time.
With the moon in the night sky watching over me, I walked my way over to the Adventurers’ Guild. When you left a party, there were procedures you had to follow.
Upon arriving, I headed over to the receptionist. “Great job today, Sieg,” she said. “May I ask why you’re here all by yourself?”
“Well... I got let go from the party. So I’m here to take care of that.”
“What?! L-Let go?! You?!” The receptionist’s eyes flew open so wide that it looked like they might fall out of her head. “What are your party members thinking?! You’re the backbone of the party, Sieg. How could they kick you out?”
“Backbone...? I’m not really that important.”
“But you’re the one who draws all the aggro from the monsters and protects your party from being attacked, aren’t you? It’s all because of you taking the initiative to be the monsters’ target that the others have been able to concentrate on attacking at all.”
“You’re about the only one nice enough to put it that way.”
“The only reason they’ve been able to swing those swords is because they had you for a shield, Sieg. The townspeople and your companions have got it all wrong about that.”
Everyone else around us merely heaped praise upon the Crimson Fangs’ attack power, while she had noticed me hiding in the shadow of it all. She was the only one. I was grateful for that.
“So what will you do now? You should join up with another party and show the Crimson Fangs what for!”
“Nah. I doubt any parties would want to pick me up after I was cast off like that. They’d probably be too afraid of getting pressured by Nacht to want anything to do with me.”
“Does that mean...”
“Yeah. I plan on quitting the Guild as of today.”
“Oh no... That’s a shame!”
“I had already been thinking about getting out of the business for a while, anyway. It’s not a very stable line of work. This just gave me a good excuse.”
“I see...” The receptionist seemed to accept that, albeit reluctantly. “Have you already decided what you’re going to do next?”
“No idea, at this point. For starters, I think I’d like to find something with an employment contract. To get some more stability.”
I’d been a wandering plant for so long, it was about time for me to root myself somewhere.
“In that case, may I give you a suggestion?”
“Huh?”
“There’s a job posting that would be perfect for you, Sieg. It’s a career that has monthly paychecks and stable employment.”
“A dream job like that?! What is it...?”
“It’s a job as a gatekeeper.”
The receptionist held up a proud finger as she told me this.
“Gatekeeper...”
“Apparently they’re short-staffed right now, and looking for skilled individuals. With a letter of introduction, I think they would hire you on the spot!”
“Really? Sign me up, then!”
“Great, I’ll go ahead and make the arrangements!”
“By the way, which gate is this job for, anyway?”
“Gatekeeper for the Royal Capital of Astaroth.”
“Oh...”
The receptionist gave me an awkward smile.
Of course.
It suddenly all made sense.
A gatekeeper for that notorious city, huh...
No wonder they needed all the help they could get.