Inside the tavern, murmurs traveled like the wind. Whispers like "pathetic," "I pity him," and "I think he went too far" filled the once loud room.
"Hey, you good?" With that, the hero broke the silence, and I went next...
Crys—that's all it took to shut everyone down. The source? Me, of course! Who could blame me? I just got banished from the hero's party...
"I think it's best for you to stay here and leave the party."
My legs gave out. After all the work I'd done, I was replaced by some red-haired dragoness chick who had been trained specifically to help the hero.
After... after all the work... Being an errand boy despite my power... ARRANGING DATES FOR THE HERO AND OUR PARTY! After everything...
Hold on, maybe this isn't so bad... I can... I can retire. After six years of service in the military... six long years of battle... being a servant to the hero...
With that, tears poured from my eyes, almost as if I were casting a ten-tier oceanic mage craft.
What am I gonna do now?
Oh, I know—become a teacher? There's a magic school in the capital... But then it'd just be the same as being in the hero's party, only with less fighting.
"Hey, are you listening?"
Oh, what about that farm my family owns?
No, wait—I'm not cut out for hard labor. I'd probably collapse on day one.
"Um, sir hero, I think we lost him..."
Hmm... I have a few gold coins with me, but I don't think that'll be enough...
"Heal!!!"
Huh? Healing magic—
A heavy wooden staff flashed before my eyes before I woke up on the other side of the tavern.
"Weyvern! I was talking to you!" Eliora Sanctelle, the saintess tasked with aiding the heroes' journey to defeat the Eight Demon Kings.
"El, calm down." A little girl blocked the beast about to attack me... For a saintess, it wouldn't have been surprising to mistake her for a demon king.
"But what El said is kinda true, mister... Weyric!" Brenna Ironheart, another female party member we picked up to aid us... More specifically, he followed us and forced his way in.
Despite her looks, she's 25... Don't ask me, ask the dwarfs!
"Not even close," I replied to her cute attempt to remember my name. Despite her age, she acts as childish as she looks.
"Senior! I'm sorry for replacing you, I—" Serenya, the dragoness, tried to speak, only to be cut off by a handsome, slightly punchable perfect-faced man.
"Seren, it's not your fault. I'm the one to blame. I chose to fire him from the party."
Lioraen Altharyn—the chosen hero and my childhood friend.
"Weyvern, I know we've been together our whole lives..."
I let his hero farewell speech go to voicemail.
Hmm... I'll probably stay at a nearby inn tonight. It's not that shabby, but me and the hero's party are tight on money right now. You'd think being the hero, we'd get paid, but for a month now, we've fallen on hard times.
"And that's why I can't take you on our adventures. I'm sorry, Weyvern!" The hero's eyes started tearing up in front of me.
Hold on, you're making me look bad!
"Weyvern, I promise I'll protect Sir Lioraen... The truth is, I fell for him at first sight."
The hero, on the other hand, was too busy crying to hear her confession.
"I'm sorry for my neutron star friend," I bowed to a slightly gloomy Serenya.
"So here's a parting gift, my best friend." And then he handed me...
?!?!
A flash of light before my eyes—gold, gold for days. Ah, the light—it burns!
"I've been saving this up for you. It's enough to find a comparable place in our hometown. Thanks for everything, Weyvern."
Ahhh, another light attack, way brighter than the bag of gold. This guy is so perfect.
"Thank you for everything!" The hero waved goodbye as he rode his carriage with the three other women in the party.
"Hey, look at the road, idiot!"
"We'll miss you!"
"I'll protect my love!"
Ah, the hero was too busy with El to hear her confession.
Now...
What to do with my money? I said as I lay down in the luxurious bed of a five-marked inn.
What, you thought I'd stay in a shabby inn with this kind of money?
"This is the best!"
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