Chapter 1: I quit the team!

Beneath the gently swaying hillside, the lush green spikegrass danced in the breeze.

Not far away, on the outskirts of the Capital of the Lider Empire, the stronghold of countless Adventurers lit up the distant night with a sea of lanterns.  

It had already been a full month since the appearance of the otherworldly Dungeon known as the Country of Giant Beasts.

Drawn by the bountiful treasures hidden within, countless Adventurer teams flocked to challenge it, launching one raid after another.  

However, faced with the troublesome mobs and the mighty boss, the Ancient Behemoth Augujadel, most Adventurer parties could only return in frustration.  

“Heh, that’s only natural. If you ask me, among all these challengers, the only team that truly stands a chance at defeating Augujadel is that one…The Hero Party, made up of the girl who can wield the Holy Sword,”

“Alice, the once-in-a-century genius priestess Layla, and the elf mage Miss Sylvia who’s lived for who-knows-how-many thousands of years…Uh…and, well, there’s one more whose name I don’t know—just some extra, really. Only that Hero Party could pull it off!”   

Carrying the materials he’d just bought, the silver-haired boy Keti walked through the bustling city market.

Hearing the uncles at the roadside boast and gossip about his own party, he couldn’t help but show a slightly helpless expression.  

That “some extra whose name I don’t know” in their conversation…  

Seemed to be talking about himself!  

After all, the Hero Party only had four members.

The other three had all been named, so apart from him, there was no one else.

As the Support who had recently gained fame with the party, was his presence really this faint?  

Myself.  

Sigh.  

Thinking this, Keti lowered his head and walked back, dejected, toward the Hero Party’s stronghold…  

For some reason, a wave of inexplicable tension and unease welled up inside him.

***

After a long while, Keti finally took a deep breath, comforting himself in his heart.  

Tomorrow was the crucial day for the assault on Augujadel—he couldn’t let this little thing shake his resolve now.  

Giving himself a pep talk, Keti forced a positive expression.

Yet when he pushed open the door to the strategy meeting room, the scene inside made him tense up all over again…  

The three girls, who usually loved to mess around and laugh in the meeting room, were now all sitting upright and serious in the center, their faces dark.

As Keti entered, all three looked up at him in unison, their gazes and expressions complicated, staring intently at him.  

The silver-haired boy immediately sensed that something was off, a chill running down his spine.

He set the materials down on the floor and, a little awkward, spoke up:  

“Um…What’s going on, everyone? Weren’t we supposed to discuss tomorrow’s strategy against the Ancient Behemoth?”  

Another strange silence.

The three girls seemed to find it hard to speak.

After a long pause, the girl seated in the middle finally stood up.  

That was Keti’s childhood friend, the petite and adorable twin-tailed golden-haired girl, Alice, who carried the bloodline of the Hero.  

“Keti, you know what? Those guys who challenged us a few days ago—they’ve already made it to the cave before Augujadel today”

“Hmph, they used to be way behind us, but now they’re about to catch up! And us? We’ve just been waiting for you to get this and that ready! Is it really that troublesome?”  

Faced with her angry outburst, Keti was left a bit stunned.

But as her childhood friend, he was used to Alice’s temper.

This beautiful girl was always like this: impatient, proud, and quick to anger.

Out of habit, he hurried to comfort her: “It’s, it’s okay, Alice, I get that you’re worried about someone else getting the first kill on the Boss. But you can’t rush things in a Dungeon.”

The later teams always go faster after gathering intel, but we’re the ones who have to take down the Boss first.

We have to be fully prepared, right?

Trust me, with these materials, I’ll stay up all night making items.

Tomorrow, we’ll definitely defeat Augujadel!!  

“Keti…..”  

Before the boy could finish, Alice pouted, impatience clear on her face.

She frowned and continued:

“Have you really reflected at all? Why…do you have no sense of responsibility? If someone else really gets the first kill on Augujadel, then all our efforts will be wasted! You’ve always been the one dragging us down—how can you talk about it so lightly!”   

Looking at his childhood friend’s face full of disdain, Keti felt his heart skip a beat.

After a moment, breathing quickened, embarrassment spread across his face…  

Everyone has a temper.

Faced with these sudden accusations, with Alice clearly dumping all the blame on him, Keti wanted to argue back.  

For as long as he could remember, he really had been, as she said, the most inconspicuous member of the party.  

Compared to his three companions, each born with extraordinary talent and overwhelming strength, Keti’s weak magical aptitude meant he was no help in actual combat.

Instead, it was the three girls who always had to protect him, the only male.  

All he could do was ensure their daily needs, craft items to counter the Boss and support his teammates, and collect all sorts of information and intel…  

But even so, Keti felt he’d already tried his hardest.

He knew all too well the gap in talent between himself and his companions, and always carried feelings of inferiority and guilt.

So, for the sake of the party, he’d worked desperately every day, experimenting with all kinds of item crafting, spending hours in the library learning about monsters and Dungeons, and even making sure the girls’ food, clothing, and shelter were taken care of as best as possible.  

As for the three girls, aside from fighting, they hardly had to worry about anything for the party.  

But, even so…  

This was still a world where magic decided everything.  

Keti had realized long ago, or rather, he’d always vaguely understood, even foreseen that this day would come.

He’d just been lying to himself, thinking that the bond between him and the girls made them true companions…  

“Haa…It’s always like this, you just make trouble for me! Keti, sigh…Forget it, I’ve decided—I’m going to temporarily expel you from the party. Once you—….”  

After a long breath, Alice seemed to make up her mind.

But halfway through her sentence, Keti suddenly interrupted her.  

“No need, Alice. I…quit the party!”