‘What do you mean Eileen is a thing of the past?’
Helga bit her lip lightly, a strange fire rising in her chest.
Her breathing quickened slightly, but she forcibly suppressed the irritation bubbling inside her.
They were about to embark on an S-rank mission.
If they got into a fight over this now, it might affect their teamwork down the line.
She wasn’t someone who would lose sight of the bigger picture.
And yet—
Selene nodded, fully agreeing.
“Exactly. Sure, Eileen joined the party back when we first started, but even without her, we’re perfectly capable of operating normally. We made it to S-rank on our own strength. What did she ever bring to the table?”
“She spent two and a half years with us and didn’t gain a single level. Good riddance. Now the reward gets split four ways instead of five.”
“One less mouth to feed—that’s a win in my book.”
Helga glared at Selene.
Several times, she opened her mouth as if to speak, but she forced herself to swallow the words.
Don’t get mad at them.
Don’t get mad.
They’re just lashing out.
Selene needs Eileen more than anyone!
She repeated the thought to herself over and over, barely managing to calm her anger through self-hypnosis.
Helga hopped off the carriage—only to land awkwardly and nearly trip face-first.
Fortunately, Selene reacted quickly and caught her before her face kissed the dirt.
“It’s pitch black out here. You’re a mage—how about lighting a damn lamp before jumping off?”
Selene muttered under her breath.
Helga blushed and replied, “This is the forest perimeter where the monsters gather. If we light a lamp carelessly, we might attract monsters outside the target range.”
The carriage had already come to a stop.
Driving it was a middle-aged man who worked for the Adventurers’ Guild, with a gentle and kind expression.
He bowed politely to the four women.
“My apologies, esteemed S-ranked adventurers. This is as far as I can take you. If I go any farther, the sound of the cart might alert the monsters.”
“I’ll be waiting here for your victorious return. Good luck to all of you.”
Selene gave him a nod, hoisting her beloved greatsword and leading the way into the forest.
“Don’t worry about our safety.”
Rejelif followed close behind.
She glanced back at the driver and asked,
“You sure you’ll be alright waiting here alone?”
The man smiled and shook his head.
“I’ll be fine. The forest’s edge is only home to goblins, slimes, and wild boars—weak little critters. Don’t be fooled by how I look—I used to be a B-rank adventurer back in the day.”
Helga breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then we’ll leave it to you.”
Lothswether didn’t say anything, but she quietly cast a divine protection spell on the middle-aged coachman.
It would reduce the damage he might take for a while and increase his movement speed—a simple but kind gesture.
The coachman bowed gratefully, then suddenly seemed to recall something.
“Oh right—one more thing. Your mission is to eliminate all threats. Don’t leave a single one alive.”
Up ahead, Selene simply waved back without turning around, a silent “Yeah, yeah, got it.”
Seriously? Like we need that reminder.
They were a team of S-ranked elites.
Their enemies?
A bunch of C-rank orcs and trolls.
The only real threat was a single S-class beast.
Did he think they’d mess this up?
The forest at night was eerily silent.
To avoid alerting unnecessary monsters, Helga refrained from casting her usual magical light.
The group advanced through the dark, guided only by moonlight filtering weakly through the dense canopy.
Suddenly, a low yelp came from the rear of the group.
Selene’s face darkened.
“What happened?”
Lothswether’s soft voice answered cautiously,
“A wild boar just bumped into me.”
Selene shot her a glance, annoyed.
“You’re seriously panicking over that? With the level difference, even if it headbutted you full speed, it wouldn’t even cause flinch, let alone damage.”
“But…” Lothswether hesitated. “It fainted after bumping into me.”
Rejelif couldn’t help but laugh.
“What, Lothswether, were you seriously thinking of tossing a Holy Light at the poor thing?”
Helga glanced at the would-be saint’s genuinely troubled face and sighed inwardly.
Gods, she really was going to do it…
A Holy Light spell in this kind of dark, monster-dense environment would be the equivalent of waving a beacon around that said, “Fresh meat here!”
Every monster for miles would come running.
Sure, they weren’t afraid of random monsters—Helga could probably nuke them all with a single Meteor of Destruction—but that would defeat the entire point of a stealth assault.
Not to mention, Eileen once said that reckless monster-killing out in the wild could mess up the ecosystem.
Helga didn’t fully understand what that meant, but Eileen had explained it in a way that made it sound very serious.
“I just thought…” Lothswether murmured, “It looked kind of pitiful.”
Selene snapped, “Absolutely not!”
Lothswether shrank into herself again, lips pursed and eyes full of guilt—returning to her usual withdrawn, quiet self.
Helga watched the whole exchange and couldn’t help but shake her head.
Why does it feel like without Eileen here, everything’s a little bit… off?
Lothswether had no opinion of her own.
She was like a docile doll—obedient and soft-spoken.
Selene, on the other hand, was far too opinionated.
Her personality was as fiery as her crimson twin tails—impulsive, hot-headed, and domineering.
Then there was Rejelif, the team’s oldest member and their holy knight.
She was always calm, always composed… too composed, in fact.
Her decisions were ruthlessly logical, prioritizing the group’s benefit over all else.
It wasn’t that Helga thought she was wrong, but—she just didn’t like how heartless that approach felt.
Helga was different.
She was more emotional.
She didn’t care about team reputation or fame—those things were meaningless to her.
What she cared about… was her teammates.
Even now, as she walked through the silent forest with her staff in hand, she found herself wondering
If Eileen were here, what would she have done?
What would she say?
Lost in thought, she accidentally bumped into Selene’s back.
Just as she was about to ask “What’s wrong?”, Selene lifted a hand and pointed ahead.
Helga followed her gaze.
Under the faint glow of a torchlight, the dark mouth of a massive cave came into view.
Several orc-like humanoids stood guard at the entrance, upright and alert like trained sentries.
Selene’s voice rang out coolly:
“These half-orcs sure like to play soldier.”
Helga nodded.
“Orcs, goblins, trolls… these demi-humanoid monsters are intelligent. They pick up human battle tactics easily. Wait a moment, Selene, let me probe with a spell first—check for ambushes or magic traps…”
But before she could finish the sentence, Selene—and Rejelif—were already charging in.
A crimson blur flashed forward.
One of the half-orcs didn’t even get the chance to scream before Selene’s blade cleaved him in two.
Blood and viscera splattered across the cave entrance.
The other orcs only had a split second to react.
One of them roared, trying to raise the alarm—
Crack!
Rejelif’s tower shield slammed into him with brutal force, reducing his head to pulp.
Flipping her deep blue hair over her shoulder, Rejelif said coldly,
“What’s the point of probing? They’re just C-rank mobs. Let’s wipe them and move on. No need to waste time being cautious.”
Helga stood there for a moment, stunned.
Is this… really fine?
If Eileen were here—would she have done it this way?
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Tftc!
I’m glad a character like Helga exists in this story. Was reading another story of a very similar premise, and ended up slamming my head on the table every other chapter from how *nobody* still held well wishes toward the mc.