“Huff…..the biggest problem might not even be these things, but rather….”
After hearing Sylvia’s words, Layla hesitated, glancing at Alice, whose expression was already looking a bit off.
But after a moment, she could only sigh and continue speaking: “Didn’t anyone notice? We were a complete mess today, all fighting on our own.”
“Whether it was the Ancient Behemoth Augujadel, or the small monsters at the start of the dungeon, the only reason we managed at all was because of individual strength. There wasn’t a shred of teamwork…”
“I think, mainly, it’s because before, we always had Keti directing everyone, telling us exactly what to do and what not to do. We just had to follow his instructions and fight.”
“Back then, I thought we could beat those Bosses mainly because we were strong, but looking at today…If we don’t have someone to pull us together, the risks are actually huge…..”
As soon as Layla finished speaking, the dining table was plunged into a deathly silence.
Sylvia said nothing, just nodded in agreement with Layla’s words.
But….
On the other side, Alice wasn’t taking it so lightly.
Her face darkened, she lowered her head, and her lips began to tremble ever so slightly…
Layla and Sylvia’s analysis was like a thorn, stabbing deep into Alice’s heart, making her remember all the times their team went adventuring before, and the role Keti played in their party every day…..
She desperately wanted to deny it all, to deny what Layla and Sylvia had concluded about Keti’s importance…..
How could it be?
How could that idiot be so important to them?
If it was just emotionally important, that would be one thing, but now, even in battle, could it be that they can’t do without Keti either?
Alice didn’t want to admit any of it, but…as she followed Layla and Sylvia’s analysis and recalled her own performance today, she suddenly realized that everything seemed to make sense…..
Indeed, today, her agility had dropped a lot.
Before, with Keti’s Potions, she’d always been confident in dodging Boss attacks, but today, the biggest problem was that when she confidently tried to solo the Boss from the start, her stamina ran out quickly, and she was soon unable to dodge the Ancient Behemoth Augujadel’s attacks…
In fact, from the very beginning, when she rushed in and tried to solo the Ancient Behemoth Augujadel, that was a glaring mistake…..
If that idiot was still here, he definitely would’ve stopped her and told her to be patient and take it slow.
But the more she thought about it, the worse she felt inside.
Especially when she thought about tonight, when even though she was injured, there was no one to take care of her.
The sourness in Alice’s nose kept rising, and tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.
Why, why did it turn out like this?
Could it be…could it be, sob…….
Alice started to sniffle quietly.
Could it be that she…..
Really can’t do without Keti?
For a while, at the silent dining table, watching Alice’s tears fall like little pearls, and Sylvia bowing her head in silence, Layla started to regret it too.
Maybe, she shouldn’t have brought this topic up at all…
No matter how they analyzed it, the problem seemed to come down to Keti leaving.
What else was there to discuss?
The best solution was just to bring Keti back, wasn’t it?
But now, after all that analysis, everyone just felt more and more down…
Even Layla herself was getting depressed.
***
After a while, she let out a sigh, a bitterness welling up inside her.
Even Miss Nun had to admit, back when they let Keti leave the team, she’d thought that Keti’s departure, at least in terms of combat power, wouldn’t have much effect on them.
But now, after Keti left, the purple-haired jellyfish-head big sister finally started to realize just how important this support really was…..
And so, Layla’s regret only deepened….
If, back then, when Alice first suggested kicking Keti out, she’d realized all this sooner, dropped her little schemes, and firmly opposed the plan, how much better things would be….
If that had happened, things wouldn’t be like this today.
At the very least, Keti would still be in the team, still their greatest support, and not suddenly missing with no way to find him…
It’s all…all my fault….
Why, why couldn’t I have just comforted Keti a little back then, maybe persuaded him to just take a break for a while?
But, but……
Thinking this, Layla couldn’t help but sigh in regret, her nose tingling with sourness….
After a moment, she took a deep breath, then spoke softly: “How about…tomorrow, I go look for Keti. Don’t worry about it, you two just focus on recovering……”
“No….no need!”
Faced with Layla’s suggestion, Alice suddenly looked up, her eyes brimming with tears.
Then…unwillingly biting her lip, she stammered: “No…it’s not that bad! Just because we lost once, we’re going to go running after him? Wouldn’t that make it seem like we can’t do without him?”
“Sob…Besides, I don’t think it’s that serious! The things you’re talking about, can’t…can’t someone else do them? In the end, it’s just because we were short one person today, right?”
“We can just recruit a new teammate!……It’s not like we can’t find one! There are so many Adventurers in the Imperial Capital, surely we can find an Alchemist stronger than Keti, right?”
The twin-tailed blonde girl stubbornly blurted it all out…
After a moment, she realized she might have gotten a bit too worked up, so after a while, she pouted and muttered to herself as if to justify:
“I mean, the Imperial Capital is so big. If he’s deliberately hiding from us, it’s just too hard to find one person. We might as well…just wait for him to come back on his own.”
“Besides, we’re short-handed right now, so if we recruit a temporary teammate, at least we can keep the Ancient Behemoth Augujadel’s spoils.”
***
To spare Alice from embarrassment, Layla could only nod in agreement.
“But, I…still want to try looking for Keti first. We can talk about recruiting someone else in a couple of days.”
“Maybe he’s not that hard to find anyway—he doesn’t have many connections, so where could he even hide?”
Alice didn’t say anything more, just bowed her head in silence, clenching her fists.
Whether they found Keti or not, it didn’t matter, no…it was fine.
Everything, everything was just because…their party was missing someone to support them, that’s all.
It’s not like…she can’t do without Keti….
Alice quietly closed her eyes.
At least, at this moment, the only thing that could bring the girl a bit of comfort was that Keti, that guy, didn’t take much money with him, so…he was probably just as miserable as she was right now?
“Uu…meow~ aaah…meow~”
A moment later, as Alice came back to her senses, she vaguely heard some…breathy, panting noises.
She blinked in confusion.
Huh?
Why does this little female cat’s cry sound a bit strange?
Is it mating season or something?