How To Leave The Hero Party- Chapter 5

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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People with low self-esteem often struggle to experience happiness.

They tend to have a negative view of themselves, frequently engaging in self-loathing and negative self-talk.

“…I- I am the… the bloodline of the… g- great Queen, yet I… I can’t do anything…”

Like this, for example.

Having calmed down somewhat, the young girl sat on a chair, nervously glancing at me. She hadn’t even touched the tea the Head Maid had poured, her head bowed low.

The maids seemed accustomed to seeing Princess Lucille, who should have held the highest position in this room, in such a state, and didn’t react much.

However, they were all worried about her, and wary of me spreading rumors about her current condition.

Of course, I had no intention of gossiping.

Unless there was an achievement like “The King Has Donkey Ears,” there was no benefit to it.

The important part was what Lucille had just said.

If she truly couldn’t do anything, this achievement might become more troublesome than I’d anticipated…

“Can’t do anything… Do you really mean anything?”

“Yes? Um… Y- Yes…”

“Then shall we play a simple game?”

“…Huh? Um… What about the lesson…?”

Lucille hesitated at my suggestion, then looked at me questioningly. I nodded.

“This is a lesson.”

I reached into my pocket. Lucille flinched, trembling slightly, then looked puzzled at what I pulled out.

“Would you care for a game of cards?”

I held out a deck of cards used for one of the game’s minigames, a popular TCG in this world according to the lore.

This card game was serious business for me. Out of my 10,000 hours of playtime, 2,000 were dedicated to this minigame.

Of course, there were others who were even more dedicated, some who even bought the game just for the card game, but I was no slouch.

“Um… I… I only know… a little about the… r- rules…”

“That’s enough.”

I glanced at the Head Maid. She hesitated, then pulled a card pack from her pocket. Lucille’s eyes widened in surprise at seeing the stern, serious Head Maid produce a pack of cards meant for entertainment.

“Y- You… know how to… play?”

“Yes. It’s not that difficult, actually.”

“I- Is… that so?”

Her gaze shifted to the other maids, most of whom hesitantly pulled out their own card packs. While some, like Lucille, seemed unfamiliar with the game, it wasn’t entirely foreign to them.

“I’ll demonstrate a game with the Head Maid first. I’ll explain the basic rules and cards as we go.”

“…O- Okay…”

Perhaps because it was a game rather than a formal lesson, Lucille seemed slightly less tense. The Head Maid and I began our explanation, and Lucille listened attentively, her eyes wide.

We explained, she asked about things she didn’t understand, and we answered.

After about an hour, Lucille nodded tentatively, seemingly grasping the basics.

“Now, for the demonstration.”

With wide eyes, she sat beside the table. I shuffled the Head Maid’s deck and returned it to her.

“…Let’s begin.”

I flipped a coin. Heads. I went first.

Following the rules, I set a Guardian card in defense position, then placed my magic and trap cards.

“My turn. I summon Wind Barrier Guardian in defense position and end my turn.”

The Head Maid’s eyes gleamed.

“Mr. Sage, forgive me, but I take this card game quite seriously… I will give it my all.”

I drew a card, smiling.

I was serious too.

The observing maids and the Princess watched with tense expressions. The Head Maid, looking utterly dejected, lowered her hand.

And to her,

“My turn! Attack! I summon a magic card! And with that, it’s still my turn! Draw! I activate a trap card! Another attack! I activate the Link Magic Card, Midnight Bell! I summon White Night Link! Another attack! I sacrifice the summoned Guardian and attack again! Another summon! Another attack! And it’s still my turn!”

“…I- I lose.”

This was my “seriousness”!!

The Head Maid, who had been relentlessly pummeled without a chance to retaliate, looked at me with a pale face. Did she expect me to go easy on her?

I was a man of pure rationality.

I responded to seriousness with seriousness.

“…Y- Your Highness. Please… avenge me…”

“U- Um… I…”

Lucille, holding the Head Maid’s deck, looked overwhelmed. Understandable, considering the relentless assault she had just witnessed.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you lose, does it?”

“But… I’ll… disappoint you…”

“It’s fine.”

I tapped my own deck.

“There’s no one in this world who can beat me with these.”

My declaration seemed to ease her burden somewhat. Lucille hesitated, then nodded and flipped the coin. Tails. She went first.

We shuffled each other’s decks and drew our hands. Lucille placed a few cards face down on the field and ended her turn.

I did the same. As I drew a card, Lucille gulped.

Time to get serious.

“I activate a magic card!! With Windswept Hill, I return all your Guardians to your hand—”

“…T- Trap card… I- Is it okay if I… use this? Magic Plunderer.”

“…Gasp.”

“The Plunderer effect… Um… When it’s a magic card… Um…”

“…You’ve drawn a good hand.”

Perhaps because she had succeeded, a faint blush colored Lucille’s cheeks as she laid down a card from her hand.

It was Flame Seal, a pretty good card.

“Um… With this… I remove two of your cards from the game… and… you have to draw three cards.”

“…..”

“And then… I summon Electro Witch… and then I end my… Oh, wait. I summon Draco to the field… and I fuse Draco and Witch… to summon Dragon Witch…”

For a beginner, she was executing combos quite smoothly.

She hesitated, unsure if she was playing correctly,

But like a baby learning to stand, clinging to a wall, she calmly played her cards according to their descriptions, steadily cornering me.

“I- I end… my turn.”

“…You’ve reduced my life points by half in one turn. Not bad. Then it’s my—”

“I- I activate a Quick-Play Magic card.”

“What?!”

She blocked my draw and dealt more damage. And I saw it.

A small smile playing on Lucille’s lips.

In the end, I won.

But it wasn’t the overwhelming victory I’d had against the Head Maid. I barely managed to defeat Lucille, my own life points dangerously low.

Perhaps because she had almost won, Lucille seemed more dejected than before.

“See? Your Highness? No one can defeat me.”

“….Yes.”

Lucille clutched her cards tightly. The Head Maid smiled warmly at her.

“You did wonderfully, Your Highness. I didn’t expect you to push the Sage that far.”

“…I just got a good hand.”

“Luck is also a part of skill. But in the end, I won.”

“…Ugh. If only I could have blocked that last attack…”

“Well, it was your first time today, Your Highness. Let’s play again soon.”

I gathered the cards, stood up, and bowed. Quite a bit of time had passed.

“Then I’ll see you next time. Let’s… have a proper match then.”

“Yes…”

When we first met, Lucille’s eyes held only fear. But now, it was different.

A flicker of competitiveness and regret at letting victory slip through her fingers burned within them.

“Mr. Sage.”

“Yes?”

As I left the Princess’s room, the Head Maid followed me, calling out. She led me to a secluded corner and asked quietly,

“Her Highness’s hand… it was incredibly good. Don’t tell me you…”

She’d noticed. Well, someone like the Head Maid would have that kind of sharp eye. My skills weren’t as perfect as the real deal.

Of course, the Princess and the other maids didn’t seem to have noticed.

“Of course, I did.”

Anyone who had played this minigame even once would know that it was impossible to execute those combos with just an hour or two of learning.

The reason the Princess had been able to corner me so effectively was simple.

While shuffling and during the game, I had used my Thief and Jester skills to manipulate the cards.

“T- That’s cheating!”

“That’s unpleasant. Let’s just say I orchestrated the game.”

Cheating only counted if you got caught.

“…But… sigh… W- Why didn’t you let her win?”

“Letting her win the first time would have been detrimental. It could lead to self-doubt, especially for someone with low self-esteem.”

“Is that so…?”

“I believe that is precisely why I was appointed as Her Highness’s tutor.”

To boost her rock-bottom self-esteem.

Although I had manipulated the game, the fact that Lucille had grasped the rules and card effects within a couple of hours and executed combos meant she wasn’t unintelligent.

I couldn’t teach her other subjects anyway, so this was a way to help her function as a person.

“Everyone desires victory. Even someone with low self-esteem will constantly dwell on a victory that slipped through their fingers.”

Especially against a strong opponent like me.

Of course, it would be problematic if I kept winning, but losing too easily would also be an issue.

I needed to play a carefully orchestrated game, keeping her within reach of victory, dangling it just out of grasp before letting her win occasionally.

I was confident I could do it.

“I’m worried she might become addicted to the thrill and only want to play cards.”

“Don’t worry. I have other ways to boost Her Highness’s self-esteem.”

“Ah… I see. Um… Mr. Sage, Her Majesty has prepared the best guest room in the palace for you. Shall I escort you there?”

The best guest room.

I recalled what the Hero’s Party had said about their stay at the palace.

They had stayed in the best guest room.

The thought that I would be encountering their traces here, in this very room, made me wonder if I might run into them.

I paused, then smiled.

“Yes, please.”

It wasn’t a problem.

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Her heart still pounded. Lucille sat on her bed, replaying the game in her mind.

If she had played this card there, if she had interrupted the Sage’s combo earlier,

She might have won.

The Sage had been one attack away from defeat.

She could have excused herself by saying she drew a bad hand at the end.

She had only just learned how to play.

The cards weren’t even hers.

There were many reasons for her loss, but there were also many opportunities where she could have won.

If she had used the Whip of Darkness instead of the Staff of Light?

If she had summoned the Water Fairy instead of the Fire Giant?

Lucille spread the cards she’d received from the Head Maid on the table and touched her face.

“Haaah…”

It was the first time.

She had never felt this excited.

This exhilarated.

She had always believed she was inferior to others.

That she was a fool who couldn’t live up to her great mother’s expectations, and she had given up on everything.

But she had managed to push the Sage, a man known for his strength and skill, to his limits.

Remembering his expression, the heart that had always hidden within her chest began to pound again.

Every time she played a card.

Every time she executed a combo.

Every time she interrupted his combo.

The way his expression had stiffened slightly.

The beads of sweat on his forehead.

The slight tremor in his hand as he held his cards.

The fact that such an extraordinary person was tense, giving his all against her, insignificant as she was.

The realization that she, lacking and inadequate, had managed to draw out his full strength filled her with such joy,

Such excitement that she couldn’t sit still.

Lucille licked her dry lips.

“…I want to play again.”

But the happiness was short-lived. A sudden fear gripped her.

Had it just been luck?

Beginner’s luck?

What if next time, she lost even more miserably than the Head Maid, only proving her inadequacy?

She was afraid.

“…But still.”

She couldn’t deny her anticipation for the next lesson.

“Your Highness.”

“Y- Yes?”

“Her Majesty has summoned you to an audience. General Leoden and the Hero are returning briefly today…”

Lucille’s face fell as she nodded.

The Hero. Someone who, unlike her, could achieve so much.

A woman who shone like the sun, unlike her, who dwelled in darkness.

Every encounter with the Hero only served to remind Lucille of her own shortcomings, so she wasn’t eager to see her.

“…Y- Yes… I understand…”

But she couldn’t refuse.

So, carrying the small spark of confidence, excitement, and competitiveness the Sage had unknowingly ignited within her, she rose.

To meet one of the people who made her feel inadequate and powerless.

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