How To Leave The Hero Party- Chapter 14

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Normally, traveling to the battlefield involved a several-day journey north by carriage. Even General Leoden traveled that way when he couldn’t use Claire’s portal.

But I was different.

“Let’s see…”

Sword, check. Staff, check. Dagger, check. Lute, check. And… other… equipment…

So much stuff.

The Sage could use skills from all classes and equip any type of equipment.

But there was a limit to how much I could carry. Even a Sage didn’t have multiple arms.

Despite packing only the essentials, my bed was still piled high with gear.

“Ugh…”

But I couldn’t go to the battlefield unprepared…

After finally managing to cram everything into my bag, I looked out the window.

A quiet darkness had settled over the garden I had monopolized for the past few days.

Farewell for now.

I channeled magical energy into the ring. A dark blue aura enveloped me, and then—

“Medic!! Medic!”

“Damn it! Is there no priest?! Hurry!!”

“Aaaargh! My arm! My aaarm!!”

I arrived on a battlefield reeking of blood.

Looking around, I spotted a soldier writhing in agony, waiting for a priest’s healing. I pointed my staff at him.

“Heal.”

“Huh…?”

Although not as potent as a dedicated priest’s healing, the magic was enough to ease the soldier’s pain. He looked up, his gaze settling on a large, imposing werewolf with thick black fur, one of the men who had been tending to him.

General Leoden’s adjutant. He looked at me with surprise and relief.

“Mr. Sage!!”

“It’s been a while.”

“I didn’t expect you so soon! Ah, but to arrive and immediately…”

“It’s fine.”

I lowered my staff and pulled out a Divine Mark. The priests, busy tending to the wounded, looked exhausted.

I exchanged nods with a few familiar faces among them, then raised the Divine Mark.

Area Heal, a skill usable only by high-ranking priests and Sages.

Sanctuary activated.

–Wooong…

A brilliant light shot up into the sky, then spread outwards, forming a protective canopy. As the wounded within its radius began to heal, the adjutant’s expression brightened.

“This should stabilize them.”

“Thank you… to arrive and immediately…”

“It’s nothing. I’m not the one fighting on the front lines. Now, shall we?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Please, follow me to the command tent.”

The adjutant led me to a tent where a map of the battlefield was laid out. He pointed to an area marked with a white circle. His voice was heavy with concern.

“From here to here… New monsters, never seen before, have appeared.”

“What kind of monsters?”

“Quite a variety. But they have one thing in common: pale skin and exceptionally high defense. Do you know anything about them?”

“Hmm…”

Of course, I did.

They were byproducts of the White Moon Cult’s ritual to summon the Pale Moon.

The remnants, those who failed to become the Pale Moon.

“How have you been dealing with them so far?”

“Well… um… we’ve been relying entirely on the Hero’s Party.”

These remnants, unlike regular monsters, required specific methods to defeat.

The first was to utilize the power of the Red Moon.

Either by using the bracelet I currently possessed or by fighting them at night, under the Red Moon.

The other method was overwhelming force.

In other words, brute strength, a level high enough to ignore their attack patterns.

There were other methods, but these two were the easiest.

“Have you tried fighting them at night?”

“At night? We’ve tried a few times, but… there wasn’t much difference.”

“Did you notice anything unusual in the area?”

“Unusual?”

“Like strange structures. Small altars, or something similar.”

“Small altars… Does that include piles of stones?”

“Yes.”

“…Now that you mention it… yes, there were some.”

It was difficult to spot such small details at night, with limited visibility. The fact that the adjutant had noticed them was probably due to his enhanced senses as a werewolf.

After he finished his explanation, his expression grim, I offered a solution.

“Those altars are empowering the monsters with the Pale Moon’s power. When you engage them, have two people scout the surrounding area. Destroy the altars, and the Red Moon will weaken the Pale Moon’s influence. And…”

“And?”

“I think it’s best to explain the rest during the actual battle.”

Even after neutralizing the Pale Moon’s influence, these monsters wouldn’t be pushovers. They were still dangerous. But their defenses wouldn’t be impenetrable, so it was better to explain the rest while fighting.

“Thank you! As expected of the Sage!”

“It’s something anyone could figure out with a little observation. Then, we’ll attack tonight.”

“Yes. And also… regarding tonight’s operation… what kind of party composition would be ideal?”

“Are you referring to the Hero’s Party?”

“Yes. They’re the strongest on this battlefield… I was thinking it would be best to include them in the operation, with your support…”

The adjutant glanced at me hesitantly. I shook my head.

There was no need to involve them.

“Just assign me a few knights, soldiers, and a priest or two.”

That would be more than enough.

I decided to use this command tent as my base of operations. It was quite comfortable, and the adjutant told me to rest until the operation.

But I had no intention of relaxing.

I had unlocked the Master Healer achievement, but there were still others to complete.

As I left the tent and headed towards the area where the wounded were being treated, a few soldiers greeted me cheerfully.

“Ah! Mr. Sage!”

“Th- Thank you for earlier!”

“It was nothing. By the way, do you know where I can get some equipment repaired?”

“Equipment repair? Ah… it’s over there.”

I saw a makeshift smithy where several blacksmiths were busy repairing equipment.

But there didn’t seem to be enough of them to handle the sheer volume of damaged weapons, battered from cutting through tough monster hides and shells.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!”

I gave the soldier a cursory nod and headed towards the smithy. The blacksmiths, looking utterly exhausted, were sharpening swords with weary expressions.

“Mind if I lend a hand?”

“Hmm? You are…? Huh? The Sage?”

“It’s been a while, Dex.”

I recognized one of the blacksmiths. I had met him during the main storyline and owed him a few favors.

He smiled tiredly and handed me the sword he was sharpening.

“With your skills, I’m sure you can handle this.”

He was right. I wasn’t a professional blacksmith, but I was better than most amateurs.

Equipment repair was also an achievement, so I might as well do it whenever possible.

–Shhhhk… Shhhhk…

I sat down and began sharpening the sword. After finishing with the sword, I moved on to a spear. I removed the damaged head, replaced it with a new one, adjusted the weight, and set it aside.

Next, a bow. I repaired the broken string and the damaged limb, then set it aside.

Others came, requesting repairs, and I continued working, fixing whatever I could.

A shadow fell over me.

I looked up, and the owner of the shadow flinched.

“…It’s… it really is… you…”

Greaves caked with mud and blood, heavy armor,

And a sword stained with monster gore.

A beautiful knight with silver hair tinged with blue.

Leventia Shuma stared at me blankly, then spoke in a trembling voice.

“I… I can’t believe… I’m seeing you… again…”

I watched silently as tears welled up in her eyes.

–Hmm… impressive. Helping the weak and upholding justice despite lacking divine protection. Sage, I have much to learn from you.

–Are you alright? I can help if you need it.

–Oh, you repaired my sword? Thank you. Here, take this. It’s a sweet treat from the village.

–Your cooking is delicious. Much better than jerky.

We hadn’t been on bad terms in the early stages of the game.

But as the main storyline progressed, she had changed, finding fault with everything I did.

–How did you even manage to repair this? If you were going to do this, you shouldn’t have offered. We should have gone to another village.

–Haaah… you’re truly hopeless. Come here. How can you even participate in this journey if you can’t even carry this much?

–Why don’t you just go back? Or become my official squire and receive proper training.

–This is disgusting. Jerky would be better.

–We missed it because you were too slow! How did you even heal us?! Seriously!

…

Recalling those memories left a bitter taste in my mouth, worse than gall.

I had thought I had brushed off Leventia’s criticisms and accusations, but they still lingered within me.

I understood her reasons, I had accepted them, and the outcome had been favorable.

Although the process had been far from smooth.

“S- Sage… Hyun-woo… How… how have you been…? Um… I…”

“Sword.”

“…Huh?”

“You’re here to get your sword repaired, aren’t you?”

“Th- That’s… no… not really… I heard you were here…”

“Give me the sword.”

I had considered unleashing a torrent of curses to alleviate this suffocating feeling, but…

Eh, what was the point?

I’d just focus on earning repair points.

Leventia, flustered and unsure what to do, carefully handed me her sword.

The Shuma family’s treasured sword was in poor condition. Even the finest swords, unlike the Hero’s sword, required regular maintenance.

But unlike before, when I had been in charge of its upkeep, her sword was badly damaged.

Had she been neglecting its maintenance?

It was fine by me.

Repairing such a high-quality weapon would earn me a lot of points.

“Um… Sage… I… I… back then… I…”

Unable to form a coherent sentence, avoiding eye contact, she rambled nervously.

But I ignored her, focusing on the task at hand. Once the sword was mostly repaired, I called out to Dex.

“Is this good enough?”

“Wh- What? Oh… Y- Yeah, it’s fine. But… are you okay? Um…”

“With what?”

“With… Lady Leventia.”

“Leave her be.”

Dex, pointing at Leventia, who was on the verge of tears, her head bowed low, a single tear already tracing a path down her cheek, asked with concern. I shook my head.

He examined the Shuma sword a few more times before pointing out a few areas that needed further attention. I made the necessary adjustments and returned the sword to her.

“Next.”

The knight standing behind Leventia looked back and forth between us, then gave an awkward smile and walked away.

Damn it.

Her presence was making it difficult to concentrate.

“Hey.”

“Y- Yes? Yes! Sage! Did you… did you want to say something…?”

“Go away.”

“…Huh?”

“You’re distracting me. Go away.”

Confusion clouded Leventia’s beautiful face. And that confusion quickly turned to anguish.

Her shoulders trembled. Tears streamed down her face.

I heard her choked sobs, but I only had one thing to say.

“Our relationship is over. I don’t see any need to continue this. So, go away.”

“…sniffle-… sob-… I- I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I… I…”

She kept repeating the same words, like a broken record. I sighed, stood up, pulled her aside, and said to the awkwardly waiting knights,

“Next.”

Despite Leventia’s interruption, I had earned quite a few points. Should I just stay here and finish the Equipment Repair achievement?

Anyway, I was done with repairs for now. Time to work on my cooking achievement.

As I left the smithy and headed towards the cooks’ tent,

–Thud. Thud.

Leventia trailed behind me, dejected, her sobs echoing in the air. I ignored her.

When we reached the tent,

I turned around. Leventia, startled by my sudden movement, stopped and flinched.

“S- Sage, I…”

“What.”

I looked at her and said flatly,

“I’m busy working as the Princess’s tutor. I have no intention of becoming your squire. That’s all.”

“Wait! Just… just wait! Hear me out! Sage! Hyun-woo! S- Squire… that’s… that’s… just listen to me for a moment…”

I brushed her hand off my arm.

Just being near her brought back unpleasant memories, affecting my mental state.

“Why bother?”

I’d rather chop onions and earn cooking points than waste my time on her.

I glanced at her, still standing there dumbfounded, then entered the tent. I heard a thud from outside, as if she had collapsed, but…

As always, it had nothing to do with me.

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