Lida's POV
After that terrible battle, there was a big gap between the three of us and Zect.
'We'll be blamed.'
I thought so... but surprisingly, Zect did not blame us at all.
Maria and Mel were both prepared to be hit... that much we were prepared for.
But Zect didn't say anything.
At first we thought he was angry and 'won't talk'... but he's not.
The proof is that when we talk, he responds.
"Maria... what should we do?" said Lida.
"There's nothing we can do, after what we did," said Maria.
"Anyway, is everyone all right? I know you all were scared of the dragon... but it's going to get worse from here on out," said Zect.
""Ugh...""
"Surely... Zect must've taken a lot of blame after that blunder," said Lida.
"I wonder what the penalty will be?" said Maria.
"That's one thing... but what are we going to do now?" said Zect.
""...""
We didn't know what to do anymore.
I wish Ceres was here at this time... I'm not the only one who thinks so.
* * *
Zect's POV
I was protected by Ceres...
It's really pathetic to think that...
This guy used to tell me to read books...
But I didn't do anything because 'I'm a hero, it's none of my business'... However if I had some knowledge, maybe things would have turned out differently.
He used to tell me 'you can't do it now'... and he was right.
I'm a hero (Yuusha)... and I'm strong by nature because of my job.
In order to keep up with me, he spends his free time training and even taking care of our equipment.
If I had done the same thing... something might have been different.
Even if he had been there... the war wouldn't have changed much.
But he would have protected us, cheered us up... that's as far as he would have gone.
If he had done that, we would not have lost so badly.
Perhaps we could have given the dragon a head start...
Also, we would have fought not to win but to divert.
Although I don't really know... I can't help but think that he might do that.
Hahahaha... Still, we were protected even after he's gone.
He made sure the Pope and the others didn't blame us.
He was negotiating with the Pope and all the bigwigs in the church when it all went down the drain.
I wonder... how that's possible.
The Pope is... the greatest man in the world...
Not even a king can negotiate like that.
But he did it.
How could he do that?
I don't know... but I know why.
'He did it for us.'
He was working hard for us.
That's all I know...
* * *
I've got an idea.
So I call the three girls over.
Lida, Maria, and Mel look nervous.
No wonder, they must think I'm mad at them after that blunder.
"Don't be so down... It was my fault too... And about that... we don't take the blame... And it was Ceres does."
I told him what the Pope had told me about Ceres.
"That was something that happened..."
"Ceres... has done such a thing..." said Lida.
"Did Ceres really...?" said Maria
"Ceres..." said Mel.
"Yeah, he's the one who was talking to them, so we didn't get blamed for anything... and I thought I'd just... talk to him."
"""Okay."""
"This is my idea that if Ceres comes back, I'll quit being the leader of the party, I'll just be a party member and I'll let Ceres be the leader of this party... I realize now that I'm not good enough to be the leader... I'm not up to it..."
"Well, if Zect says so, then I guess I have no choice," said Lida.
"I think so..." said Maria.
"Yes" said Mel.
Well, I guess the three of them had been thinking about it for some time... and they didn't seem to object, even though their eyes were downcast.
"But now... I'm still the party leader, and while I'm still the party leader, I've decided to give you all one order... Maria, Lida, and Mel are to be expelled from this party soon! The other day in the fight with the dragon I thought... you cried like when you were little girls and Ceres and I were always helping you... So, I thought it's better to quit fighting... You can go back to your village, or you can go to Ceres."
"Zect, I'm glad you feel that way, and I don't blame you, but you can't banish the three of us. A saint, a sage, and a sword saint..." said Lida.
"Saints can't be expelled," said Maria.
"The same goes for the Sage," said Mel.
Now, I understood what Ceres meant when he said, "You should read a book."
"Well, listen to me! First of all, Lida, the sword saint, could be expelled rather easily without any problem... There were times when there were only Hero, Saint and Sage, and some sword saints lived freely after being expelled from the party. The problem is the saint Maria........"
"You can't do it with just me and Mel," said Lida.
"Don't worry about me," said Maria.
"No, Maria, we can't leave you alone and what about you, Zect?"
The three of them are so close I don't think they'd leave Maria alone.
"I know how you all feel, but Ceres told me the Pope and the others that 'If you force us to do deadly work we don't want to do... take the responsibility if we fail... but if you don't, we'll quit being hero (Yuusha)!' I don't think that Ceres said this without any reason... There might be a way to quit... So, there must be a way to get Maria and the three of you out... and I will find it... although not right away. But don't worry."
Ceres... surely you wouldn't let these crying guys fight, right...?
So, I'd do the same... and if I can't do it now, I'll make sure they quit...
"Wait, what about Zect?" said Lida.
"You can't do this on your own," said Maria.
"That's right," said Mel.
Hahahaha, I want to say a thing that's not cool.
"What I'll do... I'll ask Ceres about it."
And if that doesn't work, then I'll die fighting alone.
That's still better rather than 4 of us die...
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