Chapter 57 Who Holds The Power Of The Holy Sword?
"Expelled... Me, is it?"
"That's right, Mars. I didn't even get paid by the king, and I can't afford to keep you around anymore."
The hero, Ibur, finished his drink and told the boy carrying his luggage, Mars.
Despite that, he seemed to be eating and drinking extravagantly.
"Listen, I'll say it again. You're no longer needed in this party!"
"..."
I narrowed my eyes as I watched the scene.
――Not needed, huh...
"However, we've been together for a long time. I'm not a monster to expel you without anything."
"Huh..."
"Here, this is your severance pay. Just think of it as my goodwill."
――Ting!
Ibur flicked something with his finger.
It was a Sidney silver coin that hit Mars on the forehead before rolling emptily on the table.
"Ku, Kuhahaha!"
After a moment of silence, the unpleasant laughter of the hero Ibur echoed.
The group of heroes led by Ibur remains the same as during their audience.
In other words, Mars should have been a companion of Ibur for at least two years on their journey together.
Ibur seems to be dismissing that companion with a single silver coin along with insulting words.
Although I felt the urge to punch him right there, I realized something and held back.
――Oh, that boy is...
"Adel――"
Teti looks up at me with eyes that seem to plead not to intervene.
Teti seems more concerned about Mars being pushed into an unfortunate situation than being frustrated with Ibur's actions.
"I'm sorry, but please bear with it."
"Hmm... If Adel has a plan, I'll endure it too."
I pat Teti's head and exchange glances with Maia.
Maia seems to have understood my thoughts, as she just smiles and nods without saying anything.
"You truly are a great hero. Giving Mars a silver coin like that."
"You're quite generous, aren't you?"
"Hey, this guy looks like he can't stand the shock."
"Geez. Hey, let's go to another store. If we stay with this gloomy guy any longer, the drinks will taste bad."
"..."
Ibur, and the warrior-like man, stands up while mocking Mars.
Following suit, a magician-like girl also stands up, but she remains silent.
Ibur comes over to me at the counter and scatters several Sidney silver coins.
"Well then, Master, thanks for the meal."
"...Looks like a lot of silver coins?"
"Yeah, it's fine. There aren't many customers anyway. If it's known as the tavern visited by the hero chosen by the holy sword, Ibur, I think more customers will come later."
Ibur proudly displays the holy sword on his back, then smiles smugly.
Does he have to look down on others to survive?
"Oh, right――"
As Ibur tries to leave the tavern, he suddenly asks as if he remembered something.
"Hey, have you heard of that guy called the Black-Robed Executor? Thanks to him, we missed out on getting our reward this time."
"...Hmm, well."
"Yeah, if I knew where he was, I would have given him a piece of my mind."
After chuckling, Ibur waved his hand and left the tavern.
Following him were a warrior-like man and a magician-like girl.
The girl, a magician, called out to Mars who was still at the table.
"See you later, Mars. It was fun seeing all sorts of things."
"...?"
Was that her way of saying goodbye?
She seemed to smile slightly under her large witch hat, but it felt different from Ibur's smile.
As the group of heroes left, leaving Mars behind, the tavern fell silent.
――Now then.
I approached Mars, who was still sitting at the table with his head down.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Uh... S-Sorry."
Mars thought I was telling him to leave the tavern, and he reacted nervously.
"Do you want to eat this? It's delicious."
"Huh... an apple, you mean?"
"Yeah. Eating it when you're feeling down can cheer you up."
"Oh, thank you."
Mars timidly took the apple I offered and took a bite.
Maia smiled as she watched.
"Hmm, that's strange... What's this...?"
Tears welled up in Mars' eyes as he nibbled on the apple.
I could somehow sense the emotion behind it, so I gently placed my hand on Mars' shoulder.
"I'm sorry... I..."
"It's okay. There are no other customers anyway."
"Oh, haha. So the master says that."
Mars smiled slightly at my words.
After a while, as Mars finished eating the apple, I spoke to him.
"Mars, I have something I want to ask you."
"...? What is it?"
"The holy sword that the crappy hero had earlier. That was powered by you, right?"
"――Ah"
Mars let out a small gasp at my words, eyes wide open.
* * *
Meanwhile.
"I thought I'd feel relieved after kicking out Mars, but something feels lacking."
Hero Ibur, leaving Adel's tavern (Silver Apple Inn), kicked the ground discontentedly.
"Hey, hero. There's a forest near this capital city where monsters appear. If you defeat the monsters there and report to the Adventurer's Guild, you might earn some money, right?"
"Oh, that sounds good. It'll be a good stress reliever. Let's go monster hunting tomorrow after a long time!"
"Alright, let's do it. With your holy sword, any monster will be a piece of cake!"
As the two conversed, a magician-like girl walking behind them muttered in a voice too low for them to hear.
"Jeez... How carefree to not even know whose power that holy sword belonged to. Well, maybe it suits those idiots after all."
The corner of the girl's mouth lifted under her witch hat, unnoticed by the other two.
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