I Was the Scout for the Hero’s Party

“…Form a party?”
“Yes!”

Robin, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, suddenly proposed that we form a party.
I scratched my head, mulling over Robin’s proposal.

“Well, do you have a quest already? Suddenly asking to form a party like this…”

As I trailed off, unable to give a definite answer without knowing what quest Robin had taken, she continued with an awkward smile.

“Ahaha… somehow things ended up like… After they found out I was from the Rangers, I received a special request directly from the lord? But it’s a bit too much for me to handle alone… Oh, right. Senior.”

“What is it.”

When I responded to her call, Robin hesitated momentarily before speaking.

“Senior… I heard you left the hero’s party? After going through so much trouble to join them, why did you leave… Did something happen?”

“…Do you absolutely need to know that?”

I wonder why everyone I meet tries to bring up sensitive topics. I sighed and pressed my hand to my forehead.

“Ahaha… Was that too sensitive a topic? Actually I wasn’t that interested, but there’s a widespread rumor that the hero came to the guild yesterday and recruited a new scout…”

“…What? A new scout?”

What’s this about now. Are there even any proper scouts left?

“Yes! I had some business to attend to yesterday so I wasn’t at the guild, but according to the receptionist, the hero personally came and took a hunter with her.”

…So they’ve already found my replacement.

It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel disappointed.
No matter how much we might have hated each other and been at each other’s throats, the three years we spent together wasn’t such a short time.

I guess my position, which I held for three years, meant nothing to them if they could replace me within a few days.

“…Damn fucking bitches.”

“Pardon? What did you just say?”

“…Nothing, it’s nothing.”

While the hero and Adrienne might lack common sense, Maya and Isabel are somewhat sensible, so they probably chose someone carefully.
I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts of the hero and her minions.

“I’ll tell you why I left the party later, let’s talk about the job first.”

“Ah… Yes! I’m sorry… I was being tactless. Hehe…”

Robin, who had been apologizing with an awkward laugh and a relaxed expression, suddenly stiffened her face and began to get to the point.

“So, about the request… Actually, I didn’t really want to take it, but the lord was so insistent…”

“Never mind that. What’s the content of the request?”

“Well… Do you know who the head… I mean, who leads the Demon King’s army in Merden Forest?”

“The Demon King’s army camped in Merden Forest is the 7th Legion, and the commander of that 7th Legion is the Puppet Argyle.”

Well, when I was with the hero’s party, our objective just before I left was to deal with the Puppet Argyle, so no one would know better than me.

Hearing my explanation, Robin stroked her chin with a serious face and continued.

“Hehe… As expected of a former hero party member! You know well! Under Argyle, there are two close aides! The Doll of the Bow, Bacchus, who is Argyle’s left arm and commands the archers of the 7th Legion. And… the Doll of the Spear, Depal, Argyle’s right arm who commands the Romphalia Raid Squad. These two exist.”

Seeing Robin’s rather serious tone, I also began to engage in the conversation with a serious attitude.

By the way, the Doll of the Bow and the Doll of the Spear… I was familiar with these names as I had fought them several times during my time with the hero’s party.

They are called the greatest masterpieces of this era, artificial humans that the Puppet Argyle created with all his might… or so they say, but they’re essentially no different from golems.

While I was recalling information about the two, Robin continued speaking.

“And, among them, the Romphalia Raid Squad led by the Doll of the Spear, Depal, keeps raiding the supply units of the allied forces passing near the forest, so the lord has assigned me to deal with Depal… No, does it make sense to ask me to deal with Depal without providing any personnel?!”

While quietly watching Robin puff her cheeks and complain about the lord’s unreasonable request, I turned to Lady Alexis to ask for her opinion.

“Lady Alexis. Would that be alright with you?”

Lady Alexis, who had been silently listening to the conversation, pondered for a moment, then nodded and opened her mouth.

“Indeed… if we resolve this request personally designated by the lord of Quiln and make a good impression, perhaps we might be able to use the gate sooner.”

Yes. That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.

With supply units passing through the forest continuously being raided, if we step forward and resolve the quest posted by the anxious lord, wouldn’t we be able to use the gate at least once?

After getting Lady Alexis’s consent, I turned back to Robin.

“Alright. Let’s work together after a long time, Robin.”

“Really? No backing out?”

When I accepted the party proposal, Robin jumped up and down in joy.

…Is this really something to be so happy about?

Robin, who had been chattering excitedly to me with various stories, suddenly stiffened her face as if remembering something and opened her mouth.

“Um… Senior. But is it okay to go with this combination…?”

…Indeed. Our party’s composition could hardly be considered good.

“Indeed… If only we had a mage or priest with us…”

Lady Alexis seemed to have the same thought, as she let out a shallow groan and fell into contemplation.

Did I know anyone among priests or mages?

As for mages, I essentially don’t know anyone except Maya, so mages are out of the question.

Priest… priest… Among the priests I know, someone who might be staying in Quiln…

“…Damn it.”

There is. Just one.

The most un-priest-like priest I know, a crazy priest thirsty for battle and blood, is now in Quiln.

“Damn it, of all people.”

I cursed again and stood up from my seat.

Well, what else can be done?

If you don’t have teeth, you have to use your gums.

The hero’s party, departing from Quiln early in the morning to return to the forest, was expecting a more comfortable journey with the presence of the newly joined scout.

“O Light. Why such a trial for me…”

Except for just two people, Isabel and Maya.

Maya, walking alongside Isabel who was covering her face with both hands and sighing, looked at the back of the head of the man walking in front of them, who was about the same height as her.

‘Just by looking… Not even a scout. A child who has never shot a bow…’

The journey to exterminate the Demon King is not an easy one.

Which means it’s also far too harsh a task for a young child to join.

Knowing how difficult the journey to defeat the Demon King is, what on earth was the hero thinking, bringing such a young child at this point, when the battle with Commander Argyle is imminent?

Maya had questioned the hero about Max yesterday, but the hero had arbitrarily concluded that if you don’t have teeth, you have to use your gums.

‘But, how long should we wait for Austin to return? Even at this moment, Argyle’s army is approaching! I tried my best to find even a temporary scout, but what can I do when the lord has scraped up everyone? We’re lucky to have even Max.’

Maya glanced at Isabel, who continued to mutter, and sighed internally.

If Austin were here… wouldn’t he have already dealt with Argyle?

After that, as usual, we’d pass around drinks to celebrate defeating Argyle, congratulate ourselves… go into the room with Austin… get drunk… in the heat of the moment…

“Hot…!”

What am I thinking? Maya shook her head vigorously to drive away the lewd imagination in her mind.

After walking through the forest for quite some time, the group finally stopped, following Max who was walking alongside Gracey at the front.

“Urp….. Uurp…..!!”

It was a terribly smashed carriage with blood splattered around and traces of violent combat.

Behind Max, who was retching, Gracey slowly moved toward the carriage marked with plenty of battle traces.

“…These are cutting marks. Judging by the depth, length, and the circular pattern of the wounds from afar, it’s not a sword… but a spear.”

Some entity wielding a spear had completely shattered the allied forces’ supply unit.

The amount of blood splattered around was enough to show how miserably the victims cut down by that entity had died.

The hero, who had been examining the surroundings, approached and looked at the traces with Gracey.

“…There are no bodies. Plenty of blood… This looks like the work of monsters.”

“It seems so. The bodies probably… have already gone into their mouths.”

After briefly searching the area, the hero and Gracey eventually returned to the group and explained the situation.

“So, now it’s Max’s turn!”

“W-What…? Me…?”

“Yes! Following these traces and bloodstains, you lead us from the front!”

Unable to find words to rebut the hero’s command, Max mumbled a bit, then sighed and began to walk stiffly in the lead.

Behind Max, who was awkwardly trying to navigate through the forest following the traces, the group began to advance slowly, watching their surroundings.

“…Yes, come.”

Someone with a spear was watching the group without them knowing.

“The hope of the continent, I’ll cut off the sprout today.”

The sharp spear blade glinted in the sunlight.