I Was the Scout for the Hero’s Party

-Knock knock
Just before Maya’s lips could touch mine, her face froze at the sound of knocking on the door.

-Sir Austin! Is everything alright? I’ve been hearing loud noises for a while…

At the same moment Lady Alexis’s worried voice penetrated through the tightly closed door, the doorknob began to rattle.

Maya, who had been briefly twitching her ears to focus on the sound outside the door, narrowed her already slit pupils as she continued to stare at me and asked in a cold voice.

“……Who is that.”

“Ah… well, um… someone who’s been traveling with me from the forest… first, get off me.”

“…Hmm.”

Maya’s vertically slit eyes, which had been staring into mine from a nose-touching distance, eventually turned toward the door where the knocking continued.

-S-Sir Austin? You are in there, right?… Please answer if you can hear me…

When I didn’t respond, Lady Alexis, who had been stamping her feet for a moment, called out again.

-Sir Austin…! I’ll get the key!! Please wait a moment!

After glaring at the door for a while, Maya finally turned her head, brought her mouth to my ear, and exhaled a rough breath.

“Huu…… Lady Alexis… so that’s the woman…?”

“……Ugh… N-No, that’s not it?…”

“Not? It is.”

With the hot breath that kept tickling my ear, I trembled and spoke with difficulty.

“Ugh… Fine… fuck, what are you going to do if it is? No, I’m telling you it’s not because Lady Alexis seduced me that I’m not returning to the party.”

“…I know.”

“…..What?”

“I know too, Austin. That you’re not coming back to the party… because we treated you badly. I know that.”

“…If you know, why are you doing this?”

Maya, who had been looking down at my face for a moment with her back straightened, fell on top of me again and said, rubbing her face on my chest like a cat.

“…Just. My stubbornness. I need Austin.”

“….So, should I take that to mean you’re inconvenienced because the person who handled all the chores disappeared?”

“…..No.”

Maya, who had been rubbing her cheek against my chest, eventually raised her head to look at my face.
Her pupils had returned to normal, and her eyes were red from dried tear tracks.

“…I just… just don’t like it… Austin. I don’t like you being with that woman… with that person.”

Hearing Maya’s voice trembling as if she might burst into tears again, my head cooled a bit.

One of the crazy women who had constantly mistreated me and seemed to regret not killing me while I was in the party suddenly showed up and was acting like a jealous lover as if I had cheated on her.

Disgusted by Maya’s nauseating two-faced attitude, I looked directly into her eyes and spoke in a stiff voice.

“….Hey. Get off me now.”

“Mmm… no…”

Either unaware that I was angry or trying to somehow smooth over the situation by using a nasal voice and shaking her head.
I thought it was probably the latter.

There’s no need to listen anymore.

“…Maya.”

“…Austin…”

After staring directly into Maya’s eyes as she gazed at me affectionately for a moment, I suddenly lifted my two free legs and wrapped them around Maya’s neck as she sat on my waist.

“…Wha…what..?!”

While Maya was still trying to figure out what was happening, I crossed my legs around her neck and pushed down, instantly reversing our positions.

“Eek… Austin…!”

To restrain Maya, who seemed to be trying to protest by puffing her cheeks slightly and trying to move her arms while glaring at me, I quickly flipped her body and coiled around her with my arms and legs like a snake.

“Huah…! Austin…!! What are you…”

“Shh… quiet.”

When I tightened my grip on Maya’s shoulder with a sharp voice, she closed her mouth, perhaps foreseeing her arm would dislocate.

“Good. Now we can talk.”

“……How…”

“Hm?”

“H-How did you… Could it be that you’ve been. Hiding your skills…?”

“…Huh, really.”

Feeling that I had been so underestimated, I clicked my tongue with a short sigh.

“Maya. You seem to have forgotten because I’ve been cooking meals and serving you all, but I spent 4 years in the Rangers. In a one-on-one situation, especially in combat against people, I can’t lose unless it’s to the hero or Gracey.”

The implication was that I had been going easy on her until now.

And she, with an intelligence that could be called brilliant in a positive sense or cunning in a negative sense, seemed to understand my words and spoke with a trembling voice.

“B-But… Adrienne always said. The Metel Kingdom Rangers are mediocre…”

Adrienne. She always mocked me and showed contempt for the Rangers I had served in.

“Yes… Adrienne. Do you know why that bitch always looks down on Rangers?”

“…Why… why..?”

“Because Adrienne can shoot dozens of arrows in the time it takes me to fire one shot, while I use a comparatively slow crossbow.”

Adrienne always disliked my use of the crossbow.

During combat situations, while Adrienne was continuously showering arrows at enemy positions I had briefed, I used a more accurate and penetrating mithril crossbow, throwing knives, and close combat techniques to support the hero and corner the enemy leaders.

Usually, the leaders of the Demon King’s army could withstand Adrienne’s Silverwood arrows from Mandalay Mountain.

After defeating disorganized troops who had lost their leader, she would always openly rebuke me, saying “Do something about that slow crossbow of yours.”

“Adrienne, that stupid woman. From the beginning, everyone in the party has their own role. Adrienne’s role is suitable for dealing with large numbers of enemies or giant monsters like ogres, while I was trained for scouting, assassination, and small-scale enemy engagement. Maya, do you really believe the words of such a stupid woman?”

“……Well.”

“Do you really think Adrienne could be a match for me? Someone like Adrienne, I could kill her within 1 minute in a one-on-one situation.”

The Silver Wing Patrol, the archer knight order of the Elven Kingdom where Adrienne served, was created to counter the giant marine monsters of the Demon King’s army that tried to attack the Elven Kingdom from behind across the sea.

Of course, I personally hold the archery skills of elves, especially the Silver Wing Patrol, in high regard, but all kinds of special bolts, destructive mithril crossbows, and professionally trained person-to-person combat techniques would be Adrienne’s weakness, as she specialized in fighting monsters.

“Maya.”

“…….”

“…Maya.”

“…Ah… yes…?”

Seeing Maya’s somewhat dazed attitude, I sighed and released my limbs that had been restraining her.

“Anyway, I’ll say it again, I have no intention of returning to the party. So please just get out. What time is it anyway?”

“…….”

“…Haah……”

When I issued the order to leave again with a firm attitude, Maya drooped her tail and ears and trembled her hands slightly.

Thinking there was nothing more to say, I got up and walked to the door, opening it myself.

“Leave. And I hope I won’t see your face again unless necessary.”

Maya, who had been biting her lower lip and glancing nervously at the doorway, eventually gave up and trudged out with dragging steps.

“…Sorry. Sleep well.”

“Yeah. Get out quickly. You’ve put me in a shitty mood.”

As I watched Maya slowly descend the stairs, after she disappeared from view, I saw Lady Alexis rushing up the stairs and running toward me as I stood by the open door.

“Huff… huff… S-Sir Austin… Why didn’t you answer…”

“I apologize. I inadvertently fell asleep… I actually have bad sleeping habits, so it seems I was a bit noisy.”

“Ah……”

Lady Alexis, who was blinking her eyes and chewing her lips for a moment, turned bright red, perhaps embarrassed by her misunderstanding.

“Ugh… I’m sorry… I… worried unnecessarily…”

“Not at all. I don’t know how to thank you for your concern.”

After covering her face with her hands and groaning for a moment, Lady Alexis suddenly looked up as if remembering something and asked.

“Mmm… Oh, by the way, are you acquainted with the cat-person mage girl who was going down just now?”

“……No. I don’t know who you’re talking about…”

“Ah… well… I passed her on the stairs just now, and she was crying while muttering your name..”

“…I don’t know her. I must have woken you from your sleep, so please go back to bed.”

After sending the hesitant Lady Alexis back to her room, I returned to my room and flopped down on the bed.

“…Ugh, it’s cold.”

While closing the window against the unusually cool breeze, I suddenly noticed a large wizard’s pointed hat in the distance, moving away from the inn.

…Tonight I need to lock the windows and doors tightly before sleeping.

Maya returned to the inn where the hero and party members were staying, walking with little strength.

No matter how much she regretted it, Maya’s actions toward Austin until now couldn’t be taken back.
The water was already spilled.

Austin probably wouldn’t return to the party from now on, and he might not even accept Maya’s apology.

But that doesn’t mean she wants to give up.
She didn’t want to be apart from him.

“….Sniff…”

Before entering the room where her companions were staying, Maya quickly wiped away her tear stains with her sleeve, then opened the door to find the hero and party members discussing how to find Austin, turning their gazes toward her with questioning looks.

“Maya! Why are you so late? You haven’t even eaten dinner.”

“Maya. Where have you been? We’ve been worried.”

“………”

The warm welcome from Adrienne and Gracey felt especially awkward to Maya today.

“Hm? Where did you go? Maya.”

As Hero Yoo-jung approached with concerned eyes and asked, Maya momentarily fell into contemplation about whether she should tell them about her visit to Austin.

“…Just. Went for a walk.”

“Seriously. I told you not to go out without saying anything.”

The hero responded casually to Maya’s answer, and Maya inwardly sighed as she squeezed into the space between where they were sitting.

Isabel, who had been watching Maya since she entered the room, quietly approached and sat next to her.

“….?”

As Maya questioned Isabel’s sudden closeness, Isabel unexpectedly brought her mouth to Maya’s ear and whispered.

“Maya… You didn’t just go for a walk, did you?”

“…….”

“I know. This smell… You met Austin, didn’t you…?”

Maya’s body trembled at Isabel’s breath tickling her ear.

“…No, I didn’t.”

“…I see. I understand.”

Maya couldn’t help but look a bit confused at Isabel’s unexpectedly easy withdrawal.

Isabel, who had been looking at Maya with a meaningful smile for a moment, eventually turned her head and began to focus on the party members’ conversation.

“ACHOO!!! Ugh, shit, did I catch a cold?”