Back from the dungeon, after a day off, I gathered everyone at the manor.
The party — Novem, Aria.
The temporary additions — Miranda-san and Clara, both Aramsus adventurers.
And the junk-maid, Poyo-Poyo, and the lady of the house’s little sister, Shannon.
Including me, seven people for a discussion.
“Why am I in this? And the two there aren’t adventurers, are they?”
Clara, drinking the tea served, asked. Her eyes were on Shannon and Poyo-Poyo.
Easy reason.
”…I didn’t know how to open the conversation. The remaining two are… bonus, I guess.”
From the Jewel the Third was wheezing.
“Lyle, the best!”
The best here means funniest. Today’s adviser was — well, in modern Jewel-states, no rules, all of them piping up.
Before, my mana would drain hard, so the rule was one per day on the floor.
I made my excuse to a flat-stared Clara:
“Because! I don’t know how girl conversation works! Chances to talk like this — never had any!”
Poyo-Poyo prepared a refill for Clara. Looking at me, she went “Hmph” and laughed.
“As expected of chicken-bastard. Even conversation with women is handed off to a woman.”
Endure, I told myself. The reason I’d called Clara in was that she had more experience as an adventurer than us.
A support specialist who’d seen many parties, she could offer outside views.
And she knew our situation enough that I didn’t need to explain.
Novem opened.
“So — let’s begin the discussion on future dungeon strategy. Anyone with opinions?”
No one spoke.
Shannon opened her mouth.
“I’m not an adventurer. And — I have no confidence in my stamina.”
Asserting no confidence with full poise, Shannon swept her hair back like she was bragging.
It suited her — but when Novem watched her with a smile, she “Hii!”-ed and went silent.
A few minutes passed with no one speaking, so I raised a hand a little —
“Uh… so — for me, I want to clear B30 without Skills. — But there’s a numbers problem, and coordination, you see…”
Aria, without meeting my eye:
“Use Skills. — Is there even a point?”
Poor attitude.
Novem called it.
“Aria-san, that attitude is a little…”
Aria bit back:
“Yes, yes — of course. Sorry I was rude to Lord Lyle, my apologies!”
To Aria’s raised voice, the Second from the Jewel —
The Second dislikes Aria.
“What’s with this attitude?!”
The Fourth:
“She’s angry about earlier, no? Lyle did yell at her… bottling things up. Look at her with kind eyes.”
The Second:
“Like I care! That’s the opinion of a guy who’s weak to women!”
The Fourth back:
“And what if I am! No matter how a man postures he can’t win against a woman, you muscle-brain!”
The Second:
“You DARE — to me, your grandfather! Step outside!”
Step outside — something the First used to say. I felt a pang.
He’d finished transmitting his Skills, decided his job was done, and no longer appears.
What would the First say if he saw this scene now?
(…No good. I can only see him yelling and brawling with the Second. The First also liked Aria.)
Aria called out to the sunken-faced me.
“S-sorry, alright? Don’t be that down.”
She’d apologized — I noticed everyone watching and hurried to recover composure.
Miranda-san:
“I’m fine being called in whenever. I got my credit from Professor Damian, and all my graduation prep is done. It’s a hobby now.”
The academy’s system: enter anytime, graduate anytime. Not tied to seasons.
Earn the required credits, get the certificate — graduate.
Aria, to Miranda:
“You decide that so casually? — Are you planning to join the party?”
Miranda:
“Oh — jealous? Worried I’ll steal your beloved Lyle? Aria, you’re so cute~”
Aria, thinking she was being teased, snapped:
“H-his stuff has nothing to do with me! I just want to live on my own someday, and for now I’m with—”
Face bright red, Aria — and Novem:
“What are you saying, Aria-san? Whatever the circumstances, Aria-san is someone Lord Lyle saved. Leaving the party at your convenience is not on the table.”
“Eh — it isn’t?”
I’d asked back at Novem.
Novem looked surprised at me. Then she explained:
“No, well… we received Aria-san as a reward from the lord of Darion, after all.”
I said:
“That was a formality, no? Treat it as void.”
Aria slapped the table with her palm. The room hushed; Clara drank her tea.
The tea spilled. Poyo-Poyo —
“Fufufu, the famous romantic showdown. I have this in my data.”
— saying which, she cleaned and prepped fresh.
”…In the end I’m only that much of a woman to you!”
“Why are you angry?! I just said I had no intention of binding you!”
While I sat uncomprehending, the Fourth:
“The complexities of the female heart — Lyle, maybe you’ll never get it.”
The Fifth:
“You only think you get it. Me — I didn’t understand at all.”
The Sixth:
”…And yet, on anything but kids, the Fifth managed fine.”
I thought:
(What do I do — these guys are no help.)
I looked at Novem. But —
“Lord Lyle, that’s a bit too…”
Miranda-san, smiling:
“Then I’ll volunteer. In place of Aria.”
For the party, or for something else — Miranda-san didn’t specify.
Aria, misreading:
“I-I never said I’d give Lyle to anyone!”
Smirking Miranda:
“Hm? I thought I said I’d join the party in Aria’s place?”
Teased, Aria turned away.
Clara opened her mouth.
”…Lyle-san.”
“Yes?”
“What. A. Womanizer.”
Clara, deadpanning womanizer at me, made my cheek twitch. Hardly a brag, but until recently I’d never even kissed a girl — calling me a womanizer…
Clara delivered her final verdict on this party.
“There you have it. Truly, the classical harem party a man dreams of. You don’t often find one this complete. In both good and bad senses, it’s the ideal-form party.”
The good sense — good as a man’s ideal.
The bad sense, I understood — that’s why the party didn’t function.
“H-how do we solve it, then? Improve it?”
Clara, drawing on her experience:
“A party I knew refused to admit women — only men — specifically to avoid getting tangled in love affairs. They said romantic drama collapses coordination.”
So I should drop out?
“E-er — would me dropping out solve it?”
Novem cut in.
“Impossible. Rejected. Not adopted.”
Clara nodded.
“Indeed. With Lyle-san gone, this party disbands. — And, individually, you’re at low-mid-tier. Coordination — without Skills, slightly better than amateur. Even if Aria-san left this party, I think she’d be a drag on the next.”
Clara was covering for Aria, but Aria herself had lost confidence.
“P-put like that…”
“Because everyone is exceptional. Say the average is fifty? — This party, by talent alone, averages near ninety. Even if Aria-san is the lowest, she’s at seventy or eighty.”
Clara continued:
“And adding a man other than Lyle-san is also bad. Less the romantic-mess angle than… the added man wouldn’t endure it.”
Why not endure? Damian was fine.
For me, I wanted same-sex companions to talk with.
Sensing I didn’t grasp it, Clara said:
“Beautiful women clustered around one man — would you want to lonely-add yourself as the only other guy? Your comrades and yet you’d taste exclusion. Would you?”
”…I would not.”
I agreed.
Adding a man — no good.
“One or two would be trouble, but many — well… we don’t have a party with the depth to keep that many, and the basics aren’t in place either.”
The basics.
Party basics meant: members holding fundamental specialist skills.
Individual talent was high, but no one had scouting or trap-handling skills.
“Large companies are… also rejected.”
Novem refused. Clara offered the path.
“Specialize.”
“Specialize?”
I tilted my head. Clara:
“Lyle-san, fundamentally you can do everything yourself, so you trend toward solving it alone. You may have multiple Skills, but you need to specialize — including for redundancy. Normally you assign roles first. Once each member reaches a baseline, you talk through who specializes in what. Looking at each other’s aptitudes, you build the future plan — that’s general practice.”
The problem had been my relying on my Skills enough that no one had felt the need. Better than half-baked skill — no, better than the regular specialist adventurer — were my Skills.
“Fundamentally, scouting. Walking ahead and verifying safety. Aria-san suits this. I know someone — shall I make an introduction?”
Clara prepared a note. Aria took it.
“Next, traps… I think Miranda-san has good aptitude. Just a hunch.”
Miranda smiled:
“Yes — I’m dexterous, that’s true.”
Clara murmured:
”…People of your personality tend to be good at this kind of thing.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Now — Novem-san: not needed. Continue polishing magic as you are.”
Novem said:
“Is that so? A bit unfortunate. I’d like to be of help.”
The Second cut in.
“Novem-chan is fine as she is. — Truly, Novem-chan’s the best.”
I agreed silently and waited for what Clara would say next.
Clara continued.
“That’s the picture. Specializing takes time. But if each person picks a role and gathers experience, the party’s shape will come together in a few months.”
“Eh — and me?”
I asked. Clara —
“As you are is enough. Basically, leadership is party operation. Thinking how to run it efficiently is your work. Scheduling everyone, planning — those are real, full jobs.”
I accepted that — but shouldn’t I also be polishing some technical skill? Clara:
“Lyle-san, you take too much of everyone’s work. Delegating when you can is leader’s work too. What Lyle-san should do…”
“Should do?”
“Is figure out how to gather porters, I’d say. After that, recruiting one or two female adventurers and you’re done.”
Frank opinion from me:
“That makes me sound like a creep — like I’m collecting women.”
“Collected is the more accurate phrasing. — It’s fine. Lyle-san’s reputation in Aramsus is mediocre, but you have a good face, so one or two will bite. After that, time builds trust.”
Novem:
“N-no! That won’t do!”
“Novem! Right? That won’t do!”
“They must be women befitting House Walt’s precept! Anyone else — unacceptable!”
Clara tilted her head. I went silent and covered my face with both hands.
Aria, used to it, looked uninterested. Only Miranda-san was watching Novem with a serious face.
Shannon, having sat through it all:
“I’m unrelated, right? Why was I called?”
And Poyo-Poyo:
“I, too, can be of service. After all… I’m a special model!”
I ignored both.
— Aria had gone to visit the adventurer Clara had introduced.
Not the Guild — checking a cheap-looking apartment’s nameplate, she knocked.
A muffled voice from inside.
“Who’s there?”
“U-um! I’m an acquaintance of Clara-san’s, and I was told to call here—”
The reply:
“Clara-chan, you say? — Sure, fine.”
The door opened. A woman with messy hair stood there. Late thirties. Burn scar on her face.
Her left arm was gone.
Aria’s eyes drifted to the missing arm; the woman said:
“Ah — not used to it? Well, you’re young, you wouldn’t make it to taverns. Come on up.”
She took Aria’s note, confirmed Clara’s handwriting, and let Aria in.
The outside of the apartment was old, but inside was tidy. Looked like she lived alone — a prosthetic arm sat on the desk.
“U-um—”
“That’s my prosthetic. I’m good with this sort of thing. Make simple Magic Implements, scrape together coin to live. Below pros, but in Aramsus you can eat.”
Tools hung on the walls; parts neatly arranged.
She introduced herself.
“[Lyla Ikora]. Born to a notable house in a small village. Family name is a remnant of that.”
Aria introduced herself too.
“Aria Rockward.”
Lyla laughed.
“I know. The young party that completed the pervert’s request — the one with real ability, right? — What does its vanguard want with me?”
Aria, surprised to be known at all, explained the situation.
Lyla, exasperated, pressed a hand to her face. Through the fingers, her eyes watched Aria and confirmed the ask.
”…So you want to learn my style? Vanguard who also scouts — mine?”
“Y-yes!”
Lyla said can’t really recommend it.
“You see this body? Vanguard is dangerous work. A heavy load for a woman. If you’re going to do it anyway… walk in resigned to being covered in scars. Lose an arm or two — won’t be unfair.”
Aria swallowed. But better than doing nothing — she told herself.
(If I run here, I really will be useless. So—)
“I-I’ll do it!”
Lyla covered her mouth and laughed. While Aria sat blank, she kept laughing, saying sorry.
“My bad. Putting you to the test. This injury is from when I was a beginner. Basically if it’s dangerous, don’t approach — that’s the right principle. I got reckless and learned the lesson the long way.”
While Aria was startled, Lyla said:
“That girl’s helped me out a few times. Looking things up at the library, hauling things. Solo work, mostly.”
“I — I see.”
Then Lyla moved into negotiation.
“So — teaching is fine, but I have my own work. I can spare three days a week. And the fee—”
She looked at Aria and named a price.
“That girl wouldn’t have sent you if you had no talent. Plus you’re the famous party. Two months — twenty gold.”
Twenty gold. Aria was startled. She didn’t have that kind of money. She’d received reward money, but maybe five gold on hand at most.
“U-um — could that be brought down a little?”
“I’m carving time out to teach. — On top of that, what about my own earnings during that time? You weren’t thinking of getting the technique for free?”
Aria hung her head. Lyla offered terms.
“In that case — during instruction, I take all of your earnings. Plus you help with my own jobs. How’s that?”
“Y-yes! That I can do!”
Lyla then said:
“Well, there isn’t that much to teach. My style is vanguard-plus-scout. — Your weapon?”
Aria said she used a spear.
”…Not bad, not great. If you’re going specialist combat the spear’s fine.”
She thought briefly, then looked at Aria’s chest.
“That — could it be a Gem?”
“Eh? Y-yes.”
Lyla said she wanted to know which Skills it held. Aria hesitated, then told her.
“Attack-focused. Better than half a Magic Implement…”
“Yes?”
“If you’ve been using a spear, that’ll be the most natural in your hand… Aria, are you up for trying a short spear?”
To establish her own style, Aria began moving — too.