Quit The Hero Party

EP.3 What the heck, give it back (2)

I have the Succubus Queen, Refe.

There was a reason I had to hunt down this bat lady. Was it because she killed someone? Because she’s a mana being? Nah. If that’s the case, there are so many bastards in this world that need to be torn apart.

-Huh, so you’re the one? The virgin mage rumored to be trailing the Hero’s backside?

It’s not because she teased me…

-This is pretty.
-I’m taking it!

It’s because she touched my stuff. During the chaos with Sara and Remia, that bat lady swiped it from me. It was a bit of a shame, but since I figured I’d never meet the Succubus Queen again, I had half-forgotten about it.

‘If that bat had shown up in front of me on her own, the story would’ve been different.’

I reached my hand out to the kneeling Refe.

“Hand it over.”
“Wh-what are you?”

Ah, I see she was wearing a robe.

I pulled back my robe. Upon seeing my revealed face, Refe gasped.

“Oh, the virgin mage…!”
“Huh.”

I raised my left hand to show off.

I had used up all the spells stocked in my right hand, but I still had plenty saved. Confirming the mana flickering at my fingertips, Refe tightly pressed her lips together.

“…Wait, you’re Raniel, right?”
“You figured it out. I thought I’d have to beat you up until you recognized me.”
“Hit a woman? Is it okay for a Hero’s party to do that?”
“You’re suddenly recalling after almost dying at the hands of a Hero’s party, huh.”

I didn’t go into details about being part of the Hero’s party. I didn’t feel the need to.

“I’m saying it again. Hand it over.”
“W-what?”

I flicked my finger.

“That insignia you stole from me back then. Hand it over.”
“Ah, that old insignia?”
“It’s not old; it’s just weathered.”

The insignia of the mage from the Ashen Tower.

That bat lady had stolen it from me during the commotion.

Honestly speaking, that insignia wasn’t very useful. Having it wouldn’t get you into the Ashen Tower.

However, just because it was useless doesn’t mean it didn’t have significance.

That insignia was given to me by my Master.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you,” he said as he personally pinned it on me.

-Stand tall, Raniel.
-So what if your background is shabby? What matters is your skill as a mage. Live proudly, Raniel.

That insignia was something precious to me.

“…You don’t actually think I still have it, do you?”
“You’d be better off keeping it.”

Snap, crack.

As I roughly released her wrist, Refe turned pale.

“I-I’ll look for it. So just… loosen the chains.”

I lightly snapped my fingers.

I didn’t release all her restraints, just one hand.

“If you pull any funny business, you’re dead.”
“I-I can’t die unless it’s holy magic, right? You can’t use holy magic.”
“If I pour enough mana into it, I could.”
“…”

Refe shut her mouth and started rummaging through the air. How much time passed? Eventually, she pulled out an old insignia.

“Is this it?”
“Yep.”

I examined the insignia she placed in my palm. It looked just the same as that day. It didn’t look like it had ever been worn.

“But why did you steal this?”
“…I thought I could keep it.”
“What?”
“I thought having that insignia would let me enter the tower.”

What would you do if you got into the tower?

Looking at Refe with a gaze that said she was crazy, she answered in a small voice.

“I heard there are virgin mages in the tower.”
“…”

“What.”
“…You crazy woman.”
“Can’t you just call me a typical Succubus? Calling me a crazy woman is a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

She stole the insignia for such a lame reason.

Suppressing a sigh, I asked her.

“Hey, Refe. How long have you been in this city?”
“…About two months.”
“What? Then why haven’t they put a bounty on you?”

Thinking about it, some strange things popped up.

-She’s a famous lady around here.

The tavern owner had definitely said so. Famous enough to be recognized. If that’s the case, she would have been going around with one appearance for a long time, meaning rumors would be impossible to come by.

If Refe had been draining mana with all her might, there would be mummies lying all over the street. And even if they saw those, the guards surely wouldn’t have failed to recall the Succubus Queen.

Furthermore, Kadinak had had some run-ins with this bat lady. If mummies were rolling around, the Lord would’ve immediately blown his top and issued a bounty.

‘But, I haven’t received any recent bounty notices.’

Bounty notices are regularly sent to Hero parties.

I didn’t recall seeing Refe’s face on any of them.

As I tilted my head in confusion, Refe answered.

“That’s because I restrained myself.”
“What?”
“I didn’t drain one person to death; I took a few and drained them little by little. It seemed a waste to just kill them. And I didn’t want to be chased by monsters like you…”

Well, well.

“So you can think, huh…?”
“You know that’s really rude, right?”

Anyway.

I sighed and stood up.

“So what should I do with you now…”
“I-I handed it over! I gave the insignia back! I’m living restrained! Just let me go!”
“Why should I?”

Snap, crack. I approached Refe while loosening her wrist.

The truth is, although it sounds like I’m saying I’d kill her, I didn’t actually plan to. To be more precise, it’s more accurate to say, ‘I can’t kill her.’ The Succubus Queen held a much higher existence than her power would suggest.

‘With Sara around, I’d be in deep trouble on my own.’

Of course, if I spent all my mana, I could catch her. I could catch her, but doing so would mean I’d have to spend all my time recovering until all my mana refilled.

‘I really want to return to the Royal Capital soon, so why would I do that?’

With the thought of quitting the Hero party, I had no intention of doing something that wasn’t worth it. It’d be much better to suck out just enough mana to prevent any funny business and hand her over to the guards.

As I was thinking that, I reached out to Refe.

“U-ugh!”

Mana drain isn’t a light spell.

It was a double-layered spell, so it was stored not at my fingertips but in the knuckles. I positioned my knuckles right at Refe’s forehead as I grabbed her head.

“L-let go!”
“Stay still before I hit you again.”

Just as I was about to suck up her mana…

-Refe! Are you there!

A booming voice echoed from outside the building.

Then came a thud bang, followed by the door exploding into the room with a crack!

“Refe!”
“D-Daike!”

Refe, with her hair caught by me, looked at the man who had smashed in the door with tears in her eyes.

He was clad in full black armor.

A dark sword held in one hand.

At first glance, he might seem like a heavily armored knight, but to my eyes, the magical energy surging over the knight’s body was evident. Proof he was a mana being like Refe.

A Dark Knight.

Most likely, that’s how they referred to beings like him.

“Are you okay, Refe! I definitely saw a signal for help…”

The black knight paused mid-sentence, scanning the room.

I did the same, following the black knight’s gaze around the room.

Mysterious rods with unknown purposes.

Ropes that looked like they could be used to bind someone.

And a leather whip.

Hmm.

‘This crazy woman…?’

Tools that this bat lady had laid out for fun with men scattered chaotically in the room.

‘They only look like they could be used for that.’ And here I was, holding the Succubus Queen by her hair.

‘Anyone would see it like…’

I turned my creaking neck to look at the black knight.

“…?”

The black knight’s face twisted in anger.

“No, hey. Hold on. I know what you’re thinking, but I can explain…”
“You disgusting human!”

Ah, crap.

2.

Succubus Queen, Refe.

She thinks about the mage.

Wasn’t a mage supposed to protect from the back of a warrior? While the warrior buys time, mages built up spells to eliminate enemies?

At least, that’s what Refe thought mages were.

If that’s the case…

“What is that…?”

What on earth is going on here?

Refe blinked blankly. The chains that had bound her were already gone, but she still couldn’t take a single step.

-Boom!

The ground vibrated.

-Crash!

Something crumbled.

“Cough!”

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the black knight rolled on the ground. The black armor he had boasted was already cracked.

“Ugh, hey. Stop stirring up dust. It’s making me choke.”

Just then, someone stepped through the half-collapsed building. He casually brushed off the dust on his robe with his hand.

“Hic.”

Refe held her breath as she looked at that figure.

The man who came through the dust. Raniel.

Refe recalled he was the mage known to be part of the Hero’s party. Not a martial artist or knight, but a mage.

‘What?! Where do you see that?’

A mage, taking down a Dark Knight with bare hands instead of a staff?

Refe couldn’t believe it.

Regardless of whether she believed it or not, Raniel moved. Step by step, he approached Refe.

“…”

Then he stopped right in front of her.

“Hey.”
“W-what?”
“You’re hiding something.”

His blue eyes fixed on Refe. His gaze looking down at her made her shoulders tremble.

“You’ve been draining mana, yet how come that Dark Knight was waiting nearby? Honestly, looks like he’s at least a commander or something…”

Hmm, he stroked his chin.

“As many as there are in the Demon Lord’s army, they wouldn’t just leave a commander like that to do nothing, right?”
“He’s… he’s into me! So he’s stalking me…”

Refe scrambled for excuses.

But before she could finish, a red insignia appeared above her head.

Mid-level magic, Detection.

A spell that reveals whether the statements of the target are true or false by displaying a blue insignia for truth and a red one for lies.

Refe’s complexion turned pale.

A smirk spread across Raniel’s lips.

“No way.”

He reached out.

Reaching for Refe’s head.

Spell reinforcement.

Smite.

Thud! With a blow that rattled her head, Refe was thrown to the ground. Her nose stung. Her mouth tasted iron. Blood trickled onto the ground she faced.

“I’ll take care of that guy and come back, so just wait.”
“Wh-who do you think you are?”

The black knight Daike struggled to lift himself through the broken bed and table. Watching him, Raniel spat out.

“Who do you think you are? Just doing what I want.”

He rolled up his sleeves.

Right next to Raniel, Refe suddenly looked up. With blurry vision, she gazed at his revealed arm.

It wasn’t a muscular arm akin to trained warriors.

However, more than that filled his arm.

Stored spells.

Dozens of spells waited to be released from his arm.

Refe looked at where those spells were aimed.

The injured armor, the limping legs.

The sight of the standing Dark Knight Daike.

“Ah…!”

The odds were, nonexistent.

Author’s Note

It’s scary because it’s getting too popular.

Thanks a lot for reading!

You might be wondering why Raniel got the insignia stolen from Refe while he was beating her up…

Well, it’s more because of Remia and Sara who were messing around than anything Raniel did.

I’ll explain that later.