Volume 4 Chapter 4 Provocation
"...Wade."
"Frain?"
Toxy quietly moved seats, removing the barrier between Frain and me.
"Long time no see. How have you been?"
As I casually spoke to him, Frain furrowed his brows.
There was a tense atmosphere. Everyone, besides me, fell silent, observing the situation.
Frain spoke up.
"You're such a coward."
"What?"
"I could hear your conversation all the way over here. Your loud, cowardly talk."
Frain suddenly directed his displeasure towards me, and I retorted while blinking rapidly.
"...It's just a greeting. We were just having a good time drinking."
"Huh? Wade, were you happy to be called the strongest copper party?"
"Of course I was. What's the big deal?"
"Tch, what's that supposed to mean? Aren't you annoyed? It's making me feel stupid."
"...?"
I'm confused by Frain's intentions.
Frain said,
"If it were me, I'd be furious."
"Huh?"
"Those guys who said the fastest silver party rivaling your strongest copper party, I'd make them all pay dearly. Because, you know, that's what it means to mock us as just copper. Don't you think so, Wade?"
As I listened, I realized what Frain was trying to say. And who Frain really is now.
"...Frain. This is just my gut feeling."
I asked,
"Is it about your fastest silver party?"
"Yeah. Surprised, huh? I never thought Wade, I'd surpass you so quickly."
Frain took out the silver Sword adventurer badge from his collar. The members, except Sandra, were wide-eyed.
"...Impressive. You're amazing, Frain."
"Amazing? You were just playing around, weren't you?"
"No, but... It means your comrades have become strong enough to reach the silver level, right? They were originally a mix of iron-class members."
Basically, in order to be called a Copper Party or a Silver Party, all members need to reach that level. Even if Sandra alone is at the silver level, that's not why we're called a Silver Party.
However, Frain denied it.
"No, they couldn't become silver."
"What do you mean they couldn't become silver? It's not like they failed an exam, right?"
I furrowed my brows at Frain's strange way of speaking.
Frain said,
"They died. I'm the one who killed them."
Silence fell. Everyone listening to this conversation fell silent. The only voices heard were those of completely unrelated conversations getting louder in the distance.
I struggled to find the words to say,
"...When did all this happen?"
"It was around the time you guys completed the dragon subjugation. We got wiped out in the dungeon. I was the only one who desperately escaped death. It was pathetic. So, I made an effort as if I were inheriting their lives.
Then, I heard a voice somewhere saying, 'Hey, you brats! Where are you?'
"Oh, so you were here. As the leader, come to the meeting right away... Oh, what's this!? This brings back memories! The boy, and Sandra-chan too!"
Appearing next to Frain was Kadras. Kadras the twin swords. During the debt collection, he stood in front of us alongside Sandra. He is a skilled swordsman.
"Kadras, is it that time already?"
"Yeah, hurry up. But seriously, it's so nostalgic! Sandra-chan, you've managed to sneak into the boy's place. Are you doing well?"
"Of course. Wade's party is the best."
"Hahaha! Sandra-chan's poker face hasn't changed at all. Anyway, now's not the time to be saying that. Hey, punk, let's go!"
"Yeah... So, that's the deal. I'll connect their will and lives, and go ahead. Even the silver rank pales in comparison to us. If you're satisfied with the strongest copper party, you can just slack off there, Wade."
Frain just said his piece and quickly walked away. Kadras added, "Sorry about that. Our punk can be rude. Please forgive him," and followed behind.
What remained was silence. I tried to cover it up somehow with a cheer. But it was no good. This isn't a toast I can drink to.
I placed the cup on the table. Then, I looked at everyone.
"Hey, we're all just slacking off, aren't we?"
The response was silence. But it wasn't because there were no words to return. It was because there was such intense emotion swirling around that words couldn't express it.
"It seemed like they were satisfied with the strongest copper party. It seemed so pathetic at this insignificant checkpoint."
Someone snorted. That made everyone burst into laughter.
However, not a single one of us was smiling.
"It's funny, right? Hey, everyone, let's all hang out. Let's go put some eyes in the holes on Frain's face."
"Hehe...! Sounds good, Wade-kun. What should we do...?"
"Clear achievements are good. Otherwise, Frain-kun won't understand."
"That's right! Let's aim for something that will make him go 'wow'."
"He seems to be particular about ranks. Then, we should show it in ranks."
"Then, let's do this."
I curl up the corners of my mouth.
"Let's go for the gold party. We'll beat them to the gold rank. If Frain's the fastest silver party, we'll be the fastest gold. What a bunch of losers. Let's wake up that rotten guy."
'Roger that.'
In a perfectly coordinated response, Ridge hesitated, Windy exclaimed, "As expected of Wade-sama...!" in joy. Moruru, not quite understanding, followed with a "Roger that!"
Meanwhile, the adventurers in the dining hall who had been listening in muttered to themselves.
"...The Wade party is too scary, huh?"
We all laughed, seething inside.
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