Chapter 2: The One Who Got Expelled is Me

“Hey, hey, what’s with that joke? It's not funny!”

“Yeah, Lloyd! You’re getting expelled? What kind of joke is that?”

“Lloyd, you’re the backbone of this party and its leader! What are you talking about, leaving?”

I declared I was leaving and tried to walk away, but it seemed it wouldn’t be that easy.

My party members grabbed my shoulders and shook me, pleading desperately for me to stay.

However, no matter how much they begged, I couldn’t stay in this party.

I mean, being around Kane would lead me straight to my ruin, so I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

“We’re talking about kicking out the dead weight, right?! Clearly, the dead weight in this party is Kane!”

Lena pointed forcefully at Kane and glared at him.

I gently lowered Lena’s hand and shook my head.

“No, that’s not it. Kane is a remarkable support mage.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Lena looked confused, furrowing her brows at my words.

Oh, right, I almost forgot something important.

If I just leave Kane, he might chase after me later and deliver his pay back.

The only way to avoid Kane’s retribution is...

“Kane is truly amazing. I just couldn’t bring out his greatness. So I’m leaving this party! As the leader, I have to take responsibility!”

More than any of my past misdeeds, I need to praise and elevate Kane.

When I said this, clenching my fist, everyone else was dumbfounded.

Well, it would be hard to believe if I suddenly said that the guy we’ve been treating as useless is actually incredible.

In that case, I’ll just have to explain it from scratch.

I cleared my throat and started speaking.

“Listen up! Kane’s ‘Support’ skill isn’t just any skill. It’s a unique skill that only Kane possesses.”

Hearing my words, the party members blinked in surprise and looked at each other.

But they quickly turned skeptical, giving me doubtful looks.

Lena seemed to be the most suspicious of all.

She stepped forward and pointed at Kane again.

“Sure, I haven’t seen anyone else use ‘Support,’ but it’s not like it’s strong, right?”

“No, it is strong. The reason we’re able to stay at the A-rank level is because of Kane’s skill.”

“W-Wait a minute. That’s going too far.”

Zard jumped in, clearly flustered by my statement.

It’s natural to be skeptical that one skill could boost us two ranks higher than our actual strength.

Yes, our actual strength should be at the C-rank level.

The adventurer ranking is divided into several levels based on an adventurer’s strength.

It’s determined by the number of completed quests, contributions to the guild, and the adventurer’s abilities.

Normally, Lloyd and his party would be at the C-rank level of strength.

Despite this, we’ve been able to reach A-rank because of Kane’s ‘Support.’

Proof of this is that after Kane leaves, the party members will all be demoted to C-rank.

Well, they probably won’t believe me even if I explain this.

I thought for a moment, then raised my index finger.

“Try taking on an A-rank quest without Kane’s skill next time. You’ll quickly see how amazing Kane really is.”

“Are you seriously saying that? Not as a joke?”

“Yes, I’m serious.”

When I nodded earnestly at Emi’s words, everyone fell silent.

They probably didn’t believe me yet, but they seemed to understand that I was serious.

They still looked confused, but that was fine for now.

The real issue was Kane, who had been left out of the conversation.

When I glanced at Kane, he seemed just as skeptical as the other members, not believing my words.

Or maybe he was just shocked by Lloyd’s sudden change in attitude.

I cleared my throat and moved all of today’s rewards on the table toward Kane.

“I’m sorry for all the hardships I’ve caused you, Kane. I know this won’t make up for it, but I hope it helps ease your anger a little.”

“What?! What do you mean by ‘with this’?”

Kane, startled by my sudden action, widened his eyes and looked down at the reward.

“Hey, wait, that’s our reward for this quest! Why are you giving it all to Kane?!”

“It’s us who didn’t do anything. Considering how we’ve treated Kane, even this is too little.”

I gave Lena, who seemed displeased, a sharp look, then took off the expensive-looking ring from my finger and placed it on the table.

“I know it’s not much, but please add this to it.”

“Add to it…?”

“We were wrong all along. I’m truly sorry.”

I deeply bowed my head to the bewildered Kane, then turned around and raised a hand toward the other party members.

“Alright, take care, you all.”

“Wait, Lloyd! What’s going to happen to this party if you, our leader, leave?!”

Emi asked frantically, and I paused to think for a moment.

“A leader, huh. Yeah, I want Kane to be the leader.”

“Me? No, that’s too much…”

“If you take on an A-rank quest without Kane’s skill, everyone will soon want him to be the leader.”

I tried to convince Kane, who was still hesitant, but he wasn’t easily swayed.

Seeing my dilemma, Zard sighed.

“If you insist that much, we can try taking on a quest. If we can’t accept Kane as the leader, you’ll come back immediately, right, Lloyd?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I promise.”

With those words, I left the place and the “Dragon King’s Flame.”

Thus, I succeeded in escaping from the consequences by making Kane the leader and having myself expelled from the party.

I did succeed, right?

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