The Case of the Washed-Up F-Rank Adventurer Who Maxed Out His Agility by Relying on His Worthless ‘Flee’ Skill and Accidentally Became the Strongest in the World. He Can’t, However, Escape from the Yandere Beauties. - Chapter 19
Chapter 19: The Old Man Gets Left Out
They were still… no, they were looking at me with even more contempt than yesterday.
And somehow, I was getting dissed so casually, too…
And far from reconsidering their opinion of me, it seemed like the perfect chance for all their frustrations from yesterday to just explode.
“More to the point, we had something we wanted to say to you, Mira-san. You recommended that old—… that man for our party, but… honestly, he was completely useless.”
“Exactly… Useless is putting it lightly; he held us back. We could have gone deeper into the dungeon, but thanks to him forcing us to ‘Escape’ from a magical beast, we couldn’t even earn any money… It was the worst.”
They started complaining one after the other.
This is bad… At this rate, Mira-san’s opinion of me is just going to sink lower and lower.
No… I’m getting fired tomorrow anyway, so that doesn’t matter anymore.
More importantly, Mira-san recommended me to them, even if she did so reluctantly.
I can’t let her be humiliated any more than she already has.
And so, I…
“Hey, uh… everyone. If you have a problem with me, I’d appreciate it if you told me directly instead of Mira-san…”
…was what I said to the members of the Celesties, but…
“Stay out of it. You’re nothing but a perpetual F-rank old man…”
“I can’t even… We told you over and over yesterday that we could handle it, but the second a slightly strong monster showed up, you just went ahead and used ‘Escape’…”
A storm of accusations erupted.
Mira-san kept her head down, remaining silent.
I happened to glance at Alicia-san, and her smiling face from moments ago had completely changed.
Her eyes were so cold.
And her face had become as expressionless as a mask.
She’s probably just completely appalled by me.
It’s already been five years since I parted ways with Alicia-san and the others… the Moon Maidens…
And yet, I’m still an F-rank…
On top of that, I’m being chewed out by a bunch of young adventurers who are just like Alicia-san was back then.
Alicia-san was always a person who valued loyalty.
That part of her probably hasn’t changed.
She even remembered someone like me, who she’d only partied with for a short time.
And she even said she’d wanted to see me, even if it was just a polite pleasantry.
But… memories… especially of the past, tend to be romanticized.
That’s probably why her image of me had been preserved as something positive.
But now, Alicia-san has been abruptly yanked from her fantasy back to reality.
I wish I could have at least remained in her memory with a halfway decent image.
It’s not like… I’ll ever see Alicia-san again after today, anyway.
“W-Well… I get that you’re all frustrated. For now, why don’t we move somewhere else? Look, there are uninvolved people here.”
I said, trying to at least prevent Alicia-san from witnessing any more of this disgraceful scene.
Just then, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.
I whipped around to find…
“…Because they’re ignorant girls, I thought there was no danger, so I let them stay by Mikami-san’s side for just a little while… but I see now how foolish they are. It’s fine if I’m the only one who knows how amazing Mikami-san is, but I can’t stand to see him made a fool of…”
Mira-san was there.
She was looking down, muttering something.
Has her frustration with me finally exploded, too…?
“Mikami-sensei… I would like to have a little talk with these children, if I may? Hee hee…”
Alicia-san suddenly said to me.
Looking beside me, I saw Alicia-san wearing a huge smile.
Did I just imagine that vacant look from before…?
But still, something about her seems… off.
“Oh… n-no, of course, I don’t mind, but…”
I couldn’t help but let my words trail off.
Because, when I looked into Alicia-san’s eyes, I could feel something deeply unsettling.
“What! With the Saint-sama… o-of course! Please, tell us all about your adventures!”
“W-We’re huge fans of yours, Saint-sama!”
But it seemed I was the only one who felt that way.
The members of the Celesties were ecstatic at Alicia-san’s offer, bubbling with excitement.
A complete one-eighty from their attitude toward me just moments ago…
Well… I guess it’s only natural they’d act differently toward the Saint versus a perpetual F-rank like me…
But to have it flaunted so blatantly…
It’s hard not to feel miserable.
“Alicia-sama… I do apologize, but before that, I would like a word with them… As a member of the Guild staff, there are a number of things I need to… discipline them for… no, rather, a number of things I’d like to say…”
“No, Mira-san. It seems they wish to speak with me. Besides, on this particular matter… hee hee… it appears you and I are of the same mind. Won’t you leave this to me?”
I tilted my head, watching the two of them.
Just moments ago, there was a hostile atmosphere between them.
But now, they seemed to be getting along strangely well.
Mira-san approached Alicia-san.
Then, as if to put some distance between us, the two of them retreated further inside.
They were smiling, discussing something in low voices.
It seemed to be a conversation they didn’t want me to overhear.
…Are they having the time of their lives swapping complaints about me…?
‘Sigh… Mikami-san is just so much trouble. He always comes to the Guild with those pleading eyes, begging for a quest… and then even when I find work for him, things like today happen.’
‘To be honest, we had the same trouble back in the day. It’s rude to say, but no other party would take Mikami-sensei… We had no choice, so we partied with him for two whole years, you see.’
I could hear their voices replaying vividly inside my head.
All I could do was watch the two of them from a distance.
