Chapter 49 - Declaration of Disbandment (1/2)

With the party of three having set a new record time in defeating the Fire Dragon, the celebration was great as well this time; even Garm, who normally would not even flinch from drinking the Dwarves’ favorite ale, was starting to get drunk by the end of it. Tsutomu had tried to enjoy things at his own pace, but had ended up exhausted from dealing with Amy’s drunken shenanigans.

After that, Tsutomu had a good time discussing various things with Camille and enjoying the party; in the end, he paid for everything out of his own pocket. He and Garm then carried the drunk-sleeping Amy and Camille back to the Guild Dormitory; Garm seemed to be at his limit, too, as apparent from how he laid down on the floor right when he was back to his room. With some struggle, Tsutomu managed to drag Garm along to the living room, at which he himself soon fell asleep as well.

The afternoon of the following day, Tsutomu, Garm, and Amy — all in non-combat clothes — went to an interview with two newspaper publishers at the Guild’s conference room. Amy was quite used to this sort of interaction, so things went along smoothly. Tsutomu, being asked about his party’s strategies and approaches, was also able to answer without a stutter.

After two hours of inquiries regarding the Fire Dragon, the newspaper people left the room. Amy looked satisfied, while Garm leaned his back against the sofa. Then, they heard a knock on the conference room’s door. Tsutomu answered, prompting Camille, in her indigo uniform, to let herself in.

“Everyone’s here — good.”

“Oh, hello. We’d planned to visit you ourselves after this, actually.”

“I heard that you were having some interviews with the newspapers, you see. It would have taken you a long time to get there from here, wouldn’t it?”

Tsutomu casually greeted Camille as she came in and let her through to the sofa in front of him. Camille had a piece of document paper in her hand.

“Hmm? Guild Master? What’s that you got there?”

“……”

Amy’s cat ears twitched, signifying her curiosity as to why Camille was wearing the Guild uniform, while Garm closed his eyes and remained silent, as if he had figured something out.

Camille sat down on the opposite side from the three and placed the piece of paper in her hand on the table.

“The recent victory over the Fire Dragon is considered to have erased the nickname of ‘Lucky Boy’. Therefore, Garm and Amy, your party contracts have expired. Any objections, Tsutomu?”

“No, not at all.”

“I see. Then sign here, and place your blood here.”

“Huh…”

The speed at which the discussion was progressing rendered Amy dumbfounded as she remembered the bits and pieces of what she had been told by Camille the other day when they had gone out for a drink together. The disbandment of the party upon the erasure of the ‘Lucky Boy’ nickname — Amy had already known that it was coming, but she had always felt that it was still a long way off.

Tsutomu, having been told of it in advance during the previous day’s celebration, signed the paper, then jabbed his thumb with the needle that Camille offered him and pressed it on the sheet. Camille nodded as she received the document.

“We can’t let anyone borrow our Staff Members without a detailed procedure, but if you have any problem, do contact us. We’ll assist you to the best of our abilities.”

“I appreciate that. I’ll be relying on you when I’m really in trouble.”

“All right. You’ve also helped us along the way — truly, you have our thanks. We hope you’ll get along with us from this point on, too.”

“W-wait a minute! Stop, stop!”

Tsutomu and Camille shook hands; Amy was about to interrupt them, but Garm stopped her. Seeing Amy like that, Camille gave her a look of disapproval.

“I’ve already said this before, but… You sure don’t think things in the long term, Amy.”

“B-but you looked like you were having so much fun, Guild Master! You know what, we should all just join Tsutomu’s Clan! Yeah? I mean, he’s gonna create one, right!?”

“That is a tempting suggestion… But I have my duty of protecting the Guild. Sorry, but I’m unlikely to be able to enter Tsutomu’s Clan.”

“Ngh…”

Amy had already known that Camille had been entrusted the Guild’s leadership by her late husband. In turn, she had already expected what sort of answer she would get. Camille, seeing how Amy was taking her reply, withdrew her thought of trying to recruit Tsutomu as a Guild Staff Member, what with him having already declined once yesterday. This exchange also confirmed to her that Amy’s passion as an Explorer had started to rekindle, little by little.

“Listen, Amy. Your work has been piling up these past two months — work than only be done with your Appraisal skill. Now that the ‘Lucky Boy’ nickname has been cleared, we can’t possibly let you stay in Tsutomu’s party any longer.”

“I know… But…”

“Sorry. We intended to let you do as you please as much as possible, but there’s too much work that requires your unique capabilities. Get those over with first, then we can talk things over.”

As Amy looked down, Camille gave her a pat on the head, then turned to Garm. Garm straightened his posture and bowed to Camille; getting a read on his intention in doing so, she promptly looked away.

“Garm and Amy, you two will return to your regular duties starting tomorrow. You’re dismissed for today,” Camille said and left the room.

After seeing her off, Tsutomu turned to look at Garm behind him. The latter seemed relatively calm, perhaps since he had known and came to terms with what would be happening beforehand.

“Garm, thank you for joining up with me all this time. You’ve been a great help.”

“Right — I ought to thank you, too. It’s by your knowledge that us Knights are starting to see a glimmer of hope for our Job.”

The two smiled and shook hands. Garm’s powerful grip took Tsutomu by a slight surprise, but the latter managed to give a proper handshake before letting go.

“So, you’ll be forming a clan, right?”

“Yes. The plan is to get done with contacting the major Clans first, then set one up myself.”

“Hmm… then I have someone I would like to introduce to you. Someone I’ve been training with lately. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to consider letting him in as a member of your Clan,” Garm proposed the idea, albeit looking somewhat worried.

“Oh, please do. I definitely appreciate that,” Tsutomu answered with a smile, prompting Garm to nod in satisfaction.

Tsutomu then turned to Amy, causing the latter to flinch.