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With that introduction, Ryu started explaining what had happened since I disappeared from the capital.

…About a month and a half ago, a few days after I had left the capital city, Cain expressed his desire to recruit a new party member.

Upon further discussion, it turned out that the new member was a female adventurer from a different town’s orphanage who had faced various hardships. She was a year older than Cain and had escaped from being sold by the orphanage’s director. Cain, who sympathized with her plight which was similar to mine, wanted to help her somehow.

…Our orphanage director would never sell children, okay? He did everything he could to protect us! …There was nothing he could do about my situation at that time.

At first, most of the party members were against the idea. However, from what I heard, the new recruit didn’t seem like a bad person, and they started sympathizing with her after remembering about me. So, they decided to consider it positively.

However, there was some resistance to having a complete stranger move into the house right away. They decided to take a more cautious approach and accompany her on gathering quests and other activities to get to know her better.

As they worked together on quests, it became apparent that she was a hardworking and earnest individual, and everyone began to develop a favorable impression of her.

About a week into working together, when they had a bit more savings and wanted to take a break from work, they decided to go out and enjoy the town. Although they said “everyone,” it wasn’t necessarily all of them together; they split up to hang out with those they were close to or went alone.

So, Ryuu was wandering around the town by himself, shopping, when he heard a familiar voice.

He looked around, and there was a face he recognized in the alley leading to a side street. It was the female adventurer whom Cain wanted to recruit and who had been recently accompanying the party on their adventures.

Ryuu thought it might be nice to strike up a conversation since he was getting a bit tired of wandering alone, and they weren’t complete strangers. But…

“…It felt like she was talking to an acquaintance, so I hesitated to approach her directly. But then, I overheard their conversation… I thought it was pretty bad of me at first, but…”

However, the content of their conversation was the problem. In fact, it was a major problem.

It seemed that the woman in question had plans to take over the house that served as Triela and the others’ base. After moving in together, she intended to use a group of tough thugs from her circle to take over the house.

Ryuu was apparently about to shout at her in anger, but she was accompanied by a rough-looking man. He felt that getting emotional and confronting them at that moment wouldn’t lead to anything good, so he bit his tongue, hurried home, and kept quiet about it.

Later, when everyone was back home, Ryuu secretly called Maricle and Triela to discuss the daytime incident. He didn’t invite Cain because he was afraid it might complicate matters even further. Ryuu’s growth is truly impressive.

Maricle and Triela believed Ryuu’s account. Given Ryuu’s recent growth and his earnest demeanor, they couldn’t imagine him making up such a pointless lie. They also mentioned consulting Gim and, with his intervention, managed to handle the situation by accompanying the woman on quests, then trailing her after the quests were finished and catching her in the act, ultimately resolving the issue without incident.

They only reported everything to Cain after everything was settled.

When Cain heard the story, he didn’t get angry but sat down in a stunned silence for a while. Eventually, he returned to his room.

The next morning, at breakfast, Cain knelt down and apologized to the entire party. Afterward, he seemed a bit down, but he earnestly continued with gathering quests and goblin extermination.

…But a week later, Cain suddenly announced that he was leaving the party.

“…I’ve been trying my best as the leader, but due to my own naivety, I’ve only caused trouble for everyone. If that results in getting my comrades harmed, then I’d rather my foolishness damages only me— That’s what he said.”

It was a decision he had reached after much internal turmoil, and he didn’t yield to any attempts at persuasion. Maricle, in particular, tried his best to convince him, but he didn’t listen at all.

What’s even more surprising is what happened next. Boman expressed his intention to follow Cain.

“He said, ‘I’ve realized that when I’m with everyone, I tend to indulge in my own laziness and dependence. So, I want to take a good look at myself.’”

Obviously, it seemed like trouble was brewing with just the two of them, and Maricle also decided to go with them. However, Cain firmly rejected this idea. He argued that it was unsafe for only the girls to remain, and they needed someone capable of handling physical tasks. This was a reasonable point, so Maricle fell silent.

Ryuu, on the other hand, made eye contact with Cain but couldn’t immediately bring himself to say that he wanted to go with them.

There was an exchange that went something like this:

“…I, I want to…”
“You stay.”
“Go! I want to go too!”
“No, you stay. …I’m entrusting Triela and the others to you.”
“…Kh, …Okay.”

And then, Cain’s group left the house on the same day.

Three days later, when Ryuu was about to return home after finishing a gathering quest, he was stopped by Cain. At that time, they had split up to buy essential supplies for the household, and Ryuu was alone.

“I heard it at that time, but Cain had already decided to join another party as a supporter on the day we discussed his departure. He said he had been making various arrangements for a while.”

Originally, the plan was for Triela, Maricle, and everyone else to become supporters for that party after negotiating with the other side. However, after the attempted takeover incident, Cain changed his plans.

…Surprisingly, he had convinced Gim to let the others work as supporters in his party after he left.

“…He said it would also serve as a backup because things might get dangerous with fewer men after we left.”

In fact, it seemed that Cain had also grown considerably.

…However, the price he paid for it was quite significant.