I Was the Scout for the Hero’s Party

A fresh morning breeze blew through the unusually quiet campsite.
Thanks to Austin’s efforts as a ranger since age 14, the hero’s party’s campsite had been well-concealed with branches and leaves, far from the Demon King army’s route. From the tent, a head of golden hair emerged slowly.
It was Isabel, the saint who always woke up first among the party members.

“Yawn… Mr. Austin… What’s for breakfast today…?”

The strangely quiet campsite.
Instead of the usual clatter of breakfast preparation, only silence hung in the air. Sensing something wrong, Isabel quickly gathered her wits and gripped the mace hanging at her waist.
…Was it an enemy raid?

“…Mr. Austin?”

Austin, who should have been preparing breakfast, was nowhere to be seen, and last night’s dirty dishes were still scattered in front of the campfire.
The traps Austin had set around the campsite were untouched, and the protective magic circle Maya had drawn hadn’t been activated, so it didn’t seem like an enemy attack.
Where had Mr. Austin gone?

Disturbed by the unusual atmosphere, Isabel ran into the tent to wake the other party members.

“Everyone! Wake up! Hurry!”

“Hmm… What is it… Isabel…?”

“Mmm… I’m up… I’m up, but… just five more minutes…”

After personally rousing the groggy party members, Isabel led them outside, still half-asleep.

“E-Everyone… Mr. Austin has disappeared…”

“…What?”

At the news of Austin’s disappearance, the hero and other party members, who had been blinking sleepily just moments ago, suddenly widened their eyes and looked around.

“Wait, what do you mean Austin disappeared… Huh? Where did he go…?”

“A-Austin…? Where…?”

“Austin! Stop playing around and come out! Where did you go without making breakfast?”

“…What’s that?”

As everyone was searching for Austin, Gracey spoke up with a questioning voice, and all eyes followed her pointing finger.
There lay a small piece of leather.

“…Huh… What is this…?”

The slightly bewildered hero, Yoo-jung, picked up the leather piece and sat down. The other party members, who had been warily scanning the surroundings, gathered around the hero to check what was written on it when they confirmed no one else was nearby.

“Hero. What in the world is that?”

“Wait a moment… Uh… ‘I can’t take this anymore… Deal with the Demon King yourselves… Don’t look for me’…?”

Unable to comprehend what this meant, the hero and her companions stared blankly at the leather piece for a moment.
The content remained the same no matter how many times they read it.

“Huh…? What… What is this…?”

At the hero’s confused words, Adrienne stood up abruptly, grabbing her bow.

“I-It’s obviously a joke! He probably just went scouting again!”

“…That’s right. He went scouting. This scrap of leather… he’s clearly playing a prank… He’ll come back if we wait.”

“Th-That’s right…! If we wait a bit… he’ll come back covered in leaves like usual…”

After reading the message on the leather, Adrienne, Gracey, and Isabel desperately denied the reality that Austin had left the party.

“Austin… who does that map boy think he is…! When he comes back, I’ll use him for archery practice!”

“Hmm. I should also consider using him as a sparring partner for sword practice.”

While Gracey and Adrienne discussed what punishment to give Austin when he returned, Maya stared at the leather piece with a distraught expression.

“…Austin… Austin left… the party…?”

However, her soft murmur didn’t reach the ears of the other party members.

Everyone knew that Austin always informed the party members before going scouting, so there was no way he would have gone without saying anything, but they deliberately denied this fact.

“Right. He must have gone scouting on his own again. Let’s wait a bit.”

The hero spoke up, quieting the commotion, and the hero’s party sat where they had eaten dinner the night before and began to wait for Austin.

One hour passed, then two.
Even after waiting until midday, Austin didn’t return.

“…Austin… Did you really abandon us…?”

Having missed both breakfast and lunch, the women were already on edge.

“…I was going to let this slide, but it seems I can’t.”

“This is… not a righteous action.”

Only then accepting reality, the party members gripped their weapons tightly and glared at the innocent ground.

They were probably angry that a party member they had considered useless baggage had abandoned them.

“…Fine. What can he do after leaving the party anyway? How will he survive?”

For Hero Yoo-jung, who never missed a meal three times a day, the idea of skipping meals was unthinkable.
Having unintentionally missed breakfast and lunch, she gritted her teeth in rising irritation.

“Let’s just go without him. Good riddance. Isn’t it better this way that the parasite who only consumed our food is gone? We’re more than enough without someone like Austin.”

At the hero’s words, the others nodded one by one, hastily ate hard bread and salty jerky that tasted like it had been mixed with salt, and got up.
The rock-hard bread tasted awful.

“Austin… we’ll make you pay for abandoning us.”

“Ugh, fuck, that gives me the chills.”

Feeling a sudden chill run down my body, I rubbed my goosebump-covered arms, shuddered, and continued pushing through the undergrowth.

Desperately wanting to get as far away as possible from the hero and party members, I had trekked through the forest non-stop until the morning sun rose.

Following the map I carried and using my ranger watch as a compass to retrace my steps, I had finally reached the edge of the forest where the Demon King’s army had been stationed.

“There should be a city nearby… I’ve come quite far. Damn it all.”

Taking out a portable triangle ruler to calculate the scale, I found that walking to Quiln, the nearest city, would take at least 5 days. Quiln had a magic tower, so if I could just walk to Quiln and use a gate, I could travel comfortably to the capital.

I plopped down with my back against a tree, stretching out my legs that had developed blisters from walking without rest.

“…I wonder what they’re doing right now.”

Considering how poorly they treated me normally, I doubt they’d be sad about me leaving.
They probably rejoiced at my disappearance rather than feeling sad or regretful.

But maybe… just maybe, could they be sad or showing a remorseful attitude about my disappearance?

“…This is annoying.”

Having just escaped from the party, I was irritated to find myself still thinking about them. I narrowed my eyes and pressed my fingers against them in frustration.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t concerned about whether they might be struggling without me.
During our three years together, I prepared our meals, maintained damaged equipment, and handled various other chores. Would they manage well on their own?

…Well, they’ll probably recruit another scout from a ranger background sooner or later.

“…From what I can see, they need a cook more than a ranger.”

I opened the small bag on my back to check how many supplies remained.
Preserved food… roughly enough for 3 days.

In a forest teeming with monsters, it’s better to abandon any hope of finding game to hunt. If I ration carefully, I should manage somehow.

The water in my canteen is still plentiful, so if I just endure the hunger and walk diligently, I should reach Quiln within 5 days.

-….*?##?@ ..!

-*#@@##!!

That is, assuming I arrive safely.

Hearing shouting in the distance, I slowly pulled the string of my crossbow, loaded a bolt, and glared in the direction of the sound.

A familiar sound… where had I heard it before..?
Like metal clashing against metal… uh…

“…What the hell is it now?”

One thing was certain: a battle was taking place in that direction.
It seemed unlikely to be forest bandits conducting a raid, as who would dare rob people in a forest where the Demon King’s army was camped nearby?

Holding the loaded crossbow in my left hand and gripping my sword handle with my right, ready to draw at any moment, I slowly walked toward the source of the sound.

-Just a little more… No!!

-Kuik… Today’s premium quality…

As I got closer, the scent of blood grew stronger, along with the desperate voices of humans.
In contrast, the monsters’ voices were raised in exhilarated shouts, reveling in the joy of slaughter. I ran through the grass as quietly as possible.

The sounds of battle that had been right in front of me gradually subsided, and soon only the laughter of monsters could be heard.

Catching my breath, I carefully pushed aside the grass blocking my view. Several orcs with large wooden clubs over their shoulders were licking their lips, standing before a female knight in heavy armor and soldiers who were on their knees.

“Queek!! That woman looks tasty!”

“Damn it… If only we hadn’t lost our way…”

“My lady… We’re sorry… We weren’t good enough…”

As I tried to focus on their conversation, I couldn’t help but notice what was behind them.
The supply wagons loaded with provisions.

…If I play this right, I might not have to starve my way to Quiln.

Alright. I’ll go save those people right now…

“Kuik! You! If you become my mate, I’ll spare your life!”

“Grrr… Kill them all!”

…Just as I was about to leap out, I froze at hearing “those lines.”

……Maybe I’ll watch a bit longer.