2 – The Black Sorcerer That Became Unemployed That Day
It somehow became customary for us to go to a specific place after work somewhere along the line.
It was a place that only accepted customers who were affiliated with the Adventurer Union, also known as the Adventurer Cafeteria
We sat around the round table.
After toasting to all of us, the Warrior Alba gulped down his wooden mug filled to the brim with alcohol in a single chug.
Letting out a satisfied 「pwah,」 he slammed his mug onto the table. After asking a nearby waiter to get him a refill, his already-red face turned to me with a glare. His ferocity was about halfway diminished thanks to the froth around his mouth.
「Y'know, you really have just been holding us back, huh?」
I internally sighed.
This has also become somewhat customary as of late, a topic he had to bring up whenever he had the chance.
「Alba…」
「Don't defend him, Fenix!」
Just to make this clear, the only one to ever definitely defend me when this topic came up was the Hero Fenix.
And it was always Alba who found fault in him for doing so as well.
He had hair with the red of raging flames and a gentle smile that fit his well-featured face. His height might make him look scrawny at first, but his body was actually indeed well trained. Amongst the rest of the dungeon-clearing-crazed hardcore maniacs that often appeared in the field of adventurers, he stood out for having a pretty face that brought to mind sagacity
He was also a childhood friend of mine that grew up in the same village as me.
We promised each other we'd work together as adventurers as kids, and that still held true to this day.
But it seemed that it wouldn't last for much longer.
The reason of course being myself.
The Paladin Lark was munching on his bean snack dish, seemingly uncaring of the current conversation.
The Hunter Lily appeared to be listening in as she elegantly sipped on her wine.
As for me, all I could do was make an awkward forced smile with my hands around my mug.
Apparently that pissed off Alba even more.
「To be honest, you're only in this party because you're Fenix's damn childhood friend. Me, Lark, and Lily all got in 'cause of our skills. We prove our ability every single time. But what about you? I can't ever tell if your dumb Black Magic even does anything. Do you really think you're being of any help like that? Huh?」
In our country, our Job is revealed by the temple when we become 10.
To put it simply, God tells us what occupation we're fit for.
It wouldn't have to be adventurer-related, you could become a Chef, a Merchant, a Blacksmith, a Goldsmith, and so on.
While that doesn't mean we have to choose that occupation, for example if a Blacksmith decides to become a chef, hardly anyone would take them on as an apprentice, and even if they opened a restaurant all of a sudden, it wouldn't prosper. Even I'd only want to eat food that's good, so I'd go to a restaurant that has a legitimate Chef.
Attempting to live a life that goes against your Job means travelling down a path of hardship.
It becomes even harder if becoming an adventurer.
You're only allowed to register as an adventurer with your applicable Job.
This means that upon becoming an adventurer, I'd have to be a Black Sorcerer.
But it's extremely hard to make out the effects of Black Magic. Of course, I know exactly what my Black Magic's doing, but my comrades and viewers can't tell at all.
And if I attempt to stand up for myself, they hear nothing but excuses.
「Well… Ahaha.」
「This ain't funny!」
His drunken breath accompanied his angry roar.
「I'm sure you know that a party can only have up to 5 members. If we keep having a useless piece of shit take up a slot in our already limited roster, we ain't ever gonna rise any higher. We're not a party that's gonna stop at the #4 spot. If we're gonna rise higher, we need all 5 members to be the cream of the crop!」
Alba was in the right.
Even I knew that. I didn't need anyone to tell me that I was just a second-rate adventurer next to Fenix.
But even if it's true that Black Sorcerers aren't popular, I don't think that I was holding back my comrades.
But I doubt I could've convinced Alba anyway.
Though, nothing would change even if I were to get him to recognize my abilities. After all, his reason for wanting me out had nothing to do with that.
Whether I was capable or not, he just didn't want a Black Sorcerer in the party.
While being an adventurer definitely did involve having the strong stand at the top, it was also a trade that depended on popularity.
You can't beat a dungeon if you aren't strong enough, but you won't garner any attention if you don't clear it in a flashy way either.
It's the same thing as how even though what's inside matters most, it's easier to get popular if you have good looks. It's sad, but that's how the world works.
「I'm telling you, stop leeching off of Fenix already!」
People entering dungeons and defeating monsters that are a threat to humanity and collecting treasure all with putting their life on the line has become a thing of the past.
These days, dungeon clearing has become entirely commercialized, with adventurers and monsters being mere occupations.
Of course, they're still true and honest battles that don't involve staging, but the dungeon clears are broadcast and viewed all across the world.
The clears that get the most views are the ones with flashy battles and adventurers that catch the eye.
Black Sorcerers are a Job recognized to not even deserve a slot in a party. It's so unpopular that getting told your occupation is Black Sorcerer is almost equivalent to your life instantly getting checkmated.
It wasn't uncommon for monsters to be Black Sorcerers, but since a talented adventurer can just brute force through even if they got a typical Black Magic cast on them, there are hardly anyone that wants one on their team.
「Alba, that was an extremely rude way to say that. Apologize to Lem.」
Fenix spoke without hiding his anger, but his feelings were likely only because of our friendship.
「Fine, I'm sorry. I could've said it in a better way. My bad. But still, I don't think what I said was wrong.」
「No, it was wrong. Lem is-」
「Stop protecting him already, god damn. I joined this party because I thought I'd be able to reach the top with you, not so I could share my rewards with a good-for-nothing. I'm trying to say that even if he might be your friend, the rest of us ain't got no obligation to keep supporting him like this.」
Fenix ground his teeth.
「Why can't you understand? Lem is not useless. He's essential to this party.」
「I don't think so. Hey, what about you guys?」
Alba sought out the opinions of the ones who had been quiet this whole time.
「Well… I guess I don't really care if he's here or not.」
The Paladin Lark muttered.
「Hah, that means it'd be better if he wasn't here, right? Then we could replace him with someone that's at least worth something.」
「…Hmm, well, if we had someone that could move around, it definitely would make things easier…」
「Right?! Even a White Sorcerer that just looks pretty would be better than Lem. Hey, Lily, what about you?」
The beautiful elf Hunter Lily turned a scornful gaze towards Alba.
「Those vulgar words coming out of your mouth are extremely unpleasant to my ears.」
「Yeah, yeah, whatever. Sorry I didn't have a great upbringing. What I'm asking, though, is your opinion, Miss Lily.」
「…I doubt Fenix would keep a powerless member in our party purely out of personal reasons. But it's true that it's hard to make out the effects of Black Magic. Also, our party is the type to quickly clear dungeons with overwhelming power, so I do believe that a pure damage dealing role would help us out more than a support one.」
Their opinions all reflected their personalities, but they all came to the same conclusion for the most part.
The three of them all felt that almost anyone could be a better fit for the party than me.
Ever since Alba joined the party he hated me and always took the chance to attempt to chase me out.
This conversation hasn't come up just once, or even twice.
「Say something, Lem. I'm not saying this out of hate towards you, y'know? If your Black Magic honestly does help out our dungeon clearing, then I apologize. Oh, I know, how about you try casting it on me. That way I can see exactly what it does for myself.」
He's mocked me like that numerous times already.
Even when I decide to actually take on his challenge for a moment, I always end up backing down.
My master had forbidden me from doing anything like that, and I wasn't about to disobey his teachings for my own personal sake.
And if I were to explain that, I'd only get ridiculed for it. If I'm gonna get laughed at, I might as well just stay silent.
It'd be better for only me to get ridiculed rather than having my master get ridiculed at, too.
「See, you can't do it, right? You don't got the confidence. Can't you tell that someone like you won't serve to do anything good for the party?」
He slapped my shoulder.
Alba then got up and raised his voice to everyone in the room.
「Hey, what do you guys think we should replace this Black Sorcerer with? He's probably gonna be leaving our party soon!」
Alba's voice attracted attention towards our table.
After a few moments, the drunks in the area understood the situation and started shouting out various combat-type Jobs while ridiculing the idea of having a Black Sorcerer.
「This guy's about to become unemployed, so is there anyone that wants to pick him up? It'll be up to you guys on how you want to split the rewards, though.」
Rather than no one showing interest, everyone started bursting out into laughter.
Alba's smile grew wider upon hearing that.
「Get it now, Lem? We're #4 in the world. It's only natural that we'd get attention. All those guys have probably checked out our videos, and yet they're still reacting like this. We don't need you, we don't want you. I'm begging you, don't hold back the four of us just for your own sake.」
「…Alba, that's enough. Any more and I'll-」
「It's fine, Fenix.」
I stopped Fenix. I appreciated his feelings, but the other three wouldn't have agreed with him no matter what he said.
And the fact was that Fenix was losing trust in me.
He was starting to think he was only covering for a smallfry like me out of just friendship.
He's tried to prove everyone wrong, but it was no use.
And it was all because I was a Black Sorcerer.
It wasn't that they didn't need me, but rather they didn't need a Black Sorcerer.
「I got it… I'll leave.」
「Wha-?!」
Hah! So you finally accepted it, Lem!」
I shook off the arm Alba was wrapping around my shoulder.
It was true that there was no point in me remaining in this party.
This constantly humiliating experience wasn't the adventurer life I sought after.
「Fenix. I'll look for a different party, and I'll rise higher than you guys.」
「Lem…」
Alba decided to butt in on even my farewell to my best friend.
「There's not a single party out there that's gonna want you. You don't got a single thing going for you. Also, you're not one of us anymore, so get outta here already.」
I stood up from my seat as he ridiculed me.
Fenix looked like he was going to blow up from Alba's attitude, but he refrained from saying anything to him. Because he knew that I wouldn't want that.
「…Lem. Wait-」
「It's fine, Fenix. Really.」
We were friends, but now we were going to be rivals.
The rest of my former comrades didn't say a word.
Lark wasn't laughing but he wasn't making any other reaction either. Lily was showing disgust towards Alba's rough behavior, but didn't show any particular objection towards me leaving.
I left the restaurant without looking back even once.
On that day, I became unemployed