Extra 5: Banish

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Translator: Soafp

TL: I forgot 1 chapter after the epilogue. If you want, you can read it here

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Visiting the refugees together with Erius was, for Lena, one of the few precious times when she could have him all to herself.

But ever since Nonoa joined the party, those occasions had drastically decreased.

Sometimes Phalan would come along.

Other times, Lena would go alone.

That promise—“I won't leave you alone.”

Of course, it didn't mean they had to always be glued to each other.

Even so, whenever Erius chose to go out with Nonoa instead of accompanying Lena,

“Liar…”

she would mutter silently in her heart.

Just recently, when she saw Erius give Nonoa a ring in the magic city of Balhant, she cried all night.

Her concern for Nonoa's safety wasn't a lie.

Still—

“A Saint skill is amazing. If I had a skill like that, I could be useful to everyone too.”

There were times when words like that felt painfully insensitive.

If she could give it away, she wanted to give this skill to someone else.

And yet, without this skill, she wouldn't be needed by Erius.

That conflict constantly churned inside her heart.

Lena made a decision.

“Erius, I need to talk to you.”

Late at night, Lena visited Erius's room.

She felt uneasy about visiting a man's room at night, but if she didn't come after everyone had gone to sleep, she didn't know who might overhear.

Fortunately, despite the late hour, he was still awake.

It was hard to say, but she had to make herself clear.

“My skill has been trained quite a bit already. I don't think we need Nonoa the accountant anymore.”

When Lena broached the subject, Erius remained silent.

Without waiting for his response, she continued.

“Listen, Erius. The battles will only grow fiercer from here on. You and I have means to fight, but if Nonoa—who still can't really fight—faces the Demon King, she'll surely lose her life. Letting her go now would be an act of kindness.”

Erius surely understood that logic as well.

On the surface, he treated everyone fairly.

But though he tried not to show it, he clearly cared about Nonoa in a special way.

And it was also true that part of Lena found that unpleasant.

She didn't deny that feeling.

But—

This proposal wasn't driven by jealousy.

Telling herself that, Lena pressed on.

“Let's banish Nonoa. If you clearly tell her so, I'll follow your lead and say cold things to her, so she won't cling to false hopes.”

After all, she had been keeping her distance and treating Nonoa coldly for exactly this reason.

If even after all this Erius refused—

Then it couldn't be helped.

She would leave it to Erius's judgment as leader.

As she waited for his reply…

“Alright, Lena. You're right. I'll tell Nonoa tomorrow. So… you should get some rest too.”

“…Yes, and also Erius.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

She thanked him and left the room.

Knowing how ugly her feelings were, she still felt happy.

That Erius had chosen her—over Nonoa.

The next morning, she asked Phalan to cooperate in expelling Nonoa as well.

She knew she was asking something cruel of him, despite his rough tongue and kind heart, but…

At first, Phalan resisted Lena's persuasion, but eventually he said,

“Yeah… you're right. She's helpful, sure, but… we can't keep relying on her and end up getting her killed.”

And in the end, he agreed.

At Erius's call, everyone gathered…

“Nonoa, I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave… you're banished.”

With his words as the trigger, it began.

Lena hurled even colder words at her than before.

Phalan followed along.

She thought it would end there—but something unexpected happened.

Erius said he would give her a parting gift.

Lena didn't think it was a good idea.

If they showed her unnecessary kindness, she might cling to the party.

“If you're going to give her something, wouldn't it be better to donate it to the church instead…”

When Lena objected, Erius raised a hand to stop her and said,

“We're an S-rank party. Even if she was useless, throwing out a former companion with nothing but the clothes on her back wouldn't look good. But… well, maybe that doesn't matter… you're right, Lena…”

“W-wait a moment… that's true. Even if she was only a companion for a short time, giving her nothing at all would go against God's will.”

Lena always tried to behave in a way befitting a Saint.

To be honest, she didn't care much about how she herself was perceived.

But acting strangely would damage the party's reputation—and by extension, Erius'.

She had to prevent strange rumors from spreading.

Still, if they gave Nonoa something too valuable and she developed lingering attachments…

As Lena worried about that—

What Erius handed over was a low-grade healing potion.

That much should be fine.

“That's just a low-grade healing potion. You can be cruel sometimes, Erius. But Nonoa, I suppose it suits you.”

It didn't feel good to say.

But this too was for her sake.

Seeing Phalan's exasperated expression, Lena forced a smile.

After Nonoa left, Lena visited Phalan's room.

“Phalan… was I handling things properly?”

“Yeah, Lena. That was an attitude you wouldn't expect from a Saint. Well… you did your best.”

At his unusually straightforward words,

She leaned against his chest and cried for a while.

That was why—she never imagined things would turn out like this.

Several months later, what reached Lena's ears was…

Nonoa's success.