"Please stop joking, Duke Augustus..." Mirian said at the unusual request.
'I should have figured what he had to say wouldn't be pleasant, but to say it so directly—what is this bastard up to?'
"Tsk, nonsense." Helen stood up. She continued in a rather annoyed tone, "I don't give a damn if you're the duke of the church or a holy knight, you have no right to make decisions regarding our party."
"Helen, calm down," Mirian intervened, trying not to turn this situation into an unfixable problem.
"But Mirian, you say something to this piece of... bastard too," Helen grumbled.
Ryan adopted a serious look and calmly analyzed things. At least this made him realize one thing: whether out of spite toward the church or not, they didn't want to leave the party.
'Now I can see what kind of people make up this organization. Still, I'm curious to hear what you have to say, Duke.'
The duke turned toward them and set his gaze on them seriously.
"Don't misunderstand me. I said I want you to dissolve the party, but not everyone. What I mean is... the S-ranks will remain, and we will simply find more suitable members for you. A C-rank support, as I understand it, is not up to par. You should know that by now."
'This bastard, now I see what he's planning... and I'm actually B-rank.'
"Ha ha ha," Helen laughed in annoyance and continued, "Are you saying Ryan isn't up to par? You have no idea what you're talking about, old man."
"Old man?" the duke countered.
Mirian stepped in, blocking Helen and standing directly in front of the duke.
"What she means is that Ryan is very capable. Besides, he isn't just a simple support—he's a Priest."
"A Priest? All the more reason... Nowadays, healing yourselves with potions is enough. You need a more suitable member, a mage, for example. What on earth are you thinking defending this party?" the duke questioned.
"Damn it, this miserable old man is making me angry..." Helen said, clenching her fists tightly.
'Logically speaking, what he says is true, but only if you consider an ordinary support. However, even now, my stats are nearly on par with an A-rank warrior, not to mention I can heal myself and others,' Ryan evaluated in his mind.
Ryan didn't want to intervene; in fact, the duke's concern seemed perfectly logical to him.
But the fact that Helen and Mirian were trying to defend him also proved to him that there was genuine camaraderie within this troublesome party.
Deep down, that made him feel happy. But he knew the duke's request wouldn't be something easily dodged if he really was as important a figure as they made him out to be.
Still, no matter how logical the duke's argument seemed, Ryan didn't want to separate from his party either.
"Duke, I can understand your concern, but look—they even reached S-rank, and that was without me even changing classes. I don't see any problem with us staying together," Ryan intervened in a calm tone.
"You are Ryan, correct? Don't misunderstand me, it's nothing personal, it's simply a matter of efficiency," the duke said, gesturing with his hands.
"Efficiency? What exactly are you planning, Duke?" Ryan asked.
"Long-term efficiency, I mean... What I want is to gather the S-rank heroes of Lunar Veil. Helen and Mirian will join the S-rank hero, William."
"WHAT?!" "I have no intention of traveling with that arrogant loner," Helen complained.
Mirian remained calm, hand on her chin as if analyzing the situation.
Then she chimed in, "And why do you want to group us together? He always travels alone, and we know he hates interacting with other adventurers," Mirian commented with an intrigued tone.
"Mirian, you idiot, are you actually considering it?" Helen questioned seriously.
"Of course not, I just want to understand his motives, nothing more," Mirian exclaimed.
The duke approached them. He took a brief breath and began to explain the current situation.
Of the seven great nations, Lunar Veil—the nation containing the capital where they were currently gathered—was the only one without a large number of S-rank adventurers. At one point, there were at least four S-rank adventurers, but they left the nation to join the holy knights.
The only one remaining currently was William.
Meanwhile, the rest of the nations possessed a large number of A-rank and S-rank adventurers, even SS-ranks, and because of that, they all managed to contain conflicts with other nations and the demons.
The duke proudly stated that they had managed to integrate many holy knights to keep the demon kings at bay, but...
Strategically, the nation of Lunar Veil was at a disadvantage, not only due to the demon kings, but also because of the remaining nations.
What the Duke proposed to them was to form a party made up exclusively of S-ranks, so that their achievements as an elite team would raise the morale of the nation's remaining adventurers, and the effect of that moral boost would motivate them to reach new ranks.
Since the current adventurers of Lunar Veil no longer went out to fight demons like they used to.
The Duke predicted that in less than a year, they could double or triple the number of S-ranks in the country. He made them see that this would also benefit them as inhabitants of Lunar Veil.
"Nonsense, the whole thing is pure stupidity. Don't try to use us for your power struggle," Helen complained, pointing a finger at the Duke and looking at him with disdain.
Then she paused and added, "There is zero chance I'll accept such a request. I won't abandon any of my companions."
"Helen..." Mirian looked at her, her eyes lighting up.
Ryan stood up, placed a hand on Helen's shoulder, and looked at her proudly.
'She's very direct with her words, but even so, we all share that feeling right now.'
Then Ryan turned his gaze back to the duke.
"There you have it, Lord Duke. For this once, I'll say Helen speaks for everyone when she says we won't accept."
The duke remained silent.
Then he smiled cynically.
"Very well, I know you have a quest, so for now I'll accept that answer, but don't think I'll forget about this or give up so easily," the duke declared.
"Do whatever you want, you damn old man," Helen replied dryly.
They left the mansion without even saying goodbye.
"That miserable duke treated Ryan as if he were useless. I should have sliced him in half with my sword," Helen said, holding the scabbard of her weapon at her waist.
Mirian looked at Helen with a smile as she walked and commented, "I admit even I wanted to punch him, but I don't want to become an enemy of the church either."
"...You're too soft, Mirian. If that Duke ever bothers us again, I'll kick his ass, ha ha ha."
'Helen is so impulsive; I was almost certain she was going to tear the place apart. It's a relief she stayed calm.'
"Ryan, why are you so quiet? Do you feel bad about what that foolish duke said? Don't worry, we won't leave you behind, right, Helen?" Mirian said with a smile.
"Yeah, besides, if they bother us like that again, I'll destroy all the holy knights myself, ha ha ha," Helen laughed out loud, while the mansion's soldiers looked at them suspiciously.
"Don't be so impulsive, we're still inside that annoying duke's house. And for your information, I don't feel bad at all about what happened, I was just thinking," Ryan commented once they reached the door.
The holy knights opened it without a single word and they stepped out; then Helen looked at Ryan with a mocking laugh.
"So were you thinking about another perverted order?" she asked.
"Of course not," Ryan continued. "Anyway, let's head back to the guild to get the details on that quest. We've wasted enough time here," Ryan ordered.
"Yes!" they said in unison.
On the way back to the guild, Ryan continued to reflect. It was true that currently his power level couldn't match his S-rank companions.
Even so, he understood perfectly well that he wasn't a common, run-of-the-mill support member. The debt system he possessed now was basically a hack with massive benefits.
Knowing that, and the fact that the Duke wouldn't leave them in peace, Ryan now had a clear goal:
To reach S-rank. But it wouldn't be easy. So his current focus would be reaching A-rank. And for that, he needed to level up and become stronger.
"Status."