Although their arrival at the Duke's mansion hadn't exactly been respectful,
the Duke had received them in a polite manner.
He had even congratulated them on reaching S-rank.
But despite that, he was asking them for something completely irrational.
Mirian broke the silence, unable to understand what possible reason there could be to request such a thing.
"Please stop joking, Duke August..."
'Disband the party... what is this Duke planning?'
"Tsk, nonsense. Don't screw with me." Helen stood up.
The Duke turned back toward them, looking at them.
Helen added in an annoyed tone,
"No matter how much of a Duke or the King's right hand you are, you have no right to make decisions regarding our party."
"Helen, calm down," Mirian intervened.
"But Mirian, you say something too, this piec... individual."
Ryan adopted a serious look and stepped in.
"Helen, let him finish speaking."
"Tsk..."
"Don't misunderstand me, I said I want you to disband the party, but not everyone. What I mean is... the S-ranks will remain, we will just find you more suitable members. A C-rank support is not up to standard. You should know that by now."
'This bastard... and I'm actually B-rank.'
"Ha, you're saying Ryan isn't up to standard? You have no idea what you're talking about, old man."
"Old man?"
Mirian stepped in, blocking Helen's figure and standing directly in front of the Duke.
"What she means to say is that Ryan is plenty capable. And besides, he isn't just a simple support, he's a Priest."
"A Priest? All the more reason... you must have a more suitable member, a Healer, for example. What on earth were you thinking by having him become a Priest?"
"Ugh, this miserable old geezer is making me angry..." Helen murmured.
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 showed him that there really was true camaraderie within this troublesome party.
Deep down, that made him feel happy. But he knew that the Duke's request would not be something easily evaded.
No matter how logical it might seem to him, he didn't want to separate from them 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."
"You are Ryan, correct? Do not misunderstand me, it is nothing personal, it is simply a matter of efficiency."
"Efficiency? What exactly are you talking about, Duke?" Ryan asked.
"You see... what I want is to gather the S-rank heroes together. Helen and Mirian will join the S-rank hero William."
"What?! I have no intention of traveling with that arrogant loner," Helen grumbled.
'Of course, and even if they didn't kick me out, I doubt Helen would ever accept.'
Mirian remained calm, with her hand on her chin as if analyzing the situation.
Then she interjected.
"And why do you want to group us together? He always travels alone, and we know he hates interacting with other adventurers."
The Duke stepped closer to them. Then he took a brief breath and began to explain the current situation.
Of the seven great nations, Lunar Veil, the nation where the capital they were currently gathered in is located,
is the only one that does not possess an abundance of S-rank adventurers.
At one point, there were at least four adventurers with an S-rank, but they abandoned the nation.
The only one left currently is William.
Meanwhile, the rest of the nations possess a high number of A and S-rank adventurers, even SS-ranks, and because of that, they all manage to hold off conflicts with other nations and the demons.
Strategically, the nation of Lunar Veil is at a disadvantage, not only because of the demon kings, but also because of the remaining nations.
What the Duke proposed to them was to form a party consisting solely of S-ranks, so that their achievements as an elite team would raise the morale of the rest of the nation's adventurers, and the effect of that moral boost would motivate them to reach new ranks.
He predicted that in less than six years, they could double or triple the number of S-ranks in the nation. He made them see that this would benefit them as well.
"Nonsense, it's all just utter stupidity. Don't try to use us for your power struggle," Helen grumbled, pointing her finger at the Duke and glaring at him with contempt.
Then she paused and added,
"There is absolutely no way I will accept such a request. I will not abandon a single one of my precious companions."
"Helen..." Mirian looked at her, her eyes lighting up.
Ryan stood up, placing a hand on Helen's shoulder and looking at her with pride.
'She's incredibly blunt with her words, but even so, she can say some really cool things.'
Then Ryan turned his gaze toward the Duke.
"There you have it, Lord Duke. For this once, I will state that 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 mission, so for now I will accept that answer, but do not think that I will forget about this or give up so easily."
"Do whatever you want," Helen responded curtly.
They walked out of the mansion, without even saying goodbye.
"That miserable Duke treated Ryan like he was useless. I should have sliced him in half with my sword."
Mirian looked at Helen with a smile as she walked.
"I admit that even I wanted to punch him, but I don't want to make enemies of the kingdom either."
"...You're way too soft, Mirian. If that Duke ever bothers us again, I'll kick his ass, hah hah hah."
'Helen is so impulsive; truth be told, I was almost certain she was going to tear the place apart. Thank goodness she kept her cool.'
"Ryan, why are you being so quiet? Do you feel bad about what that foolish Duke said? Don't worry, we won't leave you behind, right Helen?"
"Yeah, plus, if they make me mad enough, I'll destroy this entire nation myself, hah hah hah."
"Hey, don't talk nonsense! And for your information, I don't feel bad about it at all, I was just thinking."
"About another perverted order?"
"No! Anyway, let's head back to the guild for that mission. We've already wasted enough time."
"Right!"
On the way back to the guild, Ryan kept reflecting.
It was true that currently, his power level couldn't match that of his S-rank companions.
Even so, he understood perfectly well that he wasn't any ordinary support member.
The debt system he possessed now was basically a cheat with massive benefits.
Knowing that, and the fact that the Duke wouldn't just leave them in peace,
he now had a clear objective.
To reach S-rank.
But it wouldn't be simple. So his current focus would be to reach A-rank.
And for that, he needed to level up and get stronger.
"Stat"