"I have returned, Father."
"……Ah."
Upon returning to my adoptive home, I went straight to the study where my father was. Even when I greeted him, he didn't look up from his paperwork, offering only a distracted, half-hearted grunt in response.
This was a regular occurrence, so I didn't let it bother me. Normally, I would have excused myself immediately, but I had something important to discuss today. I spoke to him again.
"Father, I know you are busy, but could you please spare a moment of your time?"
"…………What is it?"
He let out a small sigh and finally turned his gaze toward me.
"To be honest, I am considering leaving the Hero Party. This morning’s newspaper made it quite clear that the party is on the decline. There is no longer any reason for me to remain. Once the penalty period is over, I intend to withdraw immediately."
"I wondered what nonsense you were going to spew—don't be a fool. If you do that, what will happen to us if the Marquis Forgas House terminates our trade agreements!?"
My family runs the Flockhart Trading Company. It is one of the nation's leading merchant houses, handling numerous transactions with the nobility. However, our dealings with the Marquis Forgas House are our most frequent; over the past decade, we have been reduced to a mere satellite firm, utterly dependent on them.
We used to trade much more widely, but now we deal almost exclusively with nobles within Marquis Forgas’s faction. It was a simple fact that if the Marquis abandoned us, the company would collapse.
◇ ◇ ◇
I was an orphan until I was seven, which was when I was taken into this house as an adopted daughter. I have never felt anything resembling parental love here. The reason I was taken in was simple: this family had not been blessed with children of their own, and they needed a tool for a political marriage.
Even so, I had accepted it. My quality of life was far better than it had been at the orphanage. I figured that as long as my husband came from another large trading company or a Baron House, I would at least have a stable environment where I wouldn't struggle to survive. I received an education for that very purpose, and I believed I was living a much better life than most orphans could hope for.
However, I never became a tool for marriage.
My adoptive parents informed Marquis Forgas of my [Ability]. Upon learning of it, the Marquis proposed a deal: he would increase his business with the Flockhart Trading Company if certain conditions were met. My adoptive parents accepted on the spot.
That condition was for me to form an Explorer Party with two boys who would soon be arriving in this city. Following my instructions, I staged a chance encounter and formed a party with Orun-san and Oliver-san.
Presumably, the goal was to secure a talented individual like Orun-san, though it remained a mystery how the Marquis knew of him in the first place.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Does a party that Orun-san has left truly have any value? I suspect Marquis Forgas feels the same way."
"What are you misunderstanding? You were placed in that party to support Oliver Cardiff! Not for the sake of some fake who just happened to stumble into a Black Dragon kill, but for the sake of a genuine Hero!"
A genuine Hero?
Certainly, Oliver-san is a man of great talent. However, Orun-san surpasses him by a wide margin.
"With all due respect, a Floor Boss of the Deep Floors is not something that can be defeated by 'stumbling into it.' Certainly not alone. Is that not a feat comparable to the legends of the Heroes found in fairy tales?"
"…………Don't you dare talk back to me, you ignorant girl! Marquis Forgas has deeper intentions than someone like you could ever fathom! Besides, who do you think saved you from the gutter? You just need to do as you're told! No more talk of quitting! I will not permit it! Do you understand!?"
"………………Ye—s. I…… I understand."
In a way, my father was right. Had I stayed in the wretched environment of that orphanage, I might be dead by now. My life was saved by this house. I had a debt to repay.
However, if I remained in the Hero Party as it was, the reckless behavior of Derrick-san and Anneri-san would surely cause it to shatter. In the worst-case scenario, I would lose my life in the Labyrinth.
I didn't want to die.
If I couldn't leave the party, then I could no longer afford to be a bystander. I would have to take an active role in communicating with the others to prevent the party's collapse. Picking a fight with Derrick-san the other day had been a tactical error on my part.
But there was no use in lamenting the past. I had to do what I could. I had no intention of dying for something so foolish.
Sigh…… If such a person truly existed, I would have loved for a Hero from a fairy tale to come and save me.
But I knew better. Such people don't exist.
My life would likely end as nothing more than a piece moved for someone else's convenience. I knew it was a forbidden wish, but I…… I wanted to cut all the threads binding me and finally be free.