"I'll take your party members to the front lines" Claire said. "You can't do anything without them; you're the weakest among them and I don't understand why they even keep you around."

Kazuma smirked. "You don't know anything, their completely useless without me as a leader. They'll be perfectly useless wherever you send them."

Claire sneered. "we'll see" she said as she turned away

Kazuma snorted as he thought about the party without him. Megumin would shoot explosion at the first Kobold she saw. Darkness would just sit there and moan, And he was reluctant to think that Aqua would do anything other than sit there and cry. A perfect suicide squad, that is, The explosion loli would probably blow up everyone by accident.

Besides, he felt like he was getting closer to his party members, despite their… eccentric personalities. They wouldn't leave him for something as stupid as going to the front lines.

.

.

.

Right?

Kazuma eased himself of the small fear he felt. There was no way that was going to happen. For now he should enjoy the party. It was his last days at the royal palace after all.

He downed cup of crimson beer as he decided to talk to Iris a bit before he left, Claires threat already forgotten.

. . .

The adventurer's guild was as energetic as ever. People were talking about random topics, taking quests and overall having a fun time. Except one person

Kazuma was sitting at a table with an impatient expression on his face. His party members hadn't returned from the capital yet after the party, but they told him that they had something important to tell him and to be at the Guild.

"Who invites someone to breakfast and is then late themselves?" He thought to himself. Looking at his watch, he saw that they were an hour late.

"kukuku, did Scumzuma expect a date or something? Kuku" Some random girl said "Looks like she's not coming, though I wouldn't blame her."

"Scumzuma" "Trashzuma"

"It's really bad for my reputation too!" Kazuma thought "Damn you guys!"

Kazuma was going to leave, when he caught sight of them opening the door, and immediately went to yell at them. But unlike normal they weren't replying to his taunts. Something was off.

"what's wrong with you guys?" Kazuma asked. He had seen them do weird things, But them being quiet was somehow even weirder. "Hellooo?"

"look Kazuma, we have something to tell you." Megumin said hesitantly. He guided them to his table and sat them down. They were wearing their regular clothes and sat down like it was a normal day, but it was anything but.

They were all acting weird, They were twitching and moving awkwardly. They looked sad and guilty like they had done something wrong. They looked uncomfortable, like they wanted to get away as soon as possible. Kazuma of course, recognized what this behavior was.

Kazuma sighed. He already knew what was going to happen, It was clear. Nothing goes past his eyes.

"Look guys, I understand." Kazuma said

"You do?" Said Darkness, hopefully.

Kazuma nodded. "But I'm sorry, I Don't like any of you in that way."

There were two seconds of complete silence. The Other adventurers assumed that Kazuma finally got a confession and were extremely mad. The girls in the guild immediately thought it was some stupidly romantic love story, and started cheering for them not to give up. Basically the guild erupted into chaos. The girls in Kazuma's party took two seconds to understand the misunderstanding.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" All three of them yelled. "ITS NOT LIKE THAT"

"ITS OKAY YOU GUYS! YOU DON'T HAVE TO HIDE YOUR FEELINGS ANYMORE!" Kazuma yelled. Putting on an extremely heroic pose. "BUT ITS NOT MEANT TO BE!"

While he was in the euphoria from receiving his first (not really) confession, At this time the other adventurers started sharpening their weapons and were staring at Kazuma. Seems his dramatics weren't well received.

"Kazuma it's not that, I'm serious!" Aqua yelled. Finally Kazuma came out of his stupor. Seems he got drunk on popularity. "It's something really important." Aqua said

She took a deep breath, and then looked Kazuma square in the eye.

"What me, Megumin, and Darkness wanted to say." Aqua started. It was so silent that you could hear a pin drop in the guild, everyone could feel some tension in that air. The atmosphere felt serious.

"were leaving the party."

Kazuma choked on his own breath. He felt a lump in his throat. "wha..t?"

"were leaving the party, Kazuma." This time it was Megumin.

"All three of you?" He asked, his voice little more than a whimper. The three girls looked down with guilt. But they replied that all of them were.

"It's not that you aren't a great party leader." Darkness said "We just got… a better offer."

"oh" Kazuma said. His voice was broken, almost non audible. Was that all he was to them, a job offer? He felt like yelling at someone, preferably them. He didn't want to just have it all end here. He couldn't even imagine living in the mansion all alone. He felt tears stinging at his eyes, But yet he tried his best to smile.

"I'll miss you guys! Make sure to make me proud! Ok?" He said, still smiling. But everyone could see that it was fake.

"ok?" He asked again.

They only nodded. "We came to tell you in person." Megumin said hesitantly, as she stood up. "we'll be leaving now."

They waved goodbye as they left the guild. After they left, Kazuma laid his head on the table in front of him. He didn't say anything until he heard the sound of a cart running away. The guild maintained the silence from before. The best party in Axel was broken apart, but this silence was more in shock than loss or sadness.

"Are they gone?" Kazuma asked Luna, who was as silent as everyone else. Luna only nodded. The guilds silence went on as Kazuma silently cried into his hands, his tear wracked sobs echoing across the guild.

. . .

Megumin, Darkness and Aqua were getting into the carriage that would take them to the frontlines. Though all looked somewhat sad, but Megumin was nearly in tears. She didn't know if what she did was right or wrong, no matter how many times that Aqua reassured her.

"The joke mage" was what they called her back in her village. The girl who went from being a prodigy to a joke. Her family was ashamed of her, though they'd never admit it. She's overheard them telling Komekko, Her little sister, to not end up like her. It didn't matter how many generals she killed, she already killed three or four, but her family didn't care. Neither did the village. She wanted her parents to look at her with pride, she wanted to be a good example for Komekko. When Claire gave her the offer to go to the front lines, with Mitsurigi Kyouya no less, she didn't even think before saying yes, But now?

She realized that even if she won't be the joke mage afterwards, shell still be the joke teammate. The one that abandons their friends when they don't need them, and shell carry that scar forever. Even when everyone looks at her and thinks she's Amazing She'll look at herself and see trash. She looked back at the guild in sadness. She won't see it again for some time.

Then she got in carriage, and shakily told the driver to begin their journey. She'll make Kazuma proud, then return and be with him again. She looked forward with determination, as the carriage sped up, taking her farther and farther away from her home.

. . .

Kazuma had cried for around two minutes before he stopped. It wasn't that he felt better, but he just thought it humiliating to cry in front of so many people. He trudged on home.

"honestly speaking though, I don't think I can be an adventurer without them." Kazuma thought "they did most of the heavy hitting." He chuckled to himself humorlessly.

"Guess you were right, Eh Claire?"

His house was the biggest mansion in Axel. He was most probably the most rich non-noble individual in the world. He could live out his life in comfort, like the NEET he is. He could do anything he wanted. He could buy a farm, become an inventor.

But he didn't want to.

He arrived at his home. He opened the door soundlessly, and set down his scabbard. He looked around at the mansion. It was so big, easily as big as most shopping malls. But he understood why bigger is not always better. He couldn't live here.

He sat down on the couch and sighed. He thought of what to do. He could sell this house and buy a smaller one, or he could move to the capitol to be closer to the guild. He had enough money for anything, with his fortune being around 8 billion Eris. He continued this line of thought, until he was interrupted by a wives conversation right outside his house.

"Did you see those orphan children right south of here?" She said to her friend. "They're all thieves, I can tell you that! They stole all the food in my house after they broke in! I went and gave them a good thrashing so they wouldn't again!"

Or maybe… that? Maybe he could devote his life to actually being a good person? Maybe he could take his fortune, and actually use it for something good? Maybe he could actually do something that benefits someone other than himself? It's not like he had anything else important to do. The mansion had enough rooms that if two people shared a room he could house 50 children, but first things first.

Kazuma put on all his clothes again and rushed to the guild. As he ran he breathed in the fresh air. He looked around himself and he saw how many people there are suffering. How many people there is that need his help. People that he could help. He smiled. It was like he finally found a purpose in life, it was like he finally decided to live.

He went to the guild and asked basic statistics. The town of axel was remarkably small with a population of just 2000 people. He also found out that the amount of children without homes was around 35. With some quick calculations he realized that it would cost him around 300,000 eris to feed them all for per month. It would also cost around 100,000 eris for someone to take care of them. He thought of putting up a request for a caretaker for them, but he decided against it. They would most surely take the extra 300,000 he gives them and use it for something else. It had to be someone he knew and trusted.

Well hell figure that part out later, for now, food was the priority.

He knew give or take where they lived. All of them gathered near a certain slum. They made the best shelters they could with their own two hands, but it was never enough. Kazuma was shivering just thinking about it. Axel could go sub zero in winter, even lower in certain blizzards. To think that they had survived that, and with the meager clothing they wore too.

With this thought, Kazuma ordered 40 meals to go. He hoped it would be enough, but he planned to get a personal chef to cook for them. It would be cheaper, and he wanted to help as many as he could.

He waited impatiently with so many thoughts going through his mind. Who would he hire to take care of his mansion while he was gone? Was it even legal to open an orphanage just like that? Did he need any licenses? So many questions were burning through his mind as he waited patiently for his meals to be completed.

The people around him were staring. It hadn't even been an hour since his party had left for the capitol. Not even an hour since Kazuma broke down in the guild crying. His friends were looking at him with worry, but they knew better to approach so soon after the trauma.

Finally, They were done. Kazuma took all the bags; they weighed around 10 kg all in all. He paid the cost and rushed out the door as fast as he could, excitement shining on his face as he ran. With this the final thing holding him in Axel was gone. His mansion, where he had shared so many memories with his friends, would not go to waste. He could leave, explore the world, maybe become a travelling merchant? A wandering swordsman? He could think about that later. For now, eyes on the plan.

He arrived at the slum. He saw the same housewife yelling at some girl.

Her hair was a mess; her dress was clearly old and cheap. It had multiple holes, and tears. She seemed about 9, not a day older, but her eyes carried a sense of maturity that showed she lived through hell. She seemed to want to run away, but the woman was holding her wrist roughly.

The woman raised her hand and the girl flinched in reflex. She closed her eyes, waiting for a slap that would never come. She truly didn't do anything, she had no idea who this woman was nor why she was yelling at her, but she did nothing to defend herself as she fears the law that would definitely work against her.

When she didn't feel anything for almost ten seconds she opened her eyes, only to see Kazuma to the left of the woman, holding her wrist back.

"Why are you slapping her?"

"She stole my Jacket! It was worth almost 20,000 er-hmm!?" She was interrupted as Kazuma threw the price of her so called lost jacket in her face.

"Happy? Now please leave this girl alone." Kazuma said. She counted the money and gave one last sneer to the girl, before finally going on her way.

Kazuma sighed before squatting down, and getting to the girls level.

"Hey"

"…Hi…?" She whispered almost. She had no strength to speak. Just as she was going to say more, her stomach loudly rumbled.

"Hungry?" Kazuma chuckled.

She nodded quickly as Kazuma offered her a Lunch box which he had gotten from the guild. She grabbed it as quickly as she could and opened it.

"Thank you!" She said as happily as she could, giving him a hug. She started eating it as fast as she could. Kazuma smiled seeing it.

But he wondered why she hugged him so quickly? Didn't she just meet him, a complete stranger? Maybe she hadn't learnt stranger danger properly as a child, seeing as she had no parents.

"Unless…" Kazuma thought to himself.

She finished her food with a happy smile and got up, beaming happily at Kazuma as she thanked him again and again. Kazuma held out his hand.

She looked at his hand, wondering whether she should take it or not. Finally she did. Bashfully, she blushed as she grabbed his hand.

"No, you little thief, give me the wallet you took when you hugged me" Kazuma said with a smile. The girl face blackened as she realized that she had been caught.

What a great start to your new life? Eh Kazuma?