Chapter 23 _ An Analysis of Defeat, or the Journey of Three
After finishing Iris’s introduction to Frey,
I decided it was time to move on to the real topic.
“Um… Iris, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
I hesitated, then spoke carefully,
trying not to reopen wounds unnecessarily.
“I don’t want to force you to relive what happened at the guild.
But if you’ve already reflected on what went wrong back then—
if you understand the causes—
then I think you won’t fail the same way again.”
“…What are you getting at?”
“I’m sorry for doing this without asking,” I continued,
“but I looked into your past job records at the Adventurers’ Guild.”
Iris stiffened, but didn’t stop me.
“And I noticed something very simple.”
“…Simple?”
“The recommended level for the ogre extermination quest was Level 5.”
“You were Level 1.”
“And the average level of the rest of the party—excluding you—was Level 3.”
“That was the responsibility of the one who accepted the job.
The leader. Johann.”
“I think he assumed that because you were a Master-class mage,
it would somehow work out.”
“But real combat doesn’t work like that,” I said quietly.
“You know what I mean, right?”
Iris shook her head slightly.
“…I don’t want to remember it.”
“I get that. Especially after what happened to you afterward.”
I took a breath.
“I fought Johann in a trial by combat.”
“I trained for half a year, thinking that at least
I could land one solid punch.”
“But in reality, I was completely outmatched.
I only won a single lucky hit.”
I clenched my fist.
“What I’m trying to say is this—
we both lack experience.”
“…Experience.”
“Yeah. Experience.”
“That’s why… would you form a party with me?”
“I’m Level 1 too.”
“Let’s start over.
From Level 1. Together.”
“And more than anything…”
I looked straight at her.
“I want to stay by your side.”
“…Okay.”
Iris nodded softly,
her cheeks tinged with red.
“Gahhh! Could you two take this outside!?”
Frey cut in with a sulky voice.
“If you insist on flirting, do it where I don’t have to see it!”
“Then I shall say this to the mob girl as well—
your failure was because you are a mob character!”
“Frey, sorry!
And Iris—she doesn’t mean any harm.”
“Hehe. I know.”
“Lady Frey,” Iris said, stepping forward.
“May I ask you for something as well?”
“…Hm?
I will not give up the heroine role, you know.”
Ignoring that, Iris turned fully toward her
and knelt.
“Would you please take me as your disciple?”
“…A disciple, you say.”
Frey narrowed her eyes.
“So you plan to study my every move
and steal the heroine position, is that it?”
“You’re really obsessed with that.”
“Of course I am!
Female readers understand this!”
“Male readers probably think it’s just annoying by now.”
“…Really!?”
“Yeah. Really.”
“Then perhaps I should stop.”
“…You’re way too quick to adapt. It’s unsettling.”
“I must protect my fan base.
I intend to remain first in popularity polls.”
“You’re already thinking about popularity polls…
Though honestly, it probably depends on the illustrator.”
“Illustrator… what!?”
“If the artist likes Iris, they’ll draw her super cute.”
“And if they like Frey, they’ll draw Frey super cute.”
“Can we get back to the disciple thing!?”
“…Very well.”
Frey crossed her arms.
“If you must know, agreeing here would likely raise my approval rating.”
“Approval rating!? Honestly!”
“But fine. I accept.”
“I shall be strict, little one!”
“Thank you very much.
Please take care of me, Lady Frey—no, Master.”
“First lesson,” Frey said seriously.
“Iris, you know far too little about using magic.
Your sense is zero.”
“Ah! You used my name—thank you, Master!”
“…You’re frighteningly easy to please.”
“But Mario’s analysis earlier was correct,” Frey continued.
“If one understands why they failed,
they will not repeat the same mistake.”
“…Yes.”
“You said you didn’t want to remember the ogre battle?”
“That itself is the mistake.”
“Ask yourself—
what went wrong?
What could you have done differently?”
“Because you skipped that process,
failure followed failure.”
“…You’re right.”
“What were you thinking during the ogre fight?”
“…I was scared.
The ogre was huge, and my body wouldn’t move.”
“That’s it! Exactly that!”
The white cat pointed sharply with her paw.
“Normally, you ignore mana costs
and unleash your strongest spell immediately.”
“Even if it doesn’t kill the enemy outright,
it will stagger them.”
“And if the enemy has a healer,
they’ll be forced to react.”
“In that time, you keep attacking relentlessly.”
“…I see. That helps a lot.”
“However… your build is problematic…”
“Build?”
“In simple terms—
your proficiency with each spell.”
“Even at Master-class,
low proficiency means weak output and limited effects.”
“You understood that yourself, didn’t you?”
“That’s why you couldn’t open with your strongest spell.”
“And yet your allies charged ahead…”
“Which means—
you were doomed to lose.”
“…Yes.”
“Hm. Mario, let’s go to the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“Just as you said—experience.”
“We can only move forward by gaining it.”
From a penniless shut-in
to a night-soil collector wielding a crossbow.
And now—
an adventurer walking beside
the one he loves,
under the guidance of a legendary sage.
My status still reads Level 1.
But the weight I carry,
and the warmth in my hand—
those feel closer than ever
to something that could be called
true strength.
