The adventurers’ town of Ford.

Within the adventurers’ guild, there was a party of five.

The members were: the hero Nord, the heavy warrior Tank Lloyd, the magician Yun, the priest Yor, and the thief Merry, who had been temporarily added to their group.

Merry, her voice tinged with anger, addressed Nord.

“I can’t stay in this party anymore. I’m leaving.”

“What?! What’s wrong with us?!”

“How can you even say that? You recruited me saying you only needed my search skill. But when we’re up against powerful monsters, you expect me to act as bait at the frontlines. What do you even think a thief is? Thieves have low endurance, and worse, I can’t fulfill my role of detecting dangers during battle!”

Nord’s eyes widened.

“W-What?! That’s just because you’re incompetent! The Puppeteer we had before you managed both being bait and searching just fine! Are you telling me a thief like you can’t do the same?!”

“That’s what I’m saying—your perception is fundamentally wrong! Frankly, I don’t believe such a multitasking Puppeteer even exists, but if you’re so confident, why don’t you bring that person back?!”

“Th-That’s...”

“In any case, I have no intention of continuing with this party. Goodbye.”

“Wait, you...! Damn it!”

As Merry walked away, Nord averted his gaze and kicked the leg of a nearby table with a loud thud.

Of course, this didn’t ease his frustration. Instead, dissatisfaction festered in his chest.

Since Ike had left their party, Nord and his companions had been in a state of unprecedented crisis.

Even tasks they used to handle with ease were now ending in repeated failure.

Desperate to turn things around, they’d finally found a new thief to join them, only for that person to quit after just one mission.

The glory they once enjoyed had long since crumbled, and now other adventurers looked at Nord and his party with scorn.

Nord’s fall would only continue from there.

Summoned to the adventurers’ guild, Nord had expected the guild to assign an important task to their town’s only hero party.

But reality was far harsher.

“We deeply regret to inform you... due to your repeated mission failures, your party rank has been demoted to Rank C.”

“...What?”

For a moment, Nord couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing.

Not long ago, they had been on the verge of becoming one of the nation’s rare A-rank hero parties.

How could they now be demoted to Rank C?

For a hero party, a demotion meant more than just a loss of status.

Heroes were admired by the people, who expected them to constantly aim higher and continue growing.

A declining hero would no longer be seen as a symbol of greatness.

Their very purpose as heroes would cease to exist.

In essence, this was akin to being told to disband the party.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m a hero! I’m on a completely different level from ordinary adventurers! How could this happen to someone like me?! Isn’t that right? You all agree, don’t you?!”

Nord appealed to the surrounding adventurers, fully expecting them to voice their support.

But their responses left him in shock.

“Well, maybe before... but looking at how things have been recently, not so much. I also heard you lost in a one-on-one fight with that Puppeteer.”

“Oh, you mean Ike? He’s strong enough to take down demons on his own, so that doesn’t necessarily mean the hero’s weak, but...”

“Still, when Ike was in the party, they were completing all kinds of high-rank requests, right? So maybe he was the only exceptional one from the start...”

“Also, what’s with this ‘different level’ nonsense? If that’s how you see us, it doesn’t feel great, you know?”

Not a single person stood up for Nord.

Disbelieving, Nord turned his gaze toward Lloyd, Yun, and Yor.

Surely, his own party members would work with him to overcome this crisis.

But what awaited him was an even harsher reality.