Chapter 10: Don’t treat your subordinates rudely (2)

The first day of the journey.
I was walking, surrounded by the three members of the Silver Sword Party in a triangular formation, escorting me.

“A pack of goblins.”

After about an hour of uneventful travel,
as expected, a group of small, green humanoid monsters attacked us.

“Kieeek!”
“Kiiiiik!”

Five goblins.
Not a large number.
Five goblins could be handled by just three F-rank adventurers.

Of course, someone like me couldn’t take on five even with help,
but I had a reliable D-rank party as my escorts.

A top-tier D-rank party like them could probably even handle a single troll from Ode Swamp.

“Positions.”

At Kogel’s command, the party leader, the other two pulled me back slightly.
It’s a bit embarrassing to call it a formation—just a basic front-and-back setup—but it still gave off the vibe of a seasoned party.

“Hey! Buff!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”

Kogel barked at Sonya, demanding a buff.
She hurriedly chanted the spells.

“O magic, grant mighty strength. Strength! O magic, grant swift movement. Haste!”

The most basic buff spells, Strength and Haste,
enhancing physical power and movement speed, respectively.

A faint blue glow of mana enveloped Kogel, his muscles bulging visibly,
and a wind-like effect swirled around him.

As expected of an E-rank mage, she didn’t have access to higher-tier buffs.
But these alone made Kogel at least one level stronger.
Right now, he was probably on par with a non-buffed C-rank adventurer.

Overkill for goblins.
But his refusal to underestimate even weak foes gave off the air of an experienced adventurer.
Cocky as he is, his skills seem legit.

“Hraaaah!”

Whoosh!

Kogel swung his longsword… and charged… right into the goblins?

“Kieek?!”

The goblins, startled by Kogel’s sudden charge into their midst, panicked.
But they quickly surrounded him from all sides.

“…?”

What the…?!
Something’s off with this guy.

Even if he’s overwhelmingly stronger, does anyone just dive into a group of monsters like that?

Normally, when a small adventurer party faces multiple monsters,
the standard tactic is hit-and-run.
Whittle them down gradually, then sweep them when victory is certain.

But Kogel? Forget the basics—he deliberately let himself get surrounded, as if showing off how strong he is.

“…I take back what I said about him being experienced.”

He just wanted to flaunt his buffed-up strength.

“U-Uh…”

Reina, caught off guard, hesitated with an arrow nocked.
Understandably.
She could accidentally hit Kogel if she shot.

“Hahaha! Die!”

Whoosh! Slash!

Kogel, oblivious, gleefully swung his longsword, attacking the goblins.

“Kreek!”
“Kieeeeek!”

Naturally, Kogel’s superior physical abilities overwhelmed the goblins.
But they had him surrounded from all sides.

“Kiiik!”

Slash!

A goblin’s small dagger grazed Kogel’s back.

Caught off guard, the dagger sliced through an unarmored part,
tearing his leather armor and leaving a deep gash across half his back.

“You little sh*t!”

Thwack!

Furious, Kogel kicked the goblin, sending it flying three meters before it collapsed.

Knew it, you idiot.
Even against weaker opponents, letting your guard down gets you like that.

Look at that.
He’s even wearing plated leather armor, and he still got a wound that bad.

“Filthy goblin bastards… I’ll kill you all.”

His eyes were wild with rage.

Two things you should never do in combat:
overconfidence and losing your cool.

This guy’s doing both.

“Kreek… Kieek.”

Then, the goblin Kogel had kicked, the one that marked his back, struggled to its feet.

And then…

“Kiiik… Kiiik… Kek?”

It spotted me, Sonya, and Reina, who were standing back.

“…!!”

That idiot!
If you’re gonna send it flying that far, finish it off properly!

“Kieeeeek!”

Its aggro shifted, and it charged toward us.

“Urgh…!”

Reina hurriedly raised her bow to aim,
but it was too late.
The goblin was too close to shoot accurately.

“Kieeeeeek!”

The goblin lunged at Reina, who was standing protectively in front of me and Sonya.

“Hraaah!”

Reina swung her bow like a club.

Thwack!

“Kreek?!”

The charging goblin took a hit to the head and collapsed.

Stab!

Reina finished it off by driving an arrow into its neck.

Whoa… clean.
As expected of someone with spearmanship talent.

[Name: Reina]
[Aptitude]
[Spearmanship – D]
[Enhancement Magic – E]

Reina’s spearmanship aptitude is something anyone can learn but is extremely hard to master.
With a D-rank aptitude, if fully developed, she could reach at least C-rank adventurer status with spearmanship alone.

Plus, like Scarlet, she has an aptitude for enhancement magic.
Not as overwhelming as Scarlet’s, but the synergy between enhancement magic and physical skills is well-proven.

So why is she using a bow?

I’ve seen this plenty of times.
People who don’t know their own talents and pursue the wrong path.

Unless you’re someone like me who can literally see aptitudes, that’s probably the norm.

It’s likely one of three reasons:
she chose ranged combat out of fear of monsters,
or because there are fewer ranged fighters compared to melee, so it’s easier to get hired,
or she’s never even tried close-combat skills.

But from how she fought just now,
it doesn’t seem like she chose a bow out of fear.

She probably never even considered spearmanship.
Never had the chance to learn it.

“Damn it!”

Kogel, oblivious to the danger we were just in, was cursing and fighting the remaining goblins.

Only two goblins left now.
The fight’s nearly over.

It should’ve ended already, but…

Spurt—

Blood sprayed from Kogel’s back, and he grimaced in pain.
His injury was clearly preventing him from fighting at full strength.

…Huh?
That’s weird.
Why isn’t she using healing magic?

[Name: Sonya]
[Aptitude]
[Healing Magic – C]

Sonya’s aptitude is for healing magic,
not support buffs.

So why isn’t she healing her injured party member?
Is she deliberately holding back to screw him over?

“Damn, this hurts like hell! Ugh… if that useless girl could at least use healing magic…”
“…”

Judging by Kogel’s irritation and Sonya’s dejected, lowered head,
that’s not the case.

Does she not know how to use healing magic at all?

Normally, support mages learn healing magic alongside buffs.
Support mages, like priests, handle both healing and buffs as backline support.

Support mages and priests have nearly identical roles.

The difference is that priests’ healing and buffs come from divine power,
while support mages use their own mana.

Which is better? Divine power is stronger in raw performance.
But support magic offers a wider variety of buffs—like attribute enhancements, Haste, or Strength—making it more versatile in different situations.

For adventurers, an all-rounder who can handle various scenarios is often more valuable than a one-shot powerful heal.

But since support mages are rarer than priests,
they’re in high demand.

Even an E-rank support mage could join a C-rank or, with some exaggeration, a B-rank party.

So why is she in a D-rank party like this?
Probably because she can’t use healing magic and only knows basic buffs.

“Hmm…”

They definitely need some guidance.
Both of them are too unaware of their own potential.

“Excuse me for a moment…”
“Yes?”
“…?”

Kogel’s distracted with the fight, so now’s a good time to talk.

“Reina, when enemies get close like that, wouldn’t it be better to carry a melee weapon and switch between it and your bow?”
“Uh, yes…?”

The key here is not to directly order her to do this or that.

“With goblins, it’s fine, but against stronger monsters like orcs or silver wolves, it’d be hard to knock them down with a bow or pierce their necks with an arrow.”

It’s important to suggest it with a reason she can accept.

Honestly, it makes sense, right?
If someone suddenly told you, “Your aptitude is spearmanship, so learn it!”
who’d think, “Great! My talent is spearmanship!” and start training?

They’d probably run away, thinking you’re some cult leader.

Even if I told them I can see aptitudes, no one would believe me.

…And even if they did, if word got out, the empire would probably lock me up and treat me like an aptitude-measuring magical tool.
That’s why I’ve hidden this ability since childhood.

I got sidetracked, but anyway.
If you suggest something with a convincing rationale,

“Well, you’re right. It might be good to carry a dagger or some easy melee weapon.”

the other person naturally starts thinking in the direction you want.
I read that in a psychology book I found fascinating and read six times.

“From the way you swung that bow earlier, something like a staff or spear might suit you better than a dagger.”

Mix in a bit of praise, and it’s even easier to guide their thinking.
All creatures are weak to praise and rewards, after all.

There’s some truth to it too.
The way she swung that bow looked exactly like wielding a staff.

“A staff or spear… It might make my gear a bit heavy, though…”

True, a staff or spear isn’t ideal for quick switching when you’re already carrying a bow.
That’s why archers often choose daggers as secondary weapons.

But that doesn’t matter.
My goal isn’t to make her a better archer—it’s to turn her into a spearmaster.

“There’s usually time before monsters reach the backline, so it’s fine. Plus, spears or staffs are easier to learn than daggers.”

Mix a bit of truth with a little lie, and people don’t notice the deception.

“You’re right… I should try a staff.”

And just like that, Reina’s convinced with a bit of psychological nudging.