I couldn't just ignore it, so I entered the dining hall.
As soon as I did, everyone who was eating stood up simultaneously and bowed their heads.
"Good morning, Captain!"
"You're looking even more handsome today!"
"Seriously, you're so dreamy!"
Everyone started showering me with praise the moment they saw me.
Wow, this feels good, especially since in my past life, I was just an overworked corporate drone. I couldn't help but bask in the feeling of superiority.
Alfred, you're a piece of trash, but maybe you were actually pretty amazing...
Wait, this isn't the time to be indulging in such thoughts.
I told them all, "Don't worry about me; enjoy your meal," and the dining hall returned to its usual atmosphere.
I set my gaze on the three members of the group who had been bullying Rogue. All of them were faces I'd seen before in the comic adaptation.
One was Forgas Morkley, 30 years old. A large man with long, unruly hair and bulging muscles, his profession is barbarian warrior. In the original story, he was used as a sacrificial pawn by Alfred, meeting his end as monster food. That's probably why, despite his outward loyalty, I'm sure he secretly hates me.
Next is Daniel Rad, 22 years old. A sorcerer with slicked-back hair and round glasses. His sharp nose and thin build earned him the nickname "Eagle Burdock" from Alfred. I think he was mostly a sidekick or exposition character. He eventually disappeared from the story as an unimportant background character.
Lastly, there's Larisa Cherenov, 20 years old. Her profession is thief. She has red bobbed hair, dark skin, and is dressed in revealing leather clothes that emphasize her stunning figure. In the original story, she becomes Alfred's casual lover after completing this quest, but when he falls from grace, she quickly abandons him and vanishes somewhere. She's depicted as a shallow, promiscuous woman.
None of them are key characters who impact the plot, but since they exist, I can't just treat them too harshly.
"You three can eat anywhere, right? Rogue will be done soon anyway... huh?"
I suddenly stopped short when I looked at Rogue's plate. A piece of moldy bread and some kind of murky yellowish liquid... what is this? Soup?
This is awful. It's worse than animal feed. The breakfast I had earlier, along with the higher-ups, was so extravagant by comparison.
"There's no way this could fill you up. In fact, you'll probably get sick from eating this. Let me get it replaced."
"But..."
Ignoring Rogue's reluctance, I forcefully took the plate from him and headed to the kitchen. I was going to give the chef a piece of my mind.
Feeling half angry, I approached the chef, a hefty man in charge of
the food.
"Hey, replace Rogue's breakfast right now! This is way too cruel!"
"Huh? But... Captain Alfred said, "This is more than enough luxury for that useless rogue.
Wait, what? Really?
So, this is my fault!? Alfred, you really were the worst.
"...I see. Sorry about that. In any case, from now on, give him the same food as the other members. There's been a lot of talk lately at the Adventurer's Guild about mistreatment of members."
"Understood. If those are your orders."
The chef nodded and served Rogue a proper meal. Rogue gratefully received it, smiling brightly, and started eating at a table in the corner.
As I sighed with relief, Forgas, Daniel, and Larisa stared at me curiously. They seemed to sense something off about my changed attitude. What a pain.
"As I said earlier, if the guild does an inspection, we're done for. Communication is important but keep it reasonable."
There's no guild inspection, by the way. I just made that up.
But without a plausible reason, they'd get even more suspicious.
"Understood, Captain."
"Well, it's not like we have time to bother with small fry anyway."
"Forget that Captain Alfred, how about a date with me later?"
Larisa clung to my arm, her voice excited and flirtatious. Her breasts -or rather, her chest-pressed against my arm... and she smelled really good.
This is bad... Alfred might've been used to playing around with women, but I'm still a 35-year-old virgin on the inside.
This is way too intense for me...
Trying to contain my excitement, I laughed nervously and gently pulled away from Larisa.
"Before that, there's an important event coming up in three days-the 'Ancient Ruins Quest.' Since we'll be facing a general of the Demon Lord's army, I'm counting on everyone's cooperation."
"Understood!"
The three responded cheerfully.
I waved lightly and left the dining hall.
Man, this is exhausting.
In the original work by Tanaka Daichi, Alfred and Rogue met about five years ago. Both orphans aiming to become adventurers, they hit it off and formed a party that eventually became the Heroic Sword.
Wait, five years ago? That means Rogue was only 11 years old back then, right? And Alfred would've been 12?
But that's just typical of the careless writing of Tanaka Daichi. He doesn't care about details like age. In his world, it's fine to drink alcohol and smoke from the age of 13.
I remember there was an online backlash about it, but Tanaka just shrugged it off, saying, "Who cares about the details? It was like that in the Edo period too," which only added fuel to the fire.
After that, Rogue's childhood friend Shannon joined the party, then Gaizen, and later, they picked up Pearl. Thanks to Rogue's unique skill, Grant Ability, which boosts the whole party's stats, we were able to clear increasingly difficult quests, and the party expanded into the clan-sized Heroic Sword.
Now we even have our own mansion, and our influence extends beyond the Kingdom of Rumirio to other nations.
Seeing that no one was around, I entered the training grounds.
Honestly, the whole party relied too much on Rogue's buffs, so no one really trained seriously.
At least, that's what I thought-until I saw someone.
A lone girl was practicing with a sword modeled after a Japanese katana.
"Kanade Izayoi?"
I muttered her name.
She's a newcomer from a far eastern country, a 17-year-old samurai girl and fencer.
With her black hair tied in a ponytail and wearing traditional Japanese attire with light armor, she's a stunning beauty with a sharp, elegant face that resembles a Japanese person. She was my favorite character when I read the comic version.
But in the story, after Rogue's expulsion weakened the party, Kanade is quickly taken out by a monster in the early stages of a quest, losing her arm and forced into early retirement.
Wow, seeing her in person, her style and looks are even more impressive than I imagined. I'm really moved, given that she's my favorite character.
Noticing my gaze, Kanade stopped her practice swings.
"Oh, Captain Alfred. Do you need something from me?"
"No, I just wanted to do some sword training myself. Care to join me?"
"You, Captain? Are you joking?"
Yeah, even the newcomers see me like that. Damn you, Alfred!
"It's for the quest in three days. We can't always rely on Rogue's buff magic."
"Buff magic? Rogue? I know he's an enchanter, but I don't recall him ever using such a spell on me."
Kanade looked genuinely confused.
But she wasn't wrong.
After all, only a select few people even Alfred knew that Rogue was enhancing the entire party with his Grant Ability skill.
And Alfred apparently forgot all about it by the time he kicked Rogue out.
Rogue probably had plenty of chances to explain too, though.
Is this another plot hole by Tanaka Daichi? Or is Rogue just an unintentional psychopath?