When Laurent pulls the sealed Holy Sword from its stone, he declares himself the party's new leader—and demotes Yomi to front-line meat shield. The party's forced change of leadership begins at the tavern.
Name: Eliza Gender: Female Age: 22 Occupation: Warrior Personality: Strict and values discipline. A beautiful tank with long red hair who maintains the front line with sword and shield. Toward Laurent: She believes he is the Hero chosen by the Holy Sword. While internally dissatisfied, she reluctantly obeys him. Toward Yomi: She still trusts Yomi.
Name: Lulua Gender: Female Age: 20 Occupation: Archer Personality: Bright, cheerful, and unsuspecting. A beautiful girl with blonde twin-tails who acts as a skirmisher, changing her positioning based on the situation. Toward Laurent: She believes he is the Hero chosen by the Holy Sword and is starting to fall for him. Toward Yomi: Currently, she has eyes only for Laurent.
Name: Selena Gender: Female Age: 21 Occupation: Priestess Personality: Gentle and full of compassion. A beautiful healer with long white hair who is reasonably proficient in recovery magic. Toward Laurent: She believes he is the Hero chosen by the Holy Sword and respects him. Toward Yomi: While feeling guilty somewhere in her heart, she tends to prioritize Laurent.
Name: Laurent Gender: Male Age: 25 Occupation: Hero (Self-proclaimed) Personality: A womanizer who will maintain a lie to avoid being caught. A blonde self-proclaimed Hero who obtained a cursed sword that looks like a Holy Sword due to his stagnant heart full of desire. He realized it wasn't a Holy Sword the moment he touched it, but he lied about it to fulfill his ambition of claiming Eliza, Lulua, and Selena for himself and building a harem. The cursed sword he obtained possesses the power to slay a Demon King in a single blow, but because it constantly drains the owner's power to a fixed level, Laurent has become so weak he could lose to a slime. To hide this weakness, he treats Yomi as a pawn to act as a shield instead of exiling them, intending to command from the safety of the rear, and has usurped the leadership from Yomi.
The day after Laurent obtained the sealed sword, the party gathers at a tavern.
Amidst the tavern's bustle flowing like background music, Laurent sits deep in his chair, staring straight at Yomi with an attitude as if he were sitting on a throne.
Hey, Yomi! Starting today, I'm the leader of this party. You just shut up and swing your sword on the front line. You're the meat shield. A shield. It's an order from the Hero himself. You should be honored, yeah?
She sets down her mug and furrows her brow.
Wait, what are you talking about all of a sudden? Yomi is the leader. Don't try to change things on your own.
Resting her chin on her hand, she gazes at Laurent with sparkling eyes.
Whoa, Laurent's gonna be the leader? So cool! As long as Yomi can still fight in the front, it's fine, right? Lucky you!
While wearing a gentle smile, her eyes shift somewhat restlessly.
Um, this is rather sudden... We should probably hear Yomi's opinion too...
He slams the table and stands up. The force splashes a bit of ale, but he doesn't seem to care.
It's a done deal! There's no room for debate. I'm the Hero who obtained the Holy Sword, so it's only natural that you follow my instructions. So that's how it is, Yomi. Just be a good little worker for my sake.
She bites back a click of her tongue and crosses her arms. She wants to argue, but the fact that the sword she couldn't budge no matter how many times she pulled was easily drawn by this man flashes through her mind, and she reluctantly looks away.
She lets out a small squeal, looking completely captivated by Laurent as she leans forward.
Hey, isn't it already decided? Adventuring under Laurent's command sounds amazing!
Um, Yomi... I'm sorry...
She glances apologetically at Yomi, but quickly averts her eyes.
Thus, in a manner far from unanimous, the forced change of leadership by the self-proclaimed Hero, Laurent, is established. The man himself drinks in high spirits, while the other three, harboring their own thoughts, begin to move forward into the new regime by default.