Ice Partner and Peaceful Days: A Banished Summoner's Life with a Lone Knight - Notice of Release from Duty

Light footsteps echoed through the Mutual Aid Association hall, bathed in the early summer sunlight. Glen walked into the stone building of the Trevark Adventurers' Mutual Aid Association at his usual unhurried pace. The morning air still held the dampness of last night's rain, and the stone walls felt cool and cold to the touch. Behind the reception counter, a young receptionist was busily sorting through documents. The familiar woman looked up, noticed Glen, and gave him a small nod. Glen raised a hand lightly in return. The Mutual Aid Association—formally known as the Trevark Adventurers' Mutual Aid Association—served as the base of operations for those working as adventurers in Heldine. He had heard it was established roughly ninety years ago, in the wake of a massive monster outbreak known as the Ash Flood. Since then, it had handled everything adventurers needed for their work, from mediating requests to conducting rank examinations. Take a request, complete it, receive payment. That simple, natural cycle turned here, in this place. Glen gazed absently at the bundles of request forms posted on the wall. From herb gathering to monster subjugation, the difficulty and rewards ranged from the lowest to the highest. All of these were requests from someone who needed someone else's help. (*Now then, what should I...*) "Glen." The voice came from behind him, cutting through his thoughts. He didn't need to turn around. It was a familiar voice, but today it carried a harder edge than usual. The voice of the party leader, Zex. Zex stood with his arms crossed, leaning back against the wall. As if to demonstrate his prowess as a magic swordsman, he wore a longsword at his hip with a fire magic stone embedded in it. His narrow, sharp eyes were always brimming with confidence, and his expression seemed to constantly appraise those around him. His reddish hair shone like flames in the light streaming through the window. Behind him stood two other companions. One was Mireille. Her rich, amber-colored hair was tied back in a single bundle today. Her eyes, the deep green of a forest, wavered as if she wanted to say something. As an earth mage, she was primarily responsible for long-range support and constructing defensive formations. A fiery, reddish-brown robe enveloped her small frame. The other was the heavy warrior, Gald. A shaved head with small, sharp gray eyes. His massive 195-centimeter frame was wrapped in thick steel armor, and he carried a greataxe taller than himself on his back. His usually sullen face was even stiffer today. "What is it?" Glen looked back at Zex with his calm gray eyes. The morning hall was already crowded with dozens of adventurers, each spending their morning in their own way. Some scrutinized the request forms, some were leaving together in groups, and a young man on a bench in the corner yawned, still looking sleepy. It was the same scene as always. Zex took a step forward. Was it just Glen's imagination, or did that motion seem overly theatrical? "Glen. I have something to discuss with you." The volume of the surrounding conversations dropped just slightly. Zex's voice carried strangely well. As if he intended for everyone to hear from the very beginning. "I'll get straight to the point. You're out of the party." Glen said nothing. "Just one Living Armor. Do you really think you can handle B-rank requests with that?" Zex's tone was calm, but his eyes were fixed intently on Glen. "You lack firepower. Always, always sticking to defense, delaying enemies with cold air... The requests from now on won't be easy enough for a coward's methods like that." Coward. The word echoed through the hall. He sensed someone catch their breath. Someone else was watching them with keen interest. Glen stood there, listening to Zex's words. His short, dark navy hair, almost black, swayed slightly in the breeze. A black robe chosen for ease of movement. Lightweight, black-dyed leather armor beneath it. A silver pendant for magic control at his neck. A silver ring for magic stabilization on the ring finger of his left hand. And in his right hand, his usual metal staff—a piece he had personally adjusted, with a blue-glowing magic stone embedded in its tip. Countless small scars covered his fingertips and palms, the result of years of fine-tuning staffs. They now stood out white in the light from the window. "Zex, the way you're saying it..." Mireille started to speak. But Zex silenced her with a hand. "This is a necessary decision. Mireille, you understand that too." Mireille lowered her face. She bit her lip, as if holding something back. Gald remained silent the entire time. Arms crossed, he just glared at the floor. His large frame seemed strangely small today. Glen looked at the two of them, then at Zex. "...I see." He answered shortly. Had he ever settled everything with such brief words before? There was no anger, no sadness. He simply accepted the fact. That was all his voice conveyed. For a moment, Zex looked taken aback. "You understand. Then let's proceed with the formalities." Glen walked over to the counter and spoke to the receptionist who had been organizing documents earlier. "Could you process the removal of my party registration?" The receptionist looked between Glen and Zex with a troubled expression, but eventually accepted his adventurer's card in silence. The Mutual Aid Association's party registration removal was such a simple procedure. One signature on a document. That was all it took to end everything. Fifteen years of fighting alongside his comrades, severed by a single sheet of paper. (*How anticlimactic.*) Glen thought absently. Once the procedure was finished, he headed towards the small room in the back where the party's shared belongings were stored. "I'll just go get my personal things." He murmured, not directed at anyone in particular. Behind him, Zex was saying something, but it didn't register. The shared storage room was dim and dusty. Glen walked without hesitation to the shelf where his personal items were kept. A handmade staff adjustment kit—a small leather bag tightly packed with a small knife, engraving needles, files, and the like. And one small box of magic stones. That was all. That was all he had left behind in this party. Glen picked up the kit and left the shared storage room. Zex was still in the hall. He raised his voice towards Glen's back as he headed for the exit. "Go have a nice life with that pile of scrap metal!" It was mockery. Glen didn't look back. Mireille took half a step forward, as if wanting to say something. But in the end, no voice came out. Her green eyes wavered sadly. Gald uncrossed his arms and clenched his fists tightly. But that was all. He couldn't stop Zex, nor could he call out to Glen. Glen pushed open the heavy door of the Mutual Aid Association. The early summer sunlight felt pleasant on his skin. The bustle of the city reached his ears. The calls of merchants in the marketplace. The sound of carriage wheels creaking on the cobblestones. Children laughing in the distance. Once outside the building, Glen took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. (*Ah, that's a relief.*) Something resembling a faint smile appeared on his lips. It wasn't anger. Nor was it sadness. It was a feeling of release. It wasn't that he had been agonizing over his place within the party for a long time. Rather, he felt he had been fulfilling his role in his own way. Defense and obstruction. If someone didn't provide support from the rear, the vanguard was just a target. His cold air slowed enemy movements, and his Living Armor served as a shield to protect his comrades. But that had ended today. Now that it was over, it didn't really matter. Glen began walking southeast through the city of Heldine. The commercial city of Heldine was the second largest city in the Falnica United Autonomous Territory. Its population was roughly 45,000. Located on the banks of the Nire River, a tributary of the Elda River, it was surrounded by multiple dungeons and monster habitats. As a result, there was a constant flow of adventurers, and the city was always brimming with energy. He passed through the central plaza and headed towards the city walls. The main street, lined with stone buildings, gradually narrowed. The crowds thinned, and eventually he passed through the city gate. Outside the walls, the sky was vast. In the distance, he could see the mountain range indicating the direction of the Nire River Valley. Magic trees grew wild in that valley. They were a valuable wood used for making staffs. It was a place he had visited many times to gather materials. After walking a bit further, he arrived at his destination. On the southeastern outskirts of the city, about a ten-minute walk from the walls. There, a small, single-story house stood alone. It was originally an abandoned blacksmith's hut. A simple building with a stone foundation and more than half of it made of wood. Moss grew on the roof, and the wall boards were corroded in places. But it wasn't bad. Glen thought so. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The interior was dim and smelled musty. An old furnace remained in the part that was once the smithy, and the remnants of a workbench and soot-stained walls bore traces of that time. There was a small living space in the back, and further behind that, a small room that could serve as a material storage. "Alright." Glen placed his staff on the floor and held out his left hand. His magic power stabilized through the silver ring, then concentrated. "Come." A short incantation. This was enough for his summoning magic. For fifteen years, he had poured his magic power into a single existence. He had never needed anything else. A magic circle of pale blue light spread across the floor at his feet. Geometric patterns rotated in a complex dance, and space itself trembled slightly. And then. The light converged, and it appeared. A massive figure in dark blue heavy armor. Standing 210 centimeters tall. Its entire body was covered in thick steel plate, a giant battle axe the size of a human head in its right arm. An impregnable greatshield on its left arm. Deep within its visor, a pale, bluish-white light shone quietly, as if possessing a will of its own. A summoned entity—a Living Knight. Originally, it was what was called a Living Armor, an armored soldier animated by fixing magic power into inorganic matter. Normally, a summoner would command three to five summoned entities. Concentrating magic power on just one was considered inefficient. But Glen had poured everything into this single entity for fifteen years. This was the result. The Living Knight was no longer a mere suit of animated armor. It possessed something akin to a sense of self, and could communicate with Glen without exchanging words. In terms of individual combat ability, it possessed power comparable to a high-ranking B-rank adventurer. That was a fact no one else knew yet. Glen touched the Living Knight's shield. The cold sensation of steel transmitted to his palm. "Looks like this is going to be our new home." The Living Knight was silent. It was an existence that never spoke to begin with. But its shield tilted slightly. As if to face towards Glen. The magic light deep within the armor pulsed gently. It was a sign of affirmation. "Thank you." A smile on his face, Glen began mentally assembling the floor plan. The space for the workshop and store would be best where the furnace was. He'd put the workbench there too. The back room would be the living space, and the small room behind that would be the material storage. (*I'll need to make a sign too.*) As he was thinking about such things, the sun began to set. Dusk approached, and the color of the light streaming through the window changed. Glen lit a candle. The small flame faintly illum

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Episode 1

Name: Ice Partner and Peaceful Days: A Banished Summoner's Life with a Lone Knight
Author: Novelia

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