The team traveled back to Starkhold without incident and marked their mission as complete.
A day later, they got the confirmation from the client that the mission was completed, and they received their payment.
Everyone gathered at the bar, and Horatio accepted the payment.
Ten Ether Stones.
If divided by five, everyone would get two Ether Stones.
But that was not how the distribution in a team went.
Due to the responsibility, the leader got two shares instead of one.
Because of that, everyone would get 1.66 Ether Stones, while Horatio would get 3.33.
Kyle looked at his share of the loot and raised an eyebrow.
“I think there was a mistake,” he said. “I got two shares.”
Horatio just smiled. “Have you not realized it yet?” he asked with a chuckle. “You were our leader.”
“Eh, what?” Kyle asked. “But you were the leader.”
“Oh? And what decision did I make?” he asked.
“Eeehhh,” Kyle said, thinking back.
He tried to think of a time Horatio made a decision, but Horatio always asked Kyle for everything and simply went with what Kyle said every single time.
“Why?” Kyle asked. “Why did you go with everything I said?”
“Why not?” Horatio asked. “It was the right decision every single time. I simply deferred to your experience and judgment. The only thing I did was to take on the responsibility.”
“Yes, and that’s exactly why you get more shares,” Kyle said. “If this mission went tits-up, you would be the one in the most trouble.”
Horatio laughed. “Yes, and I also had the power to override your decisions, but I didn’t. You know why? Because none of your decisions had been wrong.”
“If I had overridden even one of your decisions, I would be taking the extra share, but I didn’t need to.”
“You were a good leader. So, you deserve a leader’s share.”
Kyle frowned.
“Was all of this to teach me something?” he asked.
“Maybe,” Horatio said with a laugh.
Kyle sighed. “Alright, I get it. Maybe I can actually be a leader.”
“You really lack confidence in your judgment,” Horatio said. “You obviously know what you’re doing, but when there is responsibility attached to your decisions, you seem to lack confidence.”
Kyle scratched the back of his head. “Guess I do.”
‘Pretty sure that’s because of Theodor’s constant abuse. Guy always tells me how stupid I am.’
Yet, Kyle still pushed the leader’s share to Horatio. “This time, I still want you to take your fair share. Officially, you were our leader. You had the responsibility. I will take the leader’s share when I am officially the leader. Being the unofficial leader is not enough.”
“Well, I won’t say no,” Horatio said, accepting the leader’s share. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” Kyle answered with a smile.
Everyone else also accepted their shares.
“So, how are we going to call our team?” Falk asked.
Bormine looked at the others with interest as he scratched his chin.
Tracy looked at Falk with confusion.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“This mission worked out pretty well despite the unforeseen circumstances, right?” Falk asked. “Our abilities also fit each other very well. Why not make this an official team?”
Tracy seemed to think about that for a while.
“I would be happy to join,” Horatio said.
Bormine glanced at Kyle before nodding. “I’m also in.”
Naturally, Falk was the one who suggested it, which meant he was also willing to join.
‘Not sure,’ Kyle thought. ‘If I join a team, I will lose my status as a free agent, and I can’t really help the other members of the Stark Brotherhood anymore. My Ether Stone income will drop.’
‘However, with a team, my contribution points income will increase.’
Kyle thought about his investigations.
‘Also, isn’t my purpose to become stronger? I’m not here to become rich.’
‘I need experience and tough battles. With a proper team, I can take on harder missions.’
‘I think it’s worth it.’
“I’m also in,” Kyle said.
Everyone looked at Tracy.
Tracy threw a glance at the place where Wyveria usually sat.
Right now, she was not here.
Wyveria had planned for Tracy to join a team with exclusively women when she became an Early Fighter.
It would be nice to join such a team.
Yet, when she looked at the four men, she felt different.
She knew these people.
She had a lot of respect for Horatio, and Kyle was very capable and had helped her in the past.
She didn’t know Falk or Bormine very well, but they seemed to be good people.
Falk was maybe a bit cowardly, but he was also very honest.
Even more, when Falk thought he was running to his death, he still followed orders despite his relative cowardice.
He was just very honest with his feelings.
Would every Fighter have charged to their death?
She couldn’t get a proper read on Bormine, but Kyle seemed to trust him.
“I’m also in,” Tracy said.
She had fought with the other four, and they had all been excellent.
“Then, it’s decided,” Horatio said.
“Who’s the leader?” Kyle asked. Everyone looked at Kyle.
“What?” Kyle asked.
“What a dumb question,” Bormine commented.
Kyle took a deep breath. “I assume you all want me to be the leader?”
Everyone nodded.
Kyle grew a bit nervous.
This was a lot of responsibility.
If he made the wrong choice, some of his teammates might die.
This was not about strength but about decision-making.
‘I’m not smart,’ Kyle thought. ‘I got a high school diploma. I didn’t even go to college.’
‘And yet, the four of them seem to trust me.’
Kyle ruffled his hair in annoyance.
“Fine!” he shouted. “I’ll do it! But don’t blame me if you die!”
“Of course I will blame you,” Falk said. “You’re the leader. You don’t get to have the freedom of choice while having no responsibility.”
Kyle groaned. “Can’t you take it easy on me?”
“No,” everyone said.
Kyle just rolled his eyes. “Fine, but if you’re making me your leader, I also get to decide our name.”
“That’s only fair,” Bormine said.
The next moment, Kyle smirked.
He remembered how the other four all had small True Bodies.
‘I’m a half-dwarf, and the four of them look like dwarves with their True Bodies.’
“From today on, we are The Dwarves!”
Silence.
“I shouldn’t have agreed,” Bormine commented.
“Well, it’s what we chose,” Tracy said with a sigh.
“I regret my decision,” Falk said.
“I think it’s funny,” Horatio said with a smile.
“Seriously?” Bormine asked.
“Yes, why not? We are all quite small with our True Bodies,” Horatio said.
Falk rolled his eyes. “Fine, guess we’re The Dwarves.”
tg://resolv?domain=StrongestHammerGod
The author’s patreon. If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.