Let This Grieving Soul Retire

Krai Andrey once promised his childhood friends that they would become great treasure hunters together. The others grew into monsters of talent, but Krai discovered that he had no real aptitude for combat, magic, or exploration. He tries to quit again and again, yet every attempt is misunderstood as deep strategy. His party, Strange Grief, becomes famous, and Krai is pushed into the role of clan master for First Steps, a group filled with elite hunters who believe his every careless order has hidden meaning. In the Imperial Capital, he wants a quiet desk life with relic collecting and no danger, but the Explorers Association, nobles, and rival parties keep treating him as the one man who can solve impossible jobs.

Most incidents begin with Krai trying to avoid work and end with others turning his vague words into action. Tino Shade, who worships him as a perfect mentor, takes missions far above her level because she thinks his instructions are tests. Relics he bought for curiosity cause problems or accidentally save lives. Requests involving treasure vaults, auctions, criminal groups, and dangerous artifacts keep landing on his table because his reputation is already too large to refuse. Liz, Sitri, Luke, Ansem, and Lucia move with terrifying skill, while Krai survives by luck, timing, and the confidence other people place in him. He remains weak, frightened, and desperate to retire, but every crisis he stumbles through strengthens the legend of Thousand Tricks. The harder he denies being a mastermind, the more the city believes he is guiding events from a level no one else can see.