Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 100
Kyle greeted him politely first, and I followed his lead while glancing at him from the side.
“I am unfamiliar with the customs of this kingdom, so please excuse this greeting. I am Kyle Delos, the Seventh Imperial Prince of the Hellana Empire.”
“The Hellana Empire? I believe I’ve heard that name before.”
Fortunately, the dwarven king seemed to know of Hellana. He looked down at Kyle and me, then slowly stepped down from his throne. The throne was so high that he had to descend several steps.
“I am Dierko, king of these dwarves. How did a prince of the Hellana Empire end up in this underground kingdom?”
“We were crossing the snow mountains when the ground suddenly collapsed and we fell down a cliff. We were separated from our companions, and while searching for them, we entered a cave to escape the cold.”
Kyle explained smoothly. Dierko nodded as if he had heard an unfortunate story.
“I see. My soldiers must have brought you here because of protocol. If they have been rude, please forgive them.”
Fortunately, Dierko was a generous ruler. He accepted our story without suspicion.
“However, since you have come all the way to our kingdom, we cannot neglect our duties as hosts. Guards, prepare a grand banquet for them.”
The generous offer was certainly appreciated, but this was hardly the time to be thinking about food.
“Right now, finding our companions is the priority—”
The moment I opened my mouth, the soldiers suddenly surrounded us. Only then did I realize, my mouth hanging open.
The ingredients for that grand banquet wouldn’t happen to be us… would they?
“Do not worry about your companions. We will find them and lock them up together with you. Take them away!”
Dierko waved his hand as he shouted. At once, dwarves holding restraints surrounded us. I pressed close to Kyle and whispered,
“What should we do? Are we going to fight?”
But unlike me, who was tense, Kyle suddenly looked relaxed. He watched the approaching dwarves as calmly as if he were watching a fire from across a river.
“They said they’ll bring the rest of our party. Wouldn’t it be faster for them to bring them than for us to go looking?”
What Kyle said wasn’t wrong, and it didn’t seem like the dwarves were trying to kill us. If it was just being locked up, I was used to that.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t uneasy, but for now, I followed Kyle’s lead and let them restrain us.
“Please understand, but for security reasons, you’ll need to wear restraints.”
The dwarves put the restraints on us with trembling hands. Since this was already the second time I had been restrained since coming to this world, it felt strangely familiar.
I was beginning to understand Kyle’s composure in dangerous situations. After all the hardships he must have faced during his adventures, it made sense he had grown accustomed to this.
The dwarves led us down another long corridor and took us to what appeared to be a prison.
“By the way, why were you crossing the snow mountains?”
Ziggs, who had been walking ahead, subtly slowed his pace and walked beside us as he asked.
“We’re the hero’s party searching for the Black Flame Dragon.”
Kyle’s introduction was embarrassing no matter how many times I heard it. But Ziggs reacted strongly.
“W-What? Is that true?”
Startled, Ziggs looked us up and down, his expression clearly saying, ‘You’re really that famous hero’s party?’
“Yes, why would we lie about something like that? We heard a rumor that the Black Flame Dragon went to the Land of the Dead to find a sacred relic, so we were on our way there.”
As Kyle continued his explanation, a strange light appeared in Ziggs’s eyes.
“I heard the rumors, but it’s true that the hero’s party has been searching for the Black Flame Dragon.”
“Do you know something about the dragon?”
Kyle asked, hoping to get some information. Ziggs’s face darkened instantly. Whatever he knew, it clearly wasn’t good news.
“Did the Black Flame Dragon come here and cause trouble?”
At Kyle’s question, Ziggs frowned slightly. His reaction was ambiguous, neither confirming nor denying it.
“This place wasn’t originally our abode.”
